Page 14 of Savannah Sweethearts

“Anytime.”

As we began a basic box step, I enjoyed his hands around my waist. I could feel the muscles in his back flex as we moved, and I wondered if he looked the same without a shirt. He had worked out as a kid, but he had been thin and wiry. His shoulders were more filled out now, and I wondered if his abs were as well.

“You wanna tell me who that a-hole was?”

I shook my head. “Exactly that. He’s a country club friend of my father’s and someone my mom has tried to set me up with countless times. My parents would love to marry me into his money.” A shiver ran through my body.

“You don’t want all the riches in the world?” Tyrell’s voice was low and soft.

I knew what he was asking. He was asking why I would want a man who works hard and basically lives paycheck to paycheck when I could have a man with all the money in the world and want for nothing. He was asking why I would want him.

“Money is not where all the riches in the world are, and you know it.” I snuggled in closer to him, running my finger up and down his lapel. “Financial security is great, and I admit I enjoy it. But I would rather have a loving family, a cozy home, and lots of laughter than a steel vault full of cold money.”

His chin rested on the top of my head. He spoke, but I couldn’t understand him. I didn’t want to move, though, so I said nothing. When he ran his hand up my bare back, it tickled, and I disengaged from his arms.

“Did you hear me?”

“No.”

He pulled me close. “I said, ‘That’s what I always loved about you—that you were humble and honest.’ I wish I hadn’t let things come between us, Ash.”

Tears swam in my eyes. We were still box-stepping, even though the music had become more up-tempo. “We both let things come between us. But it wasn’t our time then.”

“Is it our time now?”

Was he going to kiss me? I wanted to lick my lips, but I also didn’t want to seem overeager. Instead, I nodded. “I think it might be.”

We stopped moving, and his head lowered. Gently, he pressed his lips to mine, and his hands came up behind my neck, pulling me closer. I wrapped my arms around him in an attempt to get as close as possible to him. It was the same as it had been, but it was also better than it ever was. My Tyrell.

Tyrell

My Ashley. From the time we were fifteen, I knew I would love her and protect her forever. And now at thirty, it was no different. How could I have wasted the past ten years? Why had I not fought for her? Why had I not searched for her?

It didn’t matter now. She was in my arms, and I was never going to let her go. When I lifted my lips off hers, what I really wanted to do was take her home. Instead, I put my forehead to hers and closed my eyes.

I brought my lips close to her ear and kissed it lightly. “Yes, it’s definitely our time now, Ash.”

The shiver that ran through her at my words made me want to devour her on the spot.

Someone cleared their throat behind me, and Ashley’s eyes grew large before she pulled her head away from mine. “Daddy.”

I turned and came face to face with Mr. Gloss. He nodded slightly, and I returned the gesture. He looked no different than he had a decade before—the same salt-and-pepper hair, the same sharp, blue eyes.

As he stepped forward, he reached out his hand. “I thought I might have a dance with my daughter.”

Knowing I needed to play his game and play it well, I stepped aside and put Ashley’s hand into his. “Of course, Mr. Gloss.”

Ashley looked at me, and I nodded. I would be waiting for her when they finished, and no amount of intimidation would scare me off. Her father twirled her out onto the dance floor and started a beautiful routine with her. Ashley had grown up with formal dance lessons. I learned the box step purely so I could dance with her in high school.

I backed up to AO and Jennifer. Jennifer leaned in close to me. “She’s a cutie-patootie, Tyrell. How does she know Jonathan Gloss?”

My coworkers knew just about every name in Savannah. I hadn’t thought of that. “She’s his daughter.”

The shock in her voice was not at all masked. “How do you know her, then?” She wasn’t being rude, just being Jennifer. It was how she was.

Looking out to the dance floor, Mr. Gloss was talking to Ashley in earnest. I didn’t take my eyes off of them. “She was my high school sweetheart.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Jennifer and Karry lean together and giggle. Even in their fifties, they giggled like my twins. Karry patted my arm. “Was? Or still is?”

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