Pieces of Us (Confessions of the Heart, #3)(75)

What she needed to know was we were unstoppable.

“Oh,” she squeaked, caught off guard as I got closer.

I just smiled.

“Um . . . well . . .” She fiddled and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “We’d better get them shifted. I need to swing by the store on the way home for milk.”

Wanted to offer to do it for her, but the asshole beat me to the punch.

“I actually have to stop at the store. I don’t think I live that far from you. Want me to drop some by?”

Was he serious? Her motherfucking boss? I wanted to knock him in the mouth.

“Oh.” This time she was slanting that surprise at him, stumbling around her thoughts, the poor girl getting tossed from one rope to the other in a wrestling ring. “Oh-oh . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s very nice of you, though, but I can manage. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Dropping her attention to the ground, she turned around and started in the direction of her car, not even slowing as she passed where I stood, though she cut me a look that told me she knew exactly what I was doing.

Good.

I stared down the prick who was watching her go, the guy grinning at me like he was up for the challenge.

“Hi, cockroach!”

I flung my attention over my shoulder to catch Dillon with his head stuck out the back window that was rolled halfway down, hands gripping the top of it, shouting at his mother’s boss.

The guy’s smug smirk faltered, and I reminded myself to give Lil’ Dill five bucks later.

“Dillon,” Izzy scolded, horrified, moving for her car. She tossed her bag into the front seat.

“See ya,” I told him, backing away with my hands stuffed in my pockets, not even giving a shit that I was acting like an asshole.

I moved up behind Izzy. Her spine stiffened as I approached, and she straightened and whirled around, shooting me the sweetest little daggers from those big eyes.

I grinned.

“Don’t you dare go grinnin’ at me, Maxon Chambers,” she hissed low.

“What?” It wasn’t even meant to be a denial.

She huffed. “You know what I’m talkin’ about. You think I don’t see what you’re doin’? You might as well pee all over me.”

I inched closer, leaned in, inhaled jasmine and sweet and the sun. “First off, that’s illegal. I’m a cop, remember? Unless you want to do it in private. Then I might be game.”

Okay. No. Totally wasn’t into that shit. But I loved seeing her feathers get ruffled.

She gasped and a bright shade of fuchsia took to her cheeks. “Maxon Chambers,” she reprimanded like I was one of her kids.

“Izzy Lane,” I returned, laughing under my breath like I was one, too, loving how fucking cute that she was when she got all frustrated and didn’t know what to do with me.

Flustered, she shook her head. “You can’t do this. You can’t come around here acting like you are a part of who I am.”

I angled close, tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, tried not to dip my nose in to trace along the delicate flesh of her neck. Still, I whispered the words at the shell of her ear, “Not a part of you? You couldn’t scrape me from who you are if you tried. Come to dinner at my house tonight. You and the boys. I want to feed you.”

Apprehension moved through that sweet body. “You know that’s not a good idea.”

"I think it’s a great idea.”

“Well, kiss her if you want her to be a kissin’ kind of friend,” Dillon shouted from the window.

Izzy’s eyes went wide, and I had to stifle a laugh.

Now I owed the kid a ten.

At this rate, he really was going to earn that trip to Disneyworld.

I inched closer to her, backing her against her car. “What do you say? Come to dinner.”

“Maxon . . . this is gettin’ complicated.”

“And you should know, I have every intention of complicating you.” Our mouths were almost touching when I murmured it, and I could feel the thud of her heart hammering at her chest.

Took everything I had not to press myself against it. Feel it beat.

That energy alive.

“Please, Mom! I want to eat at Mr. Mack’s house! I’ve never been there before.”

If he kept it up, I was going to have to sign my bank account over to him.

She looked at me like she wanted to throttle me. Only it was soft and adoring.

My stomach tightened. Before I did something stupid like actually kiss her in front of her kids, I backed away and smiled. “I’ll drive the boys. See you there.”

She huffed, and if I didn’t know any better, would have sworn she stomped her foot. “Fine,” she said, all exasperated like, but I was pretty sure there was a smile behind it.





Twenty-Three





Izzy





I followed Maxon and the boys into Charleston, my senses still a thunder as I dialed my parents’ number.

Relief hit me when the old answering machine picked up.

Call me a coward, but the last thing I wanted to do was explain to my mama or daddy on the phone why we weren’t going to be there for dinner.

No doubt, my mama would have plenty of questions later. The whole problem was I seemed to be lacking all the answers.