By the Book (Meant to Be #2)(16)

Before she could talk herself out of it, she turned on the bathwater.

There. She’d committed. For the rest of the night, she’d pretend Beau Towers didn’t exist.

“Happy now?” she said to the bathtub.

She’d clearly lost it. She’d just had a whole conversation with a bathtub, and she was waiting for it to talk back to her. She obviously needed a real vacation. Not like she could afford one, but still. Maybe she should stay here in California. She could just hang out here and yell at Beau Towers from time to time and sit in the sun and take baths and drink wine and read and write and be far away from her parents and only have to deal with Marta from a distance. What an impossible dream.

She looked around the room and took a long deep breath. She still had those cookies. And that glass of wine on her tray. Now that she’d committed to staying for the night, she could drink it. Izzy unzipped her suitcase and took out her favorite pair of pajamas.

Once the water was high enough, she stepped into the tub and sank all the way down. It was the perfect temperature, almost—but not quite—too hot, and the water covered her all the way to her shoulders. She could feel the tension seep out of her body, like she was a balloon with air slowly leaking out. And the tub was an old-fashioned one, with no extra drain to prevent flooding. That meant the water would stay right here, as long as she wanted it to. Incredible. She picked up her wineglass from the very convenient shelf right next to the bathtub and took a sip. Yes, her decision to stay had been absolutely correct.


Izzy woke up the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. She squinted, bleary-eyed, at the room, at the very comfortable, totally unfamiliar bed.

Right. Beau Towers’s house.

She rolled over and reached for her phone. Oh God. It was Marta. Why was Marta calling her at seven in the morning?

Okay, fine, it was ten in the morning in New York, but still. Marta knew that time zones existed.

Did Marta care that time zones existed? No, obviously not.

“Hello?”

“You have until Monday,” Marta said, with no preamble.

Izzy sat up.

“Until Monday?” she repeated. Luckily, she’d worked with Marta long enough not to say “I have until Monday for what?” which was her first instinct.

“To get Beau Towers on track with this memoir. He emailed me last night and said you were very helpful to him at dinner and thanked me for sending you to him.”

Beau Towers had thanked Marta? For what? Why? He didn’t want her here! And he’d emailed Marta? She hadn’t been sure he knew how to send an email.

“Wow, that’s…surprising,” Izzy said.

“Indeed,” Marta said. “And I couldn’t let this opportunity pass, so I informed him that you’ll stay until Monday, to be even more helpful.”

Izzy almost laughed out loud. “Even more helpful”—what was happening?

“Did he…agree to that?”

“He knew not to argue with me,” Marta said. “Does this work for you, Isabelle?”

Izzy wanted to giggle. Did it work for her, to stay here in California until Monday, with this perfect weather and in this enormous house, with her beautiful bedroom and glorious bathtub and excellent food? Sure, she’d have to be with Beau Towers, but in New York, she’d have to be with Marta. And it was still February there.

It was ostensibly February in California, too, but not really.

“Sure, that works for me,” she said. “Whatever gets the book done, right?”

“Exactly.” Izzy noted that Marta—unlike Beau—didn’t say thank you. “Work with him after hours, since obviously, you’ll also have to do all your other work as well.”

Obviously.

“What a great idea it was to send you to talk to Beau Towers,” Marta said.

Was it even worth reminding Marta it had been her idea?

“Yes,” Izzy said. “Great idea.”

“I expect updates.” Marta hung up abruptly, like she always did, and Izzy dropped the phone back onto the bed. She stared out the window at the bright blue sky, and the palm trees swaying in the breeze, and smiled.

She got to stay here until Monday. That meant four more days of California weather, and Michaela’s cooking, and that bathtub, and not being anywhere near the office. All that and in return she just had to give Beau Towers a few pep talks?

Amazing.

This kind of opportunity would be a perfect writing retreat, actually.

She shook off that idea. She hadn’t written a word in months. She’d given up on that.

She reached for her phone to text Priya.

I get to stay here until Monday?!? To…help Beau Towers with his book? Yes, he’s a jerk, but did I mention that the weather is perfect and he has a full-time cook and there’s an incredible view from my bedroom??? I do NOT know what’s going on, Priya, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can



Priya texted her back right away.

I like the sound of most of that except that you have to stay with a jerk until Monday. Is it just the two of you? Are you ok there? Blink once for yes and twice for no



Izzy laughed and then thought about that. Despite how angry Beau Towers had made her yesterday, she’d felt perfectly safe around him. Even when she’d seen him in the kitchen for the first time, and he’d been so mad that she was there, she hadn’t been scared of him. Maybe it was because of how comfortable Michaela was with him?