Page 38 of Love Unexpected
Oh. Well then. I was perfect in that Iwasn’ta psychopath. Glad Alex had set the bar so high.
Apparently, Alex’s reaction wasn’t what Jade had been expecting either. “Alex. Isaac just told ten million people he’s driving to Kansas to meet someone. If Rosie tells him who she is? There’s no point in him making the trip.”
“And the internet is so in love with the idea of Isaac’s road trip, our social feeds have been more active in the past twelve hours than they have been in months,” Greta added. She shot me an apologetic look. “Not that that’s the most important thing.”
Alex’s face fell. “Right. You’re right. I’ve been watching the numbers myself.” He looked up at me and ran a hand across his face. “So you just need to go to Kansas to be there when he shows up.”
“Or,” Jade said, casting me a sideways look before I could repeat my earlier protest. “She can catch a ridetoKansas. With Isaac.”
I scoffed and held my hands up. “Absolutely not,” I said, a pulse of panic building inside me. “That’s completely crazy.”
“Hear me out,” Jade said, lifting her palms in a placating gesture. “You need to spend more time together, right? What better way to see if you can handle life in the fast lane with someone like Isaac than actuallygettingin the fast lane? I know it can be overwhelming thinking about the cameras, the attention.” She shrugged. “But he’s worth it, Rosie. He is to the rest of us.”
“So, Rosie co-pilots the road trip,” Alex said, his voice suddenly business-like and practical.
Jade nodded. “Then when you finally arrive in Kansas City,” she said, her eyes on me, “you go in first, telling Isaac you’re going to scout out the situation, but then when Isaac comes in, it’ll just be you.”
This was a terrible idea. A horrible idea. A terrible, horrible...maybe not impossible idea.
“So I would be in the car with him. In the video segments, the live streams...”
“It wouldn’t be the entire time,” Greta said. “Think about the videos and things Isaac posts. They’re what, five, ten minutes long? That’s not very much time when you compare it to twelve hours of driving.”
“It’s sixteen hours,” Alex said, ever practical. “And you’d probably be doing more like two or three hours of total filming every day. There is always way more content than what actually makes it into the videos. You’re right about the live streams though. Those are always pretty short.”
“Two or three hours of filming?” I dropped onto the couch in the corner of Isaac’s office and was momentarily distracted by how comfortable it was.
“Two hours of editable filming,” Greta said. “So all the stupid things you say or do can be edited out.”
I huffed a laugh. “Oh, well that’s comforting. Will I be able to edit the stupid things I say or do out of Isaac’s brain?” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead into my hands, my thumbs massaging my temples. “What if he’s disappointed?” I said, almost too softly for anyone to hear. “Or what if I spend a week in the car with him, I hate being on camera, and I’m disappointed?”
“He won’t be disappointed,” Alex said matter-of-factly. “You’re beautiful, smart, funny. And you’ve already formed a connection that I know means a lot to him.”
The kindness of Alex’s compliment almost brought tears to my eyes. His words were brotherly and sincere and acted as a cool balm to my frazzled nerves.
“I’m biased, obviously,” he continued, “but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either. Isaac is a lot. I get that. He’s impetuous and impulsive and he doesn’t always spend enough time thinking about the unintended consequences of his actions. But he’s also genuine and kind and would do anything to make other people happy, particularly the people he’s closest to.”
Greta dropped onto the couch beside me and took my hand, squeezing it with hers. “It’s a risk,” she said softly. “But if it works? What a way to start a love story.”
“And talk about good television,” Jade said. “His viewers are going to love this.”
I took a deep breath, in through my nose then out through my mouth. This was crazy. Too crazy. “What if I can’t do it?”
“Then you don’t have to,” Alex said quickly, the certainty in his voice reassuring. “You have a choice, Rosie, and we’ll support you whatever you decide. But either way, you’ll still have to tell Isaac the truth.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck. “And while I realize this is a personal decision, the sooner you could decide what you’re doing, the better. There are already wheels in motion setting up sponsors and planning the details of the trip. If all that is going to have to stop, I’d rather do it sooner than later.”
Maybe Jade was right. Maybe the road trip could actually function as a trial run. A no-stress way to see what life with Isaac would actually be like. After all, he would believe he was on his way to meet Ana, which would definitely take some of the pressure off me. “You guys won’t tell him, right? That it’s me?”
Alex shook his head. “Isaac is an open book, and believe it or not, a terrible actor. He won’t be able to lie if he knows the truth. If the road trip is going to happen, theentire thingneeds to happen, which means Isaac stays in the dark until the end.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why would the whole thing have to happen? Because of the sponsors?”
Alex nodded. “This won’t be a regular road trip, Rosie. I get that this is personal for you, but it is also Isaac’s business. There will be stops you’ll have to make. Restaurants you’ll visit. A specific hotel where you’ll stay. We’ve even had a company reach out about the road trip snacks you’ll buy along the way. All that will be planned ahead of time and there will be agreements in place regarding the time you spend and the things the viewers see.”
I hadn’t ever considered that aspect ofRandom I.Of course there were sponsors and advertisers involved. Isaac just always made everything seem so seamless, so organic.
“So if I told him early, or someone else told him, it could potentially ruin the trip.”
Alex shrugged. “I’m not going to stand here and tell you the business is more important than your personal life. Deals fall through all the time and Isaac has deep enough pockets to handle the fallout. But on the surface, yes. That’s a fair assessment.”
