Page 89 of Speechless

“Should we make a wager?” Jayce chimes in. Oh, not this again. I swear Jayce may have a gambling problem with how often he tries to do this. Well, considering who he brought tonight as his date, I’d say he definitely has a gambling problem . . .

“No way,” Preston cuts in. “That Pixar movie is definitely going to win. Henry doesn’t have a shot.”

“Well, I think he has it in the bag. What are you willing to put up for it, boys?”

Jayce looks intrigued. “Damn Luce, are you a gambler now? I’ll take that bet.”

I wonder how many of them would bet against me. Lucy won’t, that’s all that matters.

Lucy starts rubbing her hands together, and I see a familiar twinkle in her eye.

“All right, here’s the deal. If Henry loses, which he won’t”—she presses a light kiss to my cheek—“I’ll write my next book about both of you. You’ll each have whatever names, physical descriptionsandsuperpowers you choose. And it’ll include a very heartfelt dedication.” Preston and Jayce are nodding along with smug smiles on their faces and next to me Graham is pouting. They’ve all been asking her for this lately.

“But if he wins, you’re both house bitches for a month. I mean full-on servants, waiting on the rest of us, taking care of our every need. Henry wants a human metronome? You comply. Rowan and I want snacks delivered to us by the pool? I snap my fingers and one of you is there with an assortment of treats. Do we have a deal?”

To my utter surprise, they shake on it. My girlfriend and housemates are honestly betting on my success. As if I needed any more reason to be in a state of terror right now.

Everyone at the table quiets down as they announce the nominees for best original song. When I hear them announce my name forUnder the Rainbowas the winner, my mouth goes dry. Suddenly I’m not sure I can remember how to breathe. What the hell was I thinking? I can’t go up there. Even with HAAAM by my side, I’ll be the one they expect to physically accept the award.

“Breathe, Henry.” Lucy is hugging me and hands me a piece of paper. “Trust me, you’ve got this. Actually, no, you’re shaking like a scared bunny. But I’ve gotyou. Just . . . look at it and get up there. I’m so proud of you.” She kisses my cheek and sits back down. How is she so confident in this absolute disaster of a situation?

My nerves settle as soon as I look at the paper she handed me:

Smile

Hold up five fingers as high as you can

Hold up the Oscar with your other hand

Now get out of the way so Graham can read the other speech I wrote

I love you!

For the first time ever, I’m quite happy to be speechless.