Page 35 of Gracefully Yours

“Why?” I asked, suddenly defensive. “There’s no reason we would come together. It’s not like there’s anything going on between us. We’re just—”

Noelle raised an eyebrow. “Char. I just meant that I know you don’t like to drive. You almost always come with Daniel.” The worst thing about having friends who’ve known you since your first year of college is that theyknowyou. Maybe too well.

“Right.” I tried to brush it off, to pretend I didn’t just overreact to a harmless statement. “Because he’s my best friend.” I tugged my costume dress down, trying to feel less awkward.

“Uh-huh.” She gave me another look, like she was trying to puzzle out my thoughts. Did she know I was hiding something?

Not that there’s that much to hide. Just the ring sitting on my dresser, and the minor matter of me getting married to my best friend in a few months, and… I hadn’t told any of them.

“He’s just running late at work,” I finally added. “I do have a car, so, you know…” And Ishoulddrive it more. I really should. But my apartment was walking distance to the dance studio, so it felt like a waste when I could get the fresh air, especially during the summer months when it wasn’t constantly raining.

“Almost everyone is already here,” she said as we entered the kitchen, and my eyes met my friends. “We’re just waiting on Zofia and Nicolas, and Daniel, of course.”

“Oh, good.”

I stifled a laugh at Angelina and Benjamin, who’d dressed as Rey and Ben Solo from Star Wars. Ang had bubble buns in her hair, and Benjamin was currently crowding her against the counter, a lightsaber hooked on his waist.

“What do you think, Princess?” He murmured, low against Angelina’s ear, and I felt like I was intruding on a private moment.

Turning around, I came face to face with Gabbi, who’d braided her hair and was wearing a gingham dress. Dorothy fromTheWizard of Oz, with Hunter dressed as the Scarecrow, complete with a heart pinned to his front.

“Cute.” I smiled at them.

Hunter rolled his eyes as a piece of straw fell out of his hat. “Next year we’re getting the dragon onesies.”

“Where’s your other half?” Gabbi asked, referencing my costume.

“Oh.” I blushed, wishing I could hide my face in the hood of my suit. “We’re not really—”

Before I could deny it, a powerful pair of arms wrapped around me from the back, pulling our bodies together.

“Here I am,” Daniel said, his voice deep against my hair, practically resting his head on top of mine. The position made my heart beat a million miles an hour, and I really hoped he couldn’t feel how fast it was thundering in my chest.

“Sorry I was late,Gwen,” he said, giving me a little wink as he pulled away from me, giving me a full view of his suit.

Oh, god. Why had I agreed to match costumes with him for the second year in a row? It was going to be so obvious something was going on between us when we were both wearing Spider suits.

I glanced down at the blue ballet slippers that were tied around my ankles. Ever since I’d watchedSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versefor the first time with Daniel, Gwen Stacy (AKA Spider-Gwen or Ghost-Spider) had been one of my favorite Marvel characters. Partially, it was just because there were so many similarities between us.

And even though the Peter Parker from her universe wasn’t Spider-Man, well…

Turning, I took him in fully, the Spider-Man suit he pulled off better than I could imagine, and I hoped he didn’t notice the way my breath caught in my throat when our eyes connected.

“Hi,” I whispered, everyone else forgotten. For a moment, it was just Daniel and I standing in the middle of the crowded kitchen, the rest of our friends fading away into the background.

When had this thing started between us? When he’d asked me to marry him, or the wedding this summer? Or had it been long before, and I’d just been ignoring the spark I felt now in my blood?

“Sorry I couldn’t pick you up,” he said, and I just shook my head.

“It’s fine. My car works just fine.”

He gave me a little smirk, like he could see right through me. Like the passenger seat of his car was my throne, and all it needed was apassenger princesssign and we could call it good.

“Alright!” Noelle’s voice commanded all of us to attention. “Now that everyone’s here, we wanted to thank you all for coming to our first Halloween party as an engaged couple.” She leaned onto Matthew’s arm. “Hopefully, we’ll make this an annual thing. We love seeing all our friends here, especially the ones we don’t get to see as often.” Noelle gave a warm smile as she looked around the room. “Don’t forget to grab a drink from the kitchen, and snacks are in the dining room, but other than that, we’re all just here to have fun!”

Matthew’s best friend and his wife had brought their son, Theo, and he teetered around the floor, cute as ever, in his little Pikachu costume.

I wondered if in a few years, this party would be full of kids. My heart ached because I wanted that more than anything: a family of my own. Daniel had promised to give me that, and I could almost picture it: a little dark-haired girl, taking after him. A blonde one who took after me.

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