Van swallowed, her skin heating up as she realized everybody was staring at her. Tanner and Logan, Nora and Johnny. From the corner of her eye she could see some of the older ladies from Chairs watching her carefully and whispering quickly to each other.
She started to shake, her legs feeling weak as mortification washed over her. Johnny Fairfax was her dad? Her stomach twisted at the thought, forcing up the champagne she’d drunk earlier until she could feel the acidity bite at her throat.
She was Johnny Fairfax’s daughter, and everybody knew. All the hard work she’d put in meant nothing. She was still Kim’s bastard child. The kid everybody looked down on. The one that people whispered about as she walked along the street.
It didn’t matter that the dress she was wearing cost more than most people spent on clothes in a year. It didn’t matter that she’d organized this whole gala herself. Because they’d never see her as anything other than a piece of trash, just like her mom.
So she did the only thing she could.
She ran.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tanner reached out, his hand missing Van’s by an inch as she ran past him. She didn’t even look his way. His mouth was dry he watched her kick off her shoes to run faster, her hair lifting in the breeze, like she was some kind of messed up Cinderella.
“I need to go after her,” he said, his chest tight.
“You need to put on the movie,” Logan said, his voice low. “You’ve got hundreds of people here, man. And if you don’t give them something to do, they’re all gonna be talking like crazy.”
“This is your fault,” Johnny hissed, pointing at Kim. “You and your stupid mouth. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. This is slander.”
“It’s not slander if it’s true,” Tanner said, raking his fingers through his hair. Shit. He had no idea what to do next. Van needed him, but he couldn’t go. Not when this messed up show was still going on around him.
“Can you get Kim back to your car?” he asked Logan. “And this time make sure she gets home.”
Logan nodded, his lips pressed together.
“And can you call Becca? Ask her to find Zoe for me. I don’t want her hearing about all this… crap… from anybody else.” He let out a mouthful of air. “I’ll go and get the movie rolling and then find Van.”
“I’ll call Cam and Gray, too. Let them know what’s going on if they haven’t heard already,” Logan said. “Just keep in touch. Let us know what we can do.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry about your big night.”
“I don’t give a damn about the night. I just need Van to be okay.”
“She will be,” Kim said, her voice quieter now. “Van’s always okay.”
“No thanks to you,” a voice hissed.
Tanner looked to his right, seeing Nora standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn’t looking at Johnny at all. He had a feeling the man was going to be put through hell tonight. And he deserved it. This was his fault.
His and Kim’s.
“You two need to leave,” he said, looking at Johnny and Nora. “Now.”
They gaped at him, as though he’d asked them to strip and do a dance for the crowd.
“You heard him,” Logan said. “Get out of here. Or I’ll make you leave.”
“I can’t believe this,” Nora hissed at Johnny. “Not her of all people.” Disgust dripped from her words. “Did you know about Savannah?”
“There’s no proof she’s my daughter,” Johnny stuttered, glancing at Nora from the corner of his eye. She shot daggers at him. “Kim slept around. Everybody knows that.”
The fire was rising up inside Tanner. He was so damn sick of them all. “You don’t deserve her to be your daughter,” he spat at him. “None of you do. She’s worth ten of you. You see this place? It wouldn’t be here without her. Tonight wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t taken charge. She’s amazing and none of you realize it.” He shook his head. “And it’s your damn loss, not hers. Now get out of here, and don’t come back. Both of you.”
He turned his back on them, striding fast across the grass toward the stage, where the orchestra was still playing. The conducter held up two fingers.
Two minutes until he could make his speech and start the movie. Two minutes until he could find Van and check that she was okay.
As the music slowly came to an end, he had no doubt at all that they had been the longest two minutes of his life.