She walked in looking like she had been up all night crying, but she slapped a wide-toothed grin on her face as soon as she saw me. As she got closer, I saw a semi-crazy glistening in her eyes.
Sutton was scheming, and it was written all over her face.?
“Whatever crazy-ass shit you’re up to, the answer is no,” I said, as she sat down, pulling up the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt to her elbows and rubbing her hands together excitedly.?
“Shut up, you’re going to want to hear this.” She signaled for the bartender, who had seen her coming a mile away and dropped an already-poured hard cider in front of her. After a long sip, she took a deep, steadying breath. “She’s still in love with you, you know.”?
I watched her suck down half of her drink, eyes darting around wildly, and I realized she was looking for anyone that knew Dane or my family. She didn’t want anyone overhearing this.?
“What did you just say?” I kept my voice low, but my heart was aboutto leap out of my chest. I heard her, of course, but I wanted her to say the words again.?
Ineededher to say the words again. To tell me what I had been waiting for so long to hear.?
That Maggie still loved me.?
“Magnolia’s still in love with you. She referred to you as ‘the greatest romance of her life.’ Now, she did make it sound like it was final, but she also called her marriage to your brother a business deal again. You don’t business-deal-marry someone if you’re not still, after all this time, in love with someone else.”?
That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but I pressed her on anyway. “I guess I don’t follow.”?
She growled and rolled her eyes. “Listen to me. We have until February before this sham of a wedding happens. Dane’s gone to trial, he left this morning. So, you have from now until early January to try and change Magnolia’s mind. She wants to marry a Wilder so she can become a bigger part of the family Trust and save her bar. Why can’t it be the Wilder she loves?”?
I shrugged. This wasn’t shaking out like I had hoped it would. “Sutton, I have a girlfriend. I mean, well, you know what I mean.”?
“Maybe if I get to the part where I tell you I spilledallof the beans last night, like every single bean in the pot, you’ll get it through that thick head of yours that even after Magnolia found out the truth about Dane, shestillwants to marry him.” She was blinking feverishly and staring at me like this was good news.?
“Sutton, if she heard all of that, which I mean I’d love you to elaborate on that part more instead of whatever this insanity is,” I gestured wildly in between us, “and she still wants to marry Dane, what does that even mean?”?
“That she still loves you!” she shrieked, giddily bouncing around in her seat.?
I groaned and put my head in my hands. “Sutton, I love you, but I am not following a word you are saying right now.”?
She squealed again, an incoherent sound that made her neighbor on the stool to her left jump, and slapped a ten-dollar bill on the bar.?“Don’t you worry that unbelievably pretty little face of yours, Leland Wilder. This is all going to fall into place just like it should.”?
I sat at the bar for a few more minutes after she dashed out the door andtried to figure out what in the world she was trying to get at.?I had no idea what she meant. And I wouldn’t even know what to do about it if I did.?
Or did I??
After spending the afternoon with Charlie, I ran a quick errand before I stopped by the bar to help Magnolia and Jordan finish setting up for the Historical Holiday Tour.?
“I’m back here,” Magnolia hollered from her office.
Jordan was nowhere in sight, but his signature was everywhere. He’d hung up strings of holly berries and strategically placed small Christmas trees and poinsettias all around the bar.?Alongside the twinkle lights Maggie and I had already peppered around the place, the room now had a cozy, inviting vibe.
I found her sitting at her desk, flipping through a bridal magazine, dog earring pages and making notes.?
My heart sank. After my conversation with Sutton, I almost believed I’d walk in and find her ripping up all the wedding-related bullshit she had littered our office with and calling the whole damn thing off.?
“Hey,” I said, leaning on the doorframe.
She looked up and offered me a half-smile, before going back to her wedding plans.?
I crossed the office and sat across from her, observing her for a few moments. She had her hair, longer than when I had arrived in Savannah a few months before, in a half top knot on her head, and she had on minimal makeup, putting her sexy, kissable freckles on full display.?
It took everything in my power not to jump over the desk, rip her out of her seat, throw her ass on the desk, and ravage her.?“I thought I’d check in and see if you guys needed any help, with the decorations or whatever,” I said instead.
She shook her head, not looking up from the glossy pages of Savannah Bridal. “You saw the bar when you walked through. Does it look like anything else needs to be done?”?
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. She certainly didn’t sound like someone who was still in love with the man sitting in front of her. Her walls were up, and there was no knocking them down.?
