He scowled so she’d quit making such a big deal out of what he’d done. “Because I wanted to. I needed a break.”
“That’s not true. You love to teach. And you were desperate to get back to Africa. It was all you could talk about.”
“Reginald will send me the applications for next year.”
She buried her face in her hands. When she eventually looked up, he could see the tears in her eyes. “Please don’t let this ruin your life, too,” she whispered.
“It’s not ruining my life. I’m taking a sabbatical, okay? A few months off. No big deal.”
“But—”
He resecured the Band-Aid that was about to fall off her thumb. “You’re my little sister, Liz. I’m not going anywhere until you’re back on your feet.”
The tears began to spill. “You know, what happened to Mom—”
“Don’t think about Mom right now,” he interrupted. “You’ve got enough going on.”
“No, it’s okay. That’s what I want to tell you. I’ve missed her terribly, but my life would’ve been a lot worse if—” he wiped away the smudge on her cheek while waiting for her to continue “—if not for you,” she finished.
“Hello? Anybody home?” A knock sounded on the front door, which Isaac had left standing open to accommodate his many trips to the truck.
Dashing a hand across her wet cheeks, Liz immediately scrambled to her feet. “Who is it?”
Footsteps started down the entry hall. “Hey, you haven’t forgotten me already, have you?”
Isaac stood as a man about five foot eleven, one-hundred-eighty pounds of tanned lean muscle strode confidently into the room. Although it was pretty chilly outside, he wasn’t wearing a coat, just a pair of long baggy shorts, flip-flops and a tight-fitting T-shirt—along with a cocky grin that disappeared the moment he saw Isaac.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, drawing up short and shooting a glance at Liz. “I didn’t realize you already have company.”
Liz cleared her throat. “This is my brother, Isaac.”
Isaac brushed the dust and dirt off his sweatshirt and jeans while waiting for the other half of the introduction. “This is Dave Shapiro,” Liz said. “He’s the club pro who’s been giving me tennis lessons.”
“When she bothers to show up,” Dave added with a toothy smile and offered Isaac his hand.
Isaac shook with him while Liz tightened her ponytail in a self-conscious movement that said she wasn’t thrilled about being caught looking as she did.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should’ve called you. I—I won’t be coming back to the club. I’m moving to Idaho.”
He frowned at the boxes, wrapping paper and packing tape. “That’s what Lauren said.”
Isaac nudged Elizabeth. “Lauren?”
“She lives down the street,” Elizabeth explained. “We play tennis together.”
“She told me what happened,” Dave said. “I’m sorry.”
Isaac looked from Dave to Liz. What exactly was their relationship? He could feel some sexual tension between them. But he knew Liz had been a faithful wife and was still in love with Keith.
Liz offered Dave a ghost of her usual smile. “You tried to warn me, right?”
“I’m not here to say I told you so. I wish I’d decked Keith when I had the chance.”
Isaac stiffened. Those were pretty protective words from a man six or seven years too young for Elizabeth.
Liz tucked the wisps of hair that kept falling forward behind her ears. “Aren’t you the one who told me cheating is man’s basic nature?”
“If it’s not his basic nature, it’s definitely his baser nature. Just ask my old man.” Dave’s car keys rattled as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, don’t hate us all after this, okay? I never would’ve been stupid enough to walk away from a woman like you.”
If Isaac had any choice in the matter, he’d never get close to Liz in the first place. Not only was Dave too young, he seemed…unreliable.
Fortunately, Isaac didn’t need to say anything. Liz was already laughing as though her coach hadn’t meant a word he’d said. “You wouldn’t have married me in the first place. You prefer a bachelor’s life, remember? You told me that yourself.”
Dave made a careless motion with his hand. “Details, details. Besides, I was speaking hypothetically.”
Liz laughed again. “For a womanizer, you really are a pretty nice guy.”
For a womanizer… If Liz already knew what Dave was, why did she seem so flattered?
“What’d I tell you?” Dave flashed her a smile, and Isaac decided that moving his sister out of Southern California might not be such a bad idea. She needed time to recover, get over Keith; she didn’t need the attentions of a tennis pro who probably changed women as often as he changed his sheets.
“Is there any way to talk you out of this?” Dave asked, frowning at all the boxes.
“I’m afraid not,” she said.
“Her children need to be near their father,” Isaac inserted.
Liz blinked at his sudden change of heart but turned her attention back to Dave, who was talking. “So you’re going to follow Keith? Give up L.A. for Idaho?”
“You have any better ideas?” she asked flippantly.
“You could stay here and have an affair with me to even the score.” His wry grin indicated he only was joking. But Isaac suspected he was at least partially serious.
“I appreciate your willingness to help out in the revenge department,” she said. “But I don’t see how our sleeping together would benefit anyone—”
“Hey!” He pressed a hand to his chest as though she’d wounded him. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
“And since my brother’s in the room, I know you’re just being your normal, outrageous self.”
The crooked grin reappeared. “Well, there’s always tennis. We could keep working on your serve.”
“I can’t stay,” she said. “Isaac’s right. My kids need their father.”
The club pro sighed heavily. “I’d have to be a jerk to argue with that, right?”
She offered him a sweet smile. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head in apparent regret. “I suppose there’s nothing left to do but help you load the truck then, huh?”