Page 34 of Accidental Proposal

What I didn’t expect was to be bombarded with flashing lights as soon as I walked outside. People were yelling, and the clicking of cameras reached my ears and eyes, making my duck my head.Where the hell did these people come from?They must think I’m somebody else.

“It’s her! It’s her!”

Hearing the paparazzi yell that, I jerked my head up, confused.Me?The flashing lights from all of their cameras were making me see spots, and my head was starting to hurt. Not caring what they were saying, I tried to push past them, but they wouldn’t move. It was like they set up a wall of their bodies, making sure no one got around them.

“Jenna Howard!”

“Jenna, look over here!”

“Why are you at a pizzeria?”

“Where’s Liam Stanford?”

“Is it true you are engaged?”

“When is the wedding?”

“Are you just marrying him for his money?”

They all shouted at me, not even stopping for me to answer. I couldn’t see past the lights, but I figured there had to be about fifteen reporters. My eyes widened as I heard their questions asking if I was pregnant, where Liam was, why was I dressed like I was, when the wedding was.How did they know?Some of the things they were saying were making my eyes tear up.

“I, uh—” I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I tried to again get through them, but I was just pushed back. I suddenly felt a hard warm thing press against my back before the reporters went crazy, yelling and snapping away at us. Not caring who it was, I turned and pressed my face against them. I could feel my body starting to shake and my tears threatening to spill. A big arm wrapped around my lower back, pulling tight against them. I inhaled and knew it was Liam; the smell of his cologne filled my nose and made me relax a little bit.

“Get out of the way!” Liam yelled above me, holding me against him as he pushed his way through the reporters. I clenched onto his shirt as he tucked me into his side and shoved his way toward the Jeep. The reporters kept shouting questions at us and coming closer until I felt their cameras actually touching my arms. This had never happened to me before, and I was starting to freak. I hated attention and hated being asked such personal questions. Being asked if I was some whore that Liam paid or that I was just a gold digger actually hurt, a lot more than I thought.

Thankfully, a minute later Liam was picking me up and sliding me inside the Jeep. I hadn’t even heard him open the door with the cameras clicking and the reporters yelling. He slammed the door shut, and I ducked my head down in my lap. Liam made his way around the car and into the driver’s side. Without a single word, he started the car and backed up. I didn’t even care in that moment that he could run someone over, and he didn’t seem to either; all we wanted to do was get the hell out of here. The windows muffled the shouting, and in a matter of seconds they faded away as Liam drove us far away from the restaurant.

I slumped back against the seat, looking down at my shaking hands in my lap. I gulped, trying to push my tears away. The car was silent as we drove down the street to only God knew where. I wanted to thank Liam, but I didn’t know how to say it or what to say. I didn’t know that agreeing with Liam would mean paparazzi showing up, suddenly taking pictures.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked, his voice soft. Taken aback, I slowly nodded, not looking at him. Physically I was fine, but emotionally I wasn’t. “I didn’t know they would find us,” he muttered, obviously not thinking I heard him.

“It’s okay,” I croaked out, peeking out of the corner of my eye at him. He shook his head, his brown hair falling onto his forehead. My hand itched to move it, but I locked both of them together in my lap. I was still surprised Liam actually came after me.

“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, reaching over and grabbing my hand into his. I froze, looking down at our hands then up to him. His warm hand fit perfectly in mine, and I loved the feeling of his in my own. I’d never held a guy’s hand before, but holding Liam’s felt right. I felt like I wasn’t missing something anymore.

“It’s okay, Liam,” I said softly, still looking at our hands.

“Want to grab something quick to eat?” he asked. At the mention of food, my stomach growled, making me blush. Since I left before the food came and so did Liam, I bet he was hungry too. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

With his hand still on mine, he shot me a smile and continued driving. He was back to acting nice to me, when only twenty minutes ago he was rude. I wanted to be angry and not go anywhere with him, but the moment he shot me that smile, I knew I wouldn’t do any of that. He didn’t know it, but he had me in chains. When Liam wasn’t an ass, I actually liked him. And even if he was rude, I still looked past it even though I shouldn’t. Before I could actually think about it any further or do anything, he pulled up to McDonald’s and turned to me with a grin.

Yes, Liam, you had me in chains.

Chapter Fifteen

As we walked into McDonald’s, I was hit with the smell of cheap fast food and the sound of kids yelling. It had been a while since I’d been here. The smell of fresh fries filled my nose, making my stomach growl loudly. The place was pretty busy for a Monday, with a few little kids running to the indoor playground and a few teenagers laughing and talking. As I waited in line next to a quiet Liam, a little girl, about seven years old, caught my attention. I watched as she twirled around tables in a bright red shirt that had a heart on it, with a blue and pink tutu around her waist. Her brown hair was in two pigtails, and a giant grin was spread across her face, showing her two front teeth.

I knew I was probably staring at her like a weirdo, but I couldn’t help it. I loved how she didn’t match and that she didn’t care that people were watching her dancing around. A woman, who I assumed was her mother, sat off to the side, smiling fondly at her daughter as she giggled and paraded around. A wave of sadness and jealousy washed over me. The feeling wasn’t anything new to me, but it still hurt every time I saw a mother and daughter. Not having a mother around and seeing other girls with theirs always made me feel sad. I didn’t have one, and I was jealous because I wanted one. I wanted a mom who I could tell everything to, someone who would look at me like that mother was doing with her daughter, like I was her entire universe. A mom who would be cheering me on no matter what I did and helping me up when I fell.

The older I got, the worse I seemed to feel when I saw things like that. When I was younger, I used to think my mom would come back for me, that I would always have someone there for me. But as I aged, I knew she wasn’t coming back and that I was all on my own. You don’t realize it, but the older you get the more you need your mom. As a teenager you didn’t want anything to do with her, and as the world starts to become bigger and heavier, you need someone there to help with the weight.

When I felt a nudge on my arm, I looked away from the mother and daughter to see that it was our turn to order. Usually the sight didn’t bother me so much. Having worked at the diner helped me put a hard shield around myself at the sight of families. Maybe my emotions were already high from the paparazzi, because I could feel my eyes tearing up and my throat tightening. Swallowing the lump in my throat and blinking my eyes rapidly, I got ready to order. While I ordered, I ignored the daggers being sent at me by the girl behind the counter. My head would have two holes in it if her would get heated stares. Not bothering to argue with Liam about paying, I grabbed our cups and walked off, rolling my eyes at the girl.

After getting my drink and handing Liam his, I found us a seat near the back by the window. When Liam took a seat across from me, I looked anywhere but at him. What could I say to him? Thank you for saving me from the paparazzi? Thanks for being a complete ass to me in front of your friends?

“I’m sorry,” Liam said suddenly, making me snap my head up to stare at him. I didn’t know what he was apologizing for, but I was going to take it either way. It was not everyday he said sorry. That’s for sure.

“It’s fine.”

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