Page 94 of Pink and Country

“We’ll work through this together, okay? I’m damaged too.”

Her voice sounded so small. “I’d like that.”

“Do you want to leave?” April shook her head, drying off the last tears on her cheeks.

“Then let’s go freshen up. You have mascara smudge under your eyes.” She laughed, and I joined in. Her laugher, the most marvelous sound I’d ever heard, fixed another piece of my broken heart. “There’re a few more people I want you to meet.” I stood and stretched my hand out for her to hold on to. I’ll never let her go. I knew nothing about love, but this I was sure of. April Simmons belonged with me.

Flutters invaded my stomach at the possibility she’d stay in Green Mountain with me. For weeks. Months. Or forever.

When we argued in the woods a month ago, April woke something in me I thought was dead. She resuscitated the hopeless part of me back to life. She colored my heart and loosened the chains and padlocks I’d put around it many years ago. It was in the way she looked at me. Proud, fierce, and fearless. In the way she smiled. Or was it in the way she kissed me?

April broke my heart free of the shackles when she befriended Jack like it was the most natural thing to do in the whole world.

She gave my life a breath of fresh air. A new start. A meaning.

April pulled me out of the dark cave I’d spent years buried in.

And I never wanted to go back down there. I hated the darkness.

Stay with me, please. Don’t ever leave me.

I clutched her hand in mine and led her away.

21

April

S avannah Prince exited the stall just as I finished touching up my makeup in the museum restroom. Betty was an angel sent on Earth when she gave me this little makeup case for tonight. “Just in case,” she said. Well, she was my hero right now. I smiled at my reflection as I smacked my freshly painted lips together. All traces of the mess on my face had been erased. Savannah neared me and gave me one of her poisonous smirks. I kept my gaze in the mirror and rolled my eyes, not shying away from showing my annoyance at her. I wouldn’t bolt out of here. Savannah had nothing on me. I wasn’t afraid of her. No. I’d never give her that satisfaction. She didn’t have to know that my heart beat wild and fast in my chest. She didn’t have to know that my hands were clammy or that it took all my self-control to keep my breathing even. I knew she’ll lash out. That’s what she does best. I’ll just ignore what she does this time.

“Poor little elf. You’re still here. I thought you left a long time ago. Well, I guess you couldn’t pass up a two-thousand-dollar meal, could you?” She whistled. “You’re a pathetic woman. You’re Carter Hills’s charity case.” Was the shrill sound coming from her mouth a laugh? Shivers ran through me. Was this poor insult her only weapon? I could work with that. My entire body relaxed, and I tipped my chin up. I gave her my best resting-bitch face—the one where I had a faked-forced-smile-wrinkled-nose expression—as Saunders called it.

“Don’t waste your breath on me, Savannah. I feel sorry for you because you feel threatened by an elf. Who’s pathetic now?” I smiled—an extra-large one, showing-too-much teeth smile—and exited the room without another glance her way. If only I could high-five myself. No way Savannah Prince would get the last word. Take that, Hollywood.

With his back against the wall, Carter was waiting for me. He looked dapper in his suit. My ovaries danced at his sight. Carter grinned and clamped his arm around my waist when I joined him. His warmth shot right through me. Our eyes locked, and he cocked a brow.

“What’s this smile about?”

“I’m happy to see you.”

He pinched his eyebrows. I lifted on my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his.

“Okay, then.”

Savannah walked out of the ladies’ room at the same time. Carter’s eyes ping-ponged between the two of us. His shoulders tensed. His jaw clenched. I put a hand on his forearm.

“Don’t sweat it. She’s not worth our time.” His eyes followed his ex-girlfriend as she disappeared around the corner. “We exchanged a few words. She’ll stay away.” Carter’s eyes cleared, and he laced his fingers through mine. All the knots in my stomach slackened. Carter’s shoulders dropped down.

“We’ll talk about it later.” I nodded. Everything was good. A sense of peace flowed in my veins. Carter was right; we could work through our heartbreaks. Together. He led the way, never releasing my hand. Warm flutters danced in my belly. Carter Hills owned the secret code to the door of my soul.

After an exquisite five-course dinner—I never knew a salad could be that fancy—we were chatting with a sports agent who’d just signed the latest basketball superstar when Mr. and Mrs. Benson neared us. Damn it. I sucked in a shaky breath, my chest about to be ripped in two. All the tension in my back returned. As if dealing with Savannah Prince—twice—wasn’t enough. The Bensons exchanged a few polite words with Carter. Wait? How did they know one another? My throat closed, and I swallowed the bile back down.

I busied myself with the wineglass in my hand, twirling the liquid around. However, the heat of Mr. and Mrs. Benson’s stare made it impossible for me to ignore them. It burned holes in my skin.

The Bensons attended so many fundraisers, I should have considered they might be here. I cringed. This was a nightmare.

“April, dear, how are you doing?” Mrs. Benson asked, breaking the awkward silence thickening the air, inching closer to me. I twitched my lips into a forced, tight-lipped smile, a lump now blocking my airway.

My fingernails dug into Carter’s arm through the fabric of his tuxedo.