Crowned (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 2)

by Christina Coryell

  “Thanks a lot, Harley,” Denton added with a self-conscious smile. “Right back with the weather. Keep it here.”

  “Girl, you’ve gone completely bananas,” Annie said, poking Harley in the shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

  “Clearly not.” Offering a shrug, Harley smiled. “I was annoyed because Mitch wouldn’t let me do the pension story after I’d spent so much time working on it. No worries, though—I sent it freelance to a few nationwide newspapers. Maybe one of them will pick it up.”

  “Won’t Mitch be upset about that?”

  “How could he be?” Harley wondered, giving her friend a mischievous grin. “I used a fake name.”

  C hapter Thirty

  Finishing the final touches on Kelsey’s mascara, Harley leaned back to inspect her handiwork. She had been able to remove nearly all traces of Kelsey’s sickness with makeup, and her hair looked fuller and shinier than normal. In the simple but elegant blue dress Annie had loaned them, Kelsey looked like she was preparing to go to her prom.

  “I’m totally jealous,” Harley breathed, staring at her friend in the mirror.

  “Jealous of me?” Giggling, Kelsey gave Harley a doubtful glare. “Why would you be jealous of me?”

  “Because when I was your age, the only blue dress I got to wear was that horrible prom bomb nightmare from Rick Dillard’s sister. You look so perfect.”

  “Thanks.” Kelsey looked down at her fingers, seemingly nervous, causing Harley to wonder if she was feeling run down. Instinctively, she put her hand on Kelsey’s shoulder.

  “Everything going to be okay?”

  “Oh, sure. It’s just…I hope I don’t embarrass you.”

  “As if you could,” she protested, lowering herself to the side of Kelsey’s bed. “Aren’t you the girl who can walk vocabulary circles around me? I should be afraid I’ll embarrass you.”

  The doorbell rang, and Kelsey whipped her head around to look at Harley.

  “Now who do you suppose that could be?” Harley asked, giving Kelsey a conspiratorial smile as she rose to exit the room. Kelsey stood behind her, grabbing her hand as they walked into the hallway, bracing herself against Harley as she stopped in the living room. “Well? Don’t you want to answer the door?”

  “No, I can’t. You do it.”

  Laughing, Harley stepped forward and swung the door open, revealing a rather large bouquet of pink roses. She heard Kelsey gasp behind her, at which point the bouquet dipped down a couple inches, revealing a smiling Denton.

  “Ladies,” he said, stepping inside. “I apologize for not being Zac Efron, but I was wondering if I could escort you to the benefit.”

  “Is that the best you can do? Seriously, Denton.”

  Dropping the hand with the roses down to his side, he let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, Miss Laine, but I was not at the proposal exhibition with you the other day, so I’m not as up to date in my romance protocol.”

  “Denton!”

  “Okay, okay.” Dropping to one knee, he extended the roses to Kelsey with a beguiling grin. “Kelsey Andrews, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the benefit this evening? We’ll have to drag along your schoolmarm older lady friend, but I’m game if you are.”

  Shaking her head, Harley took the roses from his hand and carried them to the kitchen. “Poor form, Mr. Price. Kelsey, are you going to accept that sort of invitation?”

  “I think I should,” she answered quietly, lifting her fingers to her neck in a protective gesture. “Don’t you think I should?”

  “You definitely should,” Denton interrupted, rising from his knee and taking her hand, bending over it as he made a huge show of placing a kiss on her knuckles.

  “Regina!” Harley called into the hall. “You better bring your camera out here. I think Kelsey’s being proposed to.”

  Regina burst into the hallway with her camera, beaming as Kelsey’s face tinted a shade of red. “Aw, honey, you look so beautiful. Let me take your picture before you go. Mr. Price, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Please, call me Denton,” he insisted, smiling at Kelsey. “I hope it’s okay with you if I drive the ladies to the benefit this evening. As long as it’s what Kelsey wants, of course.”

  “Mom, can I?”

  “Absolutely.” Smiling, Regina held her camera aloft. “You two get closer together so I can snap a quick picture. Harley? Why don’t you join them?”

  “And ruin a perfect photo op? I don’t think so.”

  Regina directed the couple on where to stand, and then took the requisite photos. Afterwards, she stepped aside and reached for Kelsey’s coat.

  “Harley, if you need to call—”

  “Of course,” she answered, smiling at Regina. “Please don’t worry. I promise we’ll take good care of her.”

  “I know you will, sweetie.” She blinked away the gathering tears and shook her head. “Have fun.”

  Kelsey allowed Denton to escort her out the door with Harley following behind, where she helped herself into the back seat of Denton’s sedan. Her coworker assisted Kelsey into the front seat, ever the gentleman, making Harley extremely happy that she had enlisted his help. Kelsey wouldn’t soon forget the evening.

  The two in the front seat conversed easily on the way to the benefit, mostly due to Denton asking lots of questions. Harley couldn’t help being proud of him as she watched him with Kelsey, further cementing his status as one of Louisville’s most eligible bachelors in her mind. Some woman would be very lucky to wind up with Denton Price.

  As they pulled up to the event, Denton gave his keys to a valet and helped Kelsey out of the car, tucking her arm safely inside his own to shield her from any unwanted attention. Harley followed a few steps behind, holding her rose-colored gown in her fist so she wouldn’t step on the trailing hem. Soft music filtered through the building, and the hushed mumble of people talking just inside carried on the wind as they maneuvered up the large number of stone steps.

  “How are you holding up?” Harley overhead Denton ask Kelsey, to which she replied that she was perfect.

  Once in the door, Denton maneuvered through the throng of people with ease, brushing most of them aside in his attempts to guard Kelsey. Harley wasn’t quite as lucky, being pulled in different directions by people attempting to gain her attention. When one of those who wanted to say hello turned out to be Christopher Stanton, she simply gave him a polite nod and continued on her way. She had heard no more about his political aspirations, but she still had no desire to converse with him or his family.

  Her seats were near the front, since she was a speaker, and she chatted comfortably with Denton and Kelsey while she fought her nerves. When Kelsey glanced just above Harley’s shoulder moments later, she turned and noticed a well-dressed man and woman standing directly behind her, the man gazing at her while the woman looked rather aloof.

  Faith Cooper, Harley’s mind suddenly realized, sending a shiver of fright through her veins. Was she going to call her out for the gown in front of all these people?

  Searching her mind for some explanation for the dress, Harley rose and faced them, plastering a smile on her face.

  “Good evening,” the man said, nodding his head slightly. “I don’t believe we’ve met, and we wanted to introduce ourselves. I’m Kent Cooper, and this is my wife, Faith. I own Cooper Corporate Financial.”

  “Of course, Mr. Cooper,” Harley repeated, extending her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and Mrs. Cooper.”

  Orange and plastic, she mentally nicknamed them in her head. His artificial tan was a bit much, and his wife’s facial expression under her blonde hair hadn’t changed at all since they had been introduced.

  “You look remarkably like a young woman I knew in college,” Kent stated, offering a blindingly white smile.

  “Well, they say we all have twins out there somewhere, right?” Harley glanced at Faith again, wishing the woman would smile or something…blink, maybe.

  “Faith
will only watch the newscasts when you’re reporting,” Kent added.

  “The other anchors are so dreadfully frumpy,” Faith inserted, gazing without emotion at Harley. “You and I have similar fashion tastes.”

  Forcing herself to swallow, Harley tried not to allow her feelings to register on her face. “I’m glad you think so,” she finally said. “Your gown this evening is lovely.”

  Faith glanced down uninterestedly at her purple gown, which Harley was sizing up, along with her strappy gold heels.

  “Thank you.” Faith tilted her head slightly to the side as she stared at Harley. “You know, I had a custom-gown made that looked almost exactly like the one you’re wearing. It’s the funniest thing.”

  I am so busted.

  “Kent, isn’t that funny?” Faith continued. “We truly do have the exact same fashion sense, don’t we? I believe we must shop at the same stores.”

  “I would say that is a definite possibility,” Harley assured her, offering a pleasant smile.

  “Well, you are a delight, my dear. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Harley insisted as the couple strolled away. Lowering herself into her chair, she fished into her purse and pulled out her cellphone.

  Alert! she texted Annie. Faith Cooper sighting.

  She really does look like a Barbie.

  Didn’t figure out about the dress.

  Dinner had been served and they were working through their desserts when Annie finally texted Harley an answer, instructing her to steer clear of Faith Cooper unless she wanted to give away her resale-loving secret identity.

  Let me know if you like her dress tonight, though, Annie continued. I’m sure I’ll have it next week.

  The nerves began to settle more firmly on Harley after dessert, because she knew she would be speaking soon. While she realized that most of Louisville knew her voice, she wasn’t accustomed to speaking to large groups. Her normal audience was a single camera, and on occasion a small group in the studio.

  As they announced her name, the other members of the audience began to applaud, and she felt herself rising from her chair and moving toward the platform, instinctively grabbing the fabric of her dress to keep from tripping. Each step closer to the podium, she felt her heartbeat pounding out a rhythm in her chest: Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

  She tried to shake it off as she stepped forward, staring at the notes she’d prepared that were rolled up in her hand—points about the type of city Louisville should strive to be. As she looked out at the faces, though, most of them having lived a lot longer than she had, her words seemed flat.

  Who was she to think she could give these people advice? She had nothing.

  Forcing a deep breath, she focused on the back of the room and happened to see someone carrying dishes who had a doo-rag on his head. Her mind shot instantly to Duke. Staring down at the paper in her fingers, she placed it on the podium and ignored it.

  “Good evening,” she said, gazing at Denton for reassurance, who promptly gave her a thumbs-up. “My name is Harley Laine, and I’m a reporter for Channel Six Action News. A lot of you probably recognize me. In fact, I’ve heard tell that I’m the most popular female reporter in Louisville, but who’s keeping score, right?”

  She heard a few laughs, and she offered a smile. “Up until recently, I was. I told myself that all I wanted was to be important, but I failed to see that’s what we all want, isn’t it? It plays out in a million different forms, but it all boils down to that one ingredient. Whether it’s from a boss, or a significant other, a great city, or even the creator of the universe, we just want to know that we matter.

  “I happened to tell a very wise man that I wanted to be important not too long ago. I wanted the highest and biggest platform I could reach, so I could make a difference. He told me something that changed my entire outlook.” Pausing, she glanced at Kelsey, who was sitting demurely staring at her, proud smile on her face. “He said that I didn’t have to be important to make a difference. The truth is, to every life you touch during the day, you are already important.”

  Daring to look a few people in the eye, she swallowed hard. “To further prove his point, this man makes a huge difference to the people in his life. He changes the world around him each and every day, but he doesn’t see it that way. Instead of trying to change the world, he insists that he simply refuses to let the world change him.”

  Grabbing the side of the podium, she leaned forward slightly. “What if we all did that? What if we dug down deep, looked into our best versions of ourselves, and refused to let the world change us? Imagine the city we could be if we all embraced kindness, honesty, and love for our fellow man.” Taking a second to smile, she stepped back again. “It feels like an unattainable dream, doesn’t it? But in baby steps, we can make a difference. That’s my new goal for this year—to report what’s happening in the world without letting it alter what I think or how I react. It’s easy to be cynical and even self-preserving, but if we all stopped even once a day and decided to do one small thing the way it should be done instead of choosing the easiest path, just picture the difference in our city!”

  Harley’s eyes drifted to Kelsey again, who must have become cold, because Denton’s jacket was placed securely around her shoulders. Allowing a smile to light her face, she took a deep breath. “Being in front of the camera or named Louisville’s most popular reporter may have the appearance of making a person seem important, but it’s not real. My job provides a huge platform, but if it’s not joined with love and compassion in my heart, it’s a warped crown of rusty metal that’s going to fade away. The things I do on Channel Six Action News aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things. The truly important things are the actions I take when no one is looking, in the background, silently and with no fanfare. The kinds of actions people at this hospital perform every day, receiving little or no credit.”

  Pausing to scan her eyes across the entire crowd, Harley felt herself begin to relax at last. “So I challenge you, as fellow citizens of this great city, to be important quietly and not in a spotlight. This year, find your importance not in someone’s eyes, but in another’s heart. Thank you.”

  As Harley returned to her seat, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face near the entryway, so she hastily made her apologies to Denton and Kelsey and told them she would only be a minute. Attempting a poised but brisk walk in her gown proved difficult, as she balled the fabric in her fist and brushed her hair away from her bare shoulder.

  Rounding the corner, she paused as she stared at the few loiterers who stood in the corridor, most likely waiting for others to arrive. Allowing a puzzled expression to cross her face, she turned to her left, where she felt fingers against her arm and jumped in surprise.

  “I thought you would have learned not to chase me by now,” that familiar voice said. “Last time that didn’t work out so well for you.”

  Ryan continued to hold her arm from behind, and she released the dress from her hand as her heart pounded.

  “I would say that it worked out perfectly last time,” she corrected. “I have absolutely no regrets.”

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, his fingers skimming across her bare shoulder.

  “Do you have any idea how happy I am to see you? I missed you.”

  “But pulling extra shifts on the ambulance is what allowed me to be here, so I think it was worth it. You did a great job, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

  He gently removed his hand from her arm, allowing her to turn to face him. She paused as he came into focus, her eyes trained near his chest, noticing his tailored suit jacket and a black tie. As she brought her gaze upward, sweeping across his familiar facial hair, she stalled when she reached his eyes. His dark hair was nowhere near his shoulders, mostly short with just a hint of a mohawk near the top, which he had taken care to smooth over for the evening. Unable to stop a gasp, she lifted her fingers to her lips as she studied his new hairs
tyle, decidedly more conservative but still undeniably Ryan.

  “Annie offered to hook me up,” he explained, placing his warm hand against her shoulder again. “You don’t seem pleased.”

  Shaking her head quickly, she removed her fingers from her lips as she allowed her eyes to roam over him. “You look incredible, honestly, but…” Biting her lip, she forced herself to look in his eyes. “I can’t believe you cut your hair. I’m in complete shock. Why did you do that?”

  Smiling, he moved his hand to her neck as he brushed his thumb across her cheek. “This is me dressing for the job I want.”

  Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she reached up and placed her hand against the back of his head, feeling the soft, short hair beneath her fingers. “You had the job,” she insisted, gazing at him. “And you don’t have to worry about losing it, because you’re irreplaceable.”

  “Yeah?” He looked down at the floor for a split second before he returned his eyes to hers, furrowing his brow. “The truth is, I’ve been thinking about cutting it for a while. I just didn’t want you to think I did it for you.” Hesitating momentarily, he wrinkled his nose. “What I mean is, it was a lot easier to commit to it knowing that you would love me either way.”

  Stepping back, she reached for his hands, feeling their warm strength in her own. “Please don’t change for me, Ryan. Not a single thing about you.”

  Gripping her fingers tighter, he nodded. “Nothing has changed, really. I’m still the same guy you met that night at Tiny’s—a little too overeager, whipping my shirt off at inappropriate times, desperately wanting to kiss you.” Smiling, he released her hands and placed his fingers at the side of her waist, drawing her closer. “I’m still wrapped up in the wrong package…twenty-six years old, living with my parents.”

  “I sort of love that about you,” she whispered, tilting her face upwards.

  Shaking his head, he delayed giving her the kiss she obviously wanted. Instead, he placed his forehead against hers, letting out a sigh.