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“Everything you own is top-of-the-line,” he whispered.“That dress is new, and it probably cost hundreds of dollars.I’ve had these slacks for over a year.The tie is old too, I’ve just never worn it.I’m shabby, and you’re chic, and I don’t know.I felt self-conscious.I wondered why someone like you would possibly like someone like me.”
Cass didn’t know what to say.She wasn’t sure if she needed to defend herself or not.“Well.”She pulled down the sun visor to check her makeup.“Shabby-chic is huge right now, so I can’t imagine why we can’t be together.”
Harrison chuckled as he shook his head.“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t,” she said.“I’m notwealthy, Harrison.My husband died, and I got a life insurance policy.Our house in Texas was almost paid for, so I used the money to buy the house here.Almost all of my clothes are old too.I’ve only worn them a few times each, so they look brand new.Yes, Lauren and I went to the mall and managed to find this today, and believe it or not, but it was on the clearance rack.I guess people in Hilton Head don’t wear black in the summer.”She sniffed like such a thing was terrible and brushed something invisible from her skirt.
“Praise the heavens we’re going to Charleston tonight then,” he quipped.
Cass blinked and then burst out laughing.“And you’re funny, Mister Tate.You know when to take a serious conversation into something lighter.”She took his hand in hers again.“I really like that about you too.”
She wanted to address what Conrad had said about the two of them sleeping together, but Cass decided a phone call from her momma, and then a cry-fest, andthena confessional about why she liked him was probably enough for one night.
And they hadn’t even reached the city yet.
“Are we eating dinner first?”she asked.
“Dinner is part of the dancing, sweetheart.”
She smiled over to him.“Really, Harrison, you’re one of the sweetest men I know.”
He shook his head and looked out his window, clearly uncomfortable with the compliments.“Just tryin’ to win you over,” he said.“My flaws will come out soon enough.”
She kept smiling.“Oh, yeah?And what might some of those be?”
“I have mud on my boots constantly,” he said.“So my house is a mess.Doing laundry at my place?It’s like a crime scene.I need to bring in the National Guard just to get in my laundry room.”
Cass laughed and gestured for him to keep going.
“I want a dog, but I have no way to take care of it.I drink way too much coffee.That bill is astronomical, and since you’ll have to be my sugar mama, I think it’s only fair to warn you about it up front.”
She giggled and held up her hand.“I’mnotwealthy, Harrison.”
“All of my money is tied up in my business,” he said.
“And yet, you have an astronomical coffee bill,” she teased.
“Seems that way.”They laughed together, and the sound of it chased away some of the lingering melancholy.
They arrived in the city, and Harrison took her toward the sea.Cass’s excitement grew and grew, until he parked behind a row of historic houses.“We’re going in there?”she asked.
“The Arboretum,” he said.“Dinner and dancing once a month.I was lucky to get these tickets.They usually sell out months in advance.”He unbuckled and looked over to her.
“How did you get them then?”
“I called a friend,” he said.“Pulled some strings.”
He was definitely pulling on her heartstrings, and she waited in her seat for him to come around and get her door.She let him lift her down, his hand strong and sure on her waist.They faced the building together, and then Harrison led her inside.
Cass paused just across the threshold, sure what stood before her eyes wasn’t real.For it was a tree.A live, growing tree with a trunk so thick she’d never be able to wrap her arms around it.Heck, even if she and Harrison tried to span it with their four arms combined, they couldn’t.
“Harrison,” she breathed.“Look at this.”She gazed at the tree, which went right up through the floor, and which had various handprints stamped on its trunk in bright colors of paint.She wanted to do that and leave her mark here, on this magical place in Charleston.
“Hello,” a woman chirped.“Here for the Summer Swing?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Harrison said, and he had to tug on Cass’s hand to get her to move past the tree growing right there in the lobby.She couldn’t wait for what she might see next.
