I tug nervously at the hem of my very short, very tight, very bright dress—still amazed that I let Spencer talk me into buying it.
“Go on, you can do it!” Charlotte enthusiastically whisper-yells from the waiting limo behind me.
Taking a deep breath, I smile down at the corsage on my wrist made up of small blue flowers. Spencer is gone, but in a way, he’s still with me. Charlotte’s right. I can do this.
I knock on the door and try to stop my nervous body from trembling as I hear someone approach. The door opens and Wes sucks in a gasp. “Bailey?”
I bite my lip and force myself to smile. “Hi.”
He can’t speak. His mouth is hanging slightly open, and he hasn’t blinked since he laid eyes on me. The appreciation in his stare makes me blush.
“I—” He rakes a hand over his head and blows out a breath through puffed cheeks. “Wow.”
“I thought you’d like it,” I murmur, my blush spreading down the back of my neck. “I’m pretty sure Spencer picked it out with you in mind.”
Wes’s eyes fly back to my face, startled. I take a deep breath and will myself to be brave. I’m still not sure if Wes has accepted my story about seeing Spencer as a ghost. “I just want you to know that I won’t be seeing Spencer anymore.”
Wariness creeps into Wes’s expression, but he doesn’t slam the door in my face, so I consider that a positive and continue on. “He said good-bye.”
It takes Wes a moment to respond, and I’m shocked when he gives me a small nod and says, “I’m sorry.”
Does that mean he believes me? My heart picks up pace, and I begin to hope. “It’s okay,” I promise. “We made peace with it.” I let my smile fall a little crooked and say, “He gave me a green light.”
Wes flinches, and his eyes nearly pop out of his head again. He swallows so hard I can hear it. “Green light for what?”
Here goes…
“To let myself have feelings for you.”
I don’t hear Wes’s gasp, but his chest rises as he sucks air into his lungs. “What?”
My hands start to shake, so I wrap them around myself. “I always loved you both,” I say. “If that bottle had landed on you instead of him that night, things probably would have gone very differently.”
Wes doesn’t speak, but there’s another sharp intake of breath and another hard swallow.
“Wes…there’s nothing to forgive, and yes, you have a chance.” When he still doesn’t speak, my confidence evaporates. I shrug, squeezing myself tighter. “If you still want one.”
I stare at the ground, trying not to panic. What if I was right the first time and there’s too much baggage between us? I may have made peace with everything, but that doesn’t mean Wes has. What if he still can’t stand being around me?
I nearly jump out of my skin when Wes pulls my arms away from my body and takes my hands in his. I look up to meet his gaze, prepared to accept whatever response he needs to give. “Really?” he asks as if he can’t quite believe what’s happening.
I let out a breath and smile a little easier. “Yes, really. I’m going to need to take it slow, and I still love him. I’ll always love him. But I’m ready to move on, and I want it to be with you.”
Wes blinks a couple times and then stares into my eyes, as if searching for the truth in my soul.
“We all made mistakes, Wes—you, me, and Spencer. It’s time to forgive ourselves and move on. That’s what Spencer wanted, why he came back. We were both his unfinished business.”
I shift my grip in his hands so that our fingers lace together. “He wants this for us and…I want it, too.”
I have to look away again, and I curse the heat rising in my cheeks.
“Bay…”
Before I can look up, Wes pulls me into his arms and crushes me to his chest as if he never wants to let go. It’s just like the last time I was at his house, when he clung to me as if he simply couldn’t help himself. He’s holding me like I’m precious, like I’m the only thing keeping him on his feet, like I’m pumping strength into him.
I melt against his chest and sigh softly as every muscle in my body relaxes. “I love you, too, Wes,” I whisper. “I always have.”
Wes lets me go and pulls back to look at me. I can tell he’s wondering if he heard me right. Instead of repeating myself, I grin at him and say, “Do you own a suit? Other than your handsome work tux, I mean? That one might be a little too sexy.”
He cocks an eyebrow and tries to scowl, but his lips twitch at the corners and he rolls his eyes. He scans me from head to toe once more and says, “I just have the one I wore to Spencer’s funeral.”
Instead of making me sad, that thought makes me smile. “That’s perfect.”
Wes narrows his eyes, waiting for the question I’m sure he’s already figured out is coming.
I grin. “You want to go to homecoming with me, my freshman little sister, a bunch of orchestra geeks, and a couple of lesbians?”
Once Wes processes what I just said, he finally cracks a smile and shakes his head, chuckling. “Give me just a minute to change.”
I spend the minutes admiring the pictures in his living room again. This time when I see the picture of his mother, I smile to myself. I’ll be able to keep my promise to her after all. Wes won’t be alone when her time on this earth is finally up.
Wes clears his throat behind me. I turn around and immediately go weak in the knees. My heart stutters and my stomach explodes with butterflies. I loved Spencer’s looks. He was the most handsome, adorable guy there ever was, but Wes…Wes is sexy. Dating someone who sets my insides on fire is a new feeling. A terrifying and thrilling feeling. “Wow,” I say, repeating the compliment he’d given me.
He crosses the room to me, and my stomach flips again. His mouth lifts into a crooked smile, reminding me that he’s always been astutely aware of his good looks and knows the effect he has on girls. I’ve never been the focus of his attention like this before. Probably because I was dating his best friend. But the game has changed now, and he’s not masking his thoughts on that subject.
I am in so much trouble.
Before he can pull me into his arms, I nervously hold up the small boutonniere I got to match my corsage. “May I?”
Wes stops his advance and holds still while I pin the flowers to his lapel. “You didn’t want to get red to match your dress?” he asks curiously.
“These are forget-me-nots. They symbolize remembrance.”
Flower successfully pinned, I smooth out his lapel and brave a glance at him. He’s watching me with so much emotion that my face heats up again.
“For Spencer?” he asks gruffly.
“And for Rosie.” I smile at his surprise and lead him to the door. “Spencer said he finally met her. He seemed a little smitten. He likes that she’s a redhead.”
Wes stumbles to a stop with a gasp. “I never told you she had red hair.”
I give him a knowing smile and drag him out to the limo, where our friends clap and cheer at the sight of us together.
It’s not until we’ve been at the dance for over an hour and find ourselves alone at a table that Wes has the chance to ask me about Spencer. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he asks, chewing on his lower lip with his brow furrowed. “You really saw Spencer. He really came to you.”
I don’t feel insulted that he hadn’t believed me before. I really can’t blame him. If I hadn’t lived it, I wouldn’t have believed it, either. “He really did.”
Wes sucks in a breath and lets this news sink in. Eventually, a small smile works its way across his face. “I wish I could have seen him. Wish I could have apologized, you know? I didn’t really hate him. I was screwed up, and I was jealous, but I always loved him. How could I not?”
“How could anybody not?” I tease.
Wes puts his arm around me, and I lean into his side. “He knows,” I promise. “He was there with us most of the time.”
Wes shakes his head in amazement. “I really thought you were crazy.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Wes smiles apologetically. “I didn’t blame you. There’ve been plenty of times in the last year where I thought I was losing my mind. I figured thinking you were talking to his ghost was some way of you trying to accept his loss. I guess I figured…whatever worked. You seemed to be doing better lately, so…”
“So you thought it was okay that I was delusional?”
I get another guilty smile. “If it helps, I’m glad you’re not.”
“Well, I’m glad you believe me now. And while we’re on the subject, there’s something I’m still curious about. What was up with the zoo? Spencer was pretty cryptic about stuff.”
Wes blushes, making my curiosity skyrocket to an all-time high.
“Wes…?”
“It’s where you and I were going to get married.”
I blink. Of everything I’d considered over the last few days, that had not been one of the possibilities. “Where we what?”
Wes rolls his eyes and shrugs defensively. “When we were nine. You gave us wedding rings and said we were getting married. Well…Spencer and I used to plan our weddings.”
I bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling, because Wes is obviously embarrassed. But that is seriously the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. “Why the zoo?”
Wes’s face turns crimson again. “You had a thing for all those stupid princess movies where they were always talking to the animals and stuff. And you had all those stuffed animals in the tree house. I guess I just figured you’d like to have the animals at your wedding.”
I can’t hold back my smile any longer. “Aw, that’s so romantic, Wes. Thank you. I would have loved my zoo wedding.”
He rolls his eyes again and shakes his head at me, but I catch his tiny smile as he turns his face away.
“Where did Spencer want to get married?” I can’t help but ask.
“In the tree house.” Wes smirks. “He was never very imaginative.”
I laugh. It feels so good to be able to talk about Spencer. I’d missed him so much over the past year because I couldn’t bear to even think about him. Being able to talk about him and share his memories with Wes makes me feel like even though he’s gone he’s still with me. I finally understand what he meant when he told me to keep him in my memory while sharing my heart with Wes. And for the first time, I finally know that I’ll be able to do that.
The music changes from the upbeat dance tunes that have been popular with the crowd to something softer that calls for a slow dance. Excited by the thought of swaying in Wes’s arms, I hold out a hand to him and jerk my head toward the dance floor. “Dance with me?”
He smiles, as if he was just about to ask me the same question.
As we come together inside a sea of other happy couples, I shiver. Being close to him like this, having his arms around me, resting my head against his chest, feels right. I send a silent thanks up to Spencer for bringing us together.
“So…um…” Wes clears his throat.
I pull my head back just far enough to look into his eyes.
“How slow are you thinking we take this? Am I going to be allowed to kiss you at the end of the night? Because, you know, that’s all I’ve been able to think about since I opened the door and saw you in this amazing dress.”
My body responds to his words, sending electric tingles all the way through me. Maybe I won’t need to take our relationship as slow as I thought. Not that I’m willing to admit that to him. “I’ll tell you what.” I flash him a wicked smile. “We’ll play spin the bottle after the dance, and if you get lucky enough to land on me, then you can have the green light.”
Wes shakes his head with laughter, and then, in a quick move, lowers his face to mine. I gasp in surprise, and Wes takes advantage of my parted lips. The kiss is bold but not hungry. It’s not all fire and lust, but rather a passionate declaration of love. He’s letting me know exactly how much he cares for me.
He caught me off guard, so it takes me a moment to catch up to him, but when I do, I wrap my arms around his neck and become putty in his embrace. His grip tightens when he realizes I need a little help standing up.
He breaks the kiss with a cocky chuckle that has my entire body exploding with goose bumps. “Sorry,” he says, sounding anything but apologetic. “My track record with spin the bottle isn’t the best.”