“Isla.”
Denny’s brows shifted from confusion to surprise in the flash of an instant.“Wait.What?”
“You heard me.I like her.That’s why I asked Jackson to take over her case.I’m ethically bound to step aside because I’m… you know… attracted to her.”
“You just met her!”
“Trust me,” Julian said with an ironic grunt, “I know.It makes no sense to me either.”
“You don’t ‘like’ women.You sleep with them and cut them loose.”
“That’s not fair.I like them all.I just don’t want forever with them.”
“And you expect me to believe that mysisteris somehow different from all the others?”
Julian removed the ball cap and ran his free hand through his hair as he tried to find the words he needed to explain something to Denny that made no sense to him.“I wish I knew, but it was immediate and undeniable.”
Denny stared at him, incredulous.“I don’t even know what to do with this.”
“Neither do I, but I did the one thing I ethically had to do by stepping away from her case.Please tell me you understand that part.”
“I guess so, but none of this makes sense.”
“Remember when you first met Kath?You said you knew in five minutes that she was it for you.”
“This is likethat?For real?”
“The immediacy, yes, but I’m not going to do anything about it, so don’t worry.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s the kind of woman who’d expect and deserve forever, and I don’t have that in me.”
Denny placed his hands on his hips as he stared Julian down.“Because of your work?”
“Among other things.Remember the shit show with my parents?Kinda spoiled us for the whole happily-ever-after song and dance.”
His friend tilted his head, studying him in a way that made Julian wish he hadn’t said anything about something that was never going to happen.
When the silence stretched on to the point of discomfort, Julian said, “What?”
“Hear me out on this.”
“On what?”
“I think you’d be good for her.”
Julian was shaking his head before Denny finished the thought.“I wouldn’t be good for her or anyone else because I don’t want the things they want—the white picket fence in the suburbs, with the kids and dogs and Christmas trees.That’s not my life.It’ll never be my life.”
“Who says?”
“I do, Denny.It’s not for me.”
“Because your folks messed it up, you assume you will, too?”
“No.Because my folks messed it up, I never want to put myself in a situation where that could happen to me, too.I don’t want it.”
“So it’s not that there’s something wrong with my sister, then.There’s something wrong with you.”
