“My Lord, you are still so graceful, aren’t you? Are you okay?” Lee shut and locked the door behind him—something I should have done myself—and rushed to my side, trying to push down a laugh.
“I’m fine. Please go away, and let me be concussed. Maybe I’ll slip into a coma and not have to go to this party.” I rubbed at the tender spot on my temple,avoiding his eyes. He was so close I could feel him breathing on my arm, sending a shooting pain of familiarity through my entire body.
“I see you haven’t lost your high sense of drama. It makes me happy to know at least that hasn’t changed.” He finally let out that laugh, a low and chesty rumble, like he always did when something was really funny.?
I was not finding the humor in this.?“Go away, Lee. I’d love nothing more than to punch you right now, and that never ends well for either of us.” I finally looked up and met his eyes. Quiet pools of ocean blue, twinkling back the reflection of a girl I knew once before.?
A slow grin tugged at his lips. “You’re right, that usually leads to a whole different kind of tussle for us.”
I groaned, covering my face with my hands as I sank deeper into the tub.
“I am sorry. Truly. Are you really okay?” His eyes searched my face. “I know you hate these types of things, and it looks like Momma’s got you in a dress and everything. Are those high heels?”?
“They are wedges, thank you. I don’t trust myself not to take down this entire party in anything higher than an inch.”
“You look great, by the way. I meant to tell you that this morning, but you were too busy causing a scene and flipping me off for me to get a word in edgewise. Did you have trouble picking up the flowery flowers?”?
I rolled my eyes.Here we go. “Please do not start with me. You have to realize how thrown off I was running into you this morning. I didn’t expect that you’d actually show up.”?
He looked hurt by that. He should have been. While I was the one who told him to go, I never once asked him to stop coming home to see his family. Or to not keep in touch.?
“I get that you’re a great success, but Eunice and Vance miss you terribly. Dane, too.” I tripped over Dane’s name, hoping it didn’t betray what I had hoped he already knew, so I didn’t have to be the one to tell him.?
He snickered. “Great success, that’s pretty humorous. Maybe at one time. I guess you haven’t heard that my third album was a total flop.”?
I hadn’t discounted his talent—he was still great. Winning a Grammy for best breakthrough songwriter with his first album was proof of that. It took him almost eight years to put out the follow-up, and while the critics had been harshabout this latest one, I wouldn’t have written him off just yet. It wasn’t half bad. But then, what did I know??
Maybe I just couldn’t separate the music from what was woven into those lyrics—maybe because deep down, I knew they were about me, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
Of course, I couldn’t lethimknow I knew these types of things.
“What’s humorous is you thinking I actually listen to any of your music,” I lied, very poorly.?
“Right. Well, I can’t say I blame you, really.” He was quiet for a moment, looking around the bathroom as if searching for something to say. “I saw Charlie at his studio this morning,” he muttered softly. “I had bought a few pieces off him a couple of years ago when we met up in Atlanta, but some of his new stuff is really neat. Did you see the one he created out of the old dining room table and the washing machine parts? He’s a genius.”?
“He never told me that. I just thought you ordered something from him off his website?” I could feel my face growing redder by the second.?
“What? About the dining room table piece? It really is something… I actually might buy it.”?
“No,” I laughed angrily. “That you guys met up in Atlanta. He should have told me that!” I was yelling at Lee when I should have been yelling at Charlie, but he wasn’t the one hovering over the Wilder guest bathtub.
He let out a wild guffaw. “Well, you react so rationally all the time, Magnolia. It’s no wonder he didn’t mention it.”?
I had been feeling sorry for Charlie all these years. He lost his best friend, and a huge part of that was my fault. And all this time, I thought they hadn’t kept in touch. Turns out, my brother is just a rat-faced liar.?
“I need to go home,” I announced rather theatrically.?
“Oh stop, Momma would kill you.” He stood up and crossed the room toward the door, turning back but not meeting my eye. “Besides, your newboyfriendmight be wondering where you’ve run off to.”?
I slid further into the tub as fast as I could, careful not to hit my already bruised head—or ego—on the way down.?
Once the door was shut, and I was sure Lee had made his way back downstairs, I crawled out of the tub and leaned against the bathroom counter,face flushed with embarrassment as I stared at my reflection. Seeing him twice in one day after all these years was more than I’d bargained for. The memories I thought I’d buried down deep were creeping up on me, tightening in my chest. The nostalgia was making it hard to breathe, the weight of it all was overwhelming.?
And I had to go downstairs, hook myself through Dane’s arm, and pretend like everything was just fine.?
About a half hour later, I ambled through the party, now on its way to full swing. Guests were still pouring in, and people were lining up at the bar for libations, grabbing the appetizers Sutton had prepared, and huddling up in small groups to pass on the gossip of the day.?
I weaved my way through a small cluster of Eunice’s friends, catching snippets of their conversation about Lee’s return. The mere mention of his name sent a shiver down my spine, and I couldn’t ignore the sideways glances and whispers that trailed after me as I passed. It felt like every eye in the room was watching me, waiting for a reaction I wasn’t ready to give. I needed to get away from the buzz, so I slipped out of the grand foyer and toward the back of the house, craving a quiet corner to gather my thoughts. Or to drink said thoughts away.
