“Aren’t you flying home tonight?”?
I stopped in front of Charlie’s studio, watching him in the backroom, door open, working on a piece. Sutton sat, legs crossed, on a stool, plugged in to something on her iPad, but chatting away while Charlie nodded and laughed at whatever was coming out of her mouth. My heart swelled. This was more than just Maggie. I missed my people. My tribe.
“I’m actually hoping to stay for a little while. There’s some great material here. Not too much longer, though. Hey, I have to run. I’ll call you tonight.”?
I clicked off the phone before she could fight with me on that and slipped it back into my pocket. It immediately began buzzing with text messages.?
The door to Charlie’s studio jingled as I pushed it open, and Charlie and Sutton both looked up and smiled—like a warm, across the room hug that I had been missing for so long.?
“So, let me get this straight,” Sutton said, carrying in takeout bags of charcuterie from next door. “You have a girlfriend, she’s not going to want you to stay—like, at all—but you’re going to invest in Magnolia’s bar because…”?
“Because he still loves her,” Charlie mused, standing over the sink to wash his hands.?
“No, not because I still love her. Not like that anyway,” I lied.?
“I think it’s a good idea.” Charlie dried off his hands and stood back to admire his work so far. “She really needs the help—financially, of course. Your brother is going to blow a gasket, though.”?
“Don’t tell me that feral creature you dragged into Savannah is staying with you, too,” Sutton said, plating the cheese platters and turning her nose up at the thought of Ryan.?
I watched Sutton closely as she arranged the cheeses and meat cuts on a plate with such care. Still so classically beautiful with her sharp features, cool-blue eyes, and flowing blonde curls. Of the lot of us, she had aged the least. It was no wonder Ryan couldn’t shut up about her. She still had no clue how beautiful shewas, after all these years.?
“Ryan will probably be down to stay.” I poured us all a round of white wine from Sutton’s next-door haul and passed out the glasses. “He’s my writing partner. If the label lets me stay, he’ll stay.”?
Sutton popped an olive into her mouth and chewed slowly. I could hear the wheels in her head churning away. “I’m just worried about you staying home and Dane losing his mind over it. You know they’re already struggling to keep their shit together as it is. Her giving up the bar was his ammunition to finally gain control over her wild ass.”?
The way she said it was comical, but all of our faces fell. Maggie sounded like a captive with Stockholm syndrome rather than a woman in love. Charlie’s shoulders slumped as he picked at his plate.?
I needed honesty from my friends—our friends—if I was going through with this.?
“Dane is leaving for a two-week trial in Atlanta tomorrow. I’ll head to Momma’s and break the news tonight over Sunday dinner. If he has an issue with it, he can tell me rather than her. He doesn’t—how do I say this without sounding like an ass…”
“He doesn’t beat her. He’s not abusive toward her if that’s what you’re worried about…” Sutton’s voice was quiet, contemplative. She rattled her head as if she was shaking off the thought of saying more but stopped herself. My blood was already boiling. “I mean, physically anyway. He’s just… Dane. He’s a lot like your father in the way that they want what they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Even if that means buttering you up real good before dropping you on your head and asking you why you’re so slippery, if you catch my drift.”
I chewed on that for a second, thinking of my parents’ relationship. The way my dad would love and dote on Momma, then in the next moment, blame her for a trial gone wrong because the sheets weren’t crisp enough and he slept like shit. My momma was as strong-willed as they came, but Daddy had always been, and always would be, in charge.?“I’ll take care of it. Momma has a way of making sure that what she wants is pushed through. And she loves Maggie. She would want what’s best for her, I hope.”?
Charlie nodded and finally looked up, meeting my eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing here, Lee. This is my sister we’re talking about.”
His sister, who, after all these years, I would still do anything for.?
Chapter fourteen
MAGNOLIA
Dane sat across from me, sipping a Manhattan with the kind of practiced ease that came from a lifetime of Sunday dinners and formal gatherings. His fingers tapped lightly against the glass, a subtle giveaway that he wasn’t as relaxed as he wanted to appear. “It’s one dinner, Magnolia. My parents will be so disappointed. And I’m leaving for a few weeks.”
I stared at the condensation dripping down my water glass, pooling across the bar top, willing it to buy me a moment to think. Kasey’s last-minute text asking me to find someone to cover her shift couldn’t have come at a better time—a perfectly wrapped excuse to sidestep the storm brewing inside me, and the one I was certain was about to erupt at the Wilder family dining room table.
“I can’t tonight,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Kasey called in sick, and I need to cover.” I gestured around the empty bar. “There’s no one else who can do it.”
Dane’s mouth pressed into a thin line, his frustration barely hidden. He didn’t push back, but the weight of his disappointment settled between us, thick and heavy.
The truth was, I wasn’t sure I could handle sitting at a dinner table and pretending everything was fine—not after seeing Lee that afternoon, and especially not after the bombshell he dropped about wanting to invest in the bar. My thoughts spun wildly, crashing into each other, too loud and overwhelming to ignore.
I took a sip of water, the coolness doing little to calm the heat rising in my chest. Dane was still watching me, his gaze softening, but I couldn’t meet it. Not when the excuses I’d offered, no matter how true, weren’t the whole story.
“This trial is expected to last for two weeks, so that should put me homejust in time to help you start planning for the Historical Holiday Tour. We should get a jumpstart by Halloween so that we can have everything ordered and ready for Thanksgiving. Or you could just sell the bar, forget the tour, and we could head to Vale for the holiday. Unless youreallywant to go through with this charade.”?
Since he flung open the bar door earlier, he had been yammering about my options with the bar and how much I could get for the building if I sold it. He painted a pretty picture of bridge club, charitable work, and of course, he was up-selling his condo and the view of the city any chance he could get.?
