But…
“Thanks.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“I can’t leave yet, can I?”
“Even after Tylee. I want you to stay with me.”
“As… a friend?”
He laughs. “No, not as a friend. If you would have me, I want you to give us a real shot.”
A real shot.I look up at Isaac. My last boyfriend cheated on me with his biological sibling. Isaac has ties to a woman who wants to kill me. The emotions I have when it comes to love are complicated to say the least. I can’t even put how I feel into words. Yet, when Isaac and I are around each other… There's something I can’t describe that feels more powerful than all those other things.
“What would that look like?” I ask him. “Because I couldnever ask you to choose me over your kids. And after what they’ve been through–”
“I can handle my kids,” Isaac interrupts. “I… I don’t want to give up on a chance with you, if I even have one. I know I come with baggage, but if I can handle it then… I want to be with you, Gabby.”
His ex-wife almost killed me. She would have, if I had given her a chance. But hearing Isaac say exactly what he wants scares me. Do I know what I want?
“I’m not ready to be a mother to three kids. And it’s not because I don’t care about you. I have no experience. I don’t want to come in and be some evil stepmother screwing their life up.”
Isaac laughs.
“It’s not funny.”
“Stepmother? You’re getting a little ahead of things.”
“You come with the kids, Isaac.”
“I know.”
“I have to think about that, otherwise I might as well just walk away.”
“A man with three kids might not be good enough for a Harvard student.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about life being complicated. Especially your life. Specifically, your biker club.”
This is another way I’m not like his ex-wife. I’m not a biker chick and I doubt I ever will be completely. Once I get my advanced degree, I know that I will figure out a direction for my career that isn’t just working for somebody else. I don’t want to be kidnapped, stuck in warehouses or anything else. I expect resistance from Isaac, but his face softens and his hand holding mine grows gentle.
“Once I have the kids, I will explain to Wyatt that I have to work significantly less. I’ll take a safer job. If that would make you feel better, I’ll do it right away.”
I’ve never had such a mature conversation about the state of my relationship. I almost want to run away from the entire experience, but Isaac wraps his arms around me in a big hug. He kisses the top of my head.
“I’m sorry for what I put you through,” he says. “And I’m sorry about what I put the kids through. I’ll make it up to you every single day if you give me a chance.”
“What about your ex-wife?”
“I’m right here, Gabrielle. This is where I want to be.”
Isaac puts his finger beneath my chin and tilts my head up. His lips meet mine and the kiss sends a shiver straight through me. It’s possessive. Intentional.I feel like he wants me.Isaac’s kiss builds up to something more intense. He drops his finger from his chin and this time, my hands instinctively move to his chest.Fuck,how can I say no to a chest like this? My hands press against his body and almost pull him closer to me.
His hands cup my cheeks as Isaac’s tongue slides into my mouth. We get closer. And kissing him gets more intimate. Our tongues tease each other slowly and before long, our bodies are pressed together as much as possible with my legs spread wide on the bar stool as Isaac stands between them and kisses me like I’m precious. I haven’t enjoyed a slow make out like this for the longest time.
After enjoying several minutes of deep slow kisses in Isaac’s arms, each minute getting me hotter and hotter, my hands reach for his face too and I touch his sexy dark brown beard as we kiss. I want this to go further. I have since the second I saw him across the bar. There’s something about a tall man with natural, thick muscles from his shoulders down to a pair of big strong legs that absolutely drives me wild. Isaac’s natural athleticism staying with him well into his forties only makes him hotter to me.
I want to be his girl… Even if I feel like I’m crazy for wanting a father of three.