Chapter Two

Hours later, after they were all full from a meal of steak and vegetable kabobs cooked on the grill, Ryan returned to the topic that seemed to have become his personal soap box—Izzy’s need for sex.

She listened to his spiel, allowing him to go on, and on, and on before finally interrupting, “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I agree with you. What do you expect me to do about it? I have neither the time nor the energy to go man-hunting, and you’ve seen the losers I meet on a daily basis. You think I want to get busy with any of them? Huh? Huh? No, I don’t. So back the hell off my case already.”

A tense silence fell.

Izzy put her face in her hand and rubbed wearily at her forehead and eyes. Finally, she looked at her friends. “I’m sorry I snapped. Just…enough already, okay?”

“No, don’t apologize. I’m the one who’s wrong. I worry about you. You work so hard, taking very little time for yourself, and I know you’re not happy,” Ryan said.

“Now that’s where you’re wrong. I am happy. Having you and Luke in my life makes me very happy. I wouldn’t trade you two for anyone in the world,” Izzy said.

“What Ryan is trying to say is that we want you to have what we’ve found with each other—love. You work too hard. You rarely go out. When’s the last time you went on a date, or did something simply for the fun of it that we didn’t force you to do?” Luke asked.

Izzy tried to remember, but the last few months were a blur. After she’d lost her job at the bank, the only jobs she’d been able to find were a part-time position at Wal-Mart and another one waitressing at a local restaurant. Neither came close to paying the salary she’d once earned.

The only reason she had a roof over her head was because Ryan and Luke had convinced her to move in with them when she’d fallen behind on her rent. She couldn’t depend on their generosity forever. They had a life and needed their privacy.

Izzy worked as many hours as she could and tucked away every spare penny so she could find a place that fit her new budget. In addition, she wanted to return to school and finish earning her Masters. When she’d lost her job, she’d lost the tuition assistance the bank had provided. Unlike undergraduate school, there were no scholarships to apply for, and student loans were out of the question. She had enough debt, thank you.

Realizing they were waiting for an answer, she said, “I don’t know. Not since I left the bank.”

Most of the women she’d associated with were coworkers. Hanging out with them had felt strange after she’d been terminated. In the beginning, they’d kept in touch until Izzy’s schedule had kept her so busy she’d canceled every invitation. Gradually, the offers to meet up had dwindled and stopped.

Ryan and Luke’s gazes locked and a message seemed to pass between them.

“Sweetie, you realize that’s been over a year, right?” Ryan asked.

Her forehead puckered as she glanced at both of them in bewilderment. “A year? No. A few months? Sure.”

“Izzy, you moved in with us last year over Labor Day weekend. Halloween is next week. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it,” Luke said, his tone serious.

Numb with shock, Izzy shook her head. “It’s really been that long?” Then it hit her like a body blow what this was really all about, and she blinked away tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize, didn’t think. I’ll start looking for another place to stay tomorrow. I think I have enough money saved for the deposit.”

She’d get up early and purchase a Sunday paper. The classifieds should be full of apartment ads. It might not be as nice as the condo she had rented before, or as in good of a neighborhood, but surely she could find something in her price bracket.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Luke bellowed.

Ryan growled, deep in his throat, and his eyes went gold. “You’re not moving anywhere,” he snarled in a low, threatening voice.

“Oh look, now you’ve made him go wolf on us. What’s wrong with you?” Luke added with a concerned glance at his husband.

Her tears dried up as confusion set in. “Isn’t that what this whole thing is about? You two want your privacy.”

“No, stupid,” Luke responded to her before turning his attention toward Ryan. “I told you to let me handle this. No, big he-man werewolf had to do it himself. Now look what you’ve started.”

Ryan slanted a narrow-eyed glance at Luke. “Me? How is this my fault?”

Luke waved an elegant hand at him dismissively before reaching across the table to capture both of Izzy’s hands in his. “Hon, we’re concerned about you. You rarely take a day off. You’re exhausted and sleep-deprived.”

When Izzy started in surprise, he continued, “You think we don’t hear you, wandering around the house and lanai late at night when anyone with sense would be asleep? You can’t keep going at this pace. It will kill you.”

She sighed deeply, acknowledging their concern. “I’ll slow down. Work less hours. Take a vacation, even, as soon as I can afford it. I promise.”

Ryan snorted. “We’ve heard that before. You hoard your savings like a dragon protecting a pile of gold. How much is enough, Izzy, before you can begin to enjoy yourself again? One thousand? Two thousand? Three? Five thousand dollars? What if you never save enough? You still have to live while you’re earning, and if you become seriously ill—cause that’s the direction you’re headed—then what? Is this what you want your life to be? All work and no play?”

“You guys don’t understand what it’s like to go from being financially stable to having almost nothing in the blink of the eye,” she protested, trying to make them understand why she had to keep working, keep piling on the hours.

“Bull!” Luke said vehemently. “You still have us, your family—who you haven’t seen in ages, by the way—and you have your health. So what if you’re not making as much money as you used to? So what if you had to move in with friends? At least you still have a roof over your head.”

“And don’t tell me that we don’t understand,” Ryan inserted. “You think we’ve always had it easy in our life? Hell, we don’t have it easy now. I’m an African-American werewolf. My mate is a Caucasian human male. If you think you’ve had it bad, try living in our shoes for a while. I don’t let it get me down, and we don’t let people’s opinions about us keep us from enjoying life to the fullest. Neither should you let this temporary financial setback keep you from doing the same.”

By the time they finished lecturing her, Izzy felt lower than a worm’s belly. “You’re right.” She glanced back and forth at the two of them, her best friends in the world. “What should I do?”

“The first thing you’re going to do is take a vacation, for a whole week, beginning tomorrow,” Luke ordered sternly.

“But—”

“No buts!” Luke said.

“We’ve already purchased the plane tickets. The whole trip is paid for. You leave tomorrow, and you’ll have fun, even if it kills you. When you return, you better be fully rested,” Ryan finished.

“I can’t just up and leave with no warning. I’ll lose my jobs,” she protested.

“No, you won’t. As of today, you’re officially on sick leave, doctor’s orders. In the morning, I’ll call both places and explain that you caught some type of bug. When you return, Ryan will write you a doctor’s excuse, so that even if they’re suspicious, there’s nothing they can do,” Luke said.

Both men stared hard at her until Izzy heard herself saying, “All right. I’ll go.”

“And you’ll have fun,” Luke reiterated.

Izzy nodded.

“Say it,” Ryan demanded.

“I’ll go and have fun, even if it kills me,” she reluctantly capitulated.