by Penny Dee
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.”
EPILOGUE
We lay beneath a sky of brilliant star shine, our faces tilted towards the night sky. Moonlight cast a channel of white light across the smooth ocean. The breeze that blew up from the beach was cool with a sharp edge to it.
We lay on a patch of grass on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which Heath had claimed as our spot months earlier. It seemed like a lifetime ago and so much had happened since then.
During that time we had loved one another and lost one another, and then somehow we’d found our way back to each other through the tangle of heartache and grief.
Now we were stronger than ever and nothing could tear us apart again. A bright and unknown future lay ahead of us.
In another week or two my first winter in California would begin. Soon after, Christmas would arrive and I would celebrate with the man who had become the love of my life. I would defer my college studies until I could work out exactly how my life could entwine with Heath’s on the West Coast instead of back home in the South.
I had no idea how we would make it work. But I knew we would. And I knew I was in for one hell of a ride.
“Any regrets?” Heath asked. He turned away from the glitter of stars above us to face me and his expression was gentle.
“Are you kidding me? I’m so excited about my life with you, I won’t ever regret any of this.”
He smiled the smile I had come to need to see every day. Two dimples that set off tiny explosions in my belly.
“Promise me you’ll never run away from me again,” he said softly.
“I promise.” I smiled. “Wherever you are, is where I am.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Cross my heart.”
I nodded and watched him reach behind him and pull something out of his jeans pocket.
A setting sun glinted on diamonds.
“Then be mine forever,” he said, holding a ring in his fingers. “Say you’ll marry me.”
I gasped.
Oh hell.
* * * * *
Crazy Wonderful – Book Two of the Crazy Series – Coming Soon
PROLOGUE
HEATH
Four months later I sat with the rest of the band, our new manager Leery Lou and a couple of record executives around a boardroom table at the Aria Entertainment headquarters in Hollywood. Our second album, Pagan Angel, was doing better than anyone had expected. So far there were two stand-out songs, ‘Carpi Nocturn’ and ‘Ache Over’. We had created the music videos for both on a budget, but by all standards, they were pretty good and Vengeance’s following was growing.
Now Aria were about to release a third single, ‘Skin’ which was a raw and sexually charged song I’d actually written about Harlow and our first encounter in the bathroom at my house. We were expecting the meeting to be about the production for the music video for ‘Skin’.
“I’ve got good news. Pagan Angel has just gone gold,” Tim, one of the label’s representatives said, clapping his hands and looking rather pleased with himself. He nodded to the other suit next to him. “So Jimmy here is keen to offer you a national tour.”
For a moment the room was silent. Tim let his words sink in and looked almost smug. A gold album. A tour. Hell, we didn’t know what to deal with first.
“A tour?” Zack finally asked, maybe a little bewildered. “Us? Our own tour?”
“Not supporting. Not touring with. But Vengeance headlining?” Tommy said excitedly.
We all looked at each other.
Fuck me. Our own tour.
Tim and the label reps all grinned.
“I represent B double A. We like your albums. You guys are getting yourself quite the following.”
Again we all looked at one another. BAA or otherwise known as B double A, was a leading tour promoter responsible for some pretty outstanding tours. They had been behind the Masters of Mayhem music festival and tour that Vengeance had been part of earlier in the year.
“There is some pretty significant interest in you boys out there. Both your
label and B double A think a national tour is going to take Vengeance from here,” he used his hand to indicate rising levels, “to here. It’d be in everyone’s benefit.”
His eyes twinkled. He looked like a young pup playing in the adult pool. But I admired his enthusiasm. His keenness for our music seemed genuine, which in this profession, was often a rarity.
“It’s time to get excited guys because you’re about to become famous.”
Hell, if that wasn’t something to get excited about, I didn’t know what was!
“So, we’re all in agreement then? We’re going ahead with this?” Jimmy asked.
We all nodded and Leery Lou replied, “As long as it all checks out in the fine print, I’d say you gentlemen have got yourself a deal.”
Leery Lou was a hundred years old and looked like the KFC Colonel. He’d been in the industry since the Rat Pack days of Sammy, Frank, Dean and Jerry. He’d managed massive performing artists over fifty years and had brokered some pretty incredible careers. We couldn’t believe our luck that he wanted to represent us. Apparently we had his granddaughter to thank. She was a fan. Of Zack in particular.
If Leery Lou cast his wise eyes over the fine print and it was good, then I trusted him.
Jimmy looked relieved. “Excellent. We’ll get the logistics sorted out and the contracts to you by tomorrow. In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to some of our team who will be working with you on the tour.”
He buzzed an intercom on the table. A moment later the door opened and two people walked in; an older guy in a Hawaiian shirt and straw hat, and … oh fuck me…!
A pair of bright blue eyes twinkled across at me.
“Gentlemen, this is Derek your tour manager and Mia, his assistant.”
I looked from Mia to the rest of my bandmates and then back to Mia.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
* * * * *
