Hard

“How’d you get home, a taxi?” Crestin wasn’t looking at her. Instead, she was loading her plate up with the snacks sitting between them.

Izabella shouldn’t have paused because it made Crestin stop what she was doing and glance up at her. “What?”

“Corbin picked me up.”

Crestin nodded and went back to grabbing food. Of course it wasn’t a big deal that Corbin picked her up, but it was a big deal because of what they’d done when they got to her place, and that was why this all felt so tense and weird for Izabella.

“I’ll find out where he wants to eat and when he has off, and we can coordinate.” Crestin sounded happy, and that made Izabella smile.

They spoke for hours, and even if they’d spoken on the phone a lot since Crestin had moved away, it was nice to be able to see her friend in the flesh.

Now you just have to figure out how to tell her you want Corbin and hope she doesn’t think it’s fucked up.

13

Corbin braced his arm on the window of his truck and stared at the restaurant where he was meeting his sister and Izabella. He’d helped a friend out early this afternoon and had agreed to meet them here when he was done.

He saw Crestin’s car but not Izabella’s, so he had to assume they’d driven together, or she wasn’t here yet.

Or she backed out after what we did.

The radio was on low, and he tapped his finger on the side of the door as he continued to look at the front door of the restaurant. He wasn’t nervous to see Izabella, not after what they’d shared last night, but he was anxious to see how this evening would play out. If she even showed. He knew she hadn’t told Crestin anything because his sister wouldn’t have any problem grilling him about it, which she hadn’t.

But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because he wanted Izabella, and nothing was going to stop him from making that known or making her his.

Finally getting out of the truck and making his way toward the entrance, he felt this tightening in his gut at the thought of seeing Izabella again. She’d been on his mind all fucking day—yesterday too—but he hadn’t seen her since leaving her place.

He’d been busy at work and helping his friend, and with Crestin coming back home, he’d tried to focus on that and spending time with her. But it was hard because wanting Izabella consumed him, and even more now that he’d had a taste of her.

He walked into the restaurant and took a second to glance around at the interior. It was packed inside, with a screaming kid to his left, a woman giggling to his right, and the hostess smiling at him in a way he’d seen enough times to know she wanted his cock.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

He barely paid attention to her as he went back to looking for his sister and Izabella. He saw Crestin stand in the back of the room, lifting her hand to get his attention. Glancing at the hostess, he only tipped his chin toward the back.

“I’m good.” He moved past her, and it was clear by the expression on her face, she wasn’t used to being ignored. Truthfully, back in the day, Corbin probably would have fucked her in the back alley just to get off.

Hell, if she was willing and he had time, why not? But he hadn’t been that type of guy since he realized what he wanted with Izabella. Crestin was already sitting back down in her seat when he got to the table. She had her phone in hand and an angry look on her face. Corbin glanced at Izabella and saw her emotions as if they were his own.

She was nervous as fuck. Her wide blue eyes were trained on him, her red lips were parted, and he could see the fast beat of her pulse right below her ear. She was scared to see him, and a part of him liked that because it meant what they’d shared hadn’t just been a passing moment for her either.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, and without giving Izabella a moment to argue, he sat beside her. The booth was small, and he was a big guy, so the fact he shared a seat with Izabella meant they were pressed shoulder to shoulder.

He liked feeling her next to him, having that slight pressure on his arm, the scent of lemons invading his senses, and her heat wrapping around him.

“No problem. We ordered a couple of pizzas and a pitcher of pop.”

He looked at Crestin after she spoke, but she had her focus on her cell again, her brows knitted and her lips pursed. “Is everything okay?” he asked.