Lee hopped off stage and made his way to Tally. “I’ll take you to Momma,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. Color bloomed up her neck and a wave of unnecessary jealousy slammed into me. My brain went dark. If he couldn’t have my sister, would he go for her?
Tally offered us a little wave as Lee led her off, and Magnolia stepped beside me.
“Get that look off your face right now, Charlie Pruitt,” she hissed under her breath.
I curled my lip at her. “I have no look, Magnolia.”
“You do. It’s that Viking staredown you pull when you’re two seconds away from pummeling someone. You look like you might knock Lee on his ass for touching your girl.”
Sutton, nosy as ever, inched closer to eavesdrop, eyes lit with gossip-induced glee.
“She’s not my girl,” I said flatly. “She’s my friend. And she’s scared to death. Especially of her brother. Who, by the way, I’d like to have a conversation with if you’ve seen him.”
Magnolia laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, grounding me. “Charlie,” she said, voice soft but firm, “You donotwant to get in the middle of whatever those two have going on. Same way you wouldn’t want anyone interfering in our shenanigans.”
I exhaled hard, trying not to rip off my tux or rake my hands through my hair like a man on the verge. Instead, I paced a few steps around her. She had a point—a good one. And one of those ‘don’t-intervene’ moments was walking toward us right now.
“Hey, babe,” Dane Wilder said, leaning in to kiss my sister’s cheek. Sutton vanished like smoke, Ryan right behind her. Dane turned to me with a slick grin. “My future brother-in-law,” he said, going in for a hug. “So, who was that I saw you strolling in here with?”
“Shit, I gotta run,” Magnolia muttered, fleeing toward the bar where guests were beginning to line up.
I turned to Dane. “How’ve you been? We haven’t seen much of you around lately.”
Dane laughed, chewing the end of his martini olive. “Busy. Trials. You know—realwork.”
His gaze swept the room, then he started toward the far corner where Tally was standing with his mother, the two of them deep in quiet conversation.
“I should probably go introduce myself,” he called over his shoulder. “Make the new girl feel welcome.”
I made my way to the silent auction table across the room as Dane introduced himself to Tally in that smooth, slick way only Dane Wilder could pull off. She looked absolutelythrilledto meet him—until he moved on to the next group and she stuck her tongue out at his back.
Her eyes scanned the crowd and landed on mine, sitting behind a table in front of the pieces I’d donated. She lifted her camera and snapped a photo, and I’d have bet good money that when she developed it, I looked absolutely smitten.
As the night went on, her confidence bloomed. She floated around the room taking candids, gently directing folks where to stand, who to gather with. She plucked wine glasses from tipsy hands, corralled overzealous men away from unsure women,and always—always—kept herself out of her brother’s line of sight.
Good girl, I thought, half-laughing at myself and watching her like she belonged to me. She didn’t, of course. But as she made her rounds—stopping to chat with Magnolia and Sutton, catching Jordan alone, joking with Lee and Ryan during their break, even humoring Daneagainwhen he cornered her—I realized something.
She didn’t belong tome. But she was starting to belong tous.
“Hey, you,” she beamed, saddling up next to my table. “Eunice says I’m free to mingle—maybe even dance a little. Think you can abandon ship for a boogie or two?”
I laughed, coming around the table and linking our arms. “A boogie?”
“Or two, like I said.” She grinned, and we headed toward the dance floor, where Sutton had shed her chef’s coat to reveal a cocktail-length black dress.
Magnolia flitted by with a tray of drinks and dropped them off. “You looked great out there, Tally!” she shouted over the music—an upbeat and poppy tune that Lee and Ryan were sweating through.
Eunice and Vance joined us, Dane trailing behind. For a minute, things felt... normal. The kind of normal a gala was supposed to feel.
But nothing good lasts forever.
“Tally, what are you doing?” Doyle’s voice sliced through the music as he appeared at her side, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the circle.
The look on her face made everyone stop. I could even hear Lee trip over a riff on stage. Doyle yanked her off to the side, and I lunged forward, but Magnolia caught my arm.
“No,” she said sharply. “Don’t.”
“It’s not fair,” I growled, yanking my arm back.
