Page 50 of The Prom King & The Ice Queen

I let out a huff of amusement. “Exactly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He’s still wearing a little smile, but his gaze is searching. And…he’s serious.

I swallow hard. Like in the car the other day it occurs to me how little Leo and I have ever spoken.

Oh, we’ve talked plenty over the years. We’ve bickered and joked. We’ve even been teammates of a sort as we keep our little crew of friends in line and play the game without ever acknowledging the rules.

But that’s not this.

That’s not…talking. Like, really genuinely talking. It’s weird. And it kinda makes me want to annoy him into a smirk or a glare so he’s not looking at me like this.

But at the same time, I might have some sass, as my mom likes to call it, but I don’t consider myself petty.

“You know what I mean,” I mutter.

“I don’t, actually.”

“You are who you are.” I look around the ballroom pointedly. “And I am who I am.”

I shrug under his quizzical smile.

“Are you going all medieval on me? Can we not be friends if we come from different zip codes?”

I look away. I don’t want to be talking about this topic. Not here and not with him.

“Why didn’t you tell me April put you up to it?”

My head snaps back, my eyes wide. “What?”

He’s watching me so intently, it’s hard to hold his gaze. “You heard me. She tried to play a prank on you, right? That’s what I understood from her babbling, at least.” His jaw works. “But it would have been easier to understand if you’d just told me yourself.”

My mouth opens and then I slam it shut again just as quickly. “I don’t owe you any explanations.”

His brows arch in clear disbelief. “Not even after I took the blame?”

This again?I want to say. Let it go already.

There are a handful of retorts on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t say a single one because he’s not fronting. His gaze is unguarded, his expression serious and…and hurt.

“I…I…” I glance away just in time to see his parents watching us. That, at least, I know how to handle. For their sake I smile and then I lean in close to him, my hand on his arm as I laugh. “We have an audience,” I say through a smile.

I’m hoping it looks like we’ve stolen away for a private moment and not an interrogation. I give him my best swooning look and his answering smile is that lopsided one that makes my lungs hitch and my belly flutter.

Leo’s hands come to my waist and tug me even closer. “I never thought I’d see the day you smile at me like this.”

“Like what?” I say. But I know. Of course I know. I’m smiling at him like he’s my boyfriend.

“I like it,” he says. He dips his head slightly and I see the question in his eyes.

I know what my answer should be.

But I can’t quite make my tongue work. At least, not before he takes my silence for assent and leans in to touch his lips to mine.

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