“You, maybe.”
“She hasn’t. And she never will forget about me.” I can feel Ace’s eyes boring into me. “You’re forgetting that, once upon a time, Susie and I were engaged. And she loved me. Hard…passionate…love.”
The way he puts the emphasis on his words makes my fingers curl tightly around the bench until my knuckles go white. If he keeps this up, the sheriff is going to have to pry me off him again.
“Can you do that for her?” Ace continues to pester me. “Are you going to marry her? You’re forgetting Susie is from a generation that grew up with Barbie Doll’s Malibu Wedding. She’s been dreaming about this crap since she was six. Did she tell you about she used to have full wedding ceremonies for her dolls? Or how she used to sneak away to read romance novels at her aunt’s lake house?”
I confess, “We haven’t known each other very long.”
Ace chuckles lowly like a panther’s purr. “Let me guess—you’re not really the hand holding type? Am I right? You can’t remember how many women have gotten on their knees before you, but you could count on one hand how many you’ve taken to the theatres to see a romantic comedy. I’m right, aren’t I?”
I bite my tongue until I taste blood and say nothing.
Ace sighs. “Susie needs a Prince Charming. You’re nothing but a stable boy—a rough piece of rebound action to get her back on her feet. She’ll come crawling back to me soon enough.”
“No. She won’t.” I can’t take it anymore. I’m nearly vibrating with rage, but I know that if I give in and take a swing at him, I’ll only be confirming his theory that I’m nothing but damage and trash in a suit and tie.
Ace lifts his eyebrow at me. The corners of his mouth are curled upward, waiting for my response, like this is all some hilarious joke. It’s clear that he thinks he’s got his boot on my neck. “Why is that?”
“Because Susie deserves true love, not the fake lies you peddle her.”
Susie deserves it, and so do I.
“True love?” He throws the word back at me like it’s poisoned and laughs in my face. “Holy crap, you drank the Kool-Aid.”
“Ace?”
“What?”
“You think I’m nothing but a brute, don’t you?”
He squares his shoulders and scoffs. “Yeah. I do.”
“Then you don’t have to worry about your audition tomorrow, because if you so much as whisper Susie’s name again, I’ll pound your face in.”
It’s a lie, but it gets Ace to shut up. We don’t linger in silence for too long. The bells above the sheriff’s office jingle as someone steps inside. Barely a minute later, Colburn steps down the hall and barks, “You boys have got company!”
I turn my head up, and my cold heart skips a beat. Susie is a sight for sore eyes. Her lavender dress flows from her body, and she clutches her purse tightly between her hands. When she sees me, her eyes get wide and she rushes toward me. Immediately, I stand and meet her at the bars.
“How was it?” I ask, concern thick in my voice.
“It went off without a hitch,” Susie reassures me. She tilts her head in a shrug. “Well. All things considered.”
“Cora…?”
“She has no idea. She’s back at home packing for the honeymoon now. They’re going to this cabin upstate that overlooks Lake Lanier…it’s supposed to be beautiful this time of year.”
My shoulders sag with relief. “Thank you,” I tell her. I mean it. Cora’s happiness today is paramount.
Her soft brown eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “Of course. It’s what I do.”
“All right, Braxton West.” Sheriff Colburn sifts his keys until he finds the right one and sticks it in the lock, twisting the door open. “You’re free to go.”
I feel a pinch of confusion in my chest, and I knit my eyebrows at Susie. “You bailed me out?”
Susie shrugs casually, but I can tell from the small smile at the corner of her mouth that she’s proud of herself. “I’m a problem solver. Haven’t you figured out by now that there’s nothing I can’t do?”
As I exit the holding cell, Ace starts to follow me out. “Thank God,” Ace huffs. “Utterly humiliating—”
“Hold on there, boy.” The sheriff lifts his hand to stop Ace. “I’ve only got bail for Mr. West. You hang tight.”
Ace’s jaw goes slack. He stares at us as the door closes once again behind me.
“This is rich, Susie,” Ace spits. “Real petty of you. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“Ace…” Susie sighs, takes a step forward, and wraps her hand around a holding cell bar. “Just think of this as a learning experience.”
With that, she steps away. Ace looks like he’s been slapped.
I don’t care. Ace has dissolved completely from my focus. There’s only Susie now. Always, only Susie. I drop my hand, and she takes it and links her fingers in mine.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
We step out of the sheriff’s office and into the cool autumnal air. I’m sweat-slicked and the breeze feels good.
Susie clutches her bare arms, and I see goose bumps start to form on her skin. “Don’t you ever dress for the weather?” I ask.
She looks at me apologetically. I shrug off my jacket and drop it around her shoulders. She sticks her arms through the sleeves—it swallows her completely.
“My flight leaves tonight at eight,” Susie says. “What about you?”
“Nine thirty.”
“Look at that.” She smiles, but it’s a sad smile. “We just miss each other.”
She’s distracted, looking away, and I tug her hand to pull her focus back to me. “Are you nervous?” I ask.
“Honestly?” Her eyes flicker up to me. “I’m a little worried that we’ll never see each other again. I mean…the wedding is done. We have no reason to.”
I glance back at her and pause at that. “You have my jacket,” I tell her. “I’ll have to come around to pick that up sometime.”
Susie laughs at that and tugs the jacket tighter around her. “True,” she says. “As long as I have something you need.”
“You have my heart. And I’m pretty sure I need that.” The confession leaves my lips effortlessly.
Susie’s eyes grow wide and hopeful as she looks up at me. A smile inches up her lips, and she grazes my chest with her fingertips. “I must be rubbing off on you…the tin man has a heart after all.”
Enough of tiptoeing around what I want. “Hush, Dorothy.” I cup her face in my hand and close my mouth over hers. I lock her lips in mine hard, passionately. This is where I belong, I tell her in my kiss. This is where you belong.
She sighs against my mouth, and her fingers cling to my shirt. We linger for a moment, sharing kisses and boldly tender touches out in the open.
Finally, Susie peels back and presses her lips together thoughtfully. “We have a few hours to kill before I have to go to the airport.”
“I have a few ideas about that,” I murmur, my hand resting on her face.