Page 37 of Perfect Score

“Are you trying to kill me with this dress?” he asks.

I can see the interest in his eyes but I remind myself that he didn’t send Shelby home. She’s still in his room, waiting for him to return to her tonight.

They both live only an hour from here and he could have broken it off with her already and sent her home.

He hasn’t.

So whatever interest he has, it isn’t enough. Though to be fair, he does think that I’m in a relationship with Brent.

“Of course, I’m not trying to kill you. I wore this dress for Brent.” I tell him, curious to find out how he reacts to me being with someone else.

He practically snorts with dismissal.

“The guy who ditched you and left you alone the night of prom? Your relationship won’t last. He’ll fuck up again… just wait.”

I’m a little annoyed that Liam dismisses me and Brent's relationship so quickly. But then I remind myself that the relationship is fake and that I told Brent that it ends after this weekend.

“You seem so sure about that. But I don’t see why you care. You’re engaged to someone else. What does it matter if Brent breaks my heart again.”

“Again? I thought you were just going to prom with him because I dumped you,” he pauses for a second, his eyes wandering over my face. “Did you have feelings for him?”

I didn’t mean to tell Liam that in high school I had a little crush on Brent. I had never told Liam, or anyone else for that matter. I suppose Phoebe’s had an inkling since she knew about the hotel room and how excited I was to go with Brent to prom.

“Does it matter if I did?” I ask.

Would that hurt him to know?

Do I want it to hurt him?

Maybe a little.

“He’s a player, Zoey. I’ve warned you about him already.”

“I don’t think you get a say in who I date anymore. You broke up with me, remember? Right before our wedding. And now you’re getting married to the woman you left me for, or have you forgotten?”

Liam's eyes flicker down every inch of my body again, but this time slow and deliberate.

“That dress," he says, a frustrated edge to his voice. "Makes me forget a lot of things."

I have a feeling this isn’t how he wanted this conversation to go, and I had hoped for something better too. Some kind of admission that he screwed up and that he misses me.

Is he only talking to me because of this dress?

If I would have showed up tonight in sweats with no makeup and my hair a mess, would he have even blinked an eye?

Maybe this whole thing was a mistake? How can I be sure what's motivating him to want to talk to me?

Why can’t he just say that he wants another chance and that he’s going to break it off with Shelby?

"Well, I haven't forgotten that you're still engaged to someone else," I remind him, crossing my arms over my chest.

I don’t want to fight—I still love him, but I can’t let him keep hurting me like this. My heart aches at the thought.

“We haven’t set a date yet,” he confesses, his voice low, almost hesitant. He’s searching my face, hoping I’ll give him a reason to close the gap between us.

My eyebrows raise, but I do my best to hide my surprise.

I want that to mean something significant, but weddings can take a while to plan, and I should know. Liam took years before proposing, and then we had a three-year engagement. He said he wanted to make VP at his father’s real estate firm before we got married.

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