Page 74 of Glitz & Goals

I pull away from Mom and lift my hands to wipe at my eyes, remembering just in time that we just spent forever on my makeup and that I probably shouldn’t smear it all over the place.

“Vanessa?” I call back. What’s she doing here? I didn’t know she was coming to visit this weekend.

Mom and I hurry downstairs. My sister is in the living room, standing next to Viktor. Vanessa’s all dressed up. Does she have a date, too?

“Come on!” My little sister takes my hand and pulls me toward the back door.

I look to Mom for an explanation, but she just smiles.

“Nice to see you, too,” I say to Vanessa. “What’s going on? I’m supposed to be headed out any mi—”

My voice trails off when we step out into the backyard, which has been entirely transformed. Fairy lights hang from the umbrellas and the lattice above the deck, illuminating a porch awash in gnomes. In the middle of them sits a rather disgruntled-looking Blade, who thumps his tail against the deck when I approach. He’s wearing a gnome hat, with pointed ears sewn onto the sides, along with a pair of glittering fairy wings.

“Oh, goodness, look at you!” I hurry over to Blade to pet him. “This is so adorable.”

“Looks like he’s got somewhere to be,” Viktor observes. “And there’s too much bling on his collar, isn’t there?”

“Aww, poor boy, is it heavy?” I bend down to detach the thick, sparkly collar he’s wearing. When I straighten up again to examine the collar, I realize that there’s a box attached to the front with hot glue. I freeze. I know what’s in there, just like I know who arranged all this.

The dog pulls away and trots off. Blade pauses at the entrance of the Gnome Gloam, glancing over his shoulder like he’s waiting for me to catch up. My heart hammers against my ribs as I follow him, my feet crunching softly on the gravel path. Fairy lights twinkle between the gnomes, casting the whole place in a warm, magical glow. The Gloam has never looked more enchanting—or more suspicious.

And then I see it.

Right in the heart of the Gnome Gloam, surrounded by my army of quirky little statues, stands Grady. His suit fits him like a glove, but it’s the nervous, tender smile on his face that stealsmy breath. Blade ambles over to him and sits obediently at his feet, his sparkly collar catching the light.

I approach slowly, already expecting to find my man dropping to one knee. The suit he’s wearing fits him like a glove. He smiles at me and holds out both hands for mine. “Vivian—”

That’s all he can say before I fling myself into his arms, kissing his face with as much abandon as the night of his concussion. He doesn’t get a chance to speak again before I shout, “Yes! Yes, of course, I’ll marry you!”

Viktor, leaning against the open sliding door, rolls his eyes. “Dramatic. You didn’t even let him do the one knee thing.”

“Oh, shut up.” Vanessa pokes him in the ribs. “I think it’s cute.”

More lights come on, and I realize there’s a whole party set up on the pool deck. A small army of people are cheering for us: Mia and Jaime, a bunch of the guys from the team, Knight and Sofia, Ranger and Delilah, Dot and Camden…

Grady wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my cheek. “We’ll get dinner another night, I promise.”

“Of course we will,” I blubber through my tears. “Because we’re getting married! Are you sure you’re not still concussed? You’re doing this of your own free will?”

Grady just laughs and kisses my temple.

Blade is twining around and around our legs, whining as he goes. I doubt he can tell the difference between tears of joy and tears of distress. I comfort him with a scratch behind the ears. He drops his butt back onto the deck with a thump. When I look up again, Dad is stepping forward from the crowd. He’s not wearing a suit, but he still got dressed up for the occasion, in a button-down shirt I’ve never seen him wear and a pair of slacks that Mom must have picked out for him.

“I want to be the first to congratulate you,” he says, holding out his arms to both of us. He and Grady give each other oneof those single-arm, backslapping hugs that make guys feel like they’re being friendly but not too emotional.

Screw that. I go on with both arms and bury my face against my dad’s chest.

“Hey, baby girl,” Dad says in a soft voice. He hasn’t called me that for ages, not since I told him it was “cringe” sometime near the end of elementary school. He wraps both arms around me and stands there for a long moment.

If I was blubbering before, I’m outright bawling now. I was too young to remember my birth parents, but my earliest memory is being held by my dad and feeling like we were the only two people in the whole world, like we had nothing and no one else but each other.

Then came Nanny Franny, and eventually Mom, and soon we started gaining family left and right. Now we’re surrounded by people who love us, people who chose us, people who would do anything to keep us safe and happy.

I pull away from him and sniffle a few times. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, Viv.” Dad gives me a watery smile before stepping aside to allow a swarm of well-wishers to approach.

“I helped Grady pick the ring,” Sofia tells me. “His only requirement was that it had to have mermaid blue in it.” I haven’t looked at it that closely yet, what with all the crying and emotions and whatnot, but I thank her anyway.

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