Page 57 of The Prom King & The Ice Queen

“Everyone,” he deadpans. “Literally everyone caught on to my greatness before you did.”

I laugh because I see it so clearly now, this act that he puts on. He isn’t nearly as arrogant as he seems.

I mean, sure, he’s cocky, but he can laugh at himself and admit when he’s wrong.

His eyes are warm when he wraps his arms around me as if we’re still dancing, but out here there’s no music. He nods toward the ballroom. “You okay?”

I know what he means, but for a second my lungs falter because…this. This is the real surprise when it comes to Leo Barons. It’s nice to find out he’s not the conceited, self-absorbed ass I’d long thought him to be. But it’s kinda amazing to discover that he’s got this serious side to him that I’d never even suspected.

“I’m okay,” I finally say slowly, kinda feeling it out.

But it feels true. I am okay.

“I kinda feel like….like this has been a long time coming,” I say.

He watches me closely. “Yeah?”

I let my hands settle on his shoulders. “It’s exhausting trying to be something you’re not.”

“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit,” he says after a long silence.

I arch a brow. “You think I should be more arrogant like you?”

He laughs. “No, I just mean…you are amazing.”

I blink in shock because there’s not a hint of irony in his tone, not a flicker of laughter in his eyes. “I don’t feel amazing,” I say.

“That’s because you can’t see you the way that I see you right now.”

It’s hard to breathe when he’s looking at me like this. Like he sees me. And like I really am amazing.

I force a self-deprecating tone. “If you’re about to say how admirable it is that I have a work ethic, I—”

“No,” he cuts me off. “It’s not that. I mean, yes, it’s great that you’re so responsible, but that’s not what’s amazing.”

I swallow hard. I hate how much I’m hanging on his every word. I hate that I care what he’s about to say.

“You’re amazing because you’re brave,” he says. “You’re incredible because despite all the hardships you’ve been through, you don’t let it bring you down.”

I give a rueful scoff at this. “Trust me, I have my bad days.”

A smile flickers over his lips. “That’s not what I meant. I meant…you didn’t let it break you.”

My heart aches and my throat gets tight. I don’t know how long I’ve waited for someone to acknowledge that—I don’t even think I knew that I was waiting. But right now it’s like I can finally exhale a breath I’d been holding my whole life.

He dips his head a bit, his arms tightening at my waist. “Savannah?”

“Yeah?”

“I like you.” He says it on a breath and my heart goes flying like a kite in the wind.

My brain can’t even process this so I just stare up at him in shock until he closes the distance and kisses me.

It’s nothing like the kiss inside earlier. This one is not light and chaste, but hard and fervent, like he’s trying to tell me something with the press of his lips against mine. His mouth is hot and urgent and my body reacts like it’d just been waiting for this moment.

I kiss him back like I can’t get enough. Because I can’t. There’s a needy feeling that sweeps through me as I wrap my arms around his neck. His grip around my waist is so tight that I’m literally swept off my feet when he straightens.

I can barely catch my breath when he pulls his head back and starts trailing kisses over my cheeks, my nose, my jaw, like he wants to explore every inch of me.

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