Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
ISABELLE
W hat is going on with Adam?
As I walk back to my room from the theater, I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s hot and cold, on one minute and off the next, and when we were standing near each other, I swear he was about to kiss me. And if he had, I would have…
Slapped him?
Pushed him away?
Turned my head away?
…Kissed him back?
I shudder. No. It doesn’t matter that he’s devastatingly handsome. He’s insulted me more than once.
But then again, he rescued me.
“Gah!” I exclaim to myself, stepping into my room.
“Is everything all right?” Brigette’s voice sounds from inside the room, making me jump.
I place a hand on my forehead. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t know you were here already.”
She fluffs the blanket on my unused bed. “I’m sorry I startled you. ”
“It’s fine. Adam just told me the Internet is back up, though.”
“Oh?” She turns to face me. “That’s good to hear.”
“My dad is probably panicking. It’ll be good to reach out to him.”
“Is there…anyone else who might be panicking?”
I furrow my brow. “I mean…my best friend Jen? And maybe my sisters? Although we don’t speak often.”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. “Or perhaps…a boyfriend?”
“Oh!” I laugh out loud. “No. I don’t have a boyfriend. No one wants to date a girl who bursts into show tunes at any time of day.”
Brigette waves me off. “I highly doubt that.”
“Trust me.” I head over to the bed and sit with a bounce on the freshly laid covers, then wince. “Sorry. You just made that.”
She plops next to me with a bounce of her own and a smile. “Tell me about dating.”
I pause, thinking about my answer. The only person I really talk about dating to is Jen. My sisters don’t care about my personal life, and I never had a mom around for relationship advice. But Brigette seems so sweet; it’s worth a shot. “Where do I even begin?” I raise my shoulders, then let them fall. “First of all, you have to understand how impossible it is to grow up with two stunning sisters who were pursuing modeling. By the time she was eleven, Joanna already had a contract with Eleve Modeling Agency. I was born a year later.”
Brigette raises her brows. “Did they pressure you to try modeling?”
“Oddly enough, no. My dad tried to protect me from any kind of show business. My mom had been the one to pursue modeling with my sisters, but she died when I was barely two years old. So my sisters continued with the contracts they already made, and my dad kept working but didn’t want me to have any part of it.”
“But doesn’t that mean you had a more normal life?” Brigette asks.
“You’d think so, right? But it’s impossible trying to date anyone when images of your sisters are plastered all over the girls’ binders and boys’ lockers at school. Everyone knew who my family was, even if I wasn’t part of it myself.”
Brigette nods thoughtfully. “But you must have drawn attention of your own. You’re beautiful, kind, intelligent–”
I snort and feel my face heat, just like it always does when I’m offered a compliment. “I…not…well, anyway. Besides being compared to my gorgeous sisters, I’m a weirdo.”
Now Brigette laughs. “How so? You’re so poised and charismatic.”
Again, another compliment that sets me off balance. “Trust me, I’m weird. You already know I can’t sleep without watching movies. But that’s become my life. When I’m driving, I’m listening to soundtracks. When I’m stuck in a hard situation, I embody a female main characters for strength. I’ve learned a little too late that being super into movies is not an attractive trait to guys.” I shrug. “But it’s fine. I don’t need a man. And all that studying of classic movies has set me up for a great acting career.” I pause, remembering I’m now stuck without any job prospects. “At least, I hope it does.”
Brigette studies me for a moment. “Adam hasn’t told you?—”
“Ms. Lovett?” Lionel says from the doorway.
I stand and meet him at the entrance with a smile. “Good morning.”
He smiles back. “Good morning. I’ve brought a few phone chargers for you to choose from. I wasn’t sure which you needed. ”
I smirk. “If only the phone companies didn’t keep making us switch chargers, right?” I take one from him. “Sadly, my phone is a dinosaur and I’m still using one of these. Thanks, Lionel.”
He bows slightly. “You’re welcome.” He turns and leaves.
Excited to contact reality outside of the castle, I retrieve my purse from the closet and pull out my phone. I find an outlet by the vanity and plug in my phone, waiting for it to turn on.
“I’ll let you have some privacy,” Brigette says. “We’ll see you in the kitchen for breakfast?”
I nod. “Thank you for talking with me.”
She smiles almost a motherly grin, then pats my shoulder. “Don’t count yourself out, Isabelle. You have a strength uncommon to most.”
My heart tugs at me, making me wonder if these are the types of chats I’ve missed out on over the years.
After a few minutes, my phone powers on. Sure enough, the notifications start pouring in. I don’t even bother reading them, knowing I just need to call my dad.
He picks up after the first ring. “Isabelle! Thank God! Are you all right? Where are you?”
“I’m fine, I promise. I’m still here at the castle. We got snowed in and lost all cell service and Internet.”
There’s silence on the other end.
“Dad?”
“You’re kidding, right? Snow?”
I laugh. “Nope. This place is crazy.”
He heaves a sigh. “I’ve been so worried about you. I even called the police.”
“What?!”
“It’s not like there’s a national search going on or anything. I just needed to do something .” He pauses, then continues in a hushed voice. “Are you safe? Is Adam… Do you need me to tell the police to come up there?”
“No, no, I’m fine. There’s like fifteen other people here.”
“You’re sure? I know Adam can get hot-tempered at times.”
“No, Dad. Adam has been…” I hesitate. What has Adam been? Rude, especially in the beginning. Angry when he caught me in the office.
But then he braved a heavy snowstorm to rescue me. He gave me the theater. And now we’ve developed a very tentative, cordial relationship.
A relationship sparked with attraction, at least on my end. But a cordial relationship, nonetheless.
“We’re good,” I finally say, unsure of how to describe the relationship I have with him.
“All right. I’m glad to hear that. So, are you coming home today?”
“Hang on.” I hop out of the seat, leaving my phone plugged in at the vanity, and pull back the curtain at the window.
Snow. Piled high all around my car.
I walk back to the vanity and pick up my phone. “No way. It’s not snowing anymore, but the snow hasn’t melted enough for me to drive Philippe back down the mountain. And Lionel said something about the snow blowers being broken, and no plows come all the way up here.”
“Hmm,” he muses. “Well, I have some good news, but we’ll have to work out some kinks now.”
“Good news? What is it?”
“I got an interview for you with Inside Scoop.”
I suck in a breath, holding back a squeal. Yes, my dad is… my dad , but he’s also my manager, and I want to impress him. It’s my first time getting my own interview for a celebrity news website, though, which is a HUGE deal. It means I’m finally getting some recognition on my own as an actress. “Really? ”
“Yes. And it’s supposed to be an online video conference tomorrow morning, but do you have Internet up there?”
“Adam said we did, but I’ll double check. Can I do it here?”
“Yes, that should work. I told them about the movie, and it would be great if you could share that Adam is doing it with you.” He pauses. “Have you talked to him about it? Did he agree to do it with you?”
“I…uh…” Well, crap. How do I tell my dad I’m the one who said I wouldn’t do the movie now? “We kind of mentioned it but…”
“Get on it, Isabelle,” my dad says sternly. He’s not being rude, he’s turning into a businessman. This is the struggle I see him constantly face, balancing the two sides of our relationship. And I understand. This is his job, and he wants to make sure that both of his clients are getting roles. “If you can make this happen, it’ll be great. For both of you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “Isn’t this a step down for Adam?”
Dad heaves a sigh. “He’s losing one sponsor after another. He doesn’t have any other opportunities coming up. If he doesn’t land a job soon, I worry that he’ll be out of the scene altogether.”
My eyebrows rise in surprise. “I didn’t know.”
“He really pulled a stunt on the red carpet last fall. I don’t even know why he punched Tristan.”
The words on the computer screen flash in front of my vision again.
Tristan Jackson
Lily Stone
Non-disclosure
Slander
Assault
I’m almost positive his attack on Tristan has something to do with Lily. Nothing sets Adam into protective mode like his little sister. But it’s clear that he doesn’t want any of it to be public, so I stay quiet.
Dad continues. “Well, talk to Adam and let me know if you can do the interview tomorrow morning. I’ll send all the details to you.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate you working hard for me.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, his voice softer. He’s back to Dad-mode now. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”
“I promise. I’ve made friends with some of the staff here. Brigette is the sweetest. Did you meet her when you were here?”
“I think so,” he says. “I stayed in some princess-flower room.”
I laugh. “I think that’s the same room I’m staying in. I love it.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re all right.” He pauses. “I love you, Isabelle. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Love you, too.”
We hang up, and I feel like I just got out of a huge hug. I didn’t realize how much I missed my dad.
I sit at the vanity and check my messages. My hunch was correct. I did get fired from the Cheesecake Factory. I can shrug that one off, though. Then I text Jen and let her know I’m safe. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a little ripple in my curtain.
“Brigette?” I ask.
Nothing. My heart beats a little faster. Who is in this room with me?
“Lionel? Adam?” I can hear my voice shake.
Then I hear a little giggle, and I see tiny toes peeking out from the bottom of the curtain. A smile spreads across my face.
“Hulk?” I ask .
Theo rips the curtain aside, his cheeky face grinning widely at me. “You found me!”
“Is this your secret hiding spot?”
He nods proudly.
I fix him with a serious look. “Were you listening to my phone conversation?”
He looks a little sheepish. “I did. Was that your daddy?”
I nod.
His eyes drop to the floor. “I miss my daddy.”
My heart tightens for him. I haven’t really thought much about how he’s not even four years old, stuck here in this castle with his grandma and no other kids. “I bet you can call him, too. Have you asked your grandma?”
His face brightens, and he smiles again. “Not yet!”
“Let’s go find her.” I hold my hand out to him. “And after you call your dad, maybe we can build a Snow Hulk.”
Theo bounces up and down excitedly. I kneel in front of him. “Now, I’m okay with you playing in here, but I don’t want you hiding when I change my clothes.”
His eyes widen again and he shakes his head. “Oh, no. You need pri-macy.”
I snort a laugh. “That’s true.”
“So does Adam. I don’t go anywhere that he goes.”
“Smart move.” Maybe I should’ve learned from this little kid and stayed out of the office, too.
The office.
I feel like it’s still hanging between us. Is that why his moods shift so suddenly with me? Because I never actually apologized?
My dad says I can be stubborn and self-willed. He’s not wrong. Apologies don’t come easily for me. But I don’t think they come easily to Adam either, and he was able to say he was sorry for yelling at me. Which, may I add, he did need to do. That reaction was way over the top. But he’s already proven his apology was sincere by treating me with kindness…or at least common decency. He’s come a long way from the silent treatment and hostility he showed me the first few nights.
As I walk Theo to find Brigette, my stomach feels sick. I realize I’ve held out for too long, and I need to clear the air. After I pass Theo off, it’s time to find Adam.