The Year I Became Isabella Anders (Sunnyvale, #1)

“Amazing,” I say as I finish tying the boots. “I like how the flowers on the shoes match your hair.”


“Me too.” She studies me with her head cocked to the side. “God, you look so great. It’s amazing what a little eyeliner and lip-gloss can do. Well, that, and my ever-so-awesome talent.”

I stand up, self-consciously tugging at the hem of the dress. “I honestly feel kind of silly. Like I’m trying to play dress up or something.” My gaze sweeps over the crowd of people walking around us. “I feel like everyone thinks I’m an impostor.”

She shakes her head with a smile on her face. “Trust me, Isa. No one thinks you’re an imposter.” She grabs my hand and pulls me with her as she moves with the crowd again.

We walk for what feels like hours, taking in all the closed stores, the bars, the Arc de Triomphe, and the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

“Let’s go up there,” she says as we gawk up at the tower that stretches to the night sky.

“I thought we were going to a club?” I ask as I rush to keep up with her.

“We can go to a club anytime!” she shouts over the music playing from a street band. “Going up there,” she tips her head up toward the sky, “now that’s an once-in-a-lifetime excitement.”

When we reach the ridiculously long line, I head toward the end. But Indigo has other ideas and starts searching the line for cute guys who will let us cut in front of them. It takes her three tries to find a couple of guys who even speak English. They let us get in line in front of them then Indigo spends the next half-hour flirting with one of them, while I stand there awkwardly.

“You look nervous,” one of the guys whispers in my ear, causing me to jump. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“Um, yeah, sure.” I pretend that’s the reason I have goosebumps sprouting across my skin, when really it’s the guys, the social interaction, the dress—everything, really.

He slings an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” He flashes me a dimpled grin. “I’m Jay, by the way, but you can call me your protector.”

I resist an eye roll. Seriously, dude, those lines can’t possibly work. Then I pause, realizing, Holy shit, this guy is hitting on me. While I’m flattered, I have absolutely no interest in Protector Jay By The Way, who kind of smells like cheese. I can’t help but think of Kyler and how he smells so good all the time, never like rancid cheese. I wish he was the one with his arm around me, but no, he’s probably back home, making out with my sister.

My mood nosedives and smacks against the ground like a squashed bug. Yuck. Why the hell did I have to think that?

Between the mental image my mind just conjured up and Jay By the Way’s cheesy smell, I feel like I’m going to hurl. I want to slide out from under Jay’s arm and get some fresh air, but I can’t think of an excuse that won’t make me look completely deranged, so he ends up keeping his arm there until we go through security. While Jay’s emptying out his pockets, I bolt away from him for the stairs.

“Hey, Isa, wait up,” Indigo says as she chases after me.

I pause at the bottom of the stairway and wait for her to catch up. When she reaches me, out of breath, I give her an are you kidding me look.

“What’s that look for?” she asks innocently as she fans her face with her hand.

“Those guys were gross and smelled like bad cheese. Seriously, if that’s your definition of excitement, then count me out.”

“That’s not even close to what I meant by excitement.” She kicks off her shoes and tips her head up to take in all the stairs.

“We could take the elevator,” I say, eyeballing her bare feet.

“No way. That’s like cheating the excitement.” She steps back with her heels in her hands then sprints forward, laughing as she charges up the first flight of stairs. “Race you to the top.”

Laughing, I barrel after her and up the stairway. People skitter out of our way as we jog side-by-side up each flight of stairs. With each step, I feel closer to soaring, closer to flying away from reality, like I’m outrunning my problems.

By the time we arrive to the second floor, though, we slowed down to a sluggish walk, because, holy crap, there are a lot of stairs.

“My feet hurt,” Indigo gripes, catching her breath. “But this makes it totally worth it.”

“Holy shit, this is so cool.” I slip my fingers through the railing and stare down at the glittering city stretched out below us.”

“It’s more than cool. It’s exciting.” Indigo reaches into her purse and fishes out her phone as I shut my eyes and breathe in the cool air kissing my cheeks.

While it might seem lame to most, tonight has been one of the best nights of my life. I’ve never ran around and had fun without worrying about being judged by my sister or scolded by my mom.