Danielle Steel - Southern Lights

“You weren’t a nuisance,” Luisa said coldly. “Have a safe trip.” She made no move to come toward Savannah, and then picked up her newspaper again.

“Goodbye,” Savannah said softly, and left the kitchen with her father. It was about as warm a goodbye as she’d ever get from Luisa.

Savannah gave Daisy a last hug and got into the car. Daisy and Julianne and the two old servants were waving as she and Tom drove away from Thousand Oaks. Savannah would never have believed it, but she hated to leave Charleston, and what felt now like her second home. Even Luisa hadn’t been able to spoil it for her. Savannah thought that even though she had missed her mother, they were the happiest four months of her life. She had two real parents now and loved them both.

Savannah’s New York graduation was the antithesis of the one in Charleston. All her friends wore jeans with holes in them, and tank tops and sneakers or flip-flops under their gowns. No one carried flowers or wore pretty white dresses, and the boys wore T-shirts and jeans, and Nikes or flip-flops, but they let out the same wild war whoop of glee the moment they had graduated, and threw their caps in the air, and then tore off the rented gowns.

Everyone had been thrilled to see Savannah, and she had stayed in touch with most of them by e-mail and phone from Charleston. But it felt strange to be back here now. Everything seemed so different in New York. She wasn’t sure where she was most at home now, she loved both. She didn’t say it to her mother, but she really missed Charleston at times.

Turner had come up for her New York graduation, and she showed him all the sights. All her girlfriends thought he was gorgeous and really nice, and even the boys she knew liked him. And her grandmother took them both to lunch, and she showed him her court. Turner was impressed that her grandmother was a judge, and her mother an assistant DA. His own mom had never worked before she died.

“Neither did mine when she was married to my dad,” Savannah explained. “She went to law school after they got divorced, and my grandma went when my grampa died. Sort of to keep busy and not be so sad.” Turner had admitted to her that his father had a twenty-six-year-old girlfriend and was thinking of getting remarried, and he and his brothers were really upset about it. He was lonely without his late wife.

Savannah and Turner did everything they had hoped to in New York. She took him to the top of the Empire State Building, which he wanted to see, they rode on the Staten Island Ferry, and went to the Statue of Liberty and the museum at Ellis Island. And they went to the Bronx Zoo, saw the animals, and felt like little kids again. And they went to Long Island and walked on the beach. They were already figuring out how they were going to spend time in Duke and Princeton with each other in the fall. They had every intention of continuing their romance. And whenever they were apart, even for an hour, they called and texted each other constantly. They both felt like it was going to be an eternity before she came back to Charleston to visit in August, after Europe with her mother. But at least they had the wedding ahead of them. It was ten days away when Turner left New York.

And the day after he left, Savannah found a dress. Alexa had found hers with her mother the day they went shopping at Barney’s. She had bought something totally out of character for her. It was a peach-colored strapless chiffon gown that was low cut and very sexy, and the skirt was long and graceful. She had bought high-heeled silver sandals to wear with it. She tried it on for Savannah and was worried that it was too low cut and too revealing for her.

“Mom,” Savannah scolded her, “you’re thirty-nine years old, not a hundred. You should look sexy.”

“That’s what Grandma said. I don’t know what you two have in mind. Maybe you’re planning to pimp me out. I have nowhere to wear this afterward.” It seemed like a waste of money, but she had fallen in love with it and hadn’t had a dress like it in years.

Savannah was pleased that her mother had bought such a pretty dress. “You’re wearing it to Travis’s wedding. That’s enough. You look beautiful.”

“Maybe I can have it shortened and wear it to the office,” her mother teased. “It’ll look great in court at my next trial.”

“There is more to life than work,” Savannah scolded her again, and Alexa shrugged.

Sam had called her a couple of times to see what she was up to, and they both admitted that there was a letdown after the trial. Everything else seemed so insignificant compared to what they’d been doing. But serial killers with eighteen victims in nine states didn’t come around often in anyone’s career. It was nice to feel they’d made a difference in the world and done their jobs well. The sentencing was scheduled for the day before she left for Europe with Savannah. They were going to Paris, London, and Florence, with maybe a weekend in the South of France. Alexa was planning to splurge, and they were staying for three weeks. And then Savannah would go back to Charleston to see Turner for two weeks. Alexa had agreed to that too. She didn’t want to stand in the way of romance.

The dress Savannah had bought for her brother’s wedding was a pale blue satin, strapless like her mother’s, though not quite so low cut. It was long too, and she had bought sexy high heels to match. They were both going to be knockouts, Muriel assured them. She and Stanley were going on vacation that summer too. They were taking a long driving trip in Montana and Wyoming, which was what they liked to do, hiking, riding, and fishing. Savannah said it sounded awful. She was much more excited about her trip with her mother, especially Paris.

Savannah and Alexa arrived at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston on Friday afternoon, even though they weren’t going to the rehearsal dinner hosted by Tom and Luisa, nor the church service, which was only for immediate family and close friends. St. Stephen’s was too small to hold all the guests they had invited to the reception. But they wanted plenty of time to relax and get ready for the next day. They had an appointment at the hotel spa that night.

Savannah called Daisy as soon as she arrived, and her father drove her over to see them briefly. She was all excited about being the flower girl and said she was wearing a really pretty dress. She checked out Savannah’s dress in the closet and liked it, and afterward they went out for an ice cream cone, and then her father took her home. She had to go to the rehearsal dinner that night, and her mother would have a fit if she was late. So it was a short visit, but a nice one. Daisy had thrown herself into Savannah’s arms like a cannonball, and the two girls had hugged and kissed and giggled. It touched Alexa to see it. Daisy was a wonderful addition to Savannah’s life, and the little sister she had always wanted. Alexa had just never expected it to be this one. And Savannah had already promised Daisy a weekend in Princeton and a visit to New York, which Tom swore he would make happen.

Turner had dinner with them that night, after they were finished at the spa. He and Savannah went out for a drive, and he offered to escort them to the reception the next day, which sounded great to Savannah and even her mother. She didn’t want to take a cab or rent a limo and show off.

The reception was at six o’clock, and Turner picked them up promptly at five-thirty, in an old Mercedes he had borrowed from his father, and he whistled when he saw them. Alexa looked like a princess in the peach chiffon gown with her hair in an elegant French twist, and Savannah looked spectacular in the blue dress that was the color of her eyes, with just enough but not too much cleavage. Her mother’s dress wasn’t inappropriate, but a little more daring. Turner said they looked absolutely gorgeous and he was proud to escort them. He was wearing a summer tux, with a white dinner jacket and traditional black trousers with a satin stripe, and the black patent leather pumps that were old-fashioned but proper, and a real black satin bow tie, not a clip-on.

“You are one very handsome young man,” Alexa complimented him, happy for Savannah. They looked adorable together, so young and innocent and hopeful, the way people in love should be.

The wedding was at St. Stephen’s Church where Alexa had gone with Savannah and they’d run into Luisa and Daisy. But Alexa and Savannah went straight to the reception afterward with Turner in his car, as they were not invited to the church. Luisa had seen to that. Alexa expected to be seated in the parking lot at the reception, or the kitchen, and suspected that Savannah wouldn’t fare much better, but they didn’t really care. They had come for Travis and Scarlette, and to have a good time. Neither Alexa nor Savannah cared where they sat. And as long as Turner was there with her, Savannah was happy.

As they reached the receiving line at the reception, Scarlette looked like a medieval queen, standing proudly beside Travis. Her gown was exquisite, and Scarlette looked prettier than anyone had ever seen her. And Travis looked like the happiest, proudest man in the world, with Henry beside him as the best man, and a dozen groomsmen and bridesmaids stood around them. Scarlette’s older sister was maid of honor, and Daisy as the flower girl was wearing a billowing white organdy dress, carrying a satin basket of rose petals. There were banks of flowers everywhere, including orchids, gardenias, and lily of the valley. The flowers had been flown in from all over the world. It was a spectacular wedding.

“Wow!” Alexa whispered to her daughter, as she leaned toward her. “This is quite a wedding.” Scarlette’s parents were very important, and Luisa was extremely proud of the match, as though she had pulled off a major coup herself. And just as Daisy had said she would, she was wearing a screaming red satin dress, with a borrowed diamond tiara and ruby necklace. Tom looked faintly embarrassed when he saw it, but had said nothing. Luisa did what she wanted. He thought she had overplayed her hand a little, but no one seemed to notice.