Izzy nodded and tried to keep her expression neutral. Beau had told her about the foundation before they were anything more than just working together.
It wasn’t that she cared if Michaela knew there was something going on between her and Beau. But for the same reason she hadn’t told Priya, she didn’t quite want to say anything to Michaela. It felt good, for this to be between just her and Beau. At least for now.
“Anyway, he asked me if I could help him with that stuff, so somehow I ended up working for him full-time.” She shrugged. “It’s kind of a weird job, but it’s super flexible with a baby—Beau doesn’t care if I’m late some mornings if the baby has made it impossible to get out the door, or if I need an emergency day off because he’s sick, or if I bring him some days for an hour or two if I need to, or whatever.”
Izzy tried to imagine how Beau would have functioned for the past year if he hadn’t had Michaela around. She couldn’t.
“Well, thank goodness he had you,” Izzy said. “He would have been a mess otherwise.”
“More of a mess, you mean.” Michaela glanced over at Izzy. “I was worried about him, you know.”
“Oh?” Izzy looked at her, but her eyes were on the road. “Just in general, or…？”
Michaela nodded. “Just in general,” she said. “And or.”
Yeah. Anyone who saw Beau every day would have been worried about him. At least, anyone who cared about him would.
“I knew he was anxious about this book, even though—maybe especially because—he never talked about it,” Michaela said. “How’s it going now, anyway? Good, it seems?”
Izzy smiled. “Really good. I’m not even sure if Beau realizes how much he’s done and how far he’s gone. He’s worked so hard on it. I’m just really proud of him for everything he’s done—I think the book is going to be great.”
“Oh, that’s so good to hear,” Michaela said.
Izzy knew she was gushing, but it was true. He had worked so hard. But she really needed to stop talking about Beau before she said too much.
“Okay, tell me more about this wedding, and what kind of dress you’re looking for. We need a plan of attack.”
Michaela’s smile dropped away. “Ideally, I’d like something that looks roughly like a tea cozy. Can we find that?”
Izzy laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Friday, at the end of their library session, Beau closed his laptop and smiled at her.
“Want to go surfing tomorrow morning? It’s supposed to rain, so it won’t be that crowded at the beach.”
Izzy raised her eyebrows at him. “I feel like this is one of the times when the crowds have a point. Won’t it be freezing in the water? And won’t the waves be too big for me?”
Beau shook his head as they both got up to leave the library. “I checked the surf report—the waves won’t be that high. It’s not going to be windy, just a little rain. Perfect weather for a novice.” He reached for her shoulder as they walked toward the door but stopped himself. “Plus, I’ll be there. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Okay,” she said. “Surfing tomorrow morning sounds great.”
Was this a date? she wondered. Were they “dating”？ Technically, they’d gone out on exactly one date. Also technically, it had only been less than a week since they’d first kissed, but then they’d spent all day together Saturday and Sunday, and then this week they’d spent as much time together as possible. It was sort of weird, to be dating someone you were living with.
She smiled to herself. Weird, but good.
They left for the beach at seven the next morning. Izzy had objected when Beau had proposed the time—he’d said that’s when “real surfers” go out—but she was so used to getting up at six for work during the week that it was a halfhearted protest.
Once they were in the water, Izzy managed to stand up on the board after just the second time she tried. And she stayed standing up for five whole seconds before she fell off. She counted.
“Wow,” Beau said, after she surfaced in the water. “I’m impressed. Someone looks like she’s been practicing her balance.”
She had been, actually.
“Great job,” he said as he leaned toward her. Usually, when they stood this close to each other, Izzy felt so much smaller than Beau. But here, in the water, they were face-to-face. She liked it.