Page 44 of Isabelle and the Beast

“Okay!” Her eyes light with excitement, making my heart beat a little faster. “Let’s get changed and I’ll meet you in the study.”

“It’s a…plan,” I say. I almost said “it’s a date,” but I caught myself in time.

Because it’s not a date.

Right?

Chapter

Twenty

ISABELLE

As I head back to my room to get changed, I feel a rush of nerves at practicing for an interview with Adam. I have a basic idea of the generic questions asked by interviewers, but I’m not very good at answering questions on the fly. Hopefully Adam has some suggestions that will work forme, and not just something he does, like look broody and stare down the interviewer until they decide to ask a different question. There’s even a picture of him scowling at an interviewer that people like to use for memes of “When my boss asks me where my report is,” or “When I’m ready to leave a party and my girlfriend keeps talking to people.”

I step back into my room to get dressed, taking note of my phone on the vanity. It’s strange, being disconnected from reality for the last few days while I’ve been here, but at the same time, it’s actually been nice. There’s been no need to obsess over social media, scrolling for hours and wasting my day. Instead, I’ve filled my time with Theo and books and Brigette and the staff…

And Adam.

But the screen of my phone lights up, showing me a text from my best friend, Jen. I pick up my phone and read her text.

CALL ME ASAP! I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE!

I snort a laugh and dial her number.

“Izzy!” she squeals in my ear. “Oh, my goodness. I’ve been so worried. So has your dad. Did he call the police to cancel the report?”

“Yes, he did,” I reply. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“It’s not your fault! I didn’t even know it could snow in California in May. But I did a ton of research, and apparently that’s happened in Mammoth and even Big Bear before.”

I’m not surprised she did a bunch of research. Jen is a software engineer, along with her boyfriend Robby. At least that’s what she tells her traditional Korean parents. But the two of them are constantly on the Internet, researching whatever they can. It’s almost scary the kind of information they’re able to dig up online. I feel like they should be working for the CIA with those skills—actually, maybe they are and I just don’t know. She doesn’t tell me much about her second secret job. But they’re an adorable pair of nerds, and I love them dearly.

“I didn’t know about that either,” I admit. “I thought there was some kind of mystical, magical atmosphere around here.” I glance around my room, still not sure that’s untrue.

“Well, that still doesn’t normalize the fact that you’re STRANDED in a CASTLE with ADAM STONE!”

I have to pull the phone away from my ear to deal with her loud voice. “Tone it down, Jen.”

“Sorry. But…girl. Tell me everything. What’s he like?”

I walk over to the curtain and pull it aside, making sure Theo isn’t listening in my room. All clear. “I… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

“I have time.”

I laugh. Of course she has timeto listen to me describe Adam Stone in the flesh, especially after I dragged her to every one of his movies over the last few years. “Well, for starters, he doesn’t look like himself. His hair was super long, and he had this scraggly beard, but it was kind of hot.”

“Was?”

“Yeah. He’s cleaned up now. Like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, except even better because it’s Adam Stone. Oh, and he has a scar over one eye, and I think it’s messed with his vision. But we haven’t talked about that.” I still wonder where that came from, because he didn’t have it a year ago, or even when he was on the red carpet and punched Tristan. But it doesn’t seem like a scar from that event. More mysteries to solve.

“Did he clean up foryou?” Jen asks suggestively.

The thought has crossed my mind. I never asked him why he chose to do it right after he saved me from the snow. But I wouldn’t dare say that out loud. “I don’t know. When I first got here, he was extremely rude and condescending. He said I was only up for the role because of my dad.”

Jen gasps. “What a jerk!”

“Don’t worry, I told him off.”

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