Chapter 8
Isabella’s heart stuttered when Chase walked into Mr. Morgan’s class. He slid into his seat and turned toward her. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Did that embarrassing squeak have to enter her voice?
Chase didn’t seem to notice. “You wanna come over after work tonight? We can put the engine together.”
Her mouth grew dry, and she swallowed. Why did he have to be so handsome? She stared at his Adam’s apple. “Sure.”
He grinned, his dimple showing. “Great.”
He turned back around, and Mr. Morgan started the class. Isabella tried to concentrate, but she couldn’t stop staring at the back of Chase’s head. Her stomach fluttered.
The class dragged on even though Mr. Morgan was her favorite teacher. She just wasn’t interested in physics today. Chemistry was on her brain. The bell rang, and she stood.
Chase turned around. “You want a ride home?”
Wouldn’t that be good? Delilah watching her getting in Chase’s car. She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Do you get a ride with your sisters?” He still looked like he didn’t quite believe that she was related to Delilah and Ava.
“No. I walk.”
Other students maneuvered around them. He huffed. “Why doesn’t Delilah give you a ride? She always has Ava with her. You shouldn’t have to walk.”
Isabella bit her lip, unable to think of a great way to put her situation into words. Finally, she said, “We don’t exactly get along.”
He frowned. “Then I’ll give you a ride. Come on.” He picked up her backpack and slung it over his shoulder with his own, then started to leave.
She had no choice other than to follow him down the hallway. Her legs felt wobbly as she walked.
Was she really going to get in Chase’s car, here at school, where everyone could see her?
He held the door open for her, and they walked to the parking lot. Isabella prayed her stepsisters wouldn’t be around.
Chase opened the car door for her, too, and she slid into the seat. She peeked back at the school, fearing Delilah would come out at any second.
Chase climbed in and started the engine. “What are you looking at?”
There was no sign of her stepsisters. “Nothing,” she said, feeling a little better.
He put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. “Where do you work?”
“The Vibrant Hue. It’s an art gallery over by the ice cream shop.”
“I know where that is.” He made a turn and merged into traffic. “Want me to pick you up from work? You can text me when you’re done.”
She about swallowed her tongue. “No,” she choked. “I’m fine.”
“Well, then text me when you’re on the way. I’ll give you my number.”
Shoot. How was she going to get out of that one? She said the first excuse that popped into her head. “I don’t have a cell phone.”
He looked at her sideways. “Really? Everyone has a cell phone.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I don’t.” The lie stuck in her throat. Guilt bubbled up from her stomach. She hated to lie, but she had no choice.
“Okay, then just call me from work.” He pulled out his cell and tossed it at her. “Grab my number.” He told her the code to get into his phone, which she already knew.
She pretended to open his phone and write down his number. “Okay. Got it,” she said, handing him back his phone.
He pulled up in front of the gallery, and she climbed out. “Thanks,” she called to him as she made her way up the sidewalk.
He waved and then drove away. Isabella opened the door, the bell sounding her arrival. Elenore grabbed her shoulder. “Who was that boy?” she hissed.
Isabella’s heart dropped to her toes. What was Elenore doing at the gallery? She wasn’t usually there in the afternoons.
Isabella swallowed. She was in so much trouble. “Chase,” she said, quietly.
Elenore’s face grew red. “Chase Hawkins? The movie star?” Her voice cracked.
“Yes,” she said. “He’s my science project partner.”
Elenore’s eyes grew wide. “You know Delilah likes him. How could you do that to your own sister?”
Sure, they are barely family when Isabella wanted something, but if Delilah liked a boy, Isabella was suddenly killing her sister.
“I’m not doing anything. Mr. Morgan paired us up. It’s just for a school project.”
“Mr. Morgan didn’t tell you to get into his car!” She pointed to the window.
“I’m sorry,” Isabella said, quietly. “It won’t happen again.”
Leilani walked into the entryway, a puzzled look on her face. “Everything okay?”
Elenore smoothed out the snarl on her face and let go of Isabella’s shoulder. “Yes. We’re fine.”
She gave Isabella one last glare, turned her back, and left the room. Leilani shot her a wide-eyed look. “You okay?” she mouthed.
Isabella nodded. A car engine revved. Elenore’s silver Porsche peeled out of the parking lot. Relief washed over her. She got off easy that time. Unless Elenore was saving it for later. She didn’t like that thought, so she pushed it out of her head.
As the computer warmed up, she pulled out her mother’s photo. “Hey, Mom,” she said. “Chase talked to me again today.” She ran her finger down the side of her mother’s face. “I wish you were here. You could tell me what to do.” After a moment, she put the picture in her jacket pocket and got down to business.
She finished her work quickly, with no paintings to move around and nothing to change on the website. The sales floor was quiet. She even had time to quickly mop the floor before giving Chase a call to let him know she would be on time.
When she got home, she cooked a frozen dinner in the microwave and took it up to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She ate it quickly. Her stomach fluttered as she climbed down the side of her house. She couldn’t wait to spend more time with Chase. But she knew she needed to get a grip on her feelings because it could never work between them. This afternoon was proof. Next time, she’d get the full wrath of Elenore.
Chase seemed happy when he opened his door. His dimple was showing. “Come on in. I got excited and started getting it ready.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.”
He took her hand and pulled her into his room. “I didn’t put anything together yet. I just laid it all out and coiled the wire like in the online instructions.”
His mother walked by and stopped at his doorway. “Chase. You know what we talked about.”
His ears turned red. “Yeah, Mom.”
“Okay. Just wanted to make sure.”
His mother left, and Isabella turned to Chase, the redness now spreading to his face.
“What was that about?”
“Mom freaked out over the whole horsing around thing last night. She made me promise no girls on the bed, and to keep the door open at all times.” He rolled his eyes. “She thought we were making out.”
Isabella suddenly had a coughing attack.
He pointed to the second chair. “She also pulled in another desk chair.”
She stopped coughing and cleared her throat. Heat crept up her neck. She hadn’t meant to fall on top of him yesterday, it had just happened. Chase was right. They were only horsing around. She took a seat on one of the chairs, too embarrassed to say anything.
“So . . .” he said, changing the subject. “The first step is to secure the battery to the board.” He sat down next to her, and they used some metal fittings to hold the battery in place, then used screws to attach it to the board.
His fingers brushed against hers when they both went to pick up the wire. Tingles shot through her, and breathing became difficult.
This crush was getting stupid.
“I don’t think these metal fittings are going to be tight enough to hold the wire onto the ends of the battery. We need to secure it with something else. Any ideas?”
Chase looked at her with his blue eyes, and she got lost in the depths of them. Her heart beat loudly in her ears.
“Um . . .” she said, her voice breathy. Why was she having trouble answering him? She knew the answer. If only it would connect with her brain. “Electrical tape?”
“Brilliant. As always.” He put his hand on her back, and goose bumps rose on her skin.
She looked at him. “Thanks.”
After they assembled everything, Chase pointed to her. “Do you want to do the honors?”
“Sure.” She gave the coiled wire a spin. It kept spinning without any sign of slowing down. Isabella grinned. “I think we did it. Now the hard part: writing the paper. We can get started on that tomorrow evening.”
“That won’t work. I have an audition tomorrow after school.”
A surge of disappointment rose in her chest. She swallowed it down. “That’s fine. We can work on it Friday.”
He gave her a strange look. “That’s the game. You’d rather write a paper than go to the game?”
“Oh, I forgot. Football.” She smiled. “We can work on it Monday, then.”
He laughed. “Not a sports fan, I take it?”
That was the simple answer. “Not really.”
“How about we get together Saturday night?”
“I thought maybe you’d have a hot date or something.” The words were out before she could think about them.
“I wish.” He hesitated a moment, like he wanted to say more, but didn’t.
“Girl problems?” Why did she say that? She really didn’t want to know about his girl problems. If she could have snatched those words back into her mouth, she would gladly have done so.
“There is someone I want to date. But she keeps turning me down.”
“Who would turn you down?” Isabella asked before realizing he might be talking about Five.
He got a strange look on his face, then shrugged. “I actually don’t know who she is.”
Oh, no. Please don’t blush again. She could feel the heat gathering in her cheeks. She forced herself to look confused.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been texting a girl, but she won’t tell me who she is.” He gave her a sheepish smile, raking his hand through his hair. “I’ve kinda got a crush on her. That’s stupid, right?”
Isabella laughed, trying not to sound nervous.
He had a crush on her? Well, on Five. Still, her heart beat faster.
“It’s not stupid.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “Not stupid.”
What was she doing? Giving him hope that he could go out with Five?
She could never let him know who she was, especially now, after acting like she didn’t know what he was talking about.
He grinned at her. “Good. Because part of me feels silly. I mean, we chat all the time, so I’ve kind of gotten to know her. But there are things she won’t tell me, and it’s killing me.”
She dropped her gaze to her lap. “I’m sure there’s a good reason she won’t tell you.”
“You think so? Because I’m not sure what to think about her. She’s an artist . . . and . . . wait.” His eyes brightened. “You work at an art gallery. Maybe you know her.” He jumped up from his chair and grabbed his cell phone. “Look at what she painted.”
Isabella squirmed in her chair as he held his phone to her face. Her poppy painting filled the screen.
Talk about awkward.
“Nice,” she said as noncommittally as she could.
“She’s amazing. Do you know anyone who goes to our school who paints like that?”
She shook her head, wondering how much she could lie before getting thrust down to hell. “No.”
His shoulders fell and he pulled his phone back. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
“If you like this girl, you should trust her.”
Where had that come from? She knew she probably shouldn’t give him advice about how to deal with the girl he was texting when she was that girl.
He sighed and sat back in his chair. “You’re right. Of course you are. I just need to give her time. She’ll eventually feel comfortable enough with me to tell me who she is.”
“Sure.” Isabella desperately wanted to change the subject. “So, Saturday . . . do you want to get together, or wait until next week?”
Chase shrugged and lifted one eyebrow. “I’m cool with getting together on Saturday.”
Wow, he sure was cute when he did that. “Okay. Saturday night. Seven?”
Chase grinned at her. “It’s a date.”
His words sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine, and she had to remind herself that it was not a date. Just getting together to do homework. She picked up her backpack and got ready to leave.
“Will you let me drive you home? It’s dark again.”
“All right, but can you please let me out a few houses down?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Okay. Why?”
She hated to say anything, but she didn’t want to take any more chances. “Delilah has a huge crush on you. If she sees me with you, she’s going to flip. It won’t be good. I’d rather just avoid the conflict, if you know what I mean. She really likes you.”
He nodded as if he totally understood. “Yeah, she’s made that pretty clear.” He rolled his eyes.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You poor thing.”
“I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but she’s not my type.” He stood up and grabbed his car keys. “At all.”
She laughed again. “You’ll have to let her down easy. She’s planned out your marriage, where you’ll live, and how many kids you’ll have.”
His face drained of color. “Oh boy.”