Falling for Fallon (Oak Hill 2)

Me: I’ve never been so jealous in my entire life! Oh, and tell Ivy that I’m annoyed that she still looks pretty while shoving a taco in her mouth.

Emmett: What about me? Do I look pretty, too?

I giggled.

Me: Of course. You look beautiful, Emmett. ; )

Emmett: So do you.

My heart slowed in my chest, pausing for a second like it was about to go over a speedbump.

Me: How do you know? You can’t see me. ; ) Oh, and our plan backfired! Derek said he knew I would go against what he said and that I look—and I quote—beautiful. He must know me a little better than I thought.

Emmett: He’s right, you know. You do look beautiful.

Me: How do you know? You can’t see me, and no, I’m not sending you a picture.

Emmett: Hot-as-fuck red dress, brown hair pulled back with a little bit hanging around your face, red lipstick that makes your lips look even more kissable… you look good.

My heart was no longer pausing. Instead, it had turned into a shooting star, flying through the night sky, fire trailing behind. I slowly brought my head up, placing my phone on the table. My hand was shaky, and my head was going a million miles a second. I took my gaze and trailed it around the spacious room.

I didn’t see Emmett anywhere.

And the disappointment that I felt after realizing that he was probably just guessing what my hair looked like and that I had on red lipstick was mind-boggling.

How the hell would he be here, Fallon? Did you think your white knight was going to come swoop in to save you from this over-priced event? Get a grip!

I brought my head down, seconds from reaching for my phone, when I heard a voice from behind.

“Taco, miss?”

I stopped breathing.

My eyes grew into the size of golf balls. In fact, they almost rolled out of my head.

I glanced to my right when I saw a silver platter appear out of thin air.

When I turned my head, I wanted to scream.

Confetti may have been coming out of my pores.

I stuttered, looking from the silver platter to Emmett’s face. “What… What… what are you doing here?!”

He kept his face stone cold, acting as if it were completely normal for him to be serving me at this event (and a taco, at that!). Emmett blended in with the other servers as he was wearing the same attire: black slacks, shiny leather shoes, white undershirt with a black vest overtop, and a bowtie to match. The only difference was that Emmett was aggressively handsome compared to the other servers. I wouldn’t be surprised if every single woman in this room flagged him down for their mushroom bite.

“I’m serving you a taco, my lady.”

Emmett reached up and pulled the lid from the platter, and what laid inside was one perfectly crispy hard taco emitting its delicious spicy scent. My mouth watered.

“But…” Not a single word would come out of my mouth. I just sat there at the table, staring at him, a smile mere seconds from swallowing my entire face up.

“You are…” I smashed my red-stained lips together. “You are amazing, Emmett Lanning, but holy shit, how are you here?!”

He shrugged. “I paid one of the servers to take over his job for the night.” He looked around. “I paid him way more than he would have made here tonight, anyway.”

“You paid someone to trade clothes and let you work his shift… all so you could bring me a taco? Are you crazy?”

“For you, yes.”