Page 103 of The Kissing Booth
There was a knot in the pit of my stomach and I could hear my breathing getting a shallower.
‘Calm down,’ Noah whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my cheek. ‘It’ll be fine, I swear.’
‘Oh, I really hope you’re right...’
Chapter 23
A SMALL QUEUEof people lined up with their dates, waiting to have their photo taken under the magnificent flower archway against the wall of the ballroom. Noah guided me into the queue, and I shot him a smile. Looked like I would be getting photos with my date after all.
The delicate crystal chandeliers gave the room a warm glow, throwing sparkles off the gold that lined the walls, the pillars, the ceiling. The marble floor was splashed with shadows of dancing people. The ceiling went up in a high dome, and there was a bar against one wall. Small round tables with white tablecloths and flower arrangements stood around the sides of the ballroom, and the band was set up on a low platform at the far end.
In short, it was perfect. Unbelievably, flawlessly beautiful. I was pretty proud of myself for suggesting the flower arch for the photos, since it looked so romantic.
‘It’s amazing, don’t you think?’ I said to Noah with a grin.
‘Yeah,’ he agreed, looking around like I was.
‘Next?’ the photographer said, and we moved into his spotlight. I stood there a little awkwardly, aware of people looking at us. Of course, they were really only watching because we were having our photo taken. In thirty seconds the focus would be on the next couple. But right now, I was just waiting for someone to cry, ‘Oh my gosh! Elle and Flynn?’
‘Hey, relax,’ he breathed in my ear, making me jump a little.
‘Sorry, I’m just a little... on edge.’
He smirked that gorgeously sexy smirk. It relaxed me a little. So I turned to face the photographer, and Noah stood behind me, both arms wrapped around my waist and my arms wrapped over his. I smiled into the lens and the flash was almost blinding, then—
‘Next?’
And we were no longer the center of attention, just like that.
‘You thirsty?’
‘Uh, y-yeah.’
‘I’ll go grab some drinks.’
‘Okay.’
He’d barely left my side for a full four seconds when the other Flynn brother was right in front of me.
Crap. Had he just noticed me with Noah? Had someone seen us come in together? I mean, he didn’t look mad, but...
He slid my mask up off my face. ‘Shelly, you’re here.’
I smiled. ‘Hey, Lee.’
‘Make-up malfunction all sorted?’
I breathed a sigh of relief inside. He hadn’t noticed... ‘Yeah, thanks. Everything’s great now.’
‘Awesome. So, uh, are you going to come sit at our table or stand here on your lonesome?’
I wavered. ‘Lee, I kind of need to tell—’
‘Is that Elle?’ Someone spun my shoulder around and a masked blonde girl grinned at me. ‘I thought it was you! Nice dress, by the way. Hi, Lee. Listen, Elle, there’s a problem with the food, and Tyrone asked me to come find you. Something to do with the vegetarian option and a nut roast...?’
‘No, no, we said no nut roast because Jon Fletcher’s got a nut allergy.’
‘Yeah, I know. But Tyrone said to come find you.’
