Chapter 42
CHAPTER 42
“I ’m being ridiculous, Bea.”
The beagle stared at her, tail thumping happily before rolling to her side on the couch for a belly rub.
Rayna rubbed Bea’s belly, combing her fingers through the dog’s short, coarse hair. “We’ve been apart less than five hours, and I miss him like crazy. But I don’t think he’s in the mood for company. I can’t text him to come over, right?”
Bea cracked open one eye, and Rayna said hastily, “Not for sex. I’m worried about him. His father was such a dick to him, and I don’t know if Isaac would prefer to be left alone or if he wants company, you know? I want to support him, but it’s not like we’re dating.”
Bea’s eyes closed, and she made a contented sigh before shifting so that Rayna could scratch along her ribcage. Rayna rested her head on the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling.
The drive home to Harmony Falls had been quiet and a little tense. Reba had been calling about a foster dog who had eaten some chocolate and been taken to Harmony Falls Vet Clinic, and the foster was freaking out. Rayna’s guilt over not being at the clinic to support the foster and Isaac’s obvious stress over his father’s visit meant neither of them was in the mood to talk.
She dropped Isaac at his house before heading to the vet clinic. Thankfully, the dog would make a full recovery, and Rayna had spent some time with the foster before driving to Emma’s house to pick up Bea.
Emma had been working at the store, but Rayna let herself in using her key and texted Emma that she’d grabbed Bea before she drove home. Isaac’s car hadn’t been in the driveway when she’d returned home. Feeling tense and uneasy, she’d busied herself with setting up her new laptop, her ears straining to hear the sound of Isaac’s car. Despite actively listening, she didn’t hear him return home and only realized he was back when she’d finally peeked out one of the windows facing his house.
“It’s just a bit of light stalking,” she told Bea. “Nothing to be concerned about. I’m not being weird about him.”
Bea snorted and let out a loud fart. Rayna immediately jumped up and made her escape to the kitchen. Freddie sat on the counter, and he growled lightly at her before jumping down and stalking out of the room.
She opened her text to Stark’s name, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. She should text him, right? She didn’t have to invite him over, but it wouldn’t hurt to check on him. It was something a casual sex partner would do, right?
The doorbell app chimed, and she opened the camera. Her pulse skyrocketed, and undeniable happiness washed over her when she saw Isaac standing on the porch. She shoved her phone into her pocket, nearly ran to the front door, and yanked it open.
“Hi!” She sounded like a teenage girl greeting her prom date.
“Hey.” Isaac held up a large paper bag with ‘Nan’s Diner’ stamped on it. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“I haven’t,” she said. “Come inside before you freeze to death.”
He joined her in the hallway, and she took the bag of food. He took off his jacket and boots and followed her into the kitchen. He studied the open laptop. “Sorry, are you busy? I should have texted first to see if you wanted company.”
“I just finished setting up my laptop, and I’m glad you’re here,” she said.
“Yeah?” Isaac’s uncertain smile was kind of adorable.
“Yeah,” she said. “In fact, I was about to text you.”
The uncertainty in his face fled, and he leaned down to kiss her. “Of course you were. I’m great.”
She laughed and gave him a gentle poke in the stomach before opening the bag of food.
“I got two orders of the lasagna. Hopefully, you don’t hate Nan’s lasagna.”
“One, everything Nan cooks at the diner is delicious, and two, who could hate pasta? I work out so much because of my love of pasta,” Rayna said.
He pressed a kiss against her neck. “Samesies.”
She laughed again before nudging him toward the silverware drawer. “You set the table, and I’ll open a bottle of wine. Sound good?”
He pulled her close, giving her another sweet kiss before breaking into a smile. “Sounds perfect.”
* * *
“Do you want to talk about your dad?” Rayna asked.
A small smile crossed Isaac’s face, and he pushed his empty plate away before sipping at his wine. “I love how blunt you are.”
“That’s good because it’s an integral part of my personality,” she said with a grin. “I didn’t bring it up over dinner because I didn’t want to ruin our appetites, but I am happy to listen if you need to talk.”
He ran his finger around the rim of his wine glass, studying the liquid. “I haven’t decided if I’ll give him the money.”
“It’s okay if you don’t. You know that right?” she said.
“I do,” he said, “but I appreciate you saying it.”
She sipped at her wine as Isaac continued to stare at his glass. “But he’s right in that a lot of good people will lose their jobs if I don’t help.”
She stayed quiet but reached for his hand, linking their fingers together as he gave her a brief smile. “But his fuck-up isn’t my responsibility, is it?”
“No,” she said. “It’s not.”
“I don’t want other people to suffer because of his bullheadedness and stupidity, but I don’t want to deal with him again,” he said. “Investing in his company means being a part of his life, and I don’t want that. I know that makes me selfish, but -”
“It doesn’t,” she said. “Setting boundaries doesn’t make you selfish, Isaac. Besides, you have no idea if investing in his company will do anything beyond keeping them afloat for another three months.”
“I looked into this Jaxon Miller guy,” Isaac said. “Turns out, he’s a rising star in the gaming community. He was working for a small gaming company in New Cassel before he joined Dad’s company. They released a few games he developed that did well enough to win them some awards. I talked to Lucas about him, and he said he met him at a conference about six months ago. He impressed Lucas, and Lucas tried to get him to send in a resume to Stark Entertainment, but the kid declined.”
“So, what your father said was true,” Rayna said. “He could be the key to turning their company around.”
“Possibly,” Isaac said.
Rayna squeezed his hand. “Could you help your father’s company without investing?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you don’t care about getting the money back, you could give him the money as a gift instead of an investment,” Rayna said. “You’d help his employees without being sucked back into your father’s orbit.”
Isaac stared silently at her, and she blushed before standing and clearing the dinner dishes off the table. “Sorry, that’s a stupid idea. Obviously, you would want your money back. I really shouldn’t give financial advice of any kind. I still can’t even get my damn accountant to meet with me to go over the rescue finances and - oh!”
Isaac had moved silently behind her, his big hands cupping her hips and turning her to face him. Before she could say anything, he kissed her hard on the mouth, stealing her breath and skyrocketing her pulse.
He pulled back and grinned at her. “You’re fucking brilliant, Rayna Abrams.”
“I… thank you?”
He laughed and hugged her hard before picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he nuzzled her neck. “I want you to sit on my face.”
“Right here?” She stared at Bea, who was sleeping on her bed. “I don’t think I can do that in front of Bea. She can be kind of judgy sometimes.”
He laughed again before carrying her out of the kitchen. “I was thinking we’d go to the bedroom, but it’s good to know you’re an exhibitionist.”
“What? I’ve just proved that I’m the opposite of an exhibitionist,” she said.
He grinned wickedly at her and started up the stairs, his hands squeezing and kneading her ass. “All I really care about is whether you’re agreeable to sitting on my face.”
“Agreeable? It’s all I’ve been thinking about for weeks,” she said.
“Naughty girl,” he said as he carried her into the bedroom.
“And you love it,” she said.
He nipped at her collarbone. “Yes, Ms. Abrams, I do.”