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I leaned forward, pressing my cherry-red lips to his. “Thank you.”
“For loving you?”
I laughed. “I guess so.”
He held me tight until I felt the panic begin to subside. “As much as I hate to say this, we need to get you into that dress.”
I rose to my feet on shaky legs and removed the red dress. I stepped into it and turned my back to him. “Zip me up?”
“I’m going to unzip it and leave it on the floor later,” he teased.
“I’m counting on it.”
When the zipper hit the base of my spine, I turned to face Ash. He breathed in sharply in appreciation.
“You look stunning.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Is my makeup a mess?”
He shook his head. “Looks good as new.”
I ran into the bathroom real quick to check and found, to my surprise, that he was right. I grabbed my clutch, stuffed my phone in it, and then followed Ash out of my house.
The Foster Foundation charity was in an event space off of River Street. We parked in the garage and took the elevator up to the ballroom floor, which had a balcony overlooking the Savannah River. The room was already full of people, and I laughed when I realized that my entire family had shown up. My dad and Kathy stood near Ash’s parents. My mom, Marina, Daron, and Tye stood next to Derek and Marley. They all congratulated me a million times over when I stepped into the room.
I still hadn’t had that conversation with my dad. Things had been moving too fast for me to slow down enough to deal with him. But he was there, and maybe that made him a little better than the day before. He showed up for me when it was important.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Dad said.
“Thanks, Daddy.”
Then, we stood there for a beat too long in silence. Me waiting to see if he was going to say something more, offer to take me to lunch. But then the moment passed, and nothing happened. Neither of us knew how to bridge that gap. So, I pulled back. It wasn’t my responsibility, and I couldn’t do it with everything else going on.
I said hi to the rest of my family. Marina cursed Nolan’s name when I told her the news. Derek and Marley insisted it was for the better and that I’d have another option. Kathy hugged me hard, knowing how much it meant to me. But it was Mom who was the ever-practical one.
“Come visit me this summer and fall back in love with the city. You’ll know what to do when you get there.”
I hugged her hard because she was right. She was so right.
Then, I was called up to the front for my award. I was handed a little plaque that I was excited to display at the shop and gave a quick speech, thanking everyone involved. Foster Foundation had been important to me for years. I wanted to keep making it a priority even if all the rest of my dreams failed and I never expanded. At least I’d made a difference for this.
I stepped off the stage and was ready to head back to Ash when the whole world stopped, and I struggled to breathe as Mark Armstrong appeared before me with that deadly smirk.
26
Savannah
Present
I hadn’t seen Mark since I’d gotten my box back from him, and I’d hoped that I never would again. After the day I’d had and my escape plan closing, I was more vulnerable than ever, which was the worst possible place for me to be around Mark.
“Hello, Amelia,” he said.
“Mark,” I said softly. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a charity event. My family was invited, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I repeated.
I wanted nothing more than to walk away from him. To not stand in front of him, feeling as small as ever. All the things he’d said had come true. I hadn’t amounted to anything, and I’d run right back into Ash’s arms.
“And you …” His eyes crawled down the red silk of my dress. “You look the same as always.”
I straightened at those words. Had that been a compliment, or was he insulting me?
I ran my eyes down him as well. He was in a black tuxedo. The bow tie was a little askew. His blue eyes were glassy, and his dark hair had grown out just a little too long. He looked like the same Mark who had hurt me over and over again for months, but his words struck the hardest.
“Thank you,” I managed.
“Have you missed me?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. He just laughed at me.
Something in that laugh sparked a fury straight down my spine. How many times had he laughed at me? How often had he belittled and degraded me? How frequently had I let him get away with it?
