Authentically izzy, p.22
Authentically, Izzy, page 22
It was strange how connected to him she felt. All those emails and video calls, all those conversations blended together to create this inexplicable bond of friendship. Her gaze dropped to his lips again and heat rose into her cheeks. Well, a little more than friends.
Was this sweet, tender, and unexpected calm a hint to the truth she belonged with him?
The sweater-vests were absent in June, but she wasn’t complaining. He walked toward her wearing a green polo, jeans, and a heart-stopping smile. Yep, that was worth any and every midflight terror or embarrassment from Mt. Airy to here.
They approached each other, pulled forward like magnets to metal, and without pausing, he slipped one palm to her waist, the other to her cheek, and touched his lips to hers. Since he only stood about an inch or two taller than her, it didn’t take much shifting on her part, but the entire greeting took her by surprise. No “hello.” No “I’m so glad to see you.” Just a sweet, warm, delightful welcome of the nonverbal variety, which said all those things without using words. She admired his efficiency and slipped her hand to his shirt lapel to help him be efficient a little longer. Though she’d purchased about a dozen cedar-scented candles since Brodie left, none of them replicated the real thing. She breathed him in, his scent and his lips a perfectly delightful combination.
Her foot took a tilt up. Yep, just as good as the last time. Fairy tales, here we come!
“You look surprisingly rested for such a long trip.” He searched her face, carefully slipping her backpack from her shoulder, as if he hadn’t just kissed her into orbit in the middle of an airport.
Perhaps men of Skymar handled intoxicating kisses better than American women because it took a few seconds for her brain to absorb and then comprehend his statement. “Distance and makeup work miracles in a woman’s appearance, I think.”
His grin split wide and she stood in one of those dazed expressions like love-struck characters in animated movies when the hearts start ballooning from their heads. Yep, the flight and all the mafia paranoia were totally worth it.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” she whispered, falling in step beside him as they navigated the crowds toward the baggage area. “Oh, I brought you something!”
He paused and she reached into the front pocket of her bag, her teeth skimming over her bottom lip as she tried to tame her smile. Calm down, Izzy. She tugged the wrapped gift from its place and handed it to Brodie, nearly shaking from excitement.
His brows rose as he looked from her to the odd-shaped gift. She’d attempted to wrap the T-shirt around the book to disguise the contents, because, well, a book for a booklover was incredibly predictable. Though she never grew tired of them.
The book slipped from the T-shirt first and the glow in his eyes rewarded her careful perusal of every online Tolkien fan shop on the planet. “An illustrated hardback of The Hobbit?” He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“You were Brodie the Hobbit when we first met.”
“Indeed.” He examined the book and then looked back over at her. “I have the perfect spot for it on my shelf.”
What self-respecting reader wouldn’t?
He shook out the green T-shirt to view the front and his laugh reverberated against the sterile airport walls with such surprise, it ignited her own. The shirt had a silhouette of Yoda and in the center of the silhouette were the words “Yoda Best.”
“I know it’s corny, but it somehow seemed to fit.”
“‘Corny’?”
“Oh!” Language barrier. “It means quirky or silly.”
“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. Brus means 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.
“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 the window 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 to The 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 on which 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 letter R on 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. “R stands for royals?”
“Yes, for the most part. It’s from the Gaelic word for royal, which also starts with an r.” 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 from Alice in Wonderland, Wilde’s The Selfish Giant, even a pumpkin carriage from Cinderella.”
“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 everything about 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.”
Chapter 18
From: Luke Edgewood
To: Izzy Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood, Josephine Martin
Date: June 22
Subject: Re: Survived with everything but my pride
Izzy,
I thought you would have gotten used to snoring dogs after living in our house for so many years. You did share a room with Josephine for a while.
Luke
PS: Would you confirm whether you’ve been kidnapped or not? I have dibs on Samwise.
From: Josephine Martin
To: Izzy Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood, Luke Edgewood
Date: June 22
Subject: Re: Survived with everything but my pride
Luke,
I would remind you that I had a deviated septum in my younger years. It has since been corrected so I can assure you I do not sound anything remotely like your snoring dog.
And, Izzy, did you sign up for that phone-tracing site I sent to you? If you are kidnapped, we can find you and bring you back to Eli. I feel certain he would overlook your sudden wanderlust for a man who comes from an island that no one has ever heard of before. Of course you’re nervous—just as I expected. The jacket I gave to you to pack? The rain jacket? Just remember, it can also be a floatation device.
Josephine
From: Luke Edgewood
To: Izzy Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood, Josephine Martin
Date: June 22
Subject: Re: Survived with everything but my pride
Josephine,
If she’s kidnapped, I doubt she’ll even see our emails, but good try on the floatation device.
Luke
From: Penelope Edgewood
To: Izzy Edgewood, Luke Edgewood, Josephine Martin
Date: June 22
Subject: Re: Survived with everything but my pride
Izzy!!!!
Why would you even bring up the pipe at Grandpa Edgewood’s house?! Do you realize I had to sleep with a nightlight for three years after that incident and couldn’t get in the bathtub without anxiety? The only reason I tried to fit into it is because Luke told me the pipe was the way to Wonderland. I’ve never listened to him about pipes since.
I can’t wait to see your photos of Skymar and Brodie and cliffs. My internship professor said she should be able to give me an answer about transferring from Scotland to Skymar by next week! Just imagine if you end up marrying Brodie and I end up interning there! You’ll have someone to help you pick out trendier clothes. I have a red cloche that would look fantastic with your dark hair. Think of all the cute boots we could wear in a place that stays mostly winter!
Can’t wait to hear from you soon. With Josephine’s plans in place, I imagine you’d probably have phone service if you were drifting in the middle of the ocean, so you could still send photos.:-)
Penelope
From: Izzy Edgewood
To: Luke Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood, Josephine Martin
Date: June 23
Subject: Re: Survived with everything but my pride
Cousins,
Clearly my imagination proved overactive, as usual. Instead of being hoisted onto a pirate ship, Brodie has swept me into a place that feels very much like another world. I pinched myself so many times I have bruises on my arm. I’ve attached photos, but they really don’t do this place justice. I would have emailed you all last night, but by the time I made it to my room after the flight and meeting the family and talking with Brodie, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. All I remember is sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping my shoes off, and then . . . I woke up nine hours later to the sound of something scratching at my bedroom door. I’ll describe that later. But first I must tell you about Brodie’s family.
