Straight From The Hip

“I prefer one-on-one to a pack,” she said. “I don’t do serious, either. It’s too much trouble. I like my men easy and pretty. Although I guess pretty is less important than it used to be.”

It was as if a light clicked off inside her. One second she was flirty and confident, the kind of woman who made men look even when they didn’t want to. The next, her shoulders slumped, her chin dropped and her energy faded.

She turned away, obviously lost in defeat.

He grabbed her arm. “Don’t,” he told her. “Don’t give in. You have to stay strong. It’s worth it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, I do.” He wanted to shake her until she figured out there was a process and she had to keep moving forward.

“Were you really going to let me go home?” she asked.

“You could have gone home.”

“You were a bastard on purpose. I suppose I should thank you.”

He would like it better if she were yelling or throwing things. Anger had power behind it. This acceptance would kill her…or at least keep her from getting well.

“Don’t thank me,” he said, frustrated. “Get pissed off. Yell at me. Hate me.”

“Why? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Sure I have.” He was a guy—there had to be something he’d done. “I think you’re an idiot for wasting the opportunities you’ve been given.”

“Like I’m buying that.” She pulled free and turned to leave.

“You’ve wasted your life. You’re a Titan. You could have done something with all that money, but you haven’t. You’re useless. Being blind just makes it obvious to everyone else. Because you’ve always known the truth.”

She turned back to him, her expression more annoyed than angry, but at least it was better than defeat.

“You have some serious psychological problems,” she told him. “I don’t think your geography has anything to do with why you’re not in a relationship. I think it’s you.”

“What’s your excuse for being alone? Since when are relationships too much trouble for a woman? It’s what you all live for.”

“You are seriously grasping here.”

“Whatever works.”

“What’s your end game?” she asked.

“For you not to give up.”

“And then what? Do I get a cookie?”

“You get your life back, Izzy. That has to be worth something.”

“According to you, it isn’t. I’m useless.”

“So be mad at me. Have something to prove.”

“You know, you need a strategy,” she told him. “Right now you’re just bouncing around from point to point. There’s no cohesive argument here.”

“I’m thinking on my feet.”

She smiled. “Not your greatest strength, huh?”

He relaxed a little. “I do okay.”

“The people who say that are your employees, aren’t they? You have to pay them a lot of money to get them on your side.”

“You’re saying I don’t inspire loyalty?”

“I’m saying you have issues.”

“So do you.”

“One or two.”

“Like not having the surgery.”

She poked him in the chest. “We are so not having that conversation.”

The fire was back. Good. As long as she stayed strong, she would make it.

“We have to have it sometime.”

“Not today.”

She looked at him. If he didn’t know better, he would swear she could see everything. Her eyes were so damn beautiful…just like the rest of her. Without thinking, he reached toward her and cupped the side of her face. Her skin was smooth and soft.

“You can’t hide from me forever,” Aaron said as he walked into the kitchen. “You can run but you can’t hide. I’ve always loved that saying. I have proposals that need your approval and a lot of other details you keep avoiding.”

Nick dropped his hand and Izzy took a step back. Aaron rounded the corner, then came to a stop.

“Oh, my,” he said, glancing between them. “You could cut the tension in this room with a knife. What have you two been up to? It’s bad. I can tell. I’m just going to back out and we can pretend I was never here.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nick said. “I’m leaving.”

“But you’re the one I have to talk to.”

Izzy heard footsteps retreating. Based on the sound and cadence, she knew Nick was the one who had left.

“What did I miss?” Aaron asked, sounding intrigued. “You both looked guilty. There’s something going on between you two.”

“Not that much,” she said, thinking that last night had been about comfort. He’d kept her sane through a rocky couple of hours. But what had today been about?

“Honey, I know sexual tension when I see it and it was filling this room. Come have a seat and tell Uncle Aaron everything. Start at the beginning and talk slow. My love life sucks so I’ll have to live vicariously through yours.”