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  She peered over his shoulder at me and I winced, still without words.

  "That's what I used to think. But I understand now." Standing, she walked around Theo to come to me and I took a step sideways when she was less than a foot away.

  “I’m not pissed, Chloe. I’m not even angry or shocked. I’m . . . just . . .” she trailed off, and I could see her eyes welling up. I looked over at Theo for a clue, but all he could do was hike his shoulders up and hold his hands out. He didn’t know what to do either.

  "Look, I know what it feels like to love someone that you know you can't have,” she continued. “I know how amazing it feels to have that alone time—like that person understands everything about you. You only want him and nobody else. All you can think about every single day is him. You want to forget about him and move on . . . but you can’t, because reality cuts in and you remember that he was never yours to begin with. And that making him yours would cost so much on both ends."

  She released a ragged breath, her eyes pooling with tears.

  "I hate myself for what I said to you, Chloe. And I really came here because I couldn't not say anything, you know? I knew my dad would be with you. Why else would he stay in Bristle Wave, you know?” She let out a raw laugh as she glanced at him. His mouth twitched. “I know he still loves you. He kept hinting at it with me, trying to get me to talk about it, but I wouldn’t budge. Only because I didn’t know what to say. I could tell he was worried because he didn't want to hurt me by making the same choice again. But . . . I'm not hurt.

  “The only thing that hurts me is that I interfered with what you guys shared. It guts me knowing both of you ended up with people you didn't even want. You care for those people, but you don't want them. Not the way you want each other."

  She grabbed my hands and my entire body lit up. It was her first time touching me in years. She smiled warmly and then hauled me in, hugging me tight around the neck.

  My eyes welled with tears and I gave a quick look over her shoulder at Theo. He stared like he couldn’t believe his eyes, but then dropped his head, exhaling. He was so relieved.

  And I was astonished. I never thought in a million years I’d be hugging Izzy again, but I was. And I cherished it. I wrapped my arms around her in this moment because she needed me. She needed us.

  And knowing that caused quite a few tears to shed on my behalf. I didn’t know what was up, or why she’d become so sentimental. This wasn’t the Izzy I knew when I was twelve, or in high school, or even in college.

  This was a different Isabelle Black. A . . . broken one.

  "I'm sorry," she sniffled over my shoulder. "I really am, Chloe. You were my best friend, and because I was so selfish and judgmental, I ruined what we had.”

  “No,” I cooed. “No, it’s okay, Izzy.” I grabbed her shoulders and studied her eyes. “It’s the past. Okay? You know I would never hold something like that against you. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

  She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ears. Her face was red, streaks of tears lining her cheeks.

  “We were going to tell you,” I murmured. “We just . . . didn’t know when. Or how, really. We didn’t want to upset you.”

  She sighed. “Trust me, I am the last person that can be upset about this.”

  “I would understand if you are, even a little bit.”

  “I’m not, babe. Not now. I promise.” Her smile was sincere. An exact replica smile of her father’s.

  “Are you okay, though?” I asked. It seemed like something was bothering her. Her eyes, they were sad. She was tense. She didn’t look happy at all. Something was definitely wrong.

  “I’m as great as I’ll ever be,” she assured me.

  “Did you get the role?” Theo asked behind her.

  “Oh—yes!” she beamed. “I wanted to tell you that in person.” She turned to face Theo. “I did great, Dad. It was awesome. They loved me. I can’t wait to go back. They’re paying for my stay and everything when I return.”

  “Well, that’s good, Iz. I’m proud of you.” He put on a pleased smile for his daughter.

  “Besides, um, making out or whatever—” she cleared her throat. “What else were you guys planning on doing today?”

  “Not much,” Theo responded. We were just going to hang here. Order in.”

  “Oh, no way.” Izzy scoffed and then reached for my hand. “Dad, Chloe and I should catch up. Like, really, really catch up.” She looked over at me. “What do you say we go to the mall or something? Doesn’t close until eight. Remember how we used to get cinnamon pretzel poppers and share them?” Her eyes lit up like they were made of stars.

  I laughed because I could remember it very well. I loved our teenage mall trips. That was back when we thought we had it all figured out. Boy, were we wrong. “I would love that.”

  “Good.” She clasped her hands. “I’ll go get my suitcase out of the car. You look like you need to get ready so go ahead.” She waltzed past me but stopped as she gripped the door handle. “Oh—you don’t mind if I steal her from you for an hour or two, do you, Dad?”

  He held his hands in the air innocently. “Keep her for as long as you need, Izzy Bear.”

  She let out a small squeal. “Good. I’ll be back!”

  She took off in an instant, exiting the hotel room, and when the door was shut behind her, Theo walked my way, a light smile on his lips now. “Well . . . that didn’t turn out to be the nightmare I was expecting.”

  “I know right,” I whispered, grinning. My heart was still beating so fast. I was truly excited about this. And shocked. “We’ll only be a few hours, I’m sure.”

  “Take all the time you need. Let her get to know you again. Get to know her again. Start over.”

  “I can tell something’s wrong with her. She looks . . . down. I don’t know.” I waved a hand, sighing. “You know when she gets around to telling me what’s going on with her, I can’t tell you. Best friend vow. That was our number one rule. Don’t tell the parents anything, whatsoever, even if we just so happen to date one of them. Only time to tell was if one of us was kidnapped or something.”

  He looked amused, eyebrows tilting. “Oh, trust me. I remember how you two were. I won’t even bother pushing for answers. I’ll let her tell me when she’s ready.” He kissed me on the center of my forehead. “Just make sure my Izzy Bear is okay. Make sure she’s happy. And make sure she actually understands our situation.” He hesitated, looking me hard in the eyes. “As her father it’s . . . well, shit, it’s hard to talk about stuff like that. Love and shit. All that girly talk, she did with her mother, not me. I can tell her that I love you, but telling her why and how we started is just . . . awkward as hell, you know?”

  “Maybe she won’t want to know the details.” I patted him on the cheek. “One thing at a time, babe. If it comes down to that, I’ll try and explain, but I’m pretty sure she gets it. She’s not a little girl anymore.”

  “Hell, she’ll always be my little girl, no matter how old she gets.” Wrapping his arms around me, he drew me in and then exhaled. I felt his warm breath run through my hair. I listened to his heartbeat as I rested my ear on his chest. It was pounding with relief. “I’m glad everything is turning around for us.”

  “Not everything,” I sighed. There was still Sheila and Sterling. Sterling, I felt like we could handle because I hadn’t heard much from him lately. I didn’t know what I was going to get from him once I called and got around to telling him the truth—that I was in love with Theo, had been for many, many years, and that I couldn’t really be there for him anymore.

  That was a phone call I was seriously dreading.

  And Sheila . . . I wasn’t so sure. She seemed like the biggest threat and obstacle right now. We knew her time to barge in was bound to come.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  CHLOE

  Izzy didn’t talk much about herself during our trip to the mall. She asked more about Theo and me, how we were doing. If we felt
bad about it. So many other deep questions that were tough to answer.

  I kind of knew what to expect with Izzy. She liked to dig deep for answers, so I gave them to her in blunt honesty.

  “Are you in love with him?” she asked.

  “Yes. I have been since I was a senior in high school.”

  “So weird,” she laughed and then popped a pretzel into her mouth. “Do you think he was in love with you back then?”

  I pressed my lips. “Um . . . I wouldn’t say in love. Maybe he felt something, but nothing quite that deep yet.”

  “When do you think he felt that way—in love with you, I mean?” She narrowed her gaze.

  “He told me when I came back home to help my dad while he was sick. We were a few weeks in. He snuck into my bedroom—”

  “He snuck into your bedroom!” she sputtered, utterly amused by this.

  “Yes,” I giggled. “I thought it was sweet. He told me that night that he loved me. And . . . I don’t know. For some reason I believed him.”

  “Because you felt the same,” she stated. Not a question. A statement.

  “Yes.”

  She took a sip of her lemonade, waving a hand and sitting back in her chair. “It’s still a little . . . weird, I guess. I mean if you were some other chick that I didn’t know, I wouldn’t find it weird at all. Apparently Dad has a thing for younger girls.” She half shrugged. “But . . . it seems freaking legit. Seriously, the fact that he wants to divorce Sheila just to be with you again . . .” Her head shook rapidly. “That takes balls. And love. Lots of it.”

  I sat up a little when she mentioned Sheila. “Do you think she’ll sign the papers?”

  “Oh, she’ll sign them. She has way too much pride to chase after him or beg.” Her tone was confident. I found reprieve in that. “But Sheila’s a total bitch. She’s, like, the complete opposite of Dad, which is why I know she won’t make this process easy for him in the slightest.”

  “A bitch?” I repeated, blinking wildly. “How?”

  “What? Dad hasn’t told you the crazy-as-fuck stories about her?” She looked me over and my eyes stretched a little wider, demanding answers. When she saw that I was completely clueless she sat up again, dropping her pretzel back in the cup. “She’s the reason they’re even married—giving him ultimatum’s and shit. It’s why I’ve never really tried getting closer to her. Wait . . . he really hasn’t told you about anything she’s done?”

  “No,” I mumbled.

  Her face scrunched a bit. “That’s . . . weird. I guess he doesn’t want you to know about that side of her. He doesn’t want you to worry. Damn it.” She looked away, towards the restaurants lined up in the food court. “I’ve probably said too much then.”

  “No, Izzy. As a matter of fact, you haven’t said enough.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, forcing her to look at me again. “Tell me what she’s done. I need to know everything about her if I’m going through this with him.”

  Her eyes were just like his when she knew she was in trouble. She lowered her gaze, focusing on my cup of grape soda. “Chloe, I—” She paused. “Chlo, I really think you should talk to him about this. You know I love gossiping, but not when it comes to my Dad. Plus, he’ll get the story right. He’s only told me the stories over the phone right after they happened. I might . . . I don’t know . . . mix up the details or something.” She shrugged hard, like she really didn’t know the full story. But I knew she did. Theo told me he called Izzy at least every other day to check in with her, and if he didn’t call, she would.

  Their bond was strong. She knew, but I didn’t want to push or force the secrets of her father out of her because she was right. It wasn’t her business or story to spread. Theo could tell me himself, but I wondered why he hadn’t already.

  “Oh, come on. Cheer up, Chlo.” Izzy stood and walked over to grab my hand. “Let’s go shop around. Talk about something else—like how your teaching is going.”

  I pushed my lips together, standing when she tugged on it. “Sure. That sounds good.”

  But deep down I was impatient. I didn’t want to shop or talk about my career and myself. I wanted to get back to the hotel immediately and get some answers out of him.

  I knew how Izzy liked to exaggerate things, so maybe it wasn’t a big deal, but as she passed me weary glances on our way to Forever 21 while asking me about the school, I figured perhaps she wasn’t exaggerating. That perhaps Sheila was a good cause for concern after all.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  THEO

  I heard the hotel door open from the bedroom. Izzy was laughing a girly, lighthearted laugh I hadn’t heard in years. I smiled, gripping the edge of the door, but not walking out yet.

  “We should go out tomorrow, too,” she said, her laughter dying. “Maybe we can get our nails done or something. I’m sure I need it.” I glanced over and Izzy had her hand up, checking her cuticles.

  “Yeah. I could use a good pedicure,” Chloe responded. “It’ll have to be after school lets out, but we can definitely make that happen.”

  “Great.” Izzy looked sideways and I stepped out, arms folded as I smiled at the two of them from where I stood. “Well, I booked a hotel for myself. I know you two need your . . . privacy.” Her smile was a bit uneasy. I could tell it still made her uncomfortable, knowing what we were really doing behind closed doors, but she was trying and as long as she was, that’s all that mattered.

  “Oh, Izzy, stay as long as you want!” Chloe waved a dismissive hand, side-eyeing me. “I’m sure we won’t really need privacy tonight. I have an early morning.”

  “Oh, no, Chlo, I can’t. I have some scripts to go over and some emails to check before bedtime. I will be here tomorrow as soon as you come by, though. I swear it. You have my number.” Izzy glanced at me nervously and my brows dipped. Why was she in such a rush? Most times she procrastinated having to catch up on what needed to be done.

  Chloe’s lips pulled down as Izzy gripped the doorknob and smiled at us. “Dad, I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, sweetie,” I said. “I’ll be here.”

  She gave a wary smile.

  All right. What the fuck was going on?

  Izzy pulled the door open and walked out, glancing back once at Chloe with a hard, serious look before taking off. When the door clicked shut behind her, Chloe didn’t even bother looking in my direction. Instead she marched for her tote bag in the corner and slung it onto her shoulder.

  “You should get me home. It’s getting late and I have a few assignments to get together before class.” Her voice was tight. She glanced up when I didn’t say anything, and when I came closer and extended a hand, she held up her own, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Theo . . . please. I should get home.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, looking her over.”

  “Nothing, I’m fine.” I could tell she was lying. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her own little shield.

  “What is it? Sterling calling you again?” I took a step forward, face serious now. “Did he say something to you?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she picked her head up. “What? No! No, Theo. It’s not Sterling this time. It’s you!”

  “What? What about me?”

  “We’re supposed to be doing things right this time, Theo. I trust you and you trust me. That’s what we’re supposed to do, remember? Not keep secrets from each other, especially about things that obviously should be discussed.”

  “What—Chloe, what the hell are you talking about?”

  She blew an agitated breath. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” She waved a hand.

  I paused. I couldn’t escalate whatever the hell was going on by pestering her for answers. So I took the easy route. The longer I made her hold it in, the more willing she would be to tell me.

  So I said, “Well since you don’t want to be an adult and tell me, I’m taking a shower. I’ll drop you off after I get out. Just wait for me.”

  She scoffed
and dropped down on the couch, rolling her eyes and staring through the window that revealed the ocean. I watched her, hoping she’d break, but she didn’t.

  So I got in the shower like I said. It was the longest shower of my fucking life. What the hell could it be? Izzy had to have told her something while they were together—something that probably had me looking like a complete fucking jackass to Chloe.

  That was one thing I didn’t miss—their gossip. They chirped like birds whenever they had something juicy to talk about. When I got out of the shower, she was still sitting in the same spot.

  Sighing, I strolled to the bedroom, taking out some clothes to wear from my suitcase. I heard footsteps as I slid into my boxers and then into basketball shorts.

  She was right between the frames of the door, when I glanced back. No bags strapped around her. Just that same guard up again, her arms folded and face solemn.

  "What haven't you told me about Sheila?" she demanded. She glared like she knew something I didn’t. Or maybe she knew nothing at all, but knew there were a few things I hadn’t told her.

  And I hadn’t yet . . . for a reason.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  CHLOE

  Theo rubbed the towel through his hair. "What do you mean? I've told you pretty much everything about her.”

  “Have you really?"

  His eyebrows narrowed. He seemed utterly confused. He looked at me from head to toe, and when he brought his eyes back up and locked on mine again, his shoulders sagged and he released a gradual, heavy breath.

  "Shit," he grumbled. "What the hell did Izzy say to you about her?"

  "Oh, nothing . . . just that she's a total bitch, and that she may or may not have forced you into marrying her." I took a step forward. “I thought that’s what you wanted—to marry her. Why didn’t you tell me she forced you into it?”