Lee’s eyes were a vivid, electric blue, locked on mine with an intensity that left me breathless. There was a longing in his gaze, as if he was about to ask something that would turn our worlds inside out.
I felt the weight of his desperate need as his hands rested on my shoulders, his gentle touch sending a jolt straight through me. His eyes had this pleading look, as if the short distance between us was killing him. It was killing me, too.?
I knew that any sudden move or word from me could break down the walls we’d put up and change everything right then and there.
Reaching up, I turned his hat backwards and pushed a wayward curl that had escaped out of his eye. I let my hand rest on his cheek for a moment, taking in his handsome, rugged features. He turned his face into my palm, inhaling deeply, a pained look spreading across his brow line.?
A low, desperate rumble escaped him. “I won’t be the one to do it, Maggie. The way I want you right here, right now… you gotta be the one to kiss me first because if I start, we’re not stopping until I have you bent over this bar.”
I moaned, stretching my neck to the side and letting him run his nose softly down my cheek and into the nook behind my ear. He peppered tiny, gentlekisses down my throat and landed on the sensitive spot just above my collarbone. My hips thrust toward him in response.?
“I remember how much you like that,” his words tumbled out in throaty breaths against my skin.?
Our hips melted together, and he dipped his forehead to mine, running a thumb along the waistband of my jeans. “Kiss me, Magnolia. Remember how good I make you feel? Remember what it’s like when it’s just you and me and no one else, like we’re the only two people in the world?”
I couldn’t take it anymore. My body, the traitor that it was, was writhing and screaming for just one touch, one taste. To remember, once again, what it felt like to be wrapped up in Lee Wilder so tight, nothing else mattered.?
He lifted me up and sat me on the ice chest, wrapping my legs around his back and pressing me against the liquor shelf. One push from him was all it took. I was already seeing stars and my pants were still on.?
What were we doing?
I broke contact, releasing my fingers from where they were unfastening the buttons on his jeans. “We can’t do this.”
He released his tight grip on me and took a step back. “Are you serious?”?
“I’m deadly serious. What if your brother found out you practically had my legs wrapped around your neck on top of the beer cooler? What would happen to my bar then?”?
Part of me imagined a future where I’d marry Dane, partner with the Wilder family, and Lee would pop in for his gigs, turning our lives into some twisted version of “ever after.” The “happily” part? I figured I’d have to sort that out on my own.
But the other part of me was writhing in pain, red flags flashing everywhere, yanking me from the fantasy that was nothing more than make-believe. How long before Dane started wandering off in a miserable marriage? How long before I lost myself, desperately clinging to my still-sinking ship? It felt like I was standing at a crossroads, where every turn seemed to come with a side of regret.
Would it be worth it in the end? I had no clue, but if nothing else, I had to at least give it a shot.
He hastily buttoned himself back up and brushed past me, avoiding eye contact as he rushed toward the front of the bar. He stopped with his hand onthe door’s lock, shoulders tense, like he was still debating whether to bolt down the street or say something. The anger and embarrassment hung thick in the air, and I could practically feel it radiating off him.
“I know you’re smart, Magnolia Pruitt. I know you can smell a good business deal a mile away. But this thing with Dane? It’s bullshit.” He whipped off his hat and angrily ran his hands through his hair, mussing up his curls. He exhaled before looking back up at me again, a deep scowl lining his face. “There’s so much you don’t understand about my brother. Hell, about my whole family. Maybe even me.”?
I chewed on my bottom lip, willing myself not to move. As much as he was handing me my ass on a platter, I wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrap my arms around his neck again. “What do you mean?” I whispered.?
Lee groaned and rolled his eyes, his hand landing on the door again. “I mean, if you look around, beyond the dollar signs you’re trying to manifest into existence, that not everything is what it seems. Sure, we’re all pretending to be happy, cheering you on and hoping you don’t lose the bar, but that also means we’re watching you make the biggest mistake of your life.”?His eyes met mine, and a sad, sullen smile played across his lips.
My heart dropped.?“But that’s just it, Lee, it’s my mistake to make,” I declared, sounding far more confident than I felt.?
“I just hope you know what you’re doing, Maggie. I hope you know that in the end, the only person who’s going to get hurt is you.”?
Chapter twenty-five
LEE
I woke up the next morning and treated Janelle to a brunch at Clary’s. Her plane was leaving in the afternoon, and I wanted some alone time with her before she jetted off.?
Mostly, I wanted her to dish on what she thought of last night and my friends. Plus, I needed a distraction from the constant replay of what almost went down with Maggie.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it—the sound of her soft moans, those needy gasps as I ran my hands over her voluptuous body. How every bend, every curve still felt like a road only I was meant to travel, with my hands, lips, teeth.
I coughed and adjusted myself as we waited outside for a table, shoving my hands in my pockets to stop the nervous twitching—and to keep myself from reaching out and touching Janelle. After nearly tearing Magnolia’s clothes off in the middle of the bar and getting promptly shut down, it just didn’t feel right to cozy up to someone I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be with in the first place—even if it was all for show.
Despite the phony circumstances, Janelle and I did have some sort of connection. Whether it was just a connection to Nashville or something more, I wasn’t sure if it was worth exploring further. My heart just wasn’t in it.
