Hideaway Heart (Cherry Tree Harbor Book 2)

AFTER SHUTTING the door behind Xander, I went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. I found my mother sitting at the counter in her bathrobe, her eyes bloodshot and her face puffy. A wad of tissue was balled up in her hand.

“Mama?” Alarmed, I sat next to her and touched her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“He left again. He’s gone.”

Every time, it hurt. Every. Single. Time. “I’m sorry.”

“He said—he said—” Her chest hitched, and she dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. “I guess it doesn’t matter what he said.”

“Not really.” I rubbed her shoulder and spoke softly. “He speaks without meaning things a lot of the time.”

“Not every time,” she said, astonishing me once more by defending him.

“Not every time,” I allowed. “But enough so that we really shouldn’t trust what he says about turning over a new leaf.”

Her eyes closed, and she nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I wish I didn’t love him,” she said. “I wish I didn’t care so much.”

“Me too.” I hugged her arm and tipped my head onto her shoulder. “But maybe what we have to do is love him at a distance.” I took a breath and said what I’d been thinking for a while. “I think maybe we shouldn’t keep letting him come back home only to disappoint us over and over again.”

She was silent a minute. “He told me what you said.”

I froze. Was she going to blame me for his leaving?

“And I was proud of you,” she finished.

My throat closed up. “Thanks, Mama. I was proud of me too.”

“And I think you’re right. Next time he tries to come home, we lock the doors and turn on the alarm. I need to at least try to respect myself more.”

“I think so too.”

“You might have to remind me I said this.”

I laughed through a sniffle. “I can do that.”

She kissed the top of my head. “Did Xander leave?”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“He seems like a good man.”

“He is the best kind of man.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“Madly.”

She laughed softly. “I can tell. So he’ll be back?”

“I certainly hope so. And how would you like to go up to Michigan sometime and see where he lives? Cherry Tree Harbor is a beautiful town. I think you’d love it.”

“But what about the bears? And the gray rat snakes?”

“Never saw a single one.”

“Okay, then. I guess that sounds nice.”

“It will be.” I gave her arm one final squeeze and stood up. “Now I better get some caffeine in me. It’s going to be a long day.”

“Caffeine!” My mother looked horrified. “That will make your skin dehydrated and saggy. You don’t want that today. Let me make you some herbal tea instead.”

“Okay, Mama.” I smiled and sat down again. “I’d like that.”

The rest of the morning and afternoon passed in a blur. I showered, shaved, shampooed, conditioned, exfoliated, masked, and moisturized. The glam squad showed up and did my nails, hair, and makeup. The designer’s assistant and my stylist helped me into the stunning silver dress. The emerald and diamond jewelry I’d been loaned for the occasion sparkled around my wrist, at my throat, in my ears.

A few minutes to four, I took a final look in the mirror. I was happy with what I saw in the glass. My hair flowed down over my shoulders in big, loose waves. My green eyes popped from beneath dramatically long false lashes. My skin looked luminous, my cheeks bright. My lips were painted a deep cherry red. “Well?” I asked the team. “What do you guys think?”

“Perfection,” said Kayla.

“You look gorgeous.” Jess smiled. “Xander is going to see pictures and lose his mind.”

I met her eyes in the glass. While the glam squad performed their magic, I’d told her and Kayla about my conversation with Xander, and how we’d agreed to try to make it work between us. “Thank you.”

My mom entered the room. “Duke is here,” she said. Then she looked at me and gasped. “Oh, baby. You look so beautiful.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

She came over and took my hands. “I’m so proud of you, Kelly Jo. You’re still my baby, but you’ve taught me so much about persistence and resilience and staying true to yourself.”

“Stop it, Mama.” I pulled a hand back and fanned my face. “Don’t make me cry right now.”

She laughed. “Okay, okay. You go and wow them. I’ll be watching.”

“Thanks.” I took a deep breath and one final look at my reflection. I might have been all done up, but beneath the hairspray and lipstick and gems, I knew who I was and what I was doing. I felt like me in my skin.

And I wasn’t afraid.

“You look ravishing,” Duke said for the tenth time in the back of the black SUV with tinted windows. “I can’t take my eyes off you.”

“Thank you.” I scooted a little closer to the door so his leg, which was lolling to one side, wouldn’t touch me.

“Are you ready for the reactions when we hit that carpet? It might be chaos.”

“I’m ready.”

The car slowed, and I kept my eyes straight ahead.

“You know, you look different somehow,” he said thoughtfully. “Gorgeous, but different.”

“Must be all the makeup.”

“No. It’s not that. There’s just something about you that’s different. I can’t put my finger on it.”

Good, I thought.

The car came to a stop. “Well, what do you say, Pixie girl? Are you ready to give them what they want?”

“Please don’t call me that. I’m Kelly Jo Sullivan tonight. And moving forward.”

“Has the label okay’d that?”

“They will,” I said, more confident than I had a right to be.

The door on Duke’s side opened. He got out, then offered me a hand. With some difficulty in the heavy silver dress, I slid across the seat and placed my palm in his, already aware of the screaming crowd outside the vehicle.

I took one last deep breath, pasted on a smile, and stepped out.

Duke’s arm immediately circled my waist.

Tight.