Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
MAGNOLIA
Dane sat across from me, sipping a Manhattan with the kind of practiced ease that came from a lifetime of Sunday dinners and formal gatherings.
His fingers tapped lightly against the glass, a subtle giveaway that he wasn’t as relaxed as he wanted to appear.
“It’s one dinner, Magnolia. My parents will be so disappointed. And I’m leaving for a few weeks.”
I stared at the condensation dripping down my water glass, pooling across the bar top, willing it to buy me a moment to think.
Kasey’s last-minute text asking me to find someone to cover her shift couldn’t have come at a better time—a perfectly wrapped excuse to sidestep the storm brewing inside me, and the one I was certain was about to erupt at the Wilder family dining room table.
“I can’t tonight,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Kasey called in sick, and I need to cover.” I gestured around the empty bar. “There’s no one else who can do it.”
Dane’s mouth pressed into a thin line, his frustration barely hidden. He didn’t push back, but the weight of his disappointment settled between us, thick and heavy.
The truth was, I wasn’t sure I could handle sitting at a dinner table and pretending everything was fine—not after seeing Lee that afternoon, and especially not after the bombshell he dropped about wanting to invest in the bar.
My thoughts spun wildly, crashing into each other, too loud and overwhelming to ignore.
I took a sip of water, the coolness doing little to calm the heat rising in my chest. Dane was still watching me, his gaze softening, but I couldn’t meet it. Not when the excuses I’d offered, no matter how true, weren’t the whole story.
“This trial is expected to last for two weeks, so that should put me home just in time to help you start planning for the Historical Holiday Tour. We should get a jumpstart by Halloween so that we can have everything ordered and ready for Thanksgiving. Or you could just sell the bar, forget the tour, and we could head to Vale for the holiday. Unless you really want to go through with this charade.”
Since he flung open the bar door earlier, he had been yammering about my options with the bar and how much I could get for the building if I sold it.
He painted a pretty picture of bridge club, charitable work, and of course, he was up-selling his condo and the view of the city any chance he could get.
“I’m going to wait until after the first of the year to make a decision,” I stated.
On all matters at hand, including the bar.
“I usually have a pretty good holiday crowd, even though the city is quiet. I booked a Christmas party for Levy’s Jewelers, so I want to see that through.
It should be good money, open bar and all that. ”
Dane nodded thoughtfully and finished his drink. “Well, I should head out. I’ll call you when my plane lands in Atlanta. I’m staying at the Glenn if you need to get a hold of me.”
I smiled, taking a good long look at him before he jetted off. He looked weary, almost tired, which was rare for Dane. “Are you feeling okay?” I asked, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, feeling a sudden chill.
He barked out a cough, clearing his throat. “Something’s been going around the office. A couple of the paralegals have been out this week, which has made prepping for this trial hell. I’ll be fine. I’ll nap on the plane.”
He hopped off of his stool, and I met him around the front of the bar and let him kiss me long and slow. For the first time since we had been together, something felt off. Something felt different. But I pushed it down and kissed him back like I meant it.
Because I did, after all. Didn’t I?
The second the door shut behind him, I texted Sutton.
MAGNOLIA: Can you stop by? I need to talk to you.
SUTTON: About Lee investing in the bar? Or about Dane bouncing for two weeks and your ex-boyfriend sticking around?
Man, news sure did travel fast.
MAGNOLIA: Can you just come over here, please?
I put my phone down, poured myself a glass of wine, and waited to hash this out with my best friend.
“Tell me it’s a bad idea, Sutton. Tell me it’s a bad, bad idea.
” Sutton and I had moved to a table in the corner of the bar, and I watched the door like a hawk, waiting for a patron…
or for the Wilder brothers to come bashing through the door, fists flying at one another.
Either would be more exciting than just sitting here, waiting with my thoughts.
“I think it’s a great idea, honestly. You can turn the bar into the place you always wanted it to be.
You can finally get that kitchen addition and put me on staff, and I can go down to part time at LaMonte’s.
I’m drowning there anyway. Fried chicken, pies, booze, and local talent. You could, conceivably, have it all.”
My head was spinning, a light sheen of cold sweat trickled across my brow.
Since Lee had waltzed back into Savannah, it felt as though everything was suddenly changing.
Rather than selling the bar, I found myself presented with the chance to rescue it.
I wasn’t sure why my body was reacting to this as negatively as it was.
“Are you having a panic attack?” Sutton asked. She reached over and felt my head. “Dude, you’re burning up. Didn’t you say Kasey has the flu?”
I felt my cheeks. They were on fire. “I haven’t seen her in a few days. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Might be the stress.”
Sutton studied me for a minute. “Nope, not the stress. Glassed over eyes, sweating profusely. I think you’re getting sick, hun.”
I growled and sulked into my seat. “I cannot be sick right now. There’s too much going on.”
Sutton picked up her phone, eyeing me warily.
“Your sister isn’t feeling well. If you can’t come cover the bar, can you send Doyle or Jordan, please?
I can’t catch the plague. I have to cater Eunice’s bridge club tomorrow, and I need to do prep.
Bring Lysol.” She laid down her phone. “Go lay down,” Sutton said to me, scooting her chair back and heading behind the bar.
She began wiping it down with disinfectant, shooting me a stern look.
“I’m serious, Magnolia, go. Now. I had my flu shot. I’ll be okay.”
I stomped up my back staircase, hit my bedroom, flopped on the bed, and didn’t wake up for a long, long time. When I stirred, I was covered in sweat and cat fur. Pickle had, as she often did, wrapped herself around my head and was licking beads of sweat from my hairline. I let out a groan.
“There are some flu meds and Advil on your nightstand. If you can, try to take it.” Lee was looming over me, and I noticed the still darkness outside my open window. He changed out a damp face cloth and replaced it with a cooler one. Pickle hissed at him.
“Your momma doesn’t feel good, Pickle, but that’s no reason to be ornery. How are you feeling, Maggie?”
My body felt like it was on fire, and my muscles were stiff and achy. I sneezed twice. “I should have got that flu shot,” I mumbled.
“Probably. Little late for that now, though. Can I get you anything else?”
I suddenly realized that my ex-boyfriend was playing nurse, and my heart picked up speed. “Where’s Dane?”
“Atlanta. His flight left this morning, remember?”
I tried to sit up. My body wasn’t a fan of the sudden movement, and the room began to spin. “What day is it?”
“Monday night. You’ve been out for over twenty-four hours. You wake up every now and again, make a bunch of incoherent noises, and then fall back to sleep. I have to say, you’re still super cute when you’re out of it.”
“Shut up,” I groaned. I’d been asleep for more than a day. That meant Lee had told everyone he was staying and that he was investing in the bar, and Dane had left, probably pissed off at me, and I was knocked out for hours on end. I needed to talk to Dane. “Where’s my phone?”
“Your boyfriend is fine, albeit a little under the weather himself. He even offered to draw up the contracts for us so I could become a partner in the bar. Sutton told him she would stay with you while you were sick, and Charlie would check in on you from time to time. Of course, I had to beat them both back with a stick to take care of you. They told him you would call when you were feeling better.”
I noticed my phone on the nightstand. I had one solo text message from Kasey telling me she felt better but was heading out of town.
“Who’s watching the bar?” I croaked out.
“Doyle’s down there now. Last I checked, he was acting out his Tom Cruise in Cocktail fantasies and flinging around vodka like a baton twirler. I don’t think he’s broken too many bottles.”
I moaned again and flipped on my side, moving my body away from Lee. How had Dane gone twenty-four hours without checking on me?
“Think you can eat yet? Sutton has some soup in the crockpot and…”
I fell back into a deep, dreary slumber as Lee yapped about lemon drop soup and my fever.