furnished and so there wasn’t much to move, so I figured I’d buy new stuff.” He pressed the heel of his hand into his eye. I recognized the gesture from when we were kids. He was nervous. “I’m not much of a designer, but the lady at the furniture store said she thought this would work for a girl. Oh, and sorry about Steven,” he added at the end. “I hope he didn’t pester you too much.”
“Wait, you told Steven to go running with me? He tried to ask me out!”
Isaac’s face fell. “He did? I told him to keep you out of the house for a while, not to hit on you! You didn’t say yes, did you? Please tell me you didn’t say yes.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t. But why would it matter if I did? Am I not good enough for your co-star?”
Isaac balked. “What? No! Dani, he’s not good enough for you.”
“He has a master’s degree in British literature,” I said, my voice all smug-like.
“Yeah, and he uses that master’s degree to bait all kinds of women he brings back to the house in excessive numbers. He’s nice on the surface, and he’s great on camera, but the dude’s a total player.”
Oh. Well then.
It kinda made me happy to hear Isaac being all big-brother-like and protective.
We stood there a moment longer until I reached up and gave him another hug. “Thank you for the bedroom,” I said. “It’s perfect.”
He took my hand and led me to the bed where he sat, his hands propped up on his knees. He took a deep breath. “I can tell you’ve been sad, Dani.”
I sat beside him, wondering where this was going. This version of Isaac was foreign territory.
“I don’t know everything that happened in New York,” he continued, “and I won’t pretend to understand fashion or how important it is to you. But if a place is toxic?” He shrugged. “It’s a good thing to move on. I know it stinks that moving on meant coming here, having to live with—” He made a sweeping motion with his hands to the studio below us and out toward the main house. “But you’re going to be okay.” He looked at me, right in the eyes. “You’ll get through it. And if I’ve learned anything about Alex in the year we’ve been working together? It’s that you can totally trust that guy. He’s honest to his very core, Dani. If something were to happen between the two of you? I wouldn’t be telling you you’re too good for him.”
“So, what, he’s too good for me?” I said, a grin on my lips.
“Absolutely,” Isaac said. “But he’s got all kinds of money. If he’s willing to support your fabric habit, I think you ought to grab on and not let go.”
I rolled my eyes and elbowed him in the gut. “I can support my own fabric habit, thank you very much.”
“Right. Which is why you’re living here. Because you’re rolling in all kinds of cash to blow on fabric.”
I scooted back on the bed and grabbed a throw pillow, pulling it onto my lap. “Don’t remind me.”
“Why don’t you try designing on your own, Dani? You know you’re good enough.”
“I don’t know that,” I said. “I’ve never sold anything. I love you for saying so, but it’s nearly impossible to break into the fashion industry alone.”
“It’s definitely impossible if you don’t try.”
“I did try. I went to New York—”
“You went to New York because you wanted to work for LeFranc,” Isaac said, cutting me off. “That’s different. You’ve never tried designing on your own.”
I shook my head, my fingers playing with the edging on the pillow in my lap. “It’s more complicated than that.”
Isaac stood. “Nah. It isn’t. You just have to go for it.”
He was at the door before I finally spoke. “Like you?”
He turned back, his hand resting on the door jamb. “I knew what I wanted, Dani. And I knew I wouldn’t find it getting a normal education, working for some cookie-cutter company somewhere.”
My phone buzzed from where I’d dropped it on the dresser, pulling my attention away from Isaac. He crossed the room and grabbed it, tossing it to me before heading back toward the door.
I glanced at the screen long enough to see a text from Chase. His message was brief—he’d only reached out to check on me—so I turned off the screen and dropped the phone face down on my bed. I looked at my