“I know.” Blaine pursed his lips. “Can you please promise me not to lead her on with any romantic illusions?”
And here it was. Blaine still didn’t think Isaac was good enough for his little girl. “She’s not a child anymore,” he said, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest.
“You don’t think she’s made sure I know that?” Blaine tapped his fist against his leg. “But you have to see that she’s always had a … crush on you, and she’s vulnerable right now, not herself at all. Say she falls for you and then you leave for the military next week. That could damage her even more than Vance did.”
Isaac startled. He would never willingly damage Cosette. He thought highly of her, and though he was attracted to her, he could see the wisdom in Blaine’s reasoning. “I’m not going to do some irrational promise that I won’t touch her or something like that,” he said. “But I promise I’ll be careful with her and considerate of her feelings.”
“Will you wait until she’s the carefree, happy Cosette before you pursue her?”
Isaac didn’t like the way he’d been backed into a corner. He doubted that Cosette would be restored to her usual self before he left. Yet he didn’t want to hurt her, and he certainly wasn’t going to take advantage of her if she wasn’t herself. “Yes, sir,” he finally grunted out.
“Thank you for watching over her.” Blaine shook his hand again and tilted his chin toward him. “Here’s to me taking Vance down in the next week.”
“I hope so, sir.”
Blaine turned and strode away.
Isaac rode down the elevator to the main level, walked through the resort and behind the Italian restaurant to his family’s private elevator. His family wouldn’t like him leaving, but they all thought highly of the beautiful, smart, and adorable Cosette Peterson. They wouldn’t blame him for offering to help her, though his more perceptive siblings might question how he thought he was going to survive on a tropical island with the woman he’d had a crush on for years.
Alone with Cosette on a tropical island. An hour ago, he would’ve thought it was a dream come true and his chance to finally charm the elusive angel, but he understood Blaine’s concerns, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt Cosette. He’d focus on helping her, protecting her, and maybe starting her on the healing process.
Somehow, he needed to forget about their kiss. This was so much more important than his teenage crush.