“I don’t give a goddamn who he is. He can’t just storm in here and cause a scene. They have no business being here, Harlow. No goddamn business at all.”

Heath stood facing my daddy and looked at him eye to eye. My daddy was a big man. But Heath was just as tall and far broader.

“Sir, I apologize for my intrusion. But this couldn’t wait. I’m in love with your daughter and I can’t live another minute without her.” He turned from my daddy to look me in the eyes. “She is everything to me and I’ve already wasted too much time stuffing things up with her. But it all changes right here, right now. This is where we start the rest of our lives together.”

“There is a time and place for these things son and this ain’t one of them,” my daddy said. “Now that you’ve said your piece, you and your friends need to leave. From what I’ve heard about you from Harlow you’re a nice boy. But nice ain’t going to stop me from throwing you out of here on your ass.”

“I love him.” I fixed my daddy with determined eyes. “And I want to go.”

I knew he was thinking about our talk and about the tears and the agony he had seen me go through because his face finally softened and he nodded. “You always were stubborn. Even as a baby. But you’re not a child anymore, Harlow. This is real life. You’ve got to think about what you are doing and how it’s going to impact everyone around you.”

“I don’t want a life without him,” I said. “This is my chance.”

He knew what I meant. This was my chance at the happiness that had eluded him when he’d gotten my mother pregnant and lost the love of his life. He would always have questions about how his life may have turned out. And I was sure he didn’t want that for me.

He looked at me with the same magnetic eyes as my own and finally nodded. He knew my will was a lot stronger than anything he could say to stop this from happening. He turned to Heath. “Can I rely on you to take care of her, son?”

“Yes sir. Yes, you can.” Heath’s big smile was dazzling. He lifted me up into his strong arms and swung me down to the Grecian tiles. “Are you ready to go home?”

My face burst into a smile and I nodded, excitement flooding through me. “If I said no now it’d kind of be a bit of an anticlimax, wouldn’t it?”

He smiled broadly, those dimples deep in his beautiful face as he took a firm grasp of my hand. “You’re my girl, H-bomb. Let me take you home.”

“You always say the right things, Heath Dillinger.”

I turned back to look at Colton who smiled chivalrously and nodded.

“Thank you,” I mouthed silently to him. His smile was regretful, but I knew he would be happy for me.

Mama proved to be our final obstacle. She and three of the debutante committee ladies blocked our path. Her face was pure disdain. I didn’t wait for her to speak. I went to her, took her hands in mine and whispered in her ear, “I simply can’t end up like you. He is my Will Starling.”

She opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut into a thin line. I didn’t know if it was hearing the name of her lost love or if it was hearing me say it. But she said nothing and tilted her chin to brace herself against her own memories.

It was likely she would never forgive me for this. It would be the talk of the town for some years to come. People would always remember me walking out of the debutante ball and it would be an ongoing embarrassment to her. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to upset or embarrass her. But I didn’t want to be without Heath either.

I had meant what I said to her. I didn’t want to end up like her. Twisted and jaded by the hand life had dealt her. Losing the love of her life and having to spend it with someone she had never wanted to spend her life with. Always wondering, what if …

I didn’t do what ifs.

Heath was looking at me, his face soft and a small smile curled on his lips. I took his hand in mine and together we crossed the ballroom, passing the stunned faces of the guests who were already murmuring. As we neared the back of the room, I spotted Laurie-Beth. Breaking free from Heath I ran over to her.

“You should be wearing this,” I said, sliding my tiara through her hair. I turned to look back at Colton who immediately knew what I was silently asking and nodded. Laurie-Beth would spend the evening on his arm. She would get to go to the ball after all. “You go out there and take my place. You belong here more than I do.”

She kissed me and pulled me into a hug. “Good on you, Harlow.”

Over her shoulder I saw Harper, sitting back in her chair with her Converse-encased feet up on the table, grinning. She winked and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn’t help but smile at her.

When I turned back to look at Heath he smiled broadly, all white teeth and dimples and my stomach flipped with love for this man. This beautiful, gorgeous, crazy man. He was my end and my beginning and I didn’t ever plan on being without him again. It was easy walking out of the ballroom and leaving it all behind me.

“That was some exit.” Heath chuckled as we descended the steps to the parking lot.

“Could make things awkward at the next family Christmas.”

He stopped at the base of the steps so he could kiss me again. “I’m sorry but I won’t be able to stop kissing you. Being without you has driven me crazy these past few weeks. I’m done living without you, H-bomb. I want you to be the last girl I ever kiss.”

I grinned. “Yeah. I think I get that now.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

The rest of the band and Piper were waiting for us by a parked Hummer. Piper pulled me into a big bear hug. She squealed and squeezed me tight. “I’m so excited, I could just pee my pants!”

When she finally let me go, I turned to Jesse, Zack and Tommy and hugged each one of them, tightly.

“Thank you.” I couldn’t keep the tears from my eyes. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.”

Jesse opened the Hummer door. “Or maybe we’re bringing you back to us.”

“Where you belong,” Piper added.

“After all, you are a part of our crazy family,” Tommy said grinning.

I felt Heath’s hand wrap around mine. “No more running away from me, okay?”

“No more running. I promise.”

He smiled down at me, all dimples and sparkling eyes. “Are you ready to head home to California?”

I nodded. “Yep. Let’s go home.”

EPILOGUE

We lay beneath a sky of brilliant star shine, our faces tilted towards the night sky. Moonlight cast a channel of white light across the smooth ocean. The breeze that blew up from the beach was cool with a sharp edge to it.

We lay on a patch of grass on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which Heath had claimed as our spot months earlier. It seemed like a lifetime ago and so much had happened since then.

During that time we had loved one another and lost one another, and then somehow we’d found our way back to each other through the tangle of heartache and grief.

Now we were stronger than ever and nothing could tear us apart again. A bright and unknown future lay ahead of us.

In another week or two my first winter in California would begin. Soon after, Christmas would arrive and I would celebrate with the man who had become the love of my life. I would defer my college studies until I could work out exactly how my life could entwine with Heath’s on the West Coast instead of back home in the South.

I had no idea how we would make it work. But I knew we would. And I knew I was in for one hell of a ride.

“Any regrets?” Heath asked. He turned away from the glitter of stars above us to face me and his expression was gentle.

“Are you kidding me? I’m so excited about my life with you, I won’t ever regret any of this.”

He smiled the smile I had come to need to see every day. Two dimples that set off tiny explosions in my belly.