Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Betsy
This dress is scratching the shit out of my armpits. And Deuce is fucking up the script I carefully crafted over the last week, because Deuce does what he wants. Always.
Well, starting today, I do what I want too.
No more being scared. No more basing my life off my mom’s. No downgrading myself because of what happened with my ex.
Silas Winthrop loves me.
And I love him.
I’ve wasted enough time as it is. I run up the steps, drop my skirt, and lift my head. Silas is here. Sprawled in the single chair, looking absolutely gorgeous in a tuxedo. His gaze locks with mine and we just stare for a few moments. God, it feels good to be back in his presence again.
His gaze then sweeps me from head to toe, slow yet urgent at the same time.
Like he needs to see every inch of me to be able to rest easy.
To be able to inhale and take in a full breath.
I know this because that’s what I’m able to do now that I see him again.
When his gaze pulls back to mine, I launch into all the things I’ve been working through this week. All the things he needs to hear.
“I’m Betsy Mae Coldreign. I moved to Heaven, Mississippi, recently from the West Coast. I tried to leave behind all the bullshit and find a home here.
Except I messed up and brought some of my past with me, letting it taint—” There’s a snicker from the bush Deuce is hiding in.
After an eye roll, I ignore it and soldier on.
“I let it ruin my fresh start. I met this man.”
I step forward, feeling my knees quake with each step and it’s not even from the high heels this time.
Silas’s lips tilt up at the edges and it’s mesmerizing.
Every step closer feels like the last piece of a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle snapping into place.
I stop several feet away, afraid if I get too close, I’ll forget my speech and jump into his lap instead.
The need to feel his warm skin against mine, to taste his lips, to feel the thud of his heart below my ear is like a drug.
“I met a man who made me mad with how often he smiled. It’s ridiculous to smile that much, you know?
” Silas huffs a laugh, that beautiful sound that’s like music to me.
“He somehow got me to talk about my past and dream of a future. He taught me to trust people. To make friends. To let down my guard. Hell, he even got me to go on a run in this terrible heat.”
Silas is grinning full out now, those crinkles at the corners of his eyes so familiar I know that he’s my home.
“Then he said the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me and I ruined it.
I hurt him and I hurt myself by running away.
” I take a step closer and catch a whiff of his cologne hanging in the humid air.
“I spent the week talking to friends and family. Examining why I do the things I do. I realized a few things I’d be ashamed to admit to anyone but you, Silas. ”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I hold up my hand.
“I just have to get this out. You deserve to hear it. I’ve spent so much time running away from my mom’s behavior that I ended up running away from everything.
I decided it was easier to shield my heart and be grumpy than it was to risk getting hurt again.
You told me very early on that I could trust you, Silas, and this week, I discovered that I do. I do trust you. Entirely.”
Silas stands up and I get to take in the full magic of this man in a tuxedo.
He sets a box on the chair and then faces me, his hands reaching for me.
Just waiting patiently for me to accept him.
I don’t even have to think about it. I just place my hands in his, a part of me easing immediately at the contact.
My throat closes and I know I need to get to this next part quickly. “So, if you don’t mind, would you say it again?”
Silas frowns.
“What you said at The Velvet Throne.”
Silas inhales sharply, eyeing me like he’s gauging the odds of me running away again. I give him an encouraging head nod. I’m not running away. Ever again.
“Betsy Mae, I’ve hated every second I was away from you this week. The boutique means nothing without you now. No one hums horribly all day long. Not one person has flipped me off this week. No one has tried to run me off the road. It’s been terrible.”
Now it’s my turn to bite back laughter.
He squeezes my hands, tugging me a step closer. So close I can see the various deep blue shades making up his eyes, the integrity of this man that’s been hidden there this whole time. I just didn’t know what integrity looked like.
“So, even if it’s way too soon to say anything, considering you just entered the dating world of Heaven—” He looks down at my ballgown, then back up at me. “I won’t ever lie to you. I love you, Betsy. Still do. Always will.”
There it is. I inhale, letting the words flow over me for a second. I squeeze his hands back and step forward, now so close we can feel the other person breathing.
“I love you too, frat boy.”
I see the way he changes. I see his shoulders gently relax. His eyes sparkle with the knowledge. It’s a heady thing to know my simple words can affect this man so much. We make absolutely no sense being together and yet we fit perfectly.
I lift up on my tiptoes to kiss him, but he takes a step backward. My eyes flutter open, confused. His jaw is clenched, even as his eyes remain soft.
“I’d like to take you out on a date, Betsy Mae. I want to date you. All the strings. All the benefits that didn’t come with the sex.”
If I didn’t love the man before, I certainly would now. “Yes, I’d like that very much.” I step forward to kiss him again, but he steps back. At this rate, we might end up across the street before I get to kiss the man.
Silas lets go of one of my hands and digs into the inside of his tuxedo. “I bought the debutante a gift.” He pulls out a flat black box and hands it to me.
I have to let him go to take it in my hands. “You didn’t have to—”
My breath catches as I lift the lid. There’s a string of Tahitian black pearls lying on a bed of yellowed satin. I look back up at Silas, shocked.
“These were my mama’s and her mama before her. As the oldest, they fall to me, but they don’t really suit my coloring. I think she’d love for you to have them.”
I look back down at the string of pearls, knowing exactly how much this means in the South. I extend the box back to Silas. “But, I can’t. These should be Mary London’s.”
Silas pushes the box back to me. “She has the other pearl necklace of Mama’s. Mary London agrees that the black pearls should be yours. Besides, every debutante deserves a gift. These are to formally welcome you to the South.”
He reaches into the box, picks up the string, and gestures for me to turn around.
I do, pulling my hair out of the way. He gets the necklace clasped quickly, turning me back around to admire the dark pearls against my pale skin.
I reach for them, feeling each smooth bump lying over my heart, knowing the history of who’s worn them before me.
A sense of belonging, of history, of family, hits me right between the ribs.
“Perfection.”
“Thank you,” I manage to whisper, tears burning in my eyes.
Silas’s hands come up to cup my face, tilting my head up.
“You are a vision, Betsy Mae, but that’s not why I love you.
I love you for your courage. I love you for your wit, your spunk, your ability to make me laugh.
I love that you jumped in to help me when I needed it most. I love you for defending me like a rabid chihuahua in front of my father. ”
“Hey…” I interrupt, not sure I like where this little speech is going.
He slides his thumb up to clamp my lips shut. I glare at him, but he’s unfazed. “It may be backwards, but I love you and I can’t wait to date you.”
And then finally, his lips are on mine. All the heat outside is now right here, between us.
He parts my lips and slides his tongue inside like he’s been waiting years to taste me.
My head tilts back in surrender and he takes advantage, devouring me like a starving man.
I grip his muscled forearms and meet him stroke for stroke. God, I’ve missed him.
A throat clears behind us, but Silas just growls deep in his throat and turns us so his back is to whomever is there.
He bites my bottom lip and then is back for more, the type of kiss that can go on for hours.
We aren’t anywhere close to being teenagers and yet a long make-out session sounds perfect right about now.
Well, if I can change into something more comfortable first. These heels might kill me.
A throat clears again and Silas rips his mouth from mine to bark at the person. “What?”
“Your dinner is served, a-hole.” Mary London sounds offended.
“Oh!” I pull away from Silas and look around his hulking figure to my friend. “I’m so sorry.”
She shoots me a sideways grin. “You were a little preoccupied, I know.”
I turn Silas around and wave my hand at the table and two chairs off to the side of the pavilion. Mary London and Deuce have delivered two plates of food from The Velvet Throne and a champagne stand.
“Our first date. Well, a re-do of our first date,” I explain.
Silas puts his hand on my back and walks us over to the table where he kisses Mary London’s cheek and does that backslapping thing with Deuce guys always do. Then Deuce wraps his arm around Mary London and forces her to leave even as she tosses questions over her shoulder.
“Did he say it? Are things good? Call me!”
Silas shakes his head at his busybody sister’s shenanigans. He holds out a chair and I sit. He places a cloth napkin across my lap and then has a seat across from me.
“Thank you for arranging this, Betsy. This is…amazing.”
I dip my head. “It’s the least I could do after I ruined our date at The Velvet Throne.”
“You didn’t ruin anything, honey. You just needed some time and I respect that.”
I smile at him, appreciating how well he knows me. “Champagne?”
Silas’s whole body emits a weird little shiver. “Um, no, thanks. How about this dinner though? It looks great!”
Music starts playing abruptly. Silas looks around.
“Deuce was supposed to start that earlier. Looks like he just remembered,” I explain. Boy, as far as grand gestures go, this one has been a little rough. Then again, I got the guy, so I guess it hasn’t gone too badly.
Silas takes my hand in his and then we eat our dinner, chatting all the while. We talk about our week, our families, our pasts, and most importantly, what we dream for the future together. It’s the best first date I’ve ever gone on.
“Care to dance?” Silas asks after we’ve finished eating.
I glance around and see some fellow citizens in the park, enjoying the cooling temperatures after dark. Most people have given us some space though, which I appreciate. Dancing in public isn’t really my thing, but maybe it could be.
“I’d love to.” I stand and he moves us into the center of the pergola.
He folds me into his arms, my cheek resting against his chest. The gentle thud of his heartbeat makes me smile.
He has to wipe the sweat off his forehead and I hope he can’t tell I have a bead of sweat running down my spine.
The sun’s gone down, but it’s still August in the South.
Somehow, the humidity and heat doesn’t even bother me anymore.
Instead, it feels like a gentle hug from my new home.