“Hand to God,” I said, grabbing my phone off of the table. I pulled up Janelle’s Instagram, strategically scrolling through her “poor me” posts and showing off the ones of us together, from just a week and a half ago, when life was normal in Nashville.?
“Holy shit, she’s hot,” Sutton declared right before Charlie yanked the phone out of her hand.?
“Wow,” he offered, eyeing me suspiciously. He handed me back my phone. “It’s sort of odd, though, you know, that we’re just hearing about this mystery woman now. Does my sister know about her?”?
“Why does it matter? She’s with my brother anyway. Our deal is strictly a business deal. My personal life doesn’t matter.”?
Sutton let out a sarcastic laugh. “But her personal life does?”?
“Only where it concerns my brother. Come on, Sutton, her life might be ‘normal’ now, but this is Dane we’re talking about. Cocky, full of shit, up to no good Dane Wilder.”?
My oldest friends in the world had been apart from me for so long they couldn’t see through my bullshit. Or maybe I had been away from them for so long I couldn’t tell if they just didn’t care what I was feeding them. Shit or not.?
“Besides,” I continued, “Janelle’s coming tomorrow night to watch me play at O’Malley’s. If Maggie doesn’t know about her yet, she will then. Speaking of, I have to make sure she’s all packed. I’m going to go give her a call.”?
I could feel Sutton and Charlie both burning a hole in the back of my head as I strolled out of Charlie’s studio, trying to play off that I was feeling confident and cool.?Though, in reality, by the time I hit the sidewalk, my armpits were soaked and I was teetering on the edge of a panic attack.?
How the hell was I going to get someone I just broke up with two days ago to come to Savannah and see me? It wasn’t like I could just text her and say, “Hey, I know we’re done, but can you drop everything and fly down here?” It was a long shot—an insane one at that—but I was desperate, and desperation makes you do crazy things.?
Chapter twenty-two
MAGNOLIA
Jordan and I were setting up some quaint, Southern-inspired floral displays around the bar, chatting idly about what kind of refreshments we’d be serving and what drinks would pair best. The scent of freshly cut flowers mingled with the rich aroma of wood polish, filling the air with a comforting warmth.?
The night before, Charlie and I were up until 3:00 a.m. touching up the bar and scrubbing every inch until it gleamed, and Sutton even stopped by to help me restock the shelves.
I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but the excitement bubbling inside me, along with the butterflies dancing in my stomach, had me zipping around the bar, barely able to stay still.
According to the Facebook event, over 200 people had RSVP’d to come watch Lee perform, and I wanted to be as prepared as possible.?
“I think it looks great in here,” Jordan said, looking around the room and nodding. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was being genuine. Jordan was from Brooklyn, and he never bullshitted any of us, ever.?
“Thanks, I know you mean it. I appreciate all of your help, Jordy.” I slid a glass of sauvignon blanc down the bar toward him, perfectly chilled, just the way he liked it.?
“This is nice. What vineyard is this from?” He swirled the wine around in his glass and sniffed it slightly before taking another sip.?
“Would you shit yourself if I told you it came from a box?” I winced as I pulled it from the ice chest, showing it off like Vana White. He faked a dramatic gasp.?
“Of all the cases of impeccable wine I have sent over here, you choose to do me dirty like this. I am offended, Magnolia Pruitt.”?
I smirked in amusement. “I’m trying to cut costs as much as possible since Lee is hell bent on tearing this place apart. I know he’s funding most of it, but I don’t want to owe him anymore than I already will. Or do, I guess.”?
Jordan nodded. He swirled the wine around his glass a bit more, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I get it, sweetheart. It’s a tough spot. Prince Charming comes back on his white steed, ready to take you away from Lord Voldemort and the Evil Empire to save the shire, and you don’t wanna look like the damsel.”
“I think you have your classics mixed up,” I giggled, leaning over the bar. “And I think I’m kind of sick of being a liability to the Wilder family. It’s always something with them. The dresses, the makeovers, the romances. Now my bar. It’s like they always want me to be a different version of myself. But I just feel like I owe them so much.”
Jordan took a long, out of character sip of his wine. “Tell me, Magnolia, would you be truly happy with a life without the Wilders in it? Could you visualize that?”?
I stepped back and leaned against the beer cooler, running my hands through my hair. Since Charlie and I landed in Savannah, the Wilders had been woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Lee and Charlie? Always thick as thieves. Me and Lee? We went from best friends to young lovers. Dane and I had been close for years before we began dating. And Eunice and Vance? They’d always felt like a second set of parents. The love I had for them was different, but no less real.
?The void I would feel if they weren’t a part of my life was something I couldn’t ever imagine.
When my life crumbled, and our friend group formed, I didn’t just feel like I had people to lean on—I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself, like I’d stumbled into a family I didn’t even know I was searching for. The kind of love that ran deeper than blood, the kind that held you up when you couldn’t stand on your own. It was a bond I never imagined possible, stronger and more unconditional than anything I’d ever known.
For the first time since losing my parents, I felt like I truly belonged.
“I couldn’t. I really couldn’t,” I admitted. “There’s something about…”?
