Chapter 14 #2
“But there’s another special woman I would like to celebrate tonight.
Rory Belmont.” At last, someone remembered Rory!
There was an uproar of applause and cheering.
“She has been a tireless advocate for the cause, going out and meeting with widows to learn their stories and hear their needs, and she is the inspiration behind this evening, choosing to use her birthday celebration to raise money for the cause. Please join me in a toast to the birthday girl,” Evelyn said, raising a glass.
Waiters magically appeared all over the room with more champagne for those that needed it.
“To Rory. Her kind heart and tireless work ethic put us all to shame. To her health and happiness!”
Hank raised a glass and drank along with everyone else in the room. The birthday girl was finally getting her due.
Evelyn beckoned Rory up to the podium. “And now, I give you the birthday girl.”
Hank clapped as hard as he could, wishing he could somehow make up for her father’s cold performance. Applause came from every corner of the room. At least her friends appreciated her properly. Her father was off in a corner, talking with some pompous old windbag and ignoring the festivities.
“Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming.” Most people wouldn’t see the hint of strain beneath her dazzling grin, but Hank knew she was hurting.
He wanted to wrap her in his arms, carry her away, and kiss her until she forgot all her troubles.
But he couldn’t. Not tonight with everyone watching.
“I would like to thank my dear friend Evelyn for all the tremendous work she has done in support of the cause.” Genuine warmth emanated from Rory as she looked at Evelyn.
It was good to know she had at least one true friend to stand by her.
“This is a truly worthy effort, and I owe a great debt of thanks to her. To Evelyn,” Rory said, raising a glass. Everyone drank.
“It’s no secret,” she continued, “how much I love everything related to airplanes and flying. But my work with the Pilots’ Benevolent Association has taught me about the dangers of flight as well, not just physical danger but dangers to the heart.
It takes a brave man to fly up into the sky like a bird, and it takes a strong woman to love and marry such a man. ”
Her eyes met Hank’s for the briefest of moments, and his heart skipped a beat.
Her words made his heart ache. He knew too well the risk a woman took falling for a man like him, and now she knew too.
She’d sat with the widows, heard their stories, and seen the pain in their eyes.
The risk was no longer theoretical for her.
If she fell for him, she knew very well what could happen, and it filled him with guilt.
But she still went through with all of this, even with what she’d learned, so what did that mean?
It almost made him hope this was only a fling for her, despite his own feelings. It would be for the best.
“The sacrifices these women have made put us all to shame. Please join me in supporting these brave women who have lost so much. To the pilots’ wives,” she said, raising her glass and her audience followed suit.
He reveled in this moment of being able to look unabashed at her instead of pretending he was occupied by other things.
As if he could pay attention to anything else when she was in the room.
She was so vibrant, so alive, so good. She took his joke organization and built something truly admirable from it.
Rory Belmont did nothing by half measures. And this incredible woman wanted him.
O’Donnell was right. It was going to be next to impossible to deny her tonight.
The madness he felt in her presence had only grown in intensity.
If she was willing to risk so much to see him, how could he refuse the risk of seeing her?
But it wasn’t his own risk that concerned him.
It was hers. Getting caught with him would mean she’d lose everything, including what she’d worked so hard to build tonight.
And if Edward made an appearance, he’d recognize Hank and tell Major Belmont.
Another reason to be grateful that good-for-nothing stuffed suit didn’t show up.
“Time to stop staring like a slavering idiot,” said O’Donnell, nudging him in the side with his elbow.
“It seems you were right about Miss Auburn Hair. But even if she’s a widow, she deserves a little fun in her life.
What do you say to a wager? I bet you five dollars I can get her on the dance floor. ”
Hank smiled, happy to be distracted from his own swirling thoughts. “I’ll make it ten if you can make her laugh. She looks so sad.”
“And I am an expert at cheering up sad young ladies,” O’Donnell said with a wink.
“You’re a buffoon.”
“Not everyone can seduce a woman with looks alone. Some of us need a winning personality too.” With that, O’Donnell walked off in pursuit of Miss Auburn Hair.
Hank watched him go. The poor woman. She had no idea what she was in for.
With O’Donnell gone, his eyes found Rory again.
The band started up, and he watched as one man after another took her to the dance floor.
Finally convinced that Edward wasn’t going to show, Hank waited to take his turn, trying not to appear too eager, even though it killed him.
It seemed like every eligible young man from the city’s elite was vying for her attention.
Her future husband, whoever he ended up being, was likely in attendance tonight. Hank hated all of them.
Unable to look on patiently any longer, he entered the fray. He might not be her future husband, but he was damned well going to dance with her.