“Jazz hands.”
“Smoking jacket.”
“Feather boa.”
“Oh my god.Look at this fascinator.Princess Eugenie would weep with envy if she saw this.How on earth did keep that on your head?Did they glue it to your scalp?”
Liam groaned, his head in his hands, but a massive grin peeked through his fingers as he watched our friends gather the photos.“I assumed she was bluffing when she said she had gotten her hands on the negatives.”He exhaled a nervous laugh, shaking his head.“I really thought I’d won when I stole the originals.”
“Bluffing?”I arched a brow, amused.“Does that sound like something she would do?”
Liam groaned again, still grinning.“Not at all.But a man canhopehis grandmother will be reasonable.”
“Nana?Reasonable?Ha!It’s like you’ve never met her before.”
“You’re right.”He chuckled.“What was I thinking?”
I grabbed a stray photo from near my feet.In it, Liam and Nana stood back-to-back, arms crossed, decked out in matching velour tracksuits.
“You were right about being aspring,” I said innocently, handing him the picture.“This shade of pink looks amazing on you.”
Liam scoffed, his eyes crinkling.“That thing was itchy as hell.And the colour isGeorgia Peach, not pink.”
And just like that, everything became crystal clear.His love for his grandmother, despite how it first appeared, shone through in everything he did, which endeared Liam to me even more than how he’d treated me since we met.
I didn’tlikeLiam Bishop.I wasin lovewith him.
And I never wanted to leave.Without another word, without waiting for any more surety than I already felt, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.“I love you.”
He smiled, pressing his lips to mine.“Yeah?”
I grinned so hard my cheeks ached.“Absolutely.I love you.”
His smile widened as if I’d handed him the universe.“I love you too, Maya.So much.”
“I’ll take that,” Andie announced, snatching the photo from Liam’s fingers, ruining the moment.“We’ve got anotherboy bandover here.”
Liam groaned, making me burst into uncontrollable laughter yet again.
“I think I finally get it,” he said with a sigh.“She had something like this in mind all along.That old woman’s just been biding her time.”
“Biding her time?For what?What was she waiting for?”
Liam’s gaze locked onto mine, something unreadable flickering in his ridiculously blue eyes.“You can’t guess?”He tilted his head, his expression softening.“Really?”
My heart pounded.“Liam, what are you talking about?”
He lifted a hand, cupping my cheek, stepping closer.“She was waiting for me to find someone exactly like you.”
My breath caught.“Me?”
His thumb traced gentle circles against my skin.“Yes, you.”
Heat crept up my cheeks.“But why?”
His lips brushed mine, his breath warm against my lips.
“Because she knew that once I did, I’d fall hopelessly, head-over-heels in love.And if you could see these pictures andstillwant to be with me?Then there’d be no doubt you were in love with me too.”
