For the next hour, I dance until my heels ache, and even then, I continue to dance. I feel dizzy from all the spinning, my throat is raw from speaking, and my left palm is sweaty from being held in so many hands.
While I’m dancing with Duncan, I spot Taylor Hiscock’s sister. I could picture Livingston leaning into me. “Made a wise choice there. No one wants the name Hiscock.”
I can’t help but smile. My heart aches at the thought of Livingston. I’ve continuously searched for him, and he’s nowhere to be found. It’s foolish to expect him to come.
The dance comes to a close, and when we stop moving, my feet sigh in relief. Duncan walks me to the edge of the ballroom, and when another male guest asks me to dance, I politely refuse. I need a small break.
I stand by myself and bask in the silence. It’s a brief reprieve from all the activity around me.
And then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot Livingston. My heart stutters and stops at the sight of him. Like most of the men here, he’s wearing a tuxedo. His is tailored to his body. His dinner suit nearly matches the color of his hair. He recently shaved, and his sharp planes and angles of his gorgeous face are on display.
My God, I’ve missed him so much.
His eyes prowl through the crowd as though he’s in search of something. His gaze drifts past me, and then immediately veers back to me. His eyes widen a fraction before he starts to walk through the crowd.
My breathing becomes shallow. What is he going to say? What am I going to say? I gave up hope that he would come, but now that he’s here, my tongue suddenly feels far too big for my mouth.
I link my hands together and try to take deep breaths as I see he’s quickly approaching. He breaks from the crowd and stands directly in front of me, the very picture of perfection. His eyes sweep me from head to toe. “Hello, Rainey.”
The deep timbre of his voice causes goose bumps to break out across my skin. I dip my head. “Livingston.”
He leans forward, from the waist up, and says with his eyes on mine, “Would you care to dance?”
I could go the rest of my life without another dance. I don’t tell Livingston that, though. “Sounds lovely.”
When he holds my hand in his, it’s akin to a jolt of electricity going through my body. I remain impassive and allow Livingston to escort us. In the crowd, Serene and Étienne stand by my Momma and watch us.
“Did you get the chance to dance with each bachelor?”
“Yes, I did. It was lovely,” I say politely.
Can he feel how badly I’m shaking?
Livingston nods and doesn’t make one of his signature retorts. For all his womanizing ways, Livingston is a practiced dancer. We glide across the marble floor so effortlessly my feet barely touch the floor.
With his eyes fixed on something behind me, he indifferently asks, “Do you know which bachelor you’ll pick as your husband?”
“Stop,” I plead.
Livingston innocently blinks and looks at me. “Stop what?”
“You know what,” I whisper.
“I’m strikin’ a friendly conversation.”
“But we haven’t spoken to one another since Savannah.”
Livingston somberly looks me in the eye. “If I reached out to you, would you have listened?”
I keep my gaze fixed on his Adam’s apple as I think of my reply. I lost count the number of times I wanted to speak with him and know how he was.
“That’s what I figured,” he said sadly.
He didn’t realize how hard it was to stay away from him and how difficult it is to express how much I missed him.
Only a small moment of silence passes between us before Livingston speaks. “How are you?” he asks.
I lift my gaze and find him staring at me. “I’m fine.” Carefully, I look him over. I notice the bags under his eyes. However, there’s a clarity in his hazel eyes. I’m desperate to know what’s led to that clearness. Is there someone new in his life?
“How are you?” I ask, my voice uncharacteristically squeaky.
He looks at me with a tinge of sadness. “I’ve been all right.”
I don’t want to hear all right. I want to hear every aspect of his life, starting from the moment his feet stepped onto the train platform in Charleston and went on his way. I told him to never speak to me again, but I didn’t mean it. Can’t he see that?
I didn’t mean it.
We follow the couples dancing across the ballroom floor. To spectators, we look as though we’re having a polite conversation. They don’t see that my heart is being torn to shreds.
“I’ve begun workin’ with Étienne,” he blurts.
My eyes widen with shock. I wasn’t expecting to hear that. “When?”
“Days ago. I’ll be workin’ with his clients and attemptin’ to find new leads for his company.”
I smile at him. Even though Livingston tries to remain nonchalant about his new role at EAL Corporation, it’s evident he’s excited about it. This is good news. This is what he needs. “That’s wonderful,” I say.
“And recently, I sold my shares of AT&T.”
At once, my mind starts to race. He sold his shares. I don’t know the value, but I know they have to be worth a great deal. Here it is. Here’s the intro for him to tell me he paid off my family’s debts.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to stay at the Lacroix house. I need to create a fresh start.”
My heart nearly sinks to my stomach over his words. I swallow before I speak. “In Charleston, right?”
“Of course,” he says softly. “The land across from the Belgrave plantation?”
I nod uncertainly and wait for him to continue. “It was once part of Lacroix-Livingston land, but my father sold it. For several years, the fields were planted and tended to, but crops became bad, and they went neglected. Soon, I plan to have it tilled.”
I knew the land he was describing. Every time I arrived or left Belgrave, I saw the wide expanse of acreage. Overgrown weeds sprouted from the ditch. Grass would make feeble attempts to grow in the untended soil but always failed. And during the fall and winter, you could see the lines from past years where seeds have been planted.
Next to Belgrave that was always well-maintained, the land was nothing but a blight. But this is another step toward a future. A future I hope he could see he deserved. “I’m happy for you, Livingston.”
I meant that. No matter how I felt about Livingston, that’s all I wanted. For him to stop being tortured by the past and have peace. He deserved that more than anyone.
There’s a second where the two of us are quiet, gliding across the ballroom floor. I try to keep the news Momma broke to me upstairs, but I just can’t. “Someone paid off the debts. All one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars.”
Carefully, I watch Livingston for any tell that might give him away. His brows furrow as though this is news to him. “Truly?”
“Yes. Momma just told me.”
His eyes widen, and his mouth opens and closes several times before he says, “That’s great.”
Reluctantly, I nod. “It is.”
He wasn’t giving the impression he knew anything about the debts being paid, which confuses me even more. I was so certain he did it.