Page 93 of Authentically, Izzy
“You’ve been studying your Skymar geography, have you?”
“I like maps.” She shrugged a shoulder and wiggled her brows. “They’re in books.”
And snuggling up with her and a book sounded like a perfect idea. Forever. Heat climbed from his increased pulse to settle in his face. Yes. An excellent idea.
“But it looks more amazing in person.” She pressed close to thewindow as the mainland of Ansling came into view to reveal the modern buildings and steel skyline of New Inswythe. The only hint of history from this distance came in the form of the Kirk ruins of Abbotskeld on a cliff above the cityscape in the distance.
“What’s that place?”
Ah, of course Isabelle would notice it too. He had a certainty she’d enjoy the historical aspects of Ansling much more than the modern. Which suited him, since he lived near two of the oldest towns on the island.
“The church ruins from one of the first known settlements on the island of Ansling. Runaways, from all one can tell. Escaping religious persecution. They created that sight as a marker of their faith but also as a watchtower, since it leads into Port Alastair.”
“One of the only places ships can come into port on the island,” she stated as if from a book.
“Exactly, professor.” He chuckled and she rewarded him with another beautiful grin. “On Ansling there are Port Quinnick—my personal favorite and a place we’ll travel for some exploring—Port Kae in the northern section, and Port Ard Leathe—the main accessible points of the island, if one doesn’t wish to climb a cliff.”
“Unless one has a giant named Fezzik.” One dark brow edged upward with her lips. “From my understanding he’s pretty good at cliff scaling.”
And with a simple reference toThe Princess Bride, he fell a little deeper in love with her. Anders would likely ladle suspicion on her. Fiona would beg for Isabelle to read to her, and Mother would have designs to kidnap her for a shopping trip or two. But not if Brodie stole her first, because at the moment, he hoped at his core that Isabelle Edgewood fell in love with him and Skymar enough to change the course of her future several thousand miles in a northeasterly direction.
***
The landscape swelled before her like a strange mixture of the lushness of the Shire and the intimidating vastness of the Misty Mountains. Green hills interspersed with rocky ledges, all giving way to a view of endless sea on one side and quaint, idyllic villages on the other with a ragged row of barren-capped mountains looming in the distance. An occasional castle or ruin added to the wonder of Ansling. Izzy wasn’t quite sure where to look next or how she’d remember it all, and taking a copious amount of photos from a moving car meant she’d have to delete more pictures than she’d keep, but... well... she wanted to remember it all. Share it all.
“There’s a faster way to my mother’s house, but”—he grinned at her from his periphery, inciting the tiniest flick of a dimple—“this way is more scenic and I wanted to impress you.”
“You’ve succeeded. I don’t think I’ve pressed my face all the way up against the window yet, but I’ve gotten pretty close.” She inwardly cringed at the thought of leaving nose prints on his window. Good heavens she was the weirdest creature. Maybe the fact that he lived on such a small island meant his experiences with normal women were few, so perhaps she was unique enough to keep his attention, at least. Otherwise she couldn't quite figure out what he saw in her.
“Usually the drive from the airport to Skern is closer to two hours, but since you took a kip, I thought you could handle the four-hour scenic route, especially when we stop for dinner in Limmick. They have the best fish and chips on the entire island.”
Her smile broke free for the millionth time. The view pulled her attention back to the fog-cloaked sea. “My world must have looked so bland to you.”
“On the contrary, those mountains falling one over the other in a blue haze were magnificent, and the fact that you have roads onwhich you can drive to witness the views?” He shook his head. “In the northern edge of Ansling, some of the mountains are too high or dangerous for roads and many of the others are so remote, no one has taken the risk of creating a tourist opportunity.”
A stone wall appeared to their right, blocking the view of the countryside, and in only a few minutes, two massive iron gates came into view, a golden seal embossed with the letterRon the front of them.
“One of the royal palaces—the main one, in fact.”
Izzy flipped her attention from Brodie back to the passing gate as she attempted to peer down the long drive beyond the iron bars. “Rstands for royals?”
“Yes, for the most part. It’s from the Gaelic word for royal, which also starts with anr.” He kept his gaze forward on the winding, narrow road ahead, but his grin resurfaced, as it had been doing the entire drive. Well, during the part when she wasn’t unconscious and probably drooling while she talked in her sleep. Heat rushed into her face.
“We’ll have the opportunity to tour Carlstern Castle”—he gestured behind them with his head—“near the end of the week in celebration of the King and Queen Festival. Once a year, during the festival, the royals open up their home for visitors.” His brows gave a playful shake. “And you’ll be here for a special offering this year. The book garden is being opened for tours for the first time in Skymar history.”
“A book garden?”
“From what I understand the shrubs are shaped in such a way they resemble book characters. The rabbit fromAlice in Wonderland, Wilde’sThe Selfish Giant, even a pumpkin carriage fromCinderella.”
“I can’t even imagine! What a wonderful idea!” A bubble, like drinking fizzy water, percolated from her middle up through her chest until it exploded in a giggle. “Brodie, this is amazing and I’ve only been here a few hours.”
“Well, the simple plan is to get you to fall in love with everythingabout it so you’ll have the overwhelming desire to return as often as possible. Just wait until you eat some of Mum’s favorite dessert. It has the same addictive magic that the White Witch’s delicious Turkish delight had on poor Edmund.
“Tricky, tricky.” Izzy relaxed back in her seat. “Draw me in with a Brodie hors d’oeuvre, and snag me with fictional references and your mom’s sweets?? Low blow, Mr.Sutherland.”
“Whatever it takes, Ms.Edgewood.” His gaze flashed to hers, tagging on a wink. “Whatever it takes.”
Chapter18
