Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,233

You look…”

With a cute grin, she did a little spin, and his admiration of her only grew. “Like it?”

He tilted his head, sincerely trying to get words to come out, but they were failing him completely.

She laughed at his inability to string anything together. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Ye… yes. Yes,” he said as the words tripped out of him. “Of course. Wow. You’re gorgeous.”

The grin sent happiness waltzing across her features. “Gorgeous, huh? I’ll take it.”

Turning his arm to her, he accepted her hand, and pride mixed with glitters of love and affection filled him to the brim. He was glad, in spite of all of it, that he had come. “What do you say? You ready for this, Eliza?”

Her eyes lit up like fireworks. “I am ready, Alexander.”

As crazy as it sounded as they headed through the lobby, Taylor couldn’t take her eyes off of him. The scruff made him look rugged. The curls made him look drop-dead gorgeous. What had LaChelle said about him? Tonight that was true and more.

The mix of emotions was hard to categorize as they headed out to his car. She liked the double takes they got from the others. It made her feel seen and noticed but secure. She wasn’t on-sale tonight. Tonight, she was taken.

Okay, not taken exactly, but safe. Protected. Untouchable.

It made her a little giddy, and she fought the bubbles of happiness flickering up into her chest. They made her bounce a little bit. She was so glad she had misread the whole situation. “Oh, before I forget, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

He smiled at her. “Happy Valentine’s.”

By the time they arrived, the dance was in full-swing in the Activity Center ballroom. It was just a couple doors down from the mirror room, and Greg couldn’t help but think how different the entire building and everything in it felt tonight. Together, her arm in his, they walked up the winding staircase and into the melee of Alpha Chi girls and their dates.

He heard without listening for it, the hush and gush that rippled in all directions when they finally reached the large expanse of balcony. Taylor’s hand tightened on his arm, and he put his down on hers to give her courage. She didn’t owe these people anything.

Ducking to her, he surveyed their options. “You want to go on inside?”

“Sure,” she said like a breath, and he knew the game was afoot.

As they crossed through the party-goers, Greg made sure to measure every step carefully. He didn’t want to rush her or to make her look ridiculous—only as captivating and amazing as she truly was. At the door, he stepped back and let her enter first as one hand came to the door to hold it and the other fell to the small of her back protectively. It wasn’t for show. It just happened.

Inside the large room, it was far darker than the outer area. There was a DJ with swirling lights at the front where a few people were dancing. Of course, anytime Alpha Chi was in the mix, they would be swamped within ten seconds, and tonight was no different.

“Taylor! Oh, whoa. Stop the presses,” LaChelle said, taking Taylor’s arms and extending them so she could look at the dress. “I am…” LaChelle stopped and shook her head. “Wow. Show-stopping.”

“Thanks,” Taylor said, and Greg heard a note in her voice that hadn’t been there before. It was humble and vulnerable, not haughty and arrogant. She wasn’t loving the attention lavished on her as she had always seemed to in the past.

“And Greg,” LaChelle said, putting her hand on his arm, smiling, and even batting her eyelashes a bit. “We’re so glad you could come.”

He nodded to her. “LaChelle.”

“We missed you at dance class.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said with half-a-shrug. “I had to work.”

“Well, don’t worry. I kept an eye on this one for you,” LaChelle said. “And trust me, Zach kept his hands to himself the whole time.”

Like he’d just taken a surprise bullet, Greg straightened. “Zach?”

“Just some guy,” LaChelle said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Trust me, totally not a threat.”

Oh, but she was wrong. Very, very wrong. His heart sped up as he tried to smile and not get caught up in who is Zach, and why haven’t I heard about him before?

“Let’s dance,” Taylor suddenly said, snaking her arm through the bottom of his. “I love this song.”

“Uh. Okay. Yeah. Sure.” Pinging through the suddenness of the request and the questions about