Page 31 of Wildest Dream

"Ryan's right here, and I've already told him and Mom about Ari Wright calling you," Claire said.

Ryan had been stooping down behind the kitchen island, and he came up and waved at Isaac.

"She's not Ari Wright," Isaac said. "Her last name's Moreno, and nothing is happening like it did in the book. She had a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend?" Claire said with wide eyes.

"A boyfriend?" his mom, Emily, added.

"I guess she broke up with him though. I think that's what she just told me. We talked last night and she told me about him. She was honest about it."

"Wait, she broke up with someone for you?" Emily said, looking a little wary.

"He wanted her to," Ryan said, nudging their mom.

"Did you?" Claire asked Isaac, staring at him.

"I was happy when she told me she did it," Isaac answered.

He crossed to the kitchen to get a glass from the cabinet.

"Wait, when did this all happen?" his mom asked.

"I told you I talked to the girl from the book," Claire said to her mom.

"I know, but I'd still like details, please. And we probably need to call Jill and tell her. What happened, Isaac?"

"She read the book and then emailed me, and we ended up talking on the phone for a long time last night." He paused and shrugged staring into space. "She told me she had a boyfriend at the end of our conversation and we agreed that we probably wouldn't talk until that situation was taken care of." He shrugged again. "Then she called just now."

"And she said she broke up with him?" Claire asked, pushing at her brother excitedly.

Isaac nodded, smiling and thinking of everything. He saw flashes of the whole chain of events. "Yes, she did."

Chapter 11

Ari Moreno

Isaac called me at midnight that night. I was excited about hearing from him and I had my phone next to me. I picked it up before the second ring.

"Hello."

"It's me."

"I know," I said, smiling. "What are you doing? Is the game over? It's early for you."

"No, I'm actually still over here at this guy's house. I was in there watching the game with everybody, and I just kept wanting to call you back, so I came in a different room where it's quieter."

"What's the guy's name?"

"Jude."

"It's his parents' house, but they're never here. I think they're in France. I'm in the entryway, and it's like a movie. There's a huge, curved staircase. It looks like the Queen of England lives here."

"That's awesome. I started to make up somewhere cool to tell you, but the truth is that I'm on my bed with a book. The TV is on, but it's in the background. I've got it muted."

"Blackberry."

"What?"

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