Page 108 of A Perfect Fit

“I did. Also for research purposes.”

She laughs. “Guess we’re both going to Mars tomorrow then.”

A smile twitches my lips. “I guess we are.”

There’s a beat of silence before Isabelle speaks again. “You know, you were encouraging me to not worry about what my mom wants me to do, but what about you? You deserve to be happy and to follow your dreams, too.”

“I know.” It was easy to assure Isabelle she shouldn’t have to follow in her parents’ footsteps, but it feels different for me. “It’s just … I mean, I don’t hate working at Carter Marketing Solutions.” That’s not a lie. “I’m happy there, too.”

Are you really? a tiny voice in my head asks.

“If you say so,” Isabelle says, sounding unconvinced. She snuggles closer to me. “But promise me you’ll think about it more? I want you to be happy.”

I swallow. “I will.”

“Good.” She lets out a tired yawn.

“Sleep, Bella.” I place another kiss against her forehead.

“Okay,” she sleepily agrees.

She wiggles around and positions her hand over my chest. I place my hand on top of hers, lacing our fingers together.

Before long, Isabelle falls asleep, her chest gently heaving up and down.

There’s no one I’d rather have fall asleep in my arms than her.

When I wake up the next morning, Isabelle’s still asleep, a content look on her face and her hair ruffled. One of her hands is draped over the comforter and the other over my chest. A smile forms on my lips at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully. It feels like a daydream.

Moments later, Isabelle stirs and stretches her arms.

“Good morning, bedhead,” I say.

“Mm-hmm,” she murmurs in a groggy voice, rolling to the other side of the bed and pulling the comforter over her head. “Just let me sleep.”

She’s cute when she’s all grumpy in the morning. If wanting to wake up next to her every morning is selfish, then I want to be the most selfish man on the planet.

There’s a knock on the door.

“Belle? Jackson?” It’s Karl’s voice.

Isabelle sighs. “So much for getting another five more minutes of sleep. I’ll get that.”

She treads out of the bed to open the door, and I get up as well.

“Hey, Dad,” Isabelle says.

“Good morning, Karl,” I politely add.

“Morning.” Karl gives us both a warm smile. “Breakfast is ready. I trust last night was okay?”

“It was,” Isabelle says. “And thanks. I’ll be there shortly.”

Karl pauses. “About what happened at dinner last night … despite everything, your mom is still proud of you. I’m going to talk to her as well, but maybe you two can talk sometime?”

“Yeah,” Isabelle says. “But only if she’s willing to reach out to me first about it.”

I’m proud of her for standing firm.