Page 20 of Last Chance Christmas

“Shush your face.”

She erupted into laughter. “I’ll go find out if she’s okay.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m fine!”

Izan flinched, turning to the side where he could see into a bay with the curtain drawn back. Olivia lay in the bed, resting on one elbow. A slightly dazed expression on her face—but he wasn’t sure what that meant. “Olivia!”

“Don’t you ‘Olivia’ me, Izan Collins.” Her elbow gave out, and she collapsed back on the bed. “Ouch.”

He rushed over and took her hand. “What is it?”

Nine

Olivia watched Izan walk toward her, a sheepish expression on his face that she’d never seen before. She was familiar with a few of his facial expressions—focused at work, laughing during one of those backyard cookouts.

“You’re mad at me.” He stopped at the end of the bed. “Or mad that you got hurt?”

“My head aches too much for me to be angry.” She also wasn’t sure she should be, given he’d essentially admitted that he liked her. Sure, he hadn’t been aware she could hear the entire conversation.

You’re serious about her. You like this woman.

Olivia smoothed down the blanket. “Are you just going to stare at me?”

He squeezed her foot gently through the blanket and deposited a fast-food bag on the rolling table. “I’m glad you’re well enough to give me a hard time.”

She chuckled. Was she supposed to just straight up ask him if he liked her? Or was he going to ask her out? He’d done that a couple of times, and she had shut him down. Now she wondered what might’ve happened if she hadn’t worried how things would go down when everyone found out who her mom was.

“Happy to oblige.” Olivia lifted her gaze, smiling.

Caught the soft look on his face.

Yeah, definitely wondering what might’ve happened.

He cleared his throat. “So, you heard me talking to my sister.”

She nodded. No backing down or backing out of this.

“I’ve liked you for a while. You probably know that.”

“I wondered if you still did.”

He said, “The feeling hasn’t gone anywhere. But you never gave me an opening to ask you out again.”

Because she’d been too afraid of what might happen. “There are things you don’t know about me.”

“You have family who are cartel members as well?”

She wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t really a joke.

Before she could say anything, he shifted to sit on the edge of the bed by her feet. “I didn’t entirely tell you the truth about Sosa. About me not knowing him. Kind of.”

Olivia frowned. Her head pounded where Alonzo had shoved her at the fence and knocked her out. She didn’t like powerful narcotics, so she’d only let the doctor give her something over-the-counter. It was sort of working, but she wasn’t willing to take anything else.

“So what is the truth?”

Izan let out a long sigh. “I used to come home from a twenty-four-hour shift and find someone had been there while I was working. Looked like they’d thrown a party and left the cups and debris all over the living room and kitchen. I called the cops a couple of times, but with no suspects and no evidence, there wasn’t much they could do about it unless I got cameras.”