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.”