Page 60 of The Promposal

I grabbed my clutch, gave myself the once-over in my mirror, and then headed down the hallway. Slowly. Like I was a bride marching down the aisle.

My father stood in the doorway, blocking Jake and ruining the entire effect. With a sigh, I began to walk normally and put my hand on Dad’s shoulder to move him to one side. “You’re totally killing my ... oh my Buddha.”

I actually felt my jaw hit the floor.

Because it wasn’t Jake standing at my front door.

It was the only person in the whole world who might possibly be better than him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Hello. I was told to find the most beautiful girl in the world at this address, so I’m guessing that you must be Mattie. I’m here to ask if you’d make Jake’s lifeSome Kind of Wonderfuland go with him to the prom.”

My mouth refused to cooperate and form sound.

“Blink twice if that’s a yes.”

I settled for nodding.

“Great! That means these are all for you.”

There, on my front porch, stood John Hughes’s redheaded muse. The actress who had starred in my all-time favorite movies. “You’re ... you’re ... Mol ... Mol ... Mol ...”

Ignoring my inability to finish words, she smiled and handed me a massive bouquet of white roses, and with shaking arms, I took them.

This could not be happening. I passed the flowers over to Jennifer, and I saw that both she and my dad were just as stunned as I was.

“And here.”

Then she gave me several DVDs that she had autographed. They had just become my most prized possessions.

“I heard you were a fan,” she said.

That was a bit of an understatement. I again nodded enthusiastically and then immediately stopped. I kept telling myself,Don’t be weird. Don’t be weird. Don’t be weird. But the rest of me didn’t seem to be getting the message.

She must have been used to making people go dumb when they saw her because she gestured toward the driveway and kept carrying the conversation. “Come on. There’s a driver waiting to take you to the dance, and I’m going to ride along with you on the way there and answer any questions you might have.”

I gave my DVDs to my father and followed behind the actress. Dad and Jennifer, still in shock, stood in the doorway and watched us go.

“Your dress is pretty,” she told me.

“My sister made it out of another dress.” Just like inPretty in Pink. Only I didn’t say that part because of the celebrity-induced daze I was currently in.

The driver held the back door of the limo open, and I crawled inside after the actress. “Your boyfriend must really love you.”

“Yeah” was all I could manage. She was right. Jake did love me, and he did get how important this promposal was to me, and he’d given me the most amazing, perfect one in the entire universe.

This actress owed her career to John Hughes. Because he’d seen something special in her and made her a star. It was something I could relate to on a very personal level—Jake had seen something special in me and made me feel like a star.

After a few more minutes of her trying to make me feel comfortable, it finally worked. My tongue loosened, and I was able to ask her questions about her experiences. She told me funny behind-the-scenes stories and had me either laughing or being completely in awe of her for the entire ride.

“Did you want to take a selfie?” she asked, and I realized then that nobody had taken any pictures of us together. Jennifer had really dropped the ball. And I definitely wanted photographic evidence. I fumbled with the button on my clutch and finally wrangled my phone free. Rather wisely, she took the camera and took several pictures. My hands probably would have shaken too hard to have a single clear shot.

“And ... we’re here. Enjoy your prom!”

“Thank you. I’m so glad I got to meet you. You’re my favorite actress ever. Ever.”

She laughed as the driver opened the door for me. “Have a good night, Mattie!”

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