Chapter 30
Sloan
I laid in my bed that night with my phone in my hand unable to sleep, the clock reading one-forty-five a.m. I let out an exasperated sigh. What are the chances she’s awake?
I laid there debating whether I should text her, temporarily forgetting I didn’t have her number. I knew she had my number but had yet to use it. I decided right then to call Jace—I’d beg him for it if I needed to.
He answered on the second ring. “What’s up man?”
“I need you to give me Magnolia’s number.”
“Ah yeah, no can-do, man. Not touching that.”
I growled, “Jace.”
His laugh carried over the line. “You can try that growly act with me all you want, but you and I both know I’d kick your ass.”
I wasn’t small by any means, but Jace was a big dude. And while I went to the gym and kept in shape due to being on my feet a lot, Jace did manual labor all day long, so the guy was stacked.
“Then you know how serious I am about you giving me her number if I’m willing to fight you for it.”
“Look, man, she’s also my client— my first residential client. I can’t be giving out numbers like that.” His tone held a hint of an apology.
I groaned, knowing he was right. It was a shit thing for me to ask in the first place. “You’re right, man, I’m sorry I even asked. I just get…a little crazy I guess when it comes to her.”
“Yeah, tell me about it…” Now, he sounded wistful.
“Something going on with you and Lex?”
“ Nothing, but not for lack of trying on my part.”
“Hmm…what’s the hold up?”
“She says there’s no way she’s hooking up with a married guy, and if I wanted to be single, I would be. I tried to explain the situation to her, but she just wasn’t having it. She even made a point to bring up that I still wear my ring.”
“She isn’t wrong there.”
“It’s a habit,” he snapped at me.
“Sure, it sounds like it.”
“Sorry, Sloan.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t in good faith give you Magnolia’s number, but I will give you Lexie’s. If she gives it to you, then that’s on her.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. Let’s get some beers this week. We will invite Dexter; I think we need it.”
“Sounds good.”
The line disconnected before I could get another word out, but when Jace was done, he was done. It had just been a while since I had seen that side of him, not that I blamed him. I knew exactly what it was like to be stuck in a horrible situation.
A few seconds later, my phone tinged with a message from Jace, giving me Lexie’s number. I wasted no time creating her contact information, and who fucking cares how late it is, I’m texting her.
Me: It’s me Sloan. Jace gave me your number in hopes I could sweettalk you into giving me Magnolia’s number.
The blue dots appeared almost immediately, and I went from laying down in my bed to sitting straight up, unable to contain the nervous energy that was bubbling in anticipation.
Lexie: May the odds be ever in your favor.
Me: How can I tip the scales?
Lexie: Answer one question.
Me: Anything.
Lexie: Did you name your place after her?
The cat was out of the bag now and everyone suspected it. Even if it wasn’t officially confirmed, yeah, I did name it after her. She was never far from my mind when I was building it. Truthfully, she’d never been far from my mind the last eight years, even though I did everything possible to bury it.
The twinkling lights that littered the deck of Yuliana’s reminded me of the glow-in-the-dark stars that splayed across her bedroom ceiling, because even at eighteen, Magnolia hated the dark. The wood-stained bar was the exact color of her hair, with lighter pieces of wood worked through matching it almost to a T. The green oak backdrop of the bar was the exact shade of her eyes. I remember when they showed me the color, and how I immediately knew it was the one. The cozy ambiance I had created, that feeling of home , I’d only ever felt when I was with her. If she would have taken a closer look, the pictures that lined the walls to the restrooms and back offices were black and white portraits of our favorite places.
It had taken me a long time to sort through those feelings and unfortunately, once I did, she was long gone, and I carried a lot of misplaced anger at her for leaving me behind. She took the one road out of town, the leaving road , I had called it bitterly. I was ashamed of myself for not using my common sense, knowing Magnolia would have never just left without a reason.
So, I built my bar in her memory in case she ever changed her mind and used the leaving road to come back home.
Me: Yes.
Lexie: 555-4576
Me: You’re a goddess.
Lexie: Don’t make me regret this.
Me: I promise.
It was time to get my girl.