rubbing his chin. âI need you to help me with a surprise,â he said, âfor Joan.â
Brooke tugged on her braid. âI love surprises!â she said. âWhat do you want to do? Throw her a party? Get her a present? And how can we help? Do you need us to distract her? We can be very distracting. Sparkly, too.â Brooke nodded at Sparkly, the girlsâ dog, who was sleeping in a corner of the salon. âWell, we might have to wake him up first.â
Isaac spoke quietly. âI want to ask her to marry me.â
Alyâs mouth dropped open. Joan? Getting married? To Isaac?
âWhat?!â Brooke shrieked. âThis is so exciting! Iâve never been to a wedding before!â Then she turned to Aly. âDid you hear? Thereâs going to be a wedding! Weâre going to get to wear the most gorgeous dresses with high heels!â
Aly laughed. âI didnât hear Isaac say any of that. But he did say he needs our help.â
âRight,â Isaac said. âIf itâs okay with you, Iâd like to propose to Joan in the Sparkle Spa. I have pictures Iâd like you to hang up on ribbons. We can spread rose petals all over the floor. And when everythingâs ready, you can make up a reason for her to come back here andââ
âAnd youâll get down on one knee and tell her youâll love her forever and ever and give her a big, sparkly ring!â Brooke said.
By now, the rest of the girls in the Sparkle Spa were listening in on the conversation.
âIs that whatâs going to happen?â Jayden asked, splashing her feet in the bubbles.
Isaac cleared his throat. âSomething like that,â he said, gazing around the busy room. âI think I should have mentioned my plan sooner than today,â he saidto Aly and Brooke. âI didnât realize how many customers youâd have in here.â
Aly turned to Brooke. Isaac was right. She really wanted to help him out and was excited he was going to ask Joanâtheir favorite Joan!âto marry him. But she and Brooke were busy running a business. Could they possibly postpone all of their appointments to make this happen?
Aly sent Brooke a Secret Sister Eye Message: Can we do this?
Brooke sent her one back: How can we not?
And Aly knew her sister was right. She just hoped their customers would understand.
two
As Red as It Gets
A ly gathered the Sparkle Spa customers around the pedicure chairs and explained what was going on, even though most of them had already overheard.
âSo weâre really sorry times a million, but we have to cancel the rest of todayâs appointments,â Brooke announced.
âAnd we can reschedule you for Sunday or anytime next week,â Aly finished. âJust talk to Charlotte.â
Aly held her breath. She was worried that theircustomers might be mad, and she hated when Âpeople were mad. Especially at her. She grew even more worried when nobody said anything at first. But then Annie spoke up. âCan we help?â
Aly tucked her hair behind her ear. âWith what?â she asked.
âWith the setup!â Annie said. âIâve never been part of a marriage proposal before. It sounds like fun.â
âMe too!â said Jayden. âI want to help.â
âAnd me,â said Eliza. âIf you could use another person.â
Soon everyone in the spa had volunteered to help. No one was angry about their appointments being canceled.
Aly ran over to Isaac, who had been waiting by the Sparkle Spaâs polish wall. âOkay,â she said. âWeâll all help. Just tell us what you need.â
Isaac pulled out a stack of photos from his camerabag. There were pictures of him and Joan hiking, skiing, walking through a museum, blowing out birthday candles. They were all black-and-white shots with a single color added to each one, as if Isaac had painted it on. In one Joan had really red lips. In
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