Page 162 of Bang


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As I stared at Livia, I waited desperately for the punchline – for her to tell me that she was just kidding, or that the rings were simply borrowed from her dad's shop.

I was still waiting when an unfamiliar male voice from somewhere to my left said, "Hey, you wanna dance?"

I turned to look. It was Chopped Liver. Andthistime, he wasn't looking at Livia. He was looking atme.

By now, several seconds had passed since Livia's startling announcement. I still hadn't found my voice when Chopped Liver held out his hand, as if preparing to lead me out onto the dance floor.

His hand was still there when another male voice – this oneveryfamiliar – said, "Forget it.She's mine."

I whirled to look, and there he was – Mason, holding at least a dozen yellow helium balloons by their strings, along with a giant bouquet of yellow roses.

But that wasn't the only thing that made me stare.

It was the necktie – the one I'd given him on the roadside. He was actually wearing it, along with a tailored business suit that looked a million times more traditional than the rest of his getup.

As for as the tie itself, Mason had apparently activated the power switch because even now, the hideous thing was glowing and pulsing, almost in time with the music.

I gave a quick shake of my head. Okay, thishadto be a dream – or maybe a nightmare, because honestly, I still had no clue what was happening.

Oh sure, I recalled telling Mason that I loved yellow balloons and roses. And Ialsorecalled buying him that tie.

Now, here he was with all three of those things, looking so sinfully delicious that I couldn’t help but stare.

And yet, this would surely be a nightmare if he'd come for someone else, especially someone I considered a friend. But thatcouldn’tbe the case, because for one thing, he thought Livia was crazy.

As I stared up at him, those two magical words lingered between us along with the scent of the roses.She's mine.

Somehow, I managed to stammer, "Do you mean me?"

He moved closer, and his eyes filled with something that could only be love. In a voice that was nearly a caress, he said, "Who else?"

And with that, he handed me the roses, along with the balloons, whose strings were tied together by a shiny yellow bow. In that same tender voice, he said, "If you'll have me."

Oh, boy.

The balloons were big and festive, and the roses were the most beautiful of any I'd ever seen. As I clutched them tight against me, I felt my eyes fill with unshed tears.

I wanted to hurtle myself into his arms. And yet, lingering confusion made me pause.What about Livia?When I gave her a quick glance, she looked to Chopped Liver and said, "Sorry, she's taken."

Mason said, "Got that right."

A soft breath escaped my lips. "Oh."

Around us, everyone was staring, even Chopped Liver, who still wasn't leaving. He looked to Mason and said, "Hey, aren't you that guy from the show? You know, with the tools?"

Livia laughed. "Of course he is. This isn't the first time you've seen him, you know."

"Yeah, but…" The guy was still staring. "It's the first time I've seen him dothat."

Livia asked, "Do what?"

His eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion. "He's smiling."

I looked back to Mason.Yup, he was smiling, alright.And it was one of those rare and wonderful smiles that went all the way to his eyes.

As I clutched the roses tight against me and gripped the strings of the balloons, I looked to Livia and said, "But wait, so that engagement thing, it was just a joke?"

She frowned. "Why would you say that?"