Chapter 9

LIAM

When I was a kid, my older sister taught me one important lesson—there’s always a gay wedding to crash at Romeo & Julian’s around 9 PM.

So here we are, heading downtown to kill some time. It’s 7:53, and I have Emilia pull up their website to check tonight’s dress code. The city outside is a blur of headlights and neon, flashing across the windshield as she scrolls. Whatever she sees makes her snort so loudly that I almost swerve.

“This is a horrible idea, Liam.”

I grin, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s shaking her head, but there’s a smile pulling at her lips.

“Those are my favorite words.”

“No, like—this is an actual horrible idea. Aren’t we supposed to be fixing your image?”

She keeps scrolling, biting her lip between bursts of laughter, and something in my chest warms up. At least she’s not in that weird, depressing mood anymore.

“Nothing screams ‘serious relationship’ more than attending a wedding.”