Page 89 of The Masks We Wear

Her hand lifts to her mouth before rubbing the tip of her nose. But that’s it. My heart jackhammers in my chest, but I don’t allow my thoughts to wander. To doubt. Instead, I hold on to my chair’s armrest and focus on the announcer’s voice.

“And your RCA, Regional Champs in the northwest division, with a ninety-three point seven five, Emerald Falls Highschool!”

The crowd erupts, even louder than when they were introduced, and the entire stand jumps to their feet, myself included. The Emerald Falls cheerleaders jump, celebrating their victory, and in the middle of it all, my eyes find her.

A shot of cannon confetti sounds in the air, raining down as my heart thunks in my chest, begging me to go to her now.

I want to jump over the fucking railing, past the judge’s table, and grab her.

So I do.

My hands grip the cold metal railing, and my muscles tense as my feet leave the ground. I land the three-foot jump and bound past the long table, ignoring the hollers of Mina, William, and a group of security guards now trailing after me.

I reach the mat and jerk to a stop. My chest heaves, adrenaline shooting through my nerves with a force so strong my body shudders. The group of girls doing the small celebration look at me, mouth ajar. Lily rotates, eyes connecting with mine.

Everything I had planned to say evaporates in the heat swirling between us. The part of me that always lets her choose what she wants to do rears its head—whispering how stupid I am. How this isn’t going to work. To turn my dumbass around and walk back to the stands.

But I don’t. Not this fucking time.

“Lily. Since the day I saw you, with that yellow ribbon tied in your hair, flying behind you in the wind, I knew. Right then and there. But if I didn’t, you showed me the next week when I went into that treehouse and never wanted to leave. You’ve been with me through the roughest times of my life, even when you weren’t physically there. You’re so many wonderful things bundled into a spicy little ball of fire, and fuck, Lily, being without you feels like being without the Sun.”

Lily’s eyes slowly well with a wall of tears, or maybe it’s my own eyes, but she doesn’t stop me. She just stares. Everyone stares, waiting. I greedily swallow some air before saying what I should have said the day she told me not to move to Emerald Falls.

“I would never hurt you, Lily. I need you to trust me when I say that because it’s always been you. Yesterday, today, tomorrow. For the rest of my fucking life. It will always be you. And I am so in love with you I—”

“I love you too.”

“Lily, I promise you I didn’t... wait. What?”

The ends of her perfect lips curl, those chestnut eyes glimmering with amusement. “I said I love you too, Spence.”

Is it possible that your heart can explode with happiness, but you somehow live through it? Because mine does. It swells in my chest and pushes so hard into my ribs, I have to hold a hand to it to keep it inside. Relief, euphoria, bliss. Everything surges through my body until I feel the tear slide down my cheek, matching the ones trailing down hers.

I scoop her in my arms, the sudden screams and cheers of the crowd finally registering as we twirl around, her giggles muffled in my neck. A second round of confetti cannons ring out, showering us in the gold and black of Emerald Falls. And when Lily leans back, hands clenching me as if she may fall at any second, I see it.

Her purest form. The one before she was, before she needed to put on the facade.

My future. Wrapped in her chestnut eyes.

Our love. Raining down in foil confetti.

This new Lily isn’t some horrible girl, hell-bent on making my life miserable. She’s a fighter, resilient and strong. Lily’s the product of thousands of pounds of pressure molding her into the diamond I couldn’t see. I thought all this time she had lost herself, but really she was blooming into what she’s always been since the day I laid eyes on her.

A queen.

EPILOGUE

“Oh, you look perfect, mija.”

My aunt Mina beams at me from the bottom of the stares. Her wide brown eyes sparkling with tears that slowly release down her cheek.

It wasn’t, but two weeks ago, she helped me pick out the dress. It’s an A-line, long sleeve, and floor-length. The deep emerald stands out beautifully against my skin, which is only showing at my chest with the low v-neck, and at my right leg from the slit that reaches just under my thigh. The heavy fabric is divine, and I purposely didn’t show Spencer so I could see the look on his face right now. And it was so worth it.

His own tux is black, tailored to show every bit of his muscle, and the emerald green pocket square ties it together magnificently. His thick locks are combed back, but a few strands fall over his forehead in a sexy Johnny Depp from cry baby type way, so I won’t dare fix them. His mouth is parted, and I have to bite the inside of my lip to keep from smiling at how fast his chest heaves and falls.

When I’ve made it to the end of the stairs, he still hasn’t spoken and my aunt Mina jabs him in the ribs. “Boy, if you don’t—”

“I’m sorry, it’s just,” he pauses, his smile finally splitting his face bringing his delicious dimples out. “It’s just when I don’t think you can get any more beautiful, you always make me feel stupid and show me you can.”

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