Page 44 of Isabella and the Slipper

Chase grinned at her. “This is fun. I’m glad we ditched the game.”

She looked down to her shoes, sure her face was flaming. At least they were in the dark, and he probably couldn’t tell. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

They took turns looking through the telescopes. “The details on Saturn are amazing,” Isabella said.

“Check this out.” Chase took out his phone, opened an app, and handed it to her. It showed the stars, and when she moved the phone around, the stars on the app moved as well. When she left one star in the middle of the screen, it showed the name of it.

“That’s cool.”

He stood behind her and took her hand to show her how to find where the space station was located. Her back pressed up against his chest, and her heart began beating out a staccato rhythm. He smelled of citrus and the outdoors, and a clean smell she couldn’t put her finger on.

He moved her hand again. “It also shows the constellations.” Ursa Major came into view.

She grinned at him. “Nice.”

He hesitated for a moment, then brushed her hair over her shoulder. He leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear. “You going to the fall formal?”

She stiffened, suddenly aware of what she was doing. She couldn’t be flirting with Chase Hawkins. If Delilah would go to such lengths to embarrass her in front of him at the game, what would she do if she found out Chase had asked her to the fall formal? She pulled away from him, her hands sweaty again.

“No. I hate dances.”

“Oh.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky.

She felt bad for shooting him down, but what else could she do? There’d be no way she’d get away with going as herself. If she wore the wig, and contacts, she could probably make it work as Five. But he could never know who she really was. And her sisters couldn’t know, either.

The silence grew between them until it was deafening. She cleared her throat. “I think our show’s about to start.”

Chase pulled out his phone and checked the time. “You’re right. Let’s go down.”

Chapter 14

Chase tried to calm his racing heart. What was he thinking? Isabella wasn’t interested in him. Why did he think she’d go to the dance with him? And he wasn’t really interested in her, right? Five was the one he wanted to go out with. He’d just gotten caught up in the moment. Being close to Isabella affected him, and he’d overreacted.

She was pretty, that was true. Sure, her big, thick-rimmed glasses hid some of it. But he’d noticed how her brown eyes shone when she was excited. How her lips curled up into an easy smile. And he’d felt the chemistry when they touched.

But he had a bigger connection with Five. He could tell her anything. She understood him. And he really wanted to meet her in person. Guilt pressed down on him for letting his crush on Isabella go a little crazy. Normally when he liked a girl he shut out all the others.

He gave their tickets to the woman standing at the door and they entered the planetarium.

He pointed to the seats. “Where would you like to sit?”

“The middle.”

“Perfect.” They chose a row and found a pair of seats they liked. Other people filed in, and soon the seats were mostly full.

The lights dimmed and the show began. Chase rested his hand on his knee, hoping it didn’t look like he was thinking about holding Isabella’s hand. Even though he was. He just didn’t want to look like he was.

What was wrong with him?

Isabella leaned over to him. “This is cool,” she whispered. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

“You’re welcome.”

Warmth spread through his chest. He was glad Isabella was enjoying herself. Her sisters played a nasty prank on her, and it wasn’t funny. It was mean. They did it to embarrass her, and they hit their mark. He hoped Isabella was going to be okay after he took her home. If they were willing to do that to her in public, he couldn’t imagine what she’d endure in private.

The show ended and they exited the room. After they left the observatory, he drove her home.

“Please, stop here,” Isabella said a block away.

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