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As the evening wound down and the guests trickled out of Savannah House into the velvety night, Fancy stood at the door and handed out elegant goody bags. The gold bags were filled with all kinds of pampering items, as well as a gift certificate for items at a local café. Fancy had been overwhelmed by all the local businesses that wanted to partner with them.
“This was such a good idea,” Hope raved as she peeked into one of the bags. “It’s the perfect thank you for everyone turning out in droves tonight to support us.”
“It’s been a magical evening,” Fancy said, her eyes straying toward Case, who was standing a few feet away with Charlotte. They were having an intense discussion judging by the strained looks on both of their faces.
Hope, following the direction of her gaze, nodded her head. “I’ll bet. I saw the two of you together earlier.” She wagged her eyebrows. “Anything to report?”
Fancy shook her head and giggled. “Not really. It feels nice though to be back on good terms with him.” It was far too soon for Fancy to share the news about her romantic kiss with Case. All it would do was cause her friends to hope for a happy ending she knew was improbable.
“Mmm. Hmm,” Hope said in a knowing tone.
“What does that mean?” Fancy asked, studying her friend’s impish expression.
“It means that the two of you seemed mighty cozy earlier. Miles and miles away from the tension that existed between you a few weeks ago.” Hope shuddered dramatically. “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
“We have,” Fancy said in a low voice, her gaze drifting back toward Case and Charlotte. She frowned as she studied them. Whatever they were discussing seemed quite intense. Heated. Their posture betrayed their tension and discomfort. It wasn’t like Case and Charlotte to argue. It made her curious to know what was going on between them.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Hope asked, jutting her chin toward the siblings.
“I have no idea. It’s unusual for them to quarrel.” Fancy shrugged. “Maybe it pertains to Duvall business. Sometimes it seems that everything revolves around the family corporation.” Fancy could hear the bitterness in her own voice. The time Case spent working for the Duvall Corporation had been a huge issue in their failed relationship. The blame had been placed squarely on her actions, but deep down in her heart she knew there had been fissures in their relationship due to the amount of time Case was dealing with the family business.
When the crowd wound down to a handful of people, Fancy gathered with Hope, Morgan, Callie, Olivia and Charlotte for a final prayer in honor of the successful event. They held hands in a circle and bowed their heads.
“Thank you, Lord, for bringing us this wonderful opportunity and for allowing us to strengthen and repair our friendships
,” Fancy said. “Thank you for surrounding us with love tonight and for shining a brilliant path toward the future. We are in awe of all of your blessings.”
“Amen.” Everyone spoke as one.
Fancy looked around at all of her dear friends. If someone had told her a year ago that she’d be back in Savannah in the company of these five wonderful women, she would have called them a fool. For so long she had blamed her friends and looked at them with suspicion after someone informed Case about her relationship with Marc. She had been so convinced that it had to be one of her dearest friends who had dropped a dime on her. Now, she felt truly ashamed of her suspicions. These women would be her best friends for the rest of her life. Their bonds were sacred.
Just as they were saying their goodbyes, Case caught up to her as she was walking toward her car. She felt goose bumps pop up on her arms at the sound of his voice saying her name. It felt like a caress on her shoulders.
“So, I was thinking maybe you’d like to get dinner one night.” Case tossed the invitation out casually. There was nothing casual about the way her heart began to pound like thunder in response.
A night out? With Case? As friends? Or something more? He’d kissed her after all. Friends didn’t usually have full-on make out sessions.
“Dinner?” she asked, still flummoxed by the invitation. She didn’t want to assume it was a date. That would be a surefire way of making a fool out of herself with Case. Perhaps he was just being nice. Or friendly.
“Dinner,” he repeated, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Unless you’d rather do lunch…or breakfast.”
“Dinner is fine.” She ran her hand through her hair in a fidgety gesture. “I just…I’m confused. What is this? Are you still waving the white flag?”
“What?” Case asked, his brows drawn together in confusion. “What’s this about a white flag?”
“You’ve been gracious about moving forward in forgiveness. I’m very grateful for that. So, I’m just wondering if this invitation is part of the whole moving forward in forgiveness thing. Or if it’s something else.” Their eyes locked, and although the intensity made her nervous, she wasn’t about to look away. Before she dared to hope for anything, she needed to hear it straight from Case’s mouth.
“This is me trying to get to know you better, Fancy Tolliver,” Case answered in a low voice.“This is Case Duvall stepping out on a ledge and acting on pure instinct. I miss you. I miss being with you. And in case you didn’t guess earlier, I’ve missed kissing you. And ever since you came back to Savannah, I’ve been wrangling with all of these feelings.” He reached out and caressed her cheek with his palm. “I’m not over you. Not by a long shot.”
She let out a gasp of surprise. Had she just heard Case right? He wasn’t over her. He still had feelings for her. Shock, mixed with joy, roared through her.
“Case,” she whispered, not trusting herself to say anything else at this moment.
“Fancy,” he said, brushing her curls away from her forehead and leaning down ever-so-slightly so that he could place a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s step out on a limb of faith and see where it takes us. The possibilities are endless.”
Tears streamed down her face and she swiped them away with her hand. In a million years she hadn’t expected anything like this to occur tonight. Knowing that Case was working toward forgiveness had been an amazing gift. But to move toward a future together was mind blowing. Everything that had unfolded tonight between them during this wondrous night of celebration felt like manna from heaven. Joy and gratitude unlike any she’d ever known rose up inside her.
“I don’t want us to get too ahead of ourselves, but I want to spend time with you. Lots and lots of time so we can figure out if we have another shot at this. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in?” He looked nervous for a moment, and she wanted to reach up and kiss away all his fears. How could he ever doubt how much she wanted a second chance at loving him?
