Текст книги "Crazy Beautiful"

Автор книги: Penny Dee

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Текущая страница: 18 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Two

My daddy’s question rang in my ears long after he’d retired for the evening. I sat at the bay window of his study overlooking the mill pond. The moon was high and flooded the room with bright light. Tomorrow was the debutante ball. I would be pushed and pulled in all directions. Which was nothing new really, considering my heart and my head were in a constant tug of war.

I sighed, got up and left the study. As I climbed the grand staircase I was stopped by a noise coming from upstairs. I stood very still to listen. And I knew exactly what it was. Instead of heading towards my bedroom, I went to Harper’s room and crossed to the large open window on the far wall overlooking the creek.

“Busted,” I said to my ninja sister who was creeping up the lattice work outside the window. She was almost at the top.

“Hells bells!” she gasped. Then, realizing it was only me, hoisted herself over the windowsill and into the room. “Geez Harlow, you scared me half to death.”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Relax.” She caught her breath. “I was with Cooper.”

Cooper was her boyfriend. This week, anyway. My rebellious sister wasn’t one for commitment.

I leaned against the windowsill and crossed both my arms and my legs.

“At least tell me you’re being safe.” There was no point reprimanding her or sneaking out. Lord knows I’d done it enough times with Colton.

Harper scoffed as she crossed the room to her bed and took off her boots. “Sure, I am. There’s no way in Hades I will fall in love with that boy. I mean Cooper is good lookin’ and all, but he’s not exactly bright. If he threw himself on the ground he’d miss.”

I raised my Scarlet O’Hara brow. “I didn’t mean be safe with your heart. I meant safe sex.” God, when did I turn into a parent?

Harper swung around. “With Cooper?” She shimmied out of her jeans and top, leaving her standing with her hands on her hips in only her underwear. Modesty wasn’t Harper’s strong point. “If you think I’m givin’ anything away to a guy like Cooper Stone, then you’re crazier than what Mama says.”

Again, another raised brow. “Mama thinks I’m crazy?”

“Like a road runnin’ lizard.” She pulled an oversized t-shirt over her head and then sat on the edge of her bed, pulling her long hair over her shoulder to plait it. I sat down next to her.

“Yeah, well if I’m crazy it’s because of all this debutante bullshit. It’s like I came back from California and rode straight into crazy town.”

“Mama says you don’t enjoy it because you’re too damn stubborn to even try.”

“Crazy and stubborn. Boy, Mama was on a roll.”

She paused with her plait. “Do you miss California?”

Boom. There was that ache again. Every time I thought about it, which let’s face it was all the time, the crater in my chest got bigger.

I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

Harper knew about Heath. Well, not everything. But she knew I had met someone and that I’d left them behind. Clearly she suspected things, but rehashing them with her would only make it harder for me to move on. Heath didn’t exist in this house. And it would make it easier to get over him if that’s the way it stayed.

“Have you thought of going back?”

I nodded and then sighed. “Every day.”

“Well, I think it’s crazy you even came back. When I turn eighteen, I’m out of here. No way Mama is going to put me through all this debutante malarkey. I’ll run away before I let that happen.”

“She’ll find you.”

“Maybe. But she’ll have to haul me back by the bra strap because I won’t come home willingly.” She thought for a minute. “If you go back to California, can I have your room?”

“I’m not going back to California.”

“Pity. Your room is so much better than mine.”

“That’s because our parents like me better.”

She grinned and nudged me with her shoulder. But her smile faded.

“Why did you come back here? You’re miserable.”

“No, I’m not.”

She scoffed. “Harlow, you look like you’ve been rode hard and hung out to dry.”

“I do not,” I protested. Did I? I mean, was I that bad? I frowned. “What do you know anyway, you’re only sixteen?”

Now she raised her eyebrow.

“I’m sixteen; not blind.” She climbed into bed and pulled up the blankets. “If I were you I’d catch the first flight out of here heading west.”

“And if I were you, I’d make the most of being sixteen and not having to worry about your debutante ball for another two years.” I grinned and stood up, leaning over her to kiss her on the forehead. “Good night, sister.”

She smiled up at me from her pillow. “One day I’m going to California and I’m never coming back.”

“Then I only hope California will be ready.”

In the quiet of my own room I sat at the large window and leaned against the sill. It had been a particularly tiresome week of last minute dress fittings, dance classes and gala rehearsals. I knew I should get some rest. But I hated closing my eyes. Because when I did, I saw him and my chest would ache from the great big fucking hole where my heart used to be.

I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them. The moon was large and bright. It cast a silvery glow across the immaculate lawns and gardens and its reflection shimmered in the duck pond. I exhaled deeply. I had never felt so alone or as broken hearted as I did tonight. I missed Heath. And I knew it had nothing to do with the nostalgic moonlight, and everything to do with the fact that I was still terribly in love with him.

* * * * *

It was the day of the deb ball and the day’s events passed by me like I was watching them from a car window. My mother had a professional makeup and hair styling team work on me while I stared sightlessly at my reflection in the mirror. It took an exhausting two hours and by the end of it I was ready to threaten anyone with pain if they came near me with one more bobby pin.

Outwardly, I looked like the perfect debutante. My strapless dress was such a pale blue it was almost white. It hugged my figure in all the right places and was heavily beaded with Swarovski crystals so it shimmered with light when I moved. To add to the sparkle, a thin diamond choker glittered around my neck and an exquisite diamond tiara was fixed into my hair.

My outfit was finally complete when I slipped two long white gloves up my arms. They were a last minute addition because apparently tattoos weren’t considered very ladylike.

Finally ready, I met my parents in the grand foyer of our home. My mother was striking in cream and gold with her hair pulled on top of her head in an elegant chignon. For her, it was an important day. As a part of the organizing committee, she had worked tirelessly to ensure the gala would dazzle everyone and she wanted it to be so spectacular that they would hear about it as far afield as Alabama and the Carolinas.

My daddy looked handsome in his suit. It was easy to imagine the handsome young man who had won and then lost the love of his life all those years ago. Our talk had brought us closer which meant the world to me. But it also took me that one step closer to perhaps being able to accept my mother for all her hateful faults.

Closer. Yes. But there was still a long way to go.

Colton arrived and there was no doubt that he looked handsome. When he saw me he whistled.

“Goddamn Miss Montmarte, I think I just fell in love with you all over again,” he said, kissing my hand and oozing charm. He was dressed in his West Point finery and smelled like Southern Blend.

I just smiled sweetly and prayed I would get through the evening’s events without wanting to throw myself off a cliff.

Harper joined us wearing a gorgeous Valentino dress, but much to my mother’s disapproval, had switched her Manolo Blahnik’s for a pair of Converse high-tops. She was lucky our mother was so distracted making my life hell to worry about her youngest child’s fashion rebellion.

We rode with my parents to the venue of the ball, which was at a sprawling plantation just out of town. Cameras flashed. Local media gathered on the gravel driveway. Everywhere you turned there was another stunning girl in a stunning white gown. As we pulled up under the antebellum portico, I felt sick and out of step with everything going on around me.

After posing for a trillions of photos, we left my parents and sister, and joined the rest of the debutantes and escorts in the backrooms of the Grand Oaks Plantation. Cristal champagne circulated on silver platters carried by waiters in white boleros. Diamonds glittered. Silver and gold glinted amongst precious gems. Everywhere you turned, white magnolias and ribbons festooned light fittings, furnishings and timber railings.

I snatched a long flute of champagne from a passing waiter and downed it in seconds.

“Since when do you drink champagne?” Colton asked.

“Since my mother starting making me attend debutante balls,” I said grabbing a second flute of champagne.

“A debutante doesn’t drink like a trucker,” he said, and took the second flute of champagne from me. “

I took it back. “This one does.”

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a very pretty Laurie-Beth Westfield smiling back at me. She out-sparkled the champagne with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. A friend from school, Laurie-Beth was one of the nicest girls this side of California.

“You made it!” I pulled her into a hug. Laurie-Beth was pure innocence. She loved these sorts of things. She was the good Southern girl that my mama so desperately wanted me to be. And she was so so sweet. Sadly, her daddy had passed away a couple of months earlier, leaving their family devastated. And broke. Unfortunately, that meant they no longer had the money for Laurie-Beth to attend the cotillion ball. There had been a communal call for the committee—the one my mother headed up—to waver the hefty registration fee for Laurie-Beth. It would have been easy for them to do. But my mother had declined. There were certain commitments and traditions to uphold, she had said. Bitch.

Laurie-Beth’s smile faded just a little. “No. I’m just here to wish y’all good luck. You look so pretty.”

Disappointment hit me in the gut. Laurie-Beth should have been the one being presented as a debutante today. Not me. This ridiculous charade meant something to her while it meant nothing to me.

“I’m sorry Laurie-Beth. I know you were looking forward to this.”

She tried to remain upbeat and her smile broadened to mask her own disappointment. “I understand. Truly. It’s okay. Your mama was gracious enough to allow me back here to see y’all before it all starts.”

My mama was mean.

Laurie-Beth took my gloved hands in hers and looked at me with a heart-crushing fondness. If I could have swapped places with her, I would have in an instant.

“You’re the belle of the ball Harlow. The most beautiful girl here.” Her smile was so sweet, it broke my heart. “You make sure you have fun out there. It will be over before you know it.”

Promise? I smiled and nodded. I didn’t tell her that I’d rather be having all my teeth extracted than doing this. Somehow I didn’t think she’d get it.

Bells signaled the start of the proceedings and she squeezed my hands, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

As a sudden act of rebellion I pulled the long white gloves off my arms and handed them to her. “Will you do me a favor and take these for me, Laurie-Beth?”

Her pretty eyes rounded at the sight of the tattoo on my wrist. But she didn’t say anything. She just gave me one last appreciative smile and then disappeared into the crowd of debutantes gathering at the top of the staircase, leaving me in a cloud of magnolia scent. I downed the second flute of champagne. It was time to rock n roll.

Colton, who’d been working the room, retuned to my side to escort me towards the lineup of debutantes. He took me by the arm and guided me towards the staircase.

“You know, there is a good chance we belong together,” he said simply.

My head snapped to the side to look at him. “What did you say?”

“Think about it Harlow. You and me. God seems to keep throwing us together.” He smiled, that perfect, perfect smile. “Perhaps we belong together.”

I stalled. Maybe it was the champagne. Or maybe my head had given in to the persistence of my heart. I didn’t know. But suddenly the world around me crumbled away and I was back in California with my back pushed against the wall by Heath’s strong body. I could feel his breath on my neck as he nuzzled me and whispered, “We belong together. You and me. Always. No matter what happens.”

My mind tilted and then snapped. I couldn’t do this anymore. No matter how hard I tried, I was not going to fit in. Because I didn’t belong in Savannah anymore. I belonged back in California.

By the time Colton and I made it to the top of the grand staircase I had made up my mind. I was going home.

The music began and they started to announce the names of the debutantes lined up before us. I looked up at Colton and he could see it in my face. I faltered and his lips formed into a thin line, but he nodded. He understood and I felt bad for him because I knew he hoped we might get back together. He gave me a regretful half-smile.

The Master of Ceremonies called our names but I was rooted to the spot. My mind was elsewhere, busy making plans. Dizzy with thoughts and excitement. Colton’s face softened and he grabbed my arm and thrust it through his.

“Just get through this,” he said. “And then you’ll be free.”

I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to run. I wanted to take off down that staircase and out the doors and run back to California. And I was going back. I knew that now and I smiled.

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed to him.

“Don’t be.”

We descended the stairs in all our bullshit glory. The ballroom below us was magnificent, decorated in all the excessive debutante splendor you could imagine. Silver cutlery and crystal sparkled and glimmered. Chandeliers were incandescent. Fine china gleamed. Over-the-top flower arrangements adorned tabletops and filled every available space.

We made our way down the grand staircase to the sound of classical music, and I smiled, my heart bursting with happiness for the first time since I’d returned to Savannah. Because I didn’t have to stay there. Because I was nineteen years old and I could return to California and start again.

Just as we reached the bottom of the ridiculously long staircase, across the room the ginormous white doors to the ballroom were suddenly thrust open and collided violently with the ornate walls.

The bang of metal and timber on alabaster reverberated throughout the massive room and every eye turned to see what had happened.

Silence fell over the ballroom as four heavily tattooed men and one feisty redhead stepped into the room.

I gasped.

Frozen to the spot, I watched Heath saunter across the Grecian tiled floor towards the base of stairs where I stood with Colton. My heart stopped. His eyes found me and didn’t leave my face as he crossed the corridor of people to reach me. His face was unreadable. But his body language was unmistakable. He was coming to get me.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, not thinking he would hear me because of the distance between us.

“When you left, I forgot to tell you something,” he replied.

I could barely breathe at the sight of him. He was magnificent. Black pants. Sleeveless t-shirt. Big muscular arms. Wallet chain swinging as he swaggered across the room towards me. My heart stopped.

It was another one of those Heath Dillinger moments.

It seemed to take forever before he reached me. But when he did he jumped the two steps between us and with no hesitation took my face in his hands and crashed his lips to mine.

Flares burst and danced beneath my lids as his tongue sent magic surging throughout my body. The world around us fell away and I was lost in the warmth of his mouth against mine. In that one crazy moment I was nowhere and everywhere.

He pulled back and I felt dizzy. Somewhere someone squealed.

“What are you doing?” I said, shocked and dazed by what was happening and by the strong emotions coursing through me.

“I’d kind of thought that was obvious.” He grinned, but then he looked serious. “I love you, H-bomb. We belong together. You and me.”

I looked around the room at all the stunned faces. Near the giant doorway Piper looked like she could hardly contain herself.

“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I whispered.

“You nearly done?” His gorgeous dimples flickered either side of his mouth. “Because I’ve come to take my girl home.”

I arched a brow at his cockiness. “Just like that?”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “Just like that.”

His lips found mine again and I couldn’t help but dissolve into him.

“Now wait just a goddamn minute!” My daddy’s voice echoed through the ballroom as he stormed up the aisle with two burly members of the security team. “Just what do you think you are doing?”

“It’s okay, Daddy,” I said, only just becoming fully aware of where we were and of the reactions of those around us. Confusion, disbelief, horror, anger, and fear or even downright terror radiated out of the debutantes and their guests. Generations of wealth and power were gathered in the ballroom. And Heath strutting in uninvited was not just a previously unheard of breach of debutante ball protocol but a massive security breach which had triggered a protective reaction from the security team, and from my daddy. “This is Heath.”

“I don’t give a goddamn who he is. He can’t just storm in here and cause a scene. They have no business being here, Harlow. No goddamn business at all.”

Heath stood facing my daddy and looked at him eye to eye. My daddy was a big man. But Heath was just as tall and far broader.

“Sir, I apologize for my intrusion. But this couldn’t wait. I’m in love with your daughter and I can’t live another minute without her.” He turned from my daddy to look me in the eyes. “She is everything to me and I’ve already wasted too much time stuffing things up with her. But it all changes right here, right now. This is where we start the rest of our lives together.”

“There is a time and place for these things son and this ain’t one of them,” my daddy said. “Now that you’ve said your piece, you and your friends need to leave. From what I’ve heard about you from Harlow you’re a nice boy. But nice ain’t going to stop me from throwing you out of here on your ass.”

“I love him.” I fixed my daddy with determined eyes. “And I want to go.”

I knew he was thinking about our talk and about the tears and the agony he had seen me go through because his face finally softened and he nodded. “You always were stubborn. Even as a baby. But you’re not a child anymore, Harlow. This is real life. You’ve got to think about what you are doing and how it’s going to impact everyone around you.”

“I don’t want a life without him,” I said. “This is my chance.”

He knew what I meant. This was my chance at the happiness that had eluded him when he’d gotten my mother pregnant and lost the love of his life. He would always have questions about how his life may have turned out. And I was sure he didn’t want that for me.

He looked at me with the same magnetic eyes as my own and finally nodded. He knew my will was a lot stronger than anything he could say to stop this from happening. He turned to Heath. “Can I rely on you to take care of her, son?”

“Yes sir. Yes, you can.” Heath’s big smile was dazzling. He lifted me up into his strong arms and swung me down to the Grecian tiles. “Are you ready to go home?”

My face burst into a smile and I nodded, excitement flooding through me. “If I said no now it’d kind of be a bit of an anticlimax, wouldn’t it?”

He smiled broadly, those dimples deep in his beautiful face as he took a firm grasp of my hand. “You’re my girl, H-bomb. Let me take you home.”

“You always say the right things, Heath Dillinger.”

I turned back to look at Colton who smiled chivalrously and nodded.

“Thank you,” I mouthed silently to him. His smile was regretful, but I knew he would be happy for me.

Mama proved to be our final obstacle. She and three of the debutante committee ladies blocked our path. Her face was pure disdain. I didn’t wait for her to speak. I went to her, took her hands in mine and whispered in her ear, “I simply can’t end up like you. He is my Will Starling.”

She opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut into a thin line. I didn’t know if it was hearing the name of her lost love or if it was hearing me say it. But she said nothing and tilted her chin to brace herself against her own memories.

It was likely she would never forgive me for this. It would be the talk of the town for some years to come. People would always remember me walking out of the debutante ball and it would be an ongoing embarrassment to her. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to upset or embarrass her. But I didn’t want to be without Heath either.

I had meant what I said to her. I didn’t want to end up like her. Twisted and jaded by the hand life had dealt her. Losing the love of her life and having to spend it with someone she had never wanted to spend her life with. Always wondering, what if …

I didn’t do what ifs.

Heath was looking at me, his face soft and a small smile curled on his lips. I took his hand in mine and together we crossed the ballroom, passing the stunned faces of the guests who were already murmuring. As we neared the back of the room, I spotted Laurie-Beth. Breaking free from Heath I ran over to her.

“You should be wearing this,” I said, sliding my tiara through her hair. I turned to look back at Colton who immediately knew what I was silently asking and nodded. Laurie-Beth would spend the evening on his arm. She would get to go to the ball after all. “You go out there and take my place. You belong here more than I do.”

She kissed me and pulled me into a hug. “Good on you, Harlow.”

Over her shoulder I saw Harper, sitting back in her chair with her Converse-encased feet up on the table, grinning. She winked and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn’t help but smile at her.

When I turned back to look at Heath he smiled broadly, all white teeth and dimples and my stomach flipped with love for this man. This beautiful, gorgeous, crazy man. He was my end and my beginning and I didn’t ever plan on being without him again. It was easy walking out of the ballroom and leaving it all behind me.

“That was some exit.” Heath chuckled as we descended the steps to the parking lot.

“Could make things awkward at the next family Christmas.”

He stopped at the base of the steps so he could kiss me again. “I’m sorry but I won’t be able to stop kissing you. Being without you has driven me crazy these past few weeks. I’m done living without you, H-bomb. I want you to be the last girl I ever kiss.”

I grinned. “Yeah. I think I get that now.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

The rest of the band and Piper were waiting for us by a parked Hummer. Piper pulled me into a big bear hug. She squealed and squeezed me tight. “I’m so excited, I could just pee my pants!”

When she finally let me go, I turned to Jesse, Zack and Tommy and hugged each one of them, tightly.

“Thank you.” I couldn’t keep the tears from my eyes. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.”

Jesse opened the Hummer door. “Or maybe we’re bringing you back to us.”

“Where you belong,” Piper added.

“After all, you are a part of our crazy family,” Tommy said grinning.

I felt Heath’s hand wrap around mine. “No more running away from me, okay?”

“No more running. I promise.”

He smiled down at me, all dimples and sparkling eyes. “Are you ready to head home to California?”

I nodded. “Yep. Let’s go home.”