Mr. Beast smiles. “Thank you. I had help.” He nods at me.

Jonah closes the book with a happy sigh. “That was amazing!”

“You’re done?” I ask, shocked.

“Yes!”

“But I’ve never seen you read a book that fast!”

“I know!” Jonah exclaims, digging into his stir-fry.

“What was it about?” I ask him.

“A blue crocodile! And I know crocodiles aren’t really blue, but it’s fiction! It’s an adventure about a little boy named Levi whose best friend is a blue crocodile! And they meet pirates! And mermaids! And they go through magic underwater tunnels!” Jonah’s eyes are sparkling.

“No way!” I say.

“Way.” He frowns. “But now I’m sad.”

“Why? You should be happy! You found a book you like!”

His face squishes. “But it’s finished.”

Aw. “You can read it again,” I say.

He gives me a funny look. “Why would I do that? I already know what happens.”

“But it’s still fun. I’ve read each of the fairy tales lots of times. I learn something new every time. Speaking of which, maybe you could read those next. Maybe that will spark some memories.”

“Maybe,” he says, but he’s flipping through his Blue book.

“You can read it again, or you can read fairy tales,” Beauty says, and then pauses. “Or you can read the sequel.”

Jonah’s eyes pop out of his head. “There’s another one?”

“There are ten. It’s a series.” Beauty smiles. “That’s your surprise for losing the bet and liking the book!”

“No way!” Jonah cheers. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard!”

We all laugh.

Mr. Beast looks around the table. “This is … fun.”

“See?” I say. “I told you! Does that mean we can stay a little longer?”

He nods. “You can. In fact …” He glances across the table at Beauty. “I’m wondering if you’ll stay for good.”

“For good?” she repeats. Her fork clatters against her plate.

Mr. Beast stands up. He crosses the space between them in three giant steps. He gets down on one knee.

My heart thumps in anticipation. He’s on one knee! Does this mean what I think it means? Yes, yes, yes!

Mr. Beast clears his throat. He holds an emerald engagement ring in his furry fingers. “Beauty, will you marry me?”

Chapter Fourteen: The Change

He asked! He did it! He proposed on one knee! His face is looking so hopeful, too! Yay! I bop in my seat. As soon as Beauty accepts, the curse is undone.

Right?

Yes.

Unless I somehow messed it up. By, um, urging her to accept.

I swallow hard. I hope I didn’t mess it up.

Beauty’s eyes are wide. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it.

Is she going to say no? After all this, she BETTER not say no!

“I … I … I …” Her eyes tear up. “Yes. I will marry you.”