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~Dixon~
I’D TAKEN WILMA AND Greg’s advice to heart. Looking at them and the life they’d built made me want the same kind of thing, with Cora at my side. No matter what life had thrown at them, they’d made it through together. They’d built a family; they’d built a relationship. There was nothing I wanted more than to have Cora in my life, even if she was too good for a sorry son of a bitch like me.
Determined to make things right—and ready to grovel if needed—I had left the Chatfields’ house the night of the fundraiser, after raiding Ryan’s closet for a suit that would get me through the door at the event. I gripped the steering wheel as I sped through town to get to the downtown hotel. Nerves had my stomach in knots and my mind was a wheel of chaos as I thought about what I could say that would let Cora know what an idiot I’d been by pushing her away. My heart raced when I imagined what she’d say in response.
Pure nervous energy propelled me from the parking garage into the hotel lobby. The ballroom wasn’t hard to find...well-dressed couples lingered just outside the doorway, where there was a check-in desk. Shit, I hadn’t even thought about how to pay for a ticket, just that I had to be there to find Cora and make things right. Maybe I couldn’t even buy a ticket at the door...maybe I was shit out of luck once again.
A hand landed on my shoulder, startling me. I whirled around, hoping to see Cora.
“Hello, stranger. Thinking of crashing the party?” Wendy smiled at me knowingly. “Maybe I can help with that. Follow me.” Then she turned on her heels and walked away from the ballroom doors.
I stood there like an idiot until my brain kicked in. If Wendy had a way for me to get in, I’d take it. I gained on her, and soon I was next to her in the hallway. “Thanks, Wendy. Hey, how did you know what I was going to do? And why weren’t you in the ballroom yourself?” I took in her outfit and thought she looked as if she fit in with the high-class crowd. She looked great, but my heart and mind was filled with Cora...no one else. “Aren’t you supposed to be in there with Cora?” My heart flexed at the idea of Cora in there without me, without her best friend...in the crosshairs of her father and Mark.
Wendy looked back at me. “I had a date tonight, so I skipped the dinner at the fundraiser. But I stopped by to check in on Cora. She’s not doing great after you dumped her, you know. I shouldn’t even be talking to you for that stupid stunt. You didn’t even have the guts to break up with her in person...you did it on the phone. She’s had to deal with Mark and her father on her own, without your support. I mean, she’s strong, but you should have been there, Dixon. She needed you.” She stopped abruptly. “But you even being here gives me hope. I do have reason for hope, right, Dixon? You’ve realized the error of your ways and are coming here to beg forgiveness?”
“Yes. Beg, grovel, plead...whatever it takes for Cora to take me back. I don’t care. I made a mistake in letting Mark get into my head—”
“Wait. What? What does Mark have to do with you dumping Cora?” Wendy’s eyes flashed.
“Well, he called and basically told me that I wasn’t good enough for Cora. Trust me, it wasn’t anything I haven’t said to myself over and over already. Hearing it from him, though...it just hit me harder. And he talked about what he could give her...the life she could have. I couldn’t stand in the way of her having that security, that dream of her bed-and-breakfast. I don’t have anything to offer her.” Saying the words to Wendy had me second-guessing my plan to get Cora back, the reality of what she’d be giving up for me once again staring me in the face.
“Hey, snap out of it! Cora doesn’t care about those things. Well, she wants her bed-and-breakfast, sure, but not with a price tag of marrying that ass. She wants your heart, not your bank account. Hell, she’s loaded, remember? She doesn’t need you for a business loan. She needs you to light her up from the inside, and trust me, only you can do that. I’ve never seen her so happy and content as she’s been with you.” Wendy put a hand on my arm. “So get over any last-minute nerves, and let’s get you in that room to make my bestie’s dreams come true.”
I straightened up. Time to make things right.
––––––––
WENDY SNUCK ME IN THROUGH the employee access hallway. We stood at the back of the ballroom, next to the swinging doors. The crowd was thick, and it was difficult to see any one person in particular between people mingling on the dancefloor and the tables scattered around the space.
“I’m going to walk along the wall here and see if I can find Cora. Thanks, Wendy, for getting me in here.”
Wendy smiled. “Go get her, Dixon. I wish you both nothing but happiness.” She gave me a hug. “I’m off to go find my date. I told him I needed a few minutes to freshen up before I could leave. Maybe I’ll find my own happy-ever-after, too!” She turned and headed back through the kitchen area.
Now, all I had to do was find Cora in this crowd of thousands. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it seemed overwhelming. I walked toward the ballroom door, keeping close to the wall to observe everyone within sight. I had no idea what Cora was wearing, but I knew she’d be a knockout in anything.
And then, once I got almost all the way to the ballroom doors, there she was, her back to me. She was at a table, standing in front of Mark.
And then she was kissing him.
I let out a shaky breath. My heart broke into pieces as my brain tried to process what I was seeing. I turned and left; there was nothing here for me now. Somehow, my feet kept my body moving as my mind was stuck in the living hell of seeing that kiss.
A tingle landed on my arm, startling me. It was familiar but impossible. Cora was in Mark’s arms, not out here with me.
I looked at the hand resting against the fabric of the borrowed suit. I followed that up, up an arm, to the shoulder, to the face of my dreams. “Cora,” I choked out.
“Dixon! Where are you going? What are you doing here? I...I am so glad you are here!” Cora flung herself at me and wrapped her arms around me.
I pulled out of her embrace. “Don’t, Cora. I saw you... I saw you and Mark back there. I made a mistake in coming here.” I stepped back. “If he’s what you want...I want you to be happy, Cora, so be happy.”
“What? No, Dixon! I wasn’t...well, yes, there was a kiss, but it was Mark kissing me, not me kissing him! I told him that I wanted nothing to do with him or my father. Dixon, it was horrible. My father sold the house to Mark, just to get me to marry him.” She gulped. “I can’t believe he’d do that. But Dixon, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters if I don’t have you.” Cora reached out to tangle her fingers with mine.
“Cora, are you sure? I mean, there’s so much I can’t give you. I don’t have money. I don’t have a good reputation, a name to be proud of. I don’t own anything but the beat-up truck I drive.” I glanced at the floor before looking back up into those beautiful green eyes. What I saw there kick-started my heart.
“Dixon, you don’t have to give me anything but your love. That’s all I need. You own my heart. I love you.” With that, Cora leaned into me and pressed her lips to mine. “All I’ve ever wanted was someone who saw me, supported me.” She smiled wickedly. “Someone who made me shake in anticipation of our next kiss.”
That was all I needed. At that glorious sensation, any doubts were obliterated by my need for Cora, for the love I had for her and—somehow—she had for me. I poured all my love for this amazing woman into my answering kiss, and thanked my lucky stars she was in my life.
“God, Cora. I can’t believe you’d choose me, but damn if I’m going to let you back out now. I’m yours, and you are mine. I’m never letting go of you, or letting anyone else try to pull you away. Now and forever, gumdrop...now and forever.”