Not yet anyway.?
“I just left Charlie’s,” I said, hopping up to fix a drink from our officestash. “He wants you to stop by later. He has some paperwork from Jordan about the trolley stops for the tour he needs you to look over. I guess they’re making some changes to the itinerary, so they’re having a little impromptu meeting.”?
She tossed the magazine on the desk, picked up her phone, and made an exasperated noise at whatever she was reading on the screen. “They’re starting now. I’m going to go,” she said, grabbing her purse. “Do you need to be there?”?
“Nope, I already gave my input. I’ll get the bar open. Take your time.”?
“Thanks, Lee. See you in a bit.” She rushed out of the bar, and I hoped to God she didn’t see my rental outside… or what was on top of it.?
Chapter thirty
MAGNOLIA
After what felt like a completely useless meeting, I left Charlie’s and stopped in to Treylor Park to pick up an order of fried chicken and waffle tacos—Lee’s favorite—to bring back to the bar as some sort of peace offering.
On my walk to Charlie’s studio, my mind kept circling back to what Sutton had confessed. Each word felt like it had carved out a new wound. The closer I got to Charlie’s, the more I wondered if I could really go through with this marriage. Every step I took felt heavier, like the weight of Sutton’s revelation was pressing down on me, making me question everything.
But where I should have felt grief, a weight seemed to lift off my shoulders. I didn’t have to pretend anymore. I didn’t have to put on a show because what I had wanted, this arrangement with Dane, was becoming just that. A business deal.?
It also opened up a wound I didn’t know was festering. I was more hurt that everyone had lied to me and covered up Dane’s dealings instead of telling me the truth.?
Was that my fault? Were they protecting me because I wouldn’t stop beating them down with a stick, insisting this is what I wanted with Dane??
Lee had been in this bar almost every day for months, holding this in. He knew about Dane going after Sutton. He knew about his father threatening her. He had to know about the business deal Dane was cooking up with investors to sell this place from underneath me, and he had held on to all of that for months without telling me. I felt hurt, but more than that, I was terrified.?
The thing that scared me the most was that Lee didn’t believe in our friendship enough to trust me with the truth.?
How could I get us back to a place where he was the friend who couldtell me anything, even if it hurt?
I pushed open the bar door, and there he was, sitting on the stool by the to-go window, guitar in hand, playing a soft, mellow tune. His fingers moved across the strings with such ease, the music flowing effortlessly, as if the world outside didn’t exist. I hadn’t realized how much I missed hearing him play so freely, how much I missed the way he got lost in the chords, his eyes closed, lost to everything except the music. For a moment, he looked so damn handsome, sohim, it hurt to breathe. I had to remind myself that nothing was the same anymore. But still, the pull was there, undeniable and strong.
“Hey, I brought dinner,” I said cheerily, dropping the bag on the bar and making my way around the back, dragging a stool behind me so I could join him.?
“I’d know that smell a mile away. Thank you, doll.”?
“Not a problem. I have to say, that meeting was bullshit and felt a little like a setup. What are you up to?”?
Lee raised an eyebrow, swallowing a bite of his taco. “Nothing. I’m serious. I was over there, and they said they had some changes to the trolley schedule and asked if you could stop by and talk it through with them. Don’t shoot the messenger.” He was clearly lying, but if we were going to be friends again, maybe I needed to prove to him that he could still talk to me about anything.?
“So, how’s Janelle? Are you guys doing okay?” I didn’t really want to know the answer, but I was trying. And if it meant hearing about his love life, then so be it.?
“She didn’t tell you? She’s back in Nashville for the holidays. Her family participates in these hugely festive things leading up to Christmas with her mom’s sorority sisters, who are also weirdly her sorority sisters, however that works. They have all these brunches and shopping trips and cookie-baking parties that they go to.”?
I chewed my food and smirked. “Sounds fun. You didn’t want to go?”?
He motioned around the empty room. “I have a business to run, clearly. Besides, Momma would murder me if I wasn’t around for my first Christmas back in Savannah.”
“That’s true. Besides, I’ll need your help tomorrow night when the trolleys pull through. Kasey had to go out of town. I guess her cousin’s brother’s someone or another is having a baby? I don’t know.”?
Lee smiled and pushed the chips and salsa toward me so I could grab some before he ate it all, like he was prone to do.?“As you wish, boss.”?
I rolled my eyes.?
“So, what are your plans for Christmas now that Dane’s out of town?”?
“Well, I thought Charlie and I were going to do our cookie baking, Santa waiting thing, which these days equates to getting drunk on spiked eggnog and passing out. But he said he might have plans with someone. You wouldn’t happen to be kidnapping my only living relative on Christmas Eve, would you?”?
Lee held up his hands, feigning innocence. “No, ma’am, I know better than to come between a twenty-eight-year-old Pruitt tradition. Besides, if Charlie had a choice to hang out with me or get beat up by you, I bet you he would choose the latter.”?
