“Yes. Ha! But the flowery flower ones are not just the regular flowers.They’re… flowers.” I fumbled with my wallet and threw a twenty-dollar bill at my best friend, gritting my teeth at her to shut her mouth.?
“Yes! Oh right, the flowery flowers. Okay, girl,” she winked. “I’ll call you later.”
She turned her attention to the random gentleman sitting to her right, helping himself to her bacon. “Excuse me, who are you? Stop eating my breakfast.” She slapped Ryan’s hand away from her food and shot me a wide-eyed, crazy grin.?
I dashed out of the restaurant, pushing through the dozens of patrons gathered by the register waiting for a table. A light rain had started outside, and people had been moving from the front of the popular dining spot into the counter-seating only area. If I had a bulldozer, I would have run them all over.?
As I marched through the drizzle, my heart raced. I thought I’d braced myself for this moment, but nothing could have prepared me for the whirlwind of emotions I felt when I saw him. The raw pain, the undeniable pull, and the sudden urge to strangle him…?
I was halfway down Abercorn Street when he caught up with me.?
“It’s been ten goddamn years, and the first time I see you, you run away! Magnolia, please, talk to me!”?
I spun around, my hangover making everything wobble along with me. A wave of nausea crept up my throat, and I shot Lee a hard look, trying to get my bearings. Over the past ten years, he’d somehow grown taller and filled out. His t-shirt stretched tight over a muscular build, showing off the results of whatever workouts he’d been doing. He clearly had been taking excellent care of himself. The lanky kid I remembered had turned into a confident, well-built man, and it threw me for a loop.
His dark-blond hair, once cropped short, was now slightly longer and darker, letting his natural curls peek through. His big, sky-blue eyes locked onto mine as he gave me a quick, half-hearted smile. My eyes settled on his full, soft lips, and as if on cue, he ran his tongue across the bottom one, making my stomach drop.?
“Hi,” he offered, bringing me back to reality. I said nothing in return.
I’d known Lee for most of my life, and I could tell when he was wrestling with whether or not to reach out and touch me. I took a step back.
“What are you doing here?” I finally spat out.?
“Well, I’m in Savannah because it’s my momma’s birthday, and she’d fly to Nashville and hang me if I didn’t show up.” He pressed his lips together, trying to smother a laugh. “And I’m at Clary’s because they have the best pancakes in the city, and that’s not even up for debate.” He was trying to crack a joke, but I still crossed my arms and glared at him.?
He took a half-step forward, clearly debating once again whether to reach out. But after one look at my ‘don’t even think about it’ stance, he shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, like he’d just realized petting a cactus might be a better idea. His shoulders dropped, and I almost felt bad. Almost.
“It’s nice to see you,” he said, keeping his eyes glued to the ground between us.?
“I wish I could say the same, but it’s not,” I snapped.
He let out a brief, soft chuckle and met my eyes. “What did you do to your hair, Maggie?”?
I watched his arm twitch, wanting to reach out and run his hands through my straightened long bob—probably now puffing out sideways from the rain—a stark difference from my long, wild red curls. I decided not to approach the subject of my makeover.?
After all, if he wanted to see my evolution, he should have stuck around to see it firsthand.?
“Your momma must be happy that you’re home,” I said, straightening myself and pulling my shoulders back in an attempt to exude confidence, the likes of which I definitely did not feel.
“She wasn’t at the house when I got there, so I stopped to get something to eat. Actually, no one was home except Dottie. I don’t suppose you know where they are?”?
“Eunice has hair and nails until around noon, and then Marie Venuti is taking her to lunch at the club. Vance and Dane are playing golf with John and your cousin Joey—the one from Boston. He’s here for her party.”?
He nodded and laughed a little, dropping his eyes back to his feet. “Right, well, it’s good to know they’re still embracing you.”?
Wait until he found out just how much I actuallywasbeing embraced by his family.
“You’d know all of this if you ever called your momma. I’m running late. I’ll see you around, Lee. Welcome home.”?
“That’s it? I come home after ten years, and that’s all you have to say to me?Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t call when Cole died. I just didn’t know what to say, and I knew how hard you’d take it, and I didn’t…”?
I’d pictured this moment a thousand times, but now that it was here, I had nothing to say to him. Well, nothing nice anyway.
So, I flipped him the bird and stomped on home.?
Chapter eight
LEE
