Chapter 9

Izzy awoke on Friday and stretched. Dinner with Dayton had been an interesting event. They had spoken minimally and enjoyed the food.

After dinner they had split up. Dayton resumed reading his book while she had gone back to writing hers. It was quiet once again as they settled into a routine that would last throughout their weekend getaway. By the time she was ready for bed, Izzy had complete seven chapters that day.

The bed had been so comfortable she had dropped off instantly and dreamed she was a world-renowned author. People were getting her autographs and she was doing public readings and interviews.

She stared at the ceiling for a bit, her mind whirling around what was going on that day. She was heading to the book store to listen to an interview Sherrilyn Kenyon was giving then going shopping. After that, she had no clue. She would do whatever her mind came up with to do.

As she was thinking, there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Dayton poked his head in. He smiled when he saw her sit up in the bed. "Good. You're awake." She narrowed her eyes at him. "One of the things Derek included in your birthday gift was a trip to the spa in the hotel."

Confusion creased her brow. "Why?"

"Well, he thought it would help you relax. And I agree. Plus… it would be good for you since I have something planned for tomorrow which is your birthday anyway. And it wouldn't do any good to argue with me because I can be very convincing when I want to be. I'm a lawyer after all."

He watched as she stared at him and let it all sink in. She was very independent because she had to be. He wanted to, just once, take care of her and let her know that's what he could do.

As he sat there and looked at her, he realized he was in deeper than he had first assumed. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted her to see that she would be cared for if she were with him. He figured that was what Derek was trying to get across to Tophyr's hardheaded friend. She wasn't alone in this world anymore.

Izzy watched Dayton as he watched her. Why was he doing this? She really didn't live a lavish lifestyle. Not because she couldn't but because she didn't want to. Money had driven her father and brother and that led to their drug habits. Money wasn't everything in her world.

When she had met Tophyr and Derek, she realized not everyone on the Upper East Side was all about money. They had moved from their grandeur homes into a flat

so they could maintain a distance from their past lives.

As she stared at Dayton, she realized that gradually she was warming up to him. When she had read about him getting the job at Jim Hurst's legal firm she had figured he was one of the socialites. Upon getting to know him these last few weeks, she noticed he wasn't that bad. He actually had a heart.

She threw the covers off and stood. Dayton grabbed her wrist as she walked by him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

She noticed his voice was an octave lower than it had been when he walked in. carefully, she pulled her hand back.

"I'm going to shower before I go listen see Sherrilyn Kenyon," she replied and continued to the bathroom.

Once there she shut the door and sagged against it. He was pushing a little harder than she thought he would but she could deal with it.

After a shower.

She turned on the faucet and pulled the lever before shedding her clothes and stepping in.

($)($)($)($)

At lunch Dayton watched Izzy of the rim of his glass. They had gone to the Q&A session with Sherrilyn Kenyon. He had watched the look on her face as the woman spoke about her novels and the inspiration for them. Izzy's face was alight with interest and the wheels began to turn in her head once again. Every once in a while he'd catch her jotting things down for her own novel. When they had walked out, she was glowing with enthusiasm and buzzing with the need to write.

He had escorted her to a little diner for lunch. The smells of southern food permeated the air outside but once in the building it was even more intoxicating. They sat by the window so they could see the people as they walked to wherever they were going. It gave him time to watch Izzy.

Her red hair was braided down one side. It profiled one side of her face. She had a strong jaw line that tightened when she frowned. Her nose was small and slightly rounded and flared when she was angry. Those green eyes sparkled when she laughed or smiled.

He wasn't embarrassed when she looked back at him. She tilted her head at him in question.

"I was just thinking," he said to the silent question.

"About?" she prompted.

"Caroline."

She nodded and dropped her hands to the table. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened there?"

Dayton felt a sudden shutter run through him. Even though it was a year ago, he still hadn't resolved his feelings about Caroline. He had loved her wholeheartedly and her betrayal still hurt. What hurt the most was his pride. He normally had the ability to tell when someone was playing him. That's what made him a good lawyer, but he had been blindsided by Caroline. Maybe it was because she had been there when his dad had gotten caught in a drug and embezzlement scandal but she had been there and he had loved her.

"Dayton?" He looked up at Izzy when she placed her hand on his. "You don't have to tell me about it."

He shook his head. "No, it's all right. You know my dad was caught in a drug and embezzling scandal about five years back. I was only twenty at the time. It was a rough time for my brother but mostly for me since I had aspirations to become a lawyer. Caroline was just there. She was a year younger than me but it didn't matter. She helped me through that time. When my dad was allowed to get back to his life, she was right there. It just made sense for me to marry her."

He noticed she waited patiently for him to finish. Her hand remained on his so he folded it under his. "Two days before we were to wed, we were at the hospital. Tophyr's dad had had a heart attack and Derek was going to bring her there when he came. It was right there in front of everyone that Tophyr lost her temper and let loose the torrent of information I had been missing. It turned out Alex, her next oldest brother, had dated Caroline in high school for a while. He broke up with her because she was only in it for the money."

Izzy nodded her head. "Yeah, I remember Tophyr telling me something along the lines of that. She said it hurt you."

"Devastate is the better word to explain it. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. If I had, she would have spent me out of money and love. It wouldn't have ended well." As he finished speaking, he realized she was rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand. "What about you? What happened between you and your brother that caused the chasm?" She jerked her hand back and tucked it in her lap. "I told you my sob story."

"Drake is two years older than me. When we were little we used to be very close. He was always protective since it was just the two of us and all our cousins live out west. All through our childhood we had a good relationship."

She took a deep breath. "When he hit high school, he changed. He started drinking, staying out late, partying, all the stuff a high school boy would do. One night he came home weirder than normal. No one said anything because we all just assumed it was from binging all weekend. Then money started disappearing, and jewelry. My mom's wedding rings went missing. So I confronted him. He lied about it, naturally. My mom believed him and that was that. It wasn't until my dad came home the same way. We realized my dad and brother were doing drugs."

"Did your mom do anything about it?"

She nodded. "She left my dad but kept enabling my brother. It wasn't until after I called him out on selling Gran's engagement ring and shoved me through the balcony door that my mom decided enough was enough. She put him out and I hadn't seen him until the day he walked into the café."

Dayton leaned back in his chair so she didn't feel like he was crowding her. "Do you feel he can ever listen to reason?"

"No, I don't. He's too involved in drugs to listen to anyone. I don't know what he's going to do besides probably die in a sewer somewhere from an overdose."

He frowned at the remark. He knew she wouldn't say it if she didn't believe it fully. Maybe her brother turning away from their family had told her men are fickle. He could relate to that because men were fickle but so were women. His heart ached for her.

He shoved his chair back and stood. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

He held his hand out. "We're going back to the hotel then to the spa. We both need time to calm down from so much soul searching."

Stalling for a moment, Izzy placed her hand in his and allowed him to haul her to her feet and led her back to the hotel.