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Another minute passes. And then another. Tears want to prick my eyes, but I don’t let them. There’s still time for him to arrive. He’s only a few minutes late. I’m sure it takes a lot of courage for him to take that first step. It’s a little ridiculous for me to expect him to arrive on the dot.
But then another few minutes pass. A little voice in my head starts whispering doubts in my mind, but I shove it away. There’s still time.
Someone steps out of the ballroom. A guy in a black suit and blue mask. My heart speeds up and a small gasp of anticipation and anxiety conquers my body. Oh my gosh, is that…?
Wait a second. That’s Liam. And he’s heading my way.
“Liam, what are you doing here?” I hiss.
He swallows as he lifts his mask. “Chloe, I—”
“He’ll be here any second.” My eyes frantically move to the front door and then to the entrance to the ballroom.
“Chloe, I need to—”
“Liam.” I force my eyes to his. “I’m okay. You don’t have to worry. He’s not that late. Just give him a chance.”
He sighs. “Chloe, please hear me out.”
“I know you don’t think highly of the guy, but he’ll show. Iknowhe will.”
I don’t mean to be rude, but if my secret admirer sees me talking to another guy, he might get the wrong idea and leave. I can’t let anything ruin my chance of finally meeting him.
“Chloe, I’m trying to tell you—”
I sigh. “Liam, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for this now. This moment is extremely important to me, and the last thing I want to hear is you telling me that he’s manipulating me or playing me or—”
“No! That’s not what I’m trying to say at all…”
A short guy in a dark blue suit walks into the building, and my whole body perks up. But he doesn’t look my way, just goes straight to the ballroom.
My eyes snap to Liam. “I don’t want to be rude, but you’re ruining one of the most important moments of my life. I know you mean well, but I’m not a little kid and you don’t need to protect me. So if you don’t mind, I would really appreciate it if you would go back to the ballroom and let me have this moment that I’ve been waiting for since I got my first letter.”
His face looks pained. He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.
“I don’t want you to scare him away. Liam, please go. Justgo.”
He doesn’t move, just watches me with that same pained expression. Since he’s so tall, he’s somewhat blocking my view, and I need to crane my neck to see if anyone enters the building. What if Liam’s blocking me from his view and he’ll think I ditched?
“Liam,please.”
Honestly, the only thing I care about right now is meeting my secret admirer. Why doesn’t Liam understand that whatever he wants to say can wait? Or if he’s here because he thinks he needs to protect me, he should understand that I can handle it. That I believe wholeheartedly that the secret admirer is a good guy and that he’ll show up. That I’ll be okay.
“Liam…”
He sighs again and slowly nods. “Okay. I’ll leave you alone.”
As soon as he walks away, a large sigh escapes my lips. Hopefully, my secret admirer hasn’t shown up yet and didn’t see me with another guy.
I relax my shoulders and place a smile on my lips. And then I wait.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Liam
I walk away from Chloe, then stop and turn around. She still stands near the painting, her mask lifted onto her forehead, her eyes flitting around the hallway. When she looks at me, she shakes her head with a nervous smile, motioning for me to leave.
She doesn’t want me around when she meets her secret admirer for the first time. Even thoughI’mthe guy she’s waiting for.
