The music in the gym suddenly shifted to a ballad, something sad by Rihanna that used to play on the radio all the time back when I was a teenager pining over the boy I tutored.
Liam held out his arm. “Can I explain inside? I’ve been waiting more than a decade to dance with you at our prom.”
I just shook my head, taking his arm. Did he seriously do all of this for me?
As we walked into the gym, I knew that he did, in fact, plan this whole thing. Because Rosa and Peyton were there amongstthe guys from the team, both stunning in floor length gowns. My girls waved and grinned, their eyes looking a little red-rimmed.
I looked around at the streamers and balloons as Liam led me to the center of the dance floor. There was a DJ in the corner and a whole lot of uncomfortable looking hockey players in tuxedos. Across the room, the young rookie named Weaver tugged on his bowtie while Gabriel Dalton appeared to be using the tall kid’s body to hide—probably from Peyton.
“Please don’t tell me you bullied all your teammates into coming to this.”
He laughed, pulling me close as we began to sway to the music. “I told them we could use the bonding. It helped that your brother threatened to have them benched.”
My eyes widened. “He did not.”
Liam just shrugged. “Not much that guy wouldn’t do for you, Gracie.” His face softened. “I know the feeling.”
“I can’t believe you guys did all this.”
“You deserve it,” he said solemnly. “You deserve so much more than this, Grace.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t brave enough last time to fix things when Chloe started meddling. If I had known what she told you…” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I should have been straight with you, told you how I felt.”
“I’m the one who was a coward.” My throat felt thick with regret. “I should have talked to you before believing her.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I can’t really regret what happened,” he said softly. “Because then I wouldn’t have Josie.”
The very thought of this world without his bright-eyed, gorgeous girl was unacceptable. “No. There’s not much to regret.”
He placed a finger under my chin, tipping my face up to look at him. “But let’s make a promise, okay? From here on out, we’re brave. No more fear, Grace. We tell each other what we feel. What we want.”
Brave. I straightened my shoulders. I didn’t have the best track record of bravery when it came to relationships. But I had a feeling it would be easier now. I was pretty sure I could do just about anything with Liam at my side. “I think I can do that.”
His grin made me want to cry again. He looked so happy. I wanted to make him look that way for a long, long time.
“Good,” he said. “Because I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket. “Josie helped me pick it out.” His face got serious. “I hope it’s okay with you that I told her.”
A flutter of nerves hit my belly.
“What did you tell her, exactly?”
That boyish grin was back. “That I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. I wanted to make sure it was okay with her.”
I felt almost more nervous than I did that day in my kitchen. I hadn’t realized just how much I wanted Josie to accept me before this moment.
“What did she say?” I asked, my throat dry.
His eyes crinkled up with laughter. “She told me you were way out of my league and I better not mess this up.”
A laugh burst from me and Liam shook his head, eyes bright. “Little brat.”
“She’s amazing,” I corrected.
“Anyhow.” He took my hand. “If we’d been able to do this back in high school, I would have bought you a cheap corsage.”
I felt something cool on my skin and looked down to see him fastening a gold chain around my wrist.
“But tonight, I wanted to give you something that would last,” he murmured, placing a kiss at the inside of my wrist before releasing my hand. I brought it closer to my face to examine the bracelet. Delicate gold flowers were placed along the chain, the center of each made from a sparkling gem. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever seen.
“These flowers won’t die at the end of the night,” he said, holding my gaze. “They’re diamonds, so they might last almost as long as I love you.”
