“What? No. They’re fine,” Miriam said. “But I really need your help with something.”
Em let out a sigh, but her relief was short-lived and soon replaced with irritation. “Why did you scare me like that? I thought something was wrong.”
“Oh, somethingiswrong. I’ve been working on another Storm project and nothing is coming together how I wanted it to. I was hoping you could help me.”
Miriam had gotten Em all worked up over a Storm project? Em shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Please, Em. I know it’s last minute, but I’ll owe you one.”
Em laughed. “I’m pretty sure you said that last time. And it’s not just because it’s last minute.” The last time she’d agreed to help Miriam, Em had ended up onThe Dating Game, and that had ended in disaster.
“Fine.” She huffed. “I’ll owe you two. Three. A hundred. Whatever you want. I just really need your help.”
Em couldn’t believe she was actually going to say yes. She ran her fingers through her wet hair. “Yeah. Okay. Let me get dressed really quick, and I’ll head down.”
“You can, uh, spend a little time on yourself first. Dry your hair, do your makeup…maybe wear a dress.”
Why would she have to do her hair and makeup? Or wear a dress? “What kind of project is this?”
“You’ll see when you get here.”
“Miriam.”
“I promise you’ll like it. Just make sure you actually come, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, still confused.
Warning bells went off in her head, but Em had already agreed. And if she was being honest with herself, part of her was curious about what Miriam was cooking up.
Not sure of what to expect, she took the extra time to do her hair and makeup, and headed down to the arena.
Em arrivedan hour later and walked through the empty halls of the civic center. When she opened the doors that led to the arena, Miriam was already standing there waiting for her.
I hope she hasn’t been here since we hung up.
Miriam’s mouth broke out into a wide grin, and she pulled Em in for a hug. “I’m so glad you came.”
“I told you I would,” Em said, pulling away.
“Which is good. Can you go check on something I left on the field?”
Em’s brows lowered. “Uh, sure. What is it?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll know it when you see it.”
“Do you need me to do anything with it?”
“No, you don’t have to do anything.” Miriam giggled. “Just go make sure everything is okay in there, and I’ll be right back.”
“O-kay.” Em shook her head as she walked into the stands. The lights were off, and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to find what Miriam left in there when it was so dark. The only light in the entire room was a soft glow that came from midfield. When Em looked more closely, she saw the light was coming from a table covered in candles—and someone was standing beside it.
Grant.
He was the thing Miriam left on the field?
Breathless, she carefully walked toward the table. She was glad that she’d listened to Miriam and dressed up since Grant was wearing a suit. The urge to play with the curls she’d put in her hair or smooth her hands over her dress was hard to fight under his watchful gaze, but she did not want him to see the effect he had on her even now. She held her head high as she got closer.
“Wow,” he breathed when she stopped in front of him. “You look gorgeous.”
