Page 172 of The Fake Out Flex

"Any idea why Fraser is throwing this party, Evelyn?" Mom asks me.

"No idea. I was just telling the girls I'm completely in the dark abou?—"

Before I can finish speaking, my words are drowned out by the jangle of an old-fashioned bell.

The room falls quiet, and then there he is. Fraser, standing on a stage at the end of the ballroom.

Everyone makes their way over to him.

I do, too, unable to take my eyes off him. He's so handsome, dressed in a tailored three-piece suit. His hair has grown out over the summer break and is styled neatly, and he's smiling, something he's been doing a lot more of these past few months.

"Evelyn Freeman," he says into the microphone, his deep voice reverberating throughout the ballroom. "Please make your way to the stage."

"Coming through," I call out as people move out of my way.

As I get closer to him, the rapid thud of my heart echoes in my ears.

What is he up to?

I climb the stairs at the side of the stage, and by the time I reach him, he's beaming. He places his microphone on the lectern, takes hold of my hands, and says, "You look stunning, Evie."

"Thanks. You don't scrub up so badly yourself. Now would you like to tell me what on earth is going on?"

"All shall be revealed."

I sniff the air a few times. "Do I smell fries?"

He grins mischievously, then picks up the microphone, and turns to address the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that I have gathered you all here under false pretenses."

A hushed murmur breaks out.

"You see, next Saturday will be exactly one year to the day since I was set up on what was supposed to be one date with Evie. But I'd been keeping a secret. I've been in love with Evie for a very long time. And I knew, deep in my heart, that one date would never be enough."

A chorus of sighs and awwws cascades throughout the ballroom.

"Which brings us to tonight. I wanted to do something memorable. Something unusual. Something that would throw you all off so that no one would suspect what I'm about to do."

"Yeah, you've done that," Beth yells out.

Fraser smiles. "Excellent."

He reaches underneath the lectern and produces a microphone which he hands over to me, as well as a…

"I knew I could smell fries," I say, which draws a few surprised and probably confused chuckles from the crowd.

Fraser shakes the packet. "I bought them this morning."

"Um, okay."

He looks sad for a moment. "They're cold now."

"Forget about the fries, Fraser. It's fine."

He looks up at me and sticks his lower lip out adorably. "Don't suppose I could interest you in one?"

"A cold fry? No thanks."

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