stomer service desk in the left corner of the room。
“Hello； I’m Blair Waldorf；” she announced to the tiny man behind the counter。 He wore a pink striped French cuffed shirt and a red tie。 His robin’s egg blue name tag read FREDDIE。 “I believe you called me。”
“Of course； Miss Waldorf！” he shrieked。 He glanced meaningfully over at the beige couches in the corner。 Blair followed his gaze； expecting to see Nate。 An overweight guy wearing a pink baseball cap on his bald head stood beside two women arguing with each other in French； and a handsome guy in shorts sat with his back to them。
Blair knew only one guy who wore cargo shorts in the winter； as if he simply wasn’t affected by the cold。 And she’d sort of forgotten that he existed。
“Scout！” Pete looked up and grinned devilishly as he sauntered toward her。 It was as if he’d just spotted her across the dining hall。
“Hi；” Blair said weakly。 It wasn’t like she’d forgotten about Pete； exactly； but he certainly hadn’t been front and center on her radar。
“But what about Costa Rica？” Blair asked； confused。 Pete was supposed to be there for another week。
He shrugged and smiled。 “I couldn’t do it。 I needed to be with you。 So I got to thinking…” Pete smiled as he reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts； removed a blue box； and held it out to her。
“What？” Blair asked； a wave of dizziness hitting her。
“Open it。” Pete pushed the box into her hands。 Fingers trembling； she opened the Tiffany blue cardboard box to find a small black velvet jewelry box。 Blair’s heart careened through her chest to the floor。
Was he proposing？ At Tiffany？ She’d imagined this was how she’d get engaged a million times。 But in all her fantasies； it wasn’t Pete asking her。 It was Nate。