Page 121 of The Wedding Engagement

That statement warmed her heart. She glanced down at the box again, her interest piquing.

Sam bent down to lift it. “Here. I can see you’re dying to know what’s inside.”

She took the box. “Come on, you might as well come in.”

He followed her to the living room, where they sat on the sofa, and she undid the green ribbon tied around the box. It looked like a cake box.

“What the fuck are you watching?” Sam asked, looking at the TV screen, where the image was frozen on Lily James dressed in a dark satin ball gown and brandishing a sword.

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” she murmured absently as she lifted the cake box lid.

“For fuck’s sake,” Sam muttered. “I’ll bet Maya would love this.”

“She does. But not as much as the 2005 adaptation with Keira Knightley.” Liv opened the lid fully, and her eyes about came out on stalks. “A selection of scones from the teahouse!”

Sam laughed. “This guy knows the way to your heart.”

She glanced up. “Do you want one?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

Liv fetched a tray with some plates and fresh tea and they each chose a scone. The box even contained some cream and jam, and Liv did her best to avert her eyes when Sam applied his condiments cream first, just like Maya the scone traitor.

“By the way,” Sam said, his mouth full of scone. “How did the dress shopping go?”

“None of your biz,” she told him.

He swallowed his mouthful of scone and grinned. “How beautiful did my fiancée look?”

Liv had to fight back tears at the memory of how gorgeous Maya had looked. “Put it this way. You’d better keep some tissues in your sporran on the day, because you’re going to bawl like a baby when you see her.”

His smile faded to give way to a wistful expression. “Can you give me any clues?”

“Get lost, bro. I’m not giving a single detail away.” She mimed pulling a zip across her lips.

He sighed. “Should’ve known there was no way I’d break you.”

She smiled. “It’ll be worth it when you see her.”

He smiled the sappiest smile in the history of the universe. Liv half expected a Celine Dion ballad to start playing in the background at any moment.

“How excited are you for the wedding, on a scale of one to ten?” she asked him, munching on her scone.

“Like, an eleven,” he said, chomping the last piece of his scone in one go. “These are awesome, by the way.”

“I know,” she said with a sigh. She darted her eyes over at him, then back to her creamy, jammy treat. “Has Arran said anything about me?”

Sam shook his head. “I’m not allowed to talk about it. Arran said—”

“You weren’t allowed because I need space,” she finished for him. “Maya told me.”

Sam shrugged, grabbing his mug of tea to take a sip. “Rules is rules.”

“Humph.”

He shot her a smile. “I think you know in your heart what you want, and need, to do.”

If only it were that easy. She cleared her throat. “I don’t understand why it’s so hard to get past my own emotions, especially since I’ve now managed to voice them.”

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