Noah nodded and grinned like he understood, but when Val kept staring at him, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his fancy black tuxedo and turned his attention to the game.
During a commercial break, the young man’s eyes flitted to the three of them, to find they were all still staring at him. Before Noah could think of something to say, Justin asked, “So what are your plans for tonight?”
Noah swallowed and then said, “I’m taking her to Chantilly’s Steakhouse in Morehead for dinner first—”
Ransome sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I hope you’re not going to do something stupid like try to get into the Twisted Bull.”
Noah shook his head. “I’d never do that, sir—Ransome, sir. Neither of us would do that. Besides, if we tried, we know Cody, Heath, and Spencer would give us the boot and call the three of you besides. Don’t worry. Our plan is to eat dinner together with Beau and his date and then go to the prom. That’s it. Then I’ll bring her home.”
Justin heard the click of high heels in the hall, the murmur of feminine voices, and then Justine appeared in the arched entry to the living room, looking like a vision. He had to clear his throat to hide the roughness in it and rose from the couch with Val and Ransome, who both were speechless and also trying to hide it.
She looked like a movie starlet in a blue and gold dress that hugged her figure from the knees upward. From the knees down, the dress swept the floor in a golden wave, giving Justine the look of a mermaid. While she’d inherited his dark coloring, she’d definitely gotten her looks and her curves from her mother. He was pleased that the dress was sleeveless with a round neck, instead of being strapless. No point in offering up to Noah what Noah couldn’t have, in his opinion. Charity and Justine had wrapped the cast on her right forearm with a long silky scarf that was printed in colors that matched her dress.
When he finally found his voice, Noah said, “You look…beautiful, Justine. Gorgeous.”
“Honey,” Justin said, finally able to speak. Pride filled his chest as she went to him first and hugged him. “You look like a vision in that dress.”
Her cheeks turned pink and she said, “Thank you, Daddy.”
Val coughed into his fist and then said, “Wait a minute. Aren’t there supposed to be flowers or something?”
Ransome chimed in, too. “Yeah. And there’s a limo waiting out there, right?”
Justine raised a hand and said, “He offered. I told him I didn’t need all of that.” She turned to Noah and said, “I’m happy that you took my suggestion for your tuxedo, though.”
Justin didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and then paused. “You going to a prom or to a wedding? I thought it was a rule that you wore the same colors as your date.”
Noah shrugged. “I picked exactly what Justine recommended, and she’s wearing my college colors.”
Ransome folded his arms over his chest and Val followed suit. They both nodded with respect, and Justin said, “Nice.” He knew that Justine was thoroughly done with all the high school drama and games. She was ready to move on and he’d known that for a long time. The two of them looked like they were ready to attend a formal event in some big city, not ready to go a small-town junior-senior prom. Justine winked at him and nodded in thanks when he said nothing else on the subject.
Noah reached inside his jacket as he said, “You told me to not do all the clichéd things expected on a prom night so I tried to be different. I brought you something, if it’s okay with your mom and dad—dads, that is.” Looking at Val and Ransome, he added, “I’ll get that down eventually. Sorry.” He pulled a little velvet box from his coat pocket and held it out to Justine.
Justine looked at her mom and her dads, and then looked up at Noah as he opened the box. Justin saw the glow in her eyes as she looked at Noah and his heart constricted a little. His little girl was in love, or thought she was. She gasped when she flicked her gaze down to the little bracelet on the bed of satin.
“It’s jade,” Noah said as he lifted the bracelet, which was a series of links with small green stones set into each section. She held out her left wrist and he clasped it on for her. “It probably doesn’t go with your dress very well but it’s the state gem of Alaska and I thought—” He shrugged and looked embarrassed.
Justine hugged him and said, “It is perfect and I don’t care if it matches. I love it, Noah. Thank you. I’ll think of you in Alaska every time I wear it.”
Justin’s heart twisted again as he watched the tears collect in her eyes and the way she valiantly fought them. His eyes met Charity’s over his daughter’s shoulder and his wife winked at him and nodded.