“Fine, you want to know?” Heat bit at his cheeks. “You’re such a hypocrite. You bugged me about never wanting to leave Colorado, but you never wanted to leave New York. You couldn’t even make it back home for a single game.”
“And I told you I couldn’t afford to travel back and forth often.”
“Try never. In four years, you didn’t come back once.”
She stopped talking, her shoulders slumped in on themselves, and he felt the exhaustion in her body language.
“Izzy,” the word exhaled as if on impulse. But he couldn’t undo it now that it was spoken. He was tired. He’d forgotten how much this girl—thiswoman—got under his skin and made him plain tired. “It was a long time ago.” He gripped the steering wheel harder, with both hands, his palms beginning to sweat. “And you’re breaking one of your rules.”
She crossed her arms and stared straight out the windshield again, bottom lip still tucked in between her teeth. It was a small, familiar gesture. One that reminded him, that somewhere in that grown-up, curvy body, was the Izzy he once knew.
They rode in silence for a while, the scenery of Nebraska nearly hidden by a light misty fog. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, and Leo’s stomach growled, reminding him it was dinnertime. He didn’t ease his grip on the steering wheel, and he could already feel a kink working its way across the tops of his shoulders. Isabella busied herself on her phone but suddenly she perked up.
“Hey, have you let your family know we’re driving and won’t be there until tonight?”
“I let them knowIwas driving. I didn’t mention anything aboutwe,” he said.
“Great, thanks,” she muttered.
After a few more minutes of Isabella tapping on her phone, she leaned forward and turned on the radio. She scanned through stations and static before landing on a clear one playing Christmas music. “Is this okay?”
“It’s fine.” He didn’t take his attention off the road, but he didn’t need to see the eye roll to know she was giving it. The way he saw it, he should be the one rolling his eyes at her, not the other way around. She should be thanking her lucky stars he offered her a ride, or she’d definitely be missing the activities for day one of Eight Days of Christmas. He had a good feeling that wouldn’t have gone over well with her family.
Isabella rested her head against the headrest and faced the passenger window. Leo finally eased off the steering wheel some, his hands slick with sweat, though the tension in his shoulders was dissipating. Outside, the day slipped into night and the fog thickened. It was hard to believe that only a couple hundred miles away there was a devastating snowstorm occurring.
“So, what were you doing in Omaha?” she asked.
Leo glanced at her before returning his attention on the road. “Just work stuff.” He decided against correcting her by mentioning that he hadn’t been in Omaha. It had only been an emergency stop on his way to Denver from Michigan due to the snowstorm.
“Work?” She straightened in her seat. “What kind of work are you doing that takes you out of Colorado? I didn’t think you’d ever take a job that would force you to travel.” She didn’t bother to hide the snark in her tone. It was there. Front and center. And they both knew why. The topic had always caused conflict between them. Some might even go as far as saying it had been the reason for their breakup six years before. Okay, Isabella would probably say that. But if anyone asked Leo, he’d say it was because Isabella left and never came back.
“I think we’re slipping into the past again,” he said.
“Ugh,” she groaned, facing the passenger window again and crossing her arms tight in exaggeration.
“It was your rule,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, sounding a bit defeated.
And the thought of that caused warmth to expand in his chest in a weird, sort of twisted achievement. He didn’t mind seeing her agitated. She was sort of cute that way, all flustered. Besides, he wasn’t ready to tell her about his photography business. Something about her being one of his biggest cheerleaders in pursuing that career path and now he’d done it, rubbed him the wrong way. He didn’t want her to think she had anything to do with his decision of switching careers a few years back. He’d done it for his mom mostly, and himself. The satisfaction he felt in his choice was evident each time he held his camera in his hands and peered through the lens.
Nah, he couldn’t give her the gratification of being right.
“Just settle in and stop talking. We’ve got a long drive, and I’m not arguing the whole way home.” Again, he didn’t look at her, but he could feel her glare.
Mumbling things he was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear anyway, she leaned her head against the window, bringing her feet up, knees hugged to her chest. “Some things—and people—” she ground out “—never change, I guess.”
Gritting his teeth, he let the quip slide, for both their sakes.
After several minutes of quiet, a soft, shuttering sound came from Isabella. That little moan she used to make while sleeping.
Leo couldn’t help but steal a glance at the woman beside him, his heart pushing out a strained beat when he did. God, she was still so stunning it hurt. He wished he could reach over and touch her. Wished the past had unfolded differently than it had when it came to her. Wished he wasn’t so damn bitter.
But he was, and all the wishing in the world wouldn’t make that bitterness go away.
Chapter Three
Isabella
