Jenna wiped the tears from her face and glanced at the closed door. Not only had Mom wasted a lot of money on this dress, but she’d taken the night off work to take pictures and see Jenna and Evan off. Now Jenna would have to go downstairs and tell her Evan wasn’t coming at all.
Somehow, facing Mom’s sympathy seemed even worse than Evan’s rejection. Jenna had been mourning that her dad was missing yet another milestone, but now she was glad he wouldn’t have to witness her humiliation.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there wallowing in misery when Mom called from downstairs. “Jenna, wasn’t he supposed to come at six?”
With a weary sigh Jenna stood, smoothing the pretty satin material. She was opening her mouth to call, “Be right down!” when the doorbell rang.
Grateful for a minute’s reprieve, Jenna leaned into the mirror and dabbed her face with a tissue, fixing the visible evidence of her distress. She would play it off as a last-minute change. No big deal. Shehadn’t really cared about going anyway. Now Jenna could stay home with Mom and... have a movie night.
“Jenna... your date’s here?” Mom called.
Jenna frowned.My date?What was going on? Had Sofia somehow gotten faulty information? She must’ve. And now Jenna had just spent all this time crying over nothing. She was going to kill her best friend!
“Coming!” Jenna quickly touched up her makeup and hoped the glassy sheen of her eyes looked less like the remnants of a crying jag and more like prom-night excitement. She stuffed her feet into the red heels, fluffed her hair, and left the room. She had to walk carefully down the stairs as she wasn’t used to wearing heels, much less the spiky things she’d bought.
She was barely cognizant of her efforts as the bottom edge of the foyer came into view. A pair of shiny black dress shoes appeared, then black pants, a suit coat and crisp white shirt, and...
She blinked at the unexpected face.“Ty?”
His eyes flared at the sight of her and he beamed. “Wow, Jenna. You look amazing.”
Jenna glanced around and, not seeing her mother, lowered her voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Sofia called and told me what happened.” He shrugged adorably.
And he’d decided to step in last minute? Jenna’s heart squeezed tight at the generous gesture. “You don’t even want to go to prom. You said it was a stupid tradition.”
“That was before I had such an awesome date. You’ll increase my street cred tenfold.”
She scrunched up her face in a mock scowl. “You don’t have to do this, Ty. My ego will survive the rejection.”
“I want to help.” He stood back and held out his arms in a “lookat me” way. “Now are you going to tell me how handsome I look or what? It took me almost five whole minutes to get ready and you haven’t even complimented me.”
Something deep inside brightened at Ty’s kindness. A light that shone into some darkened corner of her heart. “Thank you, Tyson. Really. And you do look very handsome.”
“Why thank you.” He lowered his voice. “I told your mom there was a last-minute change. She didn’t really question it.”
Jenna wasn’t surprised. Her mom had always thought she and Tyson should be together. An idea that had always made Jenna roll her eyes.
Rushed footsteps sounded from the other room. “Wait, wait, wait.” Mom dashed into the foyer carrying a plastic boutonniere box. Her face fell when she saw Jenna. “Oh, shoot! I wanted to get a video of you coming down the stairs.”
“Not a problem.” Ty grabbed Jenna by the shoulders and turned her around. “Get back up there, Greene. This calls for a do-over!”
“Fine.” Jenna sighed and began climbing the stairs, taking careful steps.
“Mama Dee, be sure and catch my expression as I set eyes on my gorgeous date for the first time.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. I won’t miss a thing.”
Jenna tossed Ty a mock scowl over her shoulder, even though his words warmed her through. She couldn’t believe he was doing this. When she reached the top of the staircase, she pivoted. “Ready for me, Mom?”
“Just a second... Gotta turn on the camera. Go slow so I don’t miss anything. Okay, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure? I don’t know how many times I can make it down the steps in these heels. I was lucky I made it the first time.”
“I tried to warn you...”
“You’re not going to flake out on me, are you?” Tyson called. “I mean,myshoes aren’t exactly comfortable, but I have every intention of dancing the night away.”
