“Married? Mama no we’re not...”
“We’re not ready to announce it just yet. I wanted to make sure you knew before anyone else. Besides, I have ordered Izzy’s ring, and it’s not in yet. Why don’t we wait to tell the family until we have everything in place?”
“Right, of course you are right. The first thing she will ask is to see the ring. I’m just so happy.”
Micah was digging a hole deeper than he could get out of. Izzy tensed next to him when he interrupted her, but he couldn’t let her mother down. She wanted Izzy happily married, and who was he to keep that dream from her? The second he dared to look in her direction, he knew he was in for it. Dinner needed to be perfect because it was probably the last bit of happiness he’d see until morning.
“Isabel, will you be coming in to pack a bag or do you have what you need?”
“Pack a bag for what, mama?”
“For tonight, of course. I’m not that old-fashioned. Don’t you want to spend time with your fiancée? You’re here with me every night. It’s time you spend that time with the man you love. Have you decided when you will move?”
“Move? I think you have had too much of that fancy wine they were serving, Mama.”
Isabel ushered her mother into the front door with Micah close on her heels. He watched as she slipped her shoes off and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
“She is moving in with you, isn’t she? You may not know this yet, but it’s the brief moments of intimacy that make a marriage, Micah. I don’t know much about your parents, but I’m sure they would tell you the same thing. Me and my Mario never spent a night apart in our forty-two years of marriage. When he died, it was things like getting ready for bed together at night or sitting around and reading together that I missed. Those are the characteristics of a genuine marriage. Just ask your mom and I’m sure she will tell you the same.”
“My mother died when I was young, Mrs. Diaz. My father is dead now too. I appreciate the advice, as he wasn’t the best husband to my mom. I can only hope I’ll do better than him for Izzy.” He looked across the room and found her standing in the small kitchen staring at him with tears in her eyes. He hadn’t meant for her to feel bad for him. He just didn’t want to live with more lies than he needed to. “As for Izzy moving in, I had hoped she’d agree to come tonight and stay, but that’s up to her.”
“Of course she will, won’t you Isabel?”
Isabel quickly wiped her eyes. “I will not, Mama. I’m not leaving you here alone. Micah is just fine at his place, and I will stay here with you until we plan for a wedding.”
“I am not some child to be taken care of, Isabel Maria Diaz, and I won’t be the thing coming between the two of you. Now get to your room and pack some clothes to last you the weekend. Then on Saturday I’ll help you with everything else.”
“Mama...”
“Stop arguing with me. I am trying to be progressive here, Izzy, and I won’t let you get in the way of that,” she said, giving her a look that mirrored Isabel every time she was trying to be mischievous.
“Fine, I’ll be right back.”
She headed back to her bedroom, not even bothering with the door. Micah followed her in and reached for her as she stood by her bed. He pulled her to his warm body and after a bit, he could feel the tension slowly leaving her body.
“You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. You just keep making all these decisions without me and now I’m supposed to move in with you? This is insane.”
“It was going to need to happen, eventually. People would expect it.”
“People? You’re so concerned about people’s perceptions that you haven’t stopped for one second to consider my feelings about this.” She stepped back and turned to her closet, pulling out enough clothes for the next few days.
Micah closed the bedroom door and sat on the end of her bed. “You’re right, and I’m not just saying that because you love to hear it. Today has been... complicated, but I can’t help what we’ve already done. It will be fine Izzy, I promise. You can have one of the guest rooms, and I’ll respect your privacy.”
“Do you know how hard this is going to be?”
“Honestly? I don’t think I do. I don’t regret any of this. Izzy, I enjoy hanging out with you, and if I get to spend a little more time with you, then I see nothing wrong with that.”
He caught the small smile she was trying to hide from him and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him again, causing a ridiculously girlish laugh to escape.
“I’ll take care of you Izzy. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
“People make a lot of empty promises, Micah. You can’t promise something like that because you don’t know what the future holds.”
“I don’t believe in fate, Izzy, I believe in making my own future and for now I will make a future with you and protect that heart of yours. You are too precious to me not to. Come on, let’s get your stuff and head home.”
An hour later, they were back at Micah’s penthouse. He was pacing his office while Izzy was unpacking in one of the guest bedrooms. His mind was replaying all the insane decisions he had made that day and the even crazier things he’d said. He made promises to Izzy he could never keep. Told her how much she meant to him. Hell, the words just came out of his mouth and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Now she was living with him until this entire fiasco was over and he had no idea what he was going to do about it. His cock was so hard it fucking hurt. The effect she had on him was undeniable at this point. He promised he wouldn’t see other women, but what was he going to do about the fact that he wanted Izzy in every way possible?