No. Izzy wouldn’t do that. Or at least, he wouldn’t push me off onto someone he didn’t approve of, someone he didn’t think was good for me.
“Raph?” Izzy’s voice startled me.
“Yeah?”
He didn’t say anything, but he did turn around in the bed and scoot in to stuff his face in my chest and wrap his arm around my waist. He mumbled something I couldn’t understand, and I chuckled and asked, “What?” But he’d already fallen back asleep.
I kissed the top of his head and held him close as I closed my eyes, letting sleep settle over me.
When I woke up, Izzy was already gone from the bed, but that wasn’t unusual. He tended to get up before me, and while we were here with my brother, he always went down to help Grady and Alaric cook breakfast. I was apparently staying in a house with a bunch of early risers. If it didn’t result in me getting breakfast and coffee as soon as I woke up every morning, I’d probably complain about it. As it was, it worked out perfectly for me.
Following my nose to the kitchen, I made my way to the breakfast bar. Almost immediately, someone dropped a cup of coffee in front of me, and a moment later, cream and sugar were sitting there as well.
They really did spoil me.
Alaric and Grady were standing at the stove together, and when I saw Alaric lean in to press a quick kiss to Grady’s smiling lips, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Seeing my little brother so comfortable in his own skin and so absolutely happy was something I thought I’d never get to see. I was more grateful for Grady being in his life than either of them could ever understand.
“He’s happy,” Izzy whispered as he sat beside me.
I sent my soul-pledged a grin. He was the only one that could understand how I felt, the only one that had been there through it all. “He is.” I shoulder-bumped him. “It’s nice to see.”
Izzy nodded in agreement before swiping my coffee mug right out of my hands and taking a sip.
I narrowed my eyes. “If anyone else tried that, I’d set them on fire.”
He snorted. “You’ve actually done that.”
“I have not.”
He lifted a brow and took another sip before setting the half-empty cup back in front of me. “Maybe fifteen years ago? We were staying in London, so we had to get a hotel, remember? You brought a local warlock back for the night, and he didn’t leave. I’ll never forget your face when you woke up the next morning to find him sitting at the table with me having breakfast.” He snorted out a laugh. “You sat down beside me instead of him, and I handed you your coffee. A minute later, he leaned across the table and grabbed it out of your hands. Next thing I know, his sleeve’s on fire and he’s yelling in pain.”
“That was the candle in the middle of the table,” I said with a scowl.
Izzy’s eyes were full of mirth. “Babe, there were no candles.”
My stomach did a flip at the endearment, and I wanted so badly to kiss him then. But I didn’t. Well, not on the lips. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, then whispered, “You know that’s how I react, yet you still chanced it?”
He snorted again and gave me a little shove, making me chuckle as I caught myself so I didn’t fall off the stool.
Alaric set a huge stack of pancakes in the center of the breakfast bar, and I pulled the entire plate toward me, saying, “Thanks, little runt. I hope you have more for the rest of you.”
Alaric laughed. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if you could eat all of that.”
Grady reached over and dragged the plate back into the middle before sitting beside Alaric, opposite Iz and me. “No way. I’m not making more pancakes.”
“I’ll make sure he shares,” Izzy said, making me snort.
As everyone filled their plates and began eating, Grady said, “So I hear you made plans to go to Laz’s store today?”
I blinked at that because there seemed to be some attitude thrown into the question, and I didn’t understand why.
Izzy answered for us, “Yeah, we’d like to see what he’s gotten in since the last time we visited. Laz said he has a few things he thinks we’ll like. And we need to do some Christmas shopping, anyway.” Izzy was smiling and calm while speaking about Laz, which was a good sign.
Whatever had been bugging Grady seemed to ease with Izzy’s reply. “Cool, cool. Do you want to go over around lunchtime? We could take him out to lunch after you guys shop.”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Izzy grinned, then pressed his shoulder against mine as he took a bite of pancake.
When everyone finished eating, I began cleaning up, saying, “You cooked, so I’ll do the dishes.”
“Are you sure?” my brother asked.
“Definitely.”
Izzy said, “Too bad he doesn’t believe in this philosophy at home.”
I flipped him off, then grabbed the dishes and headed for the sink, happy when Isiah joined me. I washed, and he dried, and after a few minutes, I decided to do what I promised Laz I’d do. Sighing, I turned to my soul-pledge and asked, “Did you mean it? What you said last night?”
He didn’t pretend to be confused; he knew exactly what I was asking him. Izzy’s small smile had a tinge of sadness to it, but there was also true acceptance there. “Yeah, Raph, I did.”
I dropped the dish I’d been washing into the water and turned to face him fully. “If this is going to upset you or make you uncomfortable, I don’t—”
“Out of everyone you’ve been with, Laz seems to be the best fit.”
I took a deep breath. “That’s not what I was talking about, Izzy. I’m asking how you feel about it, and whether this will mess anything up between us. Or between you and Laz. He told me last night that he wouldn’t risk your friendship.”
“He did?” Izzy’s entire face softened, an expression I didn’t think I’d ever seen crossed his features.
“Yeah, honey, he did.”
The endearment made him blink me back into focus. “It’s not going to mess anything up. I like Laz, and if you’re going to date someone, I’d pick him for you every time… I’d pick him to”—he sucked in a breath—“fit in with us.”
When I comprehended what he meant, my eyes widened. “Iz, we’re not even close to being there yet. Gods.”
A small smile played on his lips. “I know, but I’m saying that if you get there, I’d be okay with it being Laz. I can see him easily fitting in with us, you know?”
I thought about that; about what it would look like if we brought Laz fully into our lives. If we tried to be a family. We absolutely were not anywhere close to being there, not even a little bit. Yet the weird thing was that I could picture it. I could see Laz living with us, I could see him laughing with Izzy, I could see him hanging out with me and playing video games, I could see him and Izzy sharing a kiss.
That last one made me jerk my head back. Why the hell would I imagine him kissing Izzy? And why the hell did the thought of that sight make my dick twitch in my pants?
Pushing away that reaction before Izzy caught on, I said, “You’re sure? I don’t want you to—”