“Who will we call tonight? Isn’t that Valentine Ball taking place this evening over at the Graff?”
The Ball.
Troy.
Taylor’s eyes suddenly burned and her heart fell, tumbling to her feet. “Yes,” she whispered, going cold.
She was going to miss the Ball. There was no way she could go now. Doug was in trouble. He needed her. She couldn’t desert him.
Taylor dreaded breaking the news to Troy, but she couldn’t put it off. He deserved the truth, and he should hear it sooner than later.
Chapter Eleven
Troy was in the shower in his suite at the Graff when the text arrived. He didn’t notice the text until he’d finished shaving and dressing. It was while he was adjusting his tie in front of the bathroom mirror that his phone, left on the gleaming white marble counter, caught his eye.
He had a message.
He picked up the phone, checked it. It was from Taylor.
Doug showed up at the library this afternoon. He’s gotten himself into some trouble. Can’t go tonight. So very sorry. Apologies!!
He read the message a second time, disappointment washing through him.
She was bailing on him at the last minute, and yes, her brother was more important than the Ball, but he’d be lying if he didn’t have some mixed emotions. He told himself she wasn’t rejecting him, but in light of all the ups and downs of the past week, perhaps he should have expected this.
Perhaps Taylor Harris was not the most reliable woman. Perhaps she was so wrapped up in her brother that there wasn’t time for anyone, or anything else. Or perhaps her brother was in crisis as she’d said... which meant that of course she needed to be with him.
Troy had a twin brother that was always in some sort of trouble. He knew better than any that there were some situations beyond one’s control. And this was one.
His disappointment over not attending with Taylor shifted to concern for her. She probably wasn’t happy at all right now. And God knows what trouble Doug had gotten himself into.
Troy frowned at his phone, wondering if he should call her. Did she need help? Was there something he could do?
Troy dragged a hand through his still damp hair before shooting her a brief response.
Family comes first. Do what you have to do and don’t worry about me. But are you okay? Do you need anything?
He hit send on the text and slipped his phone into the pocket of his black tuxedo trousers and went to work styling his hair and giving his tie one last little tweak.
He still needed to slip on his jacket, but he looked alright. Shouldn’t embarrass himself or anyone else tonight.
He was perfectly fine going to the Ball solo. And it’s not as if Taylor was the only one to cancel on the Valentine Ball at the last minute. Dillon had decided to stay home with Dad. And out in California Daisy had a violent stomach bug so Cormac chose to stay with her instead of getting on a plane for Marietta.
He respected both Dillon and Cormac for making good choices. And if Taylor’s brother, Doug, was in trouble, then she was doing the right thing, staying home with him.
Fortunately, Brock and Harley were still joining him at the Sheenan table, and Jane and Mitch would be there, too. So what if it was now a table of five instead of ten? Sheenans liked having some elbow room.
Taylor read the text from Troy and it was a very nice text from him. He’d said exactly the right thing, behaved as a gentleman should, but it didn’t make her feel better.
She didn’t want to miss the Ball.
She didn’t want to sit and watch TV with Doug, or order a pizza as Kara had suggested. But that’s what she was going to do, because it was the right thing to do.
Kara disagreed. She thought Taylor should still go, and she reminded Taylor that she was at the house tonight, wrapping up some work stuff so she could take off next week to go skiing with friends from law school without worrying about anything. “I’m here,” Kara said. “I’ll keep him company. We’ll have pizza—”
“I’ve already told Troy I’m not going.”
Until that moment, Doug hadn’t any idea that Taylor had been invited to the big Ball and he was upset that Taylor was missing the event because of him.
“Why don’t you go?” he asked Taylor, joining his sister and Kara in the kitchen where they’d been trying to decide on what pizza to order. “It’s still early. You can make it.”
“It’s fine—”
“It’s not,” he interrupted. “It’s bad enough I screwed up my probation but I don’t need to screw up your life, too.”
“You’re not screwing it up.”
“All I’ve ever done is screw it up.” He leaned against the counter and dug his hands into his jean pockets. “Taylor, I’m not going to go anywhere tonight. I’m not going to do anything bad. I’m going to eat pizza and watch TV and crash early. I’m tired. But I’m not crazy or a flight risk. I’m not going to do anything stupid tonight. I’ve done enough, walking out of Hogue. I know I’m in trouble.”