Page 92 of Authentically, Izzy
“Then yes, it’s corny.” His grin stretched. “And brilliant. Thank you.”
“It got Luke’s approval.”
“Of course it did.” He graced her face with another tender look and they resumed their walk. “But I must admit, your presence is my favorite gift. I’m beyond excited to introduce you to Skymar, and we’ll have a nice long drive to begin the introduction.”
She released a long sigh, as if she’d been holding her breath all the way across the Atlantic. “I can’t wait.”
***
Within a half hour of their drive, Isabelle had fallen asleep. Of course Brodie imagined she’d wake up horrified at her unintentional blunder, but he rather liked the idea of her feeling comfortable enough to nod off in front of him. In fact, having her in his world inspired all sorts of future thoughts to make this relationship work.
Could he convince her to leave her life and family for his?
It all seemed rather impossible but as Lewis Carroll so famously wrote, “I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” And he believed in this—whatever magic needed to take place to make it all a reality.
He had the entire two weeks planned to showcase every advantage Skymar could offer, and coming during the King and Queen Festival offered her the very best display of the islands in one place . . . with a few added benefits thrown in. He could already tell his mother had designs on Isabelle too.
Isabelle made the sweetest murmuring sound to his left, her head tilted toward him, her hair in wisps around her face. His chest expanded with a deep breath and a bigger hope. After two weeks getting to know her in person and months of online conversations, he couldn’t imagine finding anyone else who fit into his book-loving nerd-world as well as her.
Enough—he drew in a breath—even enough for him to give up his world?
“Please,” she whispered, her brow wrinkling, voice growing a little louder. “Open the door.”
Brodie glanced her way before returning his attention to the road. Curious little dream there—of course jetlag can show itself in peculiar ways, he supposed.
“Open the door!” She sat up, eyes blinking wide, and then she looked around her, apparently orienting herself. Her gaze met his and she pressed a palm to her forehead with a groan back against the seat. “Good grief. Of all the times, why couldn’t I have slowly opened my eyes like a sleeping princess instead of like some terrified cat?”
He burst out laughing. “What were you dreaming of?”
She grimaced up at him, her face half covered with her hand. “A snoring dragon that was blocking my way to the bathro—” She winced. “Never mind.”
His chuckle reemerged. “I’ve not heard of those side effects from flying before.”
“If you didn’t learn from your visit to Mt. Airy, having typical expectations may not sufficiently prepare you for a relationship with me.”
“Don’t question my preparation, Karre, you haven’t met my family yet.”
“I like it when you call me Karre.”
“I like calling you Karre.”
Awkward silence following a subtle declaration of the heart rarely boded well for the giver. He sneaked a glance. She stared at him with a gentle smile curving her lips.
So maybe awkward wasn’t so bad. “It sounds so much better than something like ducky.”
“Ducky?”
“Yeah, I think I read it somewhere about an English grandma calling her grandkids that.” She grinned, her cheeks brimming with color and his heart took a little faster rhythm. She seemed to catch the direction of his admiration because her face brightened even more and she turned toward the window. Then gasped.
His smile inched wide. “This is Inswythe Brus.”
The ancient bridge extended from the island of Fiacla to Ansling, giving a rather breathtaking view of the harbor city of New Inswythe as they crossed the North Sea.
“Right.Brusmeans bridge.”
“Yes, and this is by far the largest of our bridges and one of the oldest, and the main connector of the island of Fiacla to the largest island, Ansling.”
“And that’s New Inswythe, right?” She turned those shining eyes on him and nearly had him steering into the next lane.
