Page 9 of Rejected Heart

“Oh?”

I shot him a look that dared him to explain his ability to make such a declaration.

Liam didn’t precisely do that, but what he gave me was arguably better. “I’m sitting here because I had a lot of fun with you at the park last week, and I wanted to see if you really did enjoy yourself, too. Not only that, but you’re right. Last week was the first we’ve ever spoken to one another, and I realized I was missing out. So, I’m rectifying that by making the effort to talk to you every day that I see you.”

My belly dipped again, but this time, it happened in addition to my heart rate picking up. “Do you mean that?”

He nodded slowly, his lips curving into a smile. “I do.”

I smiled back at him. “Well, if what I experienced last week is anything to go by, then I suspect I’m in for a real treat moving forward.”

“So, you had fun at the park?”

Biting my lip, I dipped my chin. “It didn’t start off that way, but it got better after you sat next to me on that bench.”

“I’m glad.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” His beautiful blue eyes were dancing. “Thank you for that, by the way. You didn’t have to, but you did, and it meant a lot to me.”

“Well, it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, too. I didn’t know that a girl who’s as quiet as you could scream so loud.”

My eyes widened. I could feel the flush creep over my cheeks. I diverted my attention to the ground, my shoulders rounding. “Most of those rides were terrifying,” I murmured.

Liam’s hand reached out to cover mine. Tingles shot up my arm as I kept my gaze focused on his fingers. “It was your first time. I would have expected nothing less. I’m sure by the time you go back, it’ll be easier.”

I blinked in surprise. “By the time I go back? When would I be doing that?”

“Well, if you really want to try to squeeze it in before the park closes for the year, I’d be happy to set something up. Otherwise, we can do it again in the spring.”

Was he asking me on a date?

“I… uh… well?—”

“Let me rephrase that,” he said. “Regardless of when you’d like to go back to the amusement park, I definitely want to hang out with you again. We can do something different, though.”

He was.

Liam Westwood was asking me out on a date.

“You want to hang out with me?”

“Yes.”

I was shocked. Stunned. “Why?”

“Because I had fun with you. Because I want to get to know you better. And because I think you’re really pretty, and I like looking at you.”

If I thought my face had been flushed before, it was nothing compared to the heat that crept through my body now. I tipped my chin down, pressing my lips together in order to stifle a grin.

Liam thought I was pretty. It was the first time any guy had ever said something like that to me, and it was all I could do not to freak out in the middle of the auditorium.

“I’d love to hang out with you sometime.”

“Alright. How about you give me your number, and I’ll call you after school one day this week to plan it?”

Liam thought I was pretty, wanted to hang out with me, and had just asked for my number. Somebody needed to pinch me!

I flipped my notebook open to a blank page. Then I wrote down my number, tore off the slip of paper, andhanded it to him.

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