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“Their actions bring them fame, but that was not her original goal. She wanted to save a life. An authentic hero has heroism running through her veins twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”
I have to admit, that last sentence touched me. Maybe I had some of those virtues.
“In honor of Miss Roman’s noble deed, our town would like to present her with this check for ten thousand dollars.”
Grabbing onto the podium, I almost fainted. Ten thousand was half my yearly salary. I had less than two thousand in my savings account thanks to the underwear addiction.
Skippy, who had been standing behind me, poked me in the back and pushed me close to the microphone as the chief grinned. A woman wearing a Sunday church hat stood with a huge facsimile of a check written out to Bella Roman, moving it from side to side. I watched her for too long and got dizzy.
There were more speeches, including by Skippy and Flynn, who sang my praises, Flynn adding that he would be forever indebted to me. They waited for me to speak.
“Say something, and then you can run,” Skippy hissed. “Anything.”
I stared at my hands, afraid to look out at the faces. I discovered I could speak if I closed my eyes. Later, my sister told me she felt so sad, seeing me so frightened, that she cried. But Dale and Casey said they had to stifle laughter, knowing exactly what I was doing.
“Thank you,” I said to the crowd with my eyes closed, “but all I did was scream for help. I ran to the car. It was on fire, and Dr. Safadi was in danger of being burned. If I hadn’t had the window breaker handy, I’m not sure I could have gotten him out. I was just lucky.”
The rest was a blur. Questions were yelled out. Flynn answered some, Skippy others. I stood there paralyzed, scared to death as the check was presented and someone came behind me to clasp a chain around my neck with a gold-platedHeromedallion. It was heavy and cold on my bare skin.
Another person, the chief maybe, answered more questions that were meant for me, but I wasn’t responding.
Flynn came to the rescue, taking my hand, and dragged me along a gauntlet of people, shaking all the dignitaries’ hands and thanking them on my behalf. We passed our reflections in the window of a large limo parked at the side of the stage, and seeing us together was incongruous—gorgeous Flynn in an impeccable suit, and me in my peach cotton dress and grubby denim jacket. My winter coat would have looked better, but my roomies had said I looked like I was going on a ski trip instead of receiving an award for saving a life.
“Look at us,” I said, pulling him by the hand back to the limo.
“We’re hot,” he said, slipping his arm around my shoulders and straightening his tie with his other hand. “Look at you. Beautiful. Come on. I want to show you off.”
He took me to his office staff, huddled in a group, the women hugging me, thanking me for saving his life so they wouldn’t be out of a job, which made him laugh.
My parents caught up with us, tugging on my arm, demanding an introduction.
“Flynn, meet my family.”
I pointed people out, and they shook his hand, yammering words that sounded like gibberish to me. In the sea of faces, my grandfather stepped forward. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t make another comparison between me and Lucy. But he was cordial, congratulating me and saying hello to Flynn.
“Her license came in the mail today,” Casey said, joining us. “Tell ’em, Bellabug.”
The family reacted, their voices getting louder, competing with each other, congratulating me, asking what was next. I squeezed Flynn’s hand and gave him a warning look. I would tell them about the trip at the last moment.
We were finally able to get away from my family when I realized his family was waiting patiently.
“Oh, Flynn, sorry. My people can be overbearing.”
“It’s okay. I was afraid my family would insist on meeting yours, and I don’t want them to slip up and say anything about the trip.”
“Oh, wow. They know I’m going?”
“They know. They know I’m in love with you.”
He gazed at me with a look that I can only describe as burning. I squeezed his hand, and he ducked down and kissed me in front of the crowd.
“Aw, Flynn, you’re so sweet,” I said.
“My heart is on my sleeve. Everyone at work noticed. I want to get married, Bella.”
“Oh, Flynn,” I said, choking up.
The thought of marriage was about as foreign to me as anything I could imagine. I needed to evolve from the kiosk frame of mind into being the wife of a plastic surgeon. Me and my borrowed dress.
