Chapter 22 #2
“Fair enough. I’m going to go up and get ready.” I made my way past him and around the bar toward the back hallway. “Please lock the door. I left you a key on top of the register.”
“See ya, Maggie,” he called behind me, as I rushed up the back staircase as fast as my legs would take me.
I dialed Sutton as I flung open the door to my apartment. A startled Pickle jumped down from on top of my cabinets and latched onto my leg, screeching like a banshee. I let out a blood-curdling scream.
“What in the hell is happening? I have an engagement party tomorrow, and I’m working on a new bananas Foster in a cup, and so help me God, if Lee just kissed you, I do not have time for that right now. I mean, I have some time, but not, like, a lot. What’s going on?”
“He didn’t.” Why did I sound so disappointed? “Pickle attack. Did you know Lee has a girlfriend?”
The sound of a deep, tired breath slipped through the receiver, carrying a hint of irritation.
“I did know that, yes. I didn’t want to say anything because, honestly, it didn’t sound legit.
So, I was waiting to see if she really showed up.
” There was a brief pause before she added, “Have you been crying?”
I let out a horrified gasp. “I might never speak to you again. For at least an hour. Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Magnolia, seriously? What do you even care for? You have a boyfriend. Right? Did we forget about Dane?”
I ripped my pants off and stomped down my hallway to the bathroom to doctor my new wound courtesy of my demon-infested cat. Guess I wasn’t shoving myself into those cut-off jean shorts tonight after all.
“I didn’t forget about Dane.” I rested the phone on the bathroom counter and cleaned up the blood.
Foolish cat. “Dane, however, seems to have forgotten about me. He’s only emailed me twice since he’s been gone, and he reads my text messages but doesn’t respond.
Do you think he’s having an affair? That new paralegal is super cute. ”
“No, he’s not having an affair. You’re hyper-paranoid because Lee is in town.
Probably because you know you’re not doing the right thing every time you give Lee that googly-eyed stare down, so you assume Dane is up to something, too.
” Sutton was aiming to sound light and playful, but she sounded weary and flat.
Either way, I was going to punch her when I saw her.
“You’ve known me practically my entire life.
You’re really going to sit on the other end of the phone and try to act like I am someone who would do something like that?
” I stood up and could see the redness creeping up my chest and on to my cheeks.
I was pissed, and she wasn’t exactly wrong, so I was embarrassed, too.
“I’ve known you practically your whole life is exactly right, girl, and I know that the second Lee decided to bust up into Clary’s, nothing has been right since.
This little song and dance you two are doing is insane.
You’re going to risk everything for what?
A trip down memory lane? You have a boyfriend, he has a girlfriend.
You’re both adults now. If you want to change that, you will, but you won’t.
Because you’re both frickin’ weird as shit. I don’t have time for this. Bye.”
Sutton hung up on me, and I stood in the mirror staring at a woman I hardly knew anymore. Someone who was thinking about kissing her ex-boyfriend semi-regularly. Someone whose heart stopped when she found out he had a girlfriend. Someone who couldn’t tell the truth to anyone, not even herself.
I shoved myself into a pair of body-hugging jeans and a skintight black tank top with “O’Malley’s” across the front, the O fashioned out of a shamrock.
I went with a little bit more makeup than usual since there would be a lot of new people and faces in the bar tonight, including this supposed girlfriend of Lee’s.
I straightened out my asymmetrical bob and slipped into a pair of black cowboy boots. I went with a pair of glittery hoop earrings and a shimmery stack of bangle bracelets. Dabbing on a bit of Momma’s Chanel Number 5, I surveyed myself in the full-length mirror.
I was curvy, I was gorgeous, and I had a great personality. So, why in the world couldn’t my own boyfriend text me back?
I snapped a pic and shot it off to Dane. “Miss you,” I typed and waltzed out into my living room. Pickle hissed at the sound of my shoes clomping on the hardwood floor.
“What is it, girl, the shoes? Should I change?”
Lee turned the corner from my kitchen, sizing me up from head to toe. When his eyes landed on my face, they lit up, a grin spreading wide and making his dimples pop. He always used to look at me like that—like I was the only person in the room. I mean, I was the only person in the room. But still.
“I think she’s just jealous because you look stunning.”
“Why are you in my house?” I snapped, taking a few steps back as my pulse raced wildly.
The way he was looking at me made me want to cross the living room and throw myself into his arms. I craved that feeling of being appreciated, loved, adored.
Just the thought of his hands on me in these jeans that hugged every curve sent a thrill through me.
For the first time in a long time, I wanted to feel sexy, desired—like I could forget everything else for just a little while.
Pickle growled, throwing me back into reality.
“I came up to let you know that I’m ready to start tuning up. Sutton just got here, and she’s in quite the mood. Oh, and Charlie’s on his way with Jordan and Doyle.” He bit his bottom lip, eyes darkening. “God, Maggie, you really do look gorgeous.”
I could hear the breathlessness in his voice, a low grumble that sent shivers down my spine.
The air in the room shifted, thickening into something sultry and electrifying.
My breathing grew erratic, each shallow burst a struggle as my heart raced to keep up with the whirlwind of emotions swirling between us.
From where I stood, I could almost feel his lips on mine.
I remembered all the brief hugs and the small, soft touches we had shared since he had come back to Savannah.
My thoughts raced to a time when I would have grabbed him by the hand and brought him into my room, shutting the door and leaving the world behind us, letting him into my bed.
He could feel it, too. I knew it. The fire in his eyes burned bright, and he licked his lips, sending a shudder down my spine. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze locked onto mine, and slowly crossed the room toward me, each step heavy with unspoken possibilities.
Through the opening in his white, slightly unbuttoned shirt, I could see his chest heaving.
I pressed my back against the doorframe, trying to flatten out my whole body, but he had me trapped.
I had nowhere to go. Lee, with one hand tucked in his back pocket and his eyes locked on mine, lifted his other arm above my head and rested his hand just above me.
Slowly, Lee pulled his other hand from his pocket and slid his finger under my chin, raising it gently so that my eyes met his. I sucked in a deep breath, letting the smell of sweat, sandalwood, and salty air wash over me. My knees buckled.
From the back pocket of my jeans, my phone buzzed. We both startled, thrust out of the moment. I glanced down at the screen, my eyes just about bulging out of my head.
“It’s Dane,” I coughed out, trying not to let the regret, or the relief—I couldn’t tell—sound too obvious. “I should take this.”
“Yeah, you should. I’ll see you downstairs.” His voice was low and husky, a tempo I hadn’t heard in years, and it made my heart jackhammer.
He backed away from me slowly, spun on his heel, and let out a sharp, bitter laugh before I heard him storm down the back staircase, cowboy boots clanking angrily with every step.
“Hey, baby,” Dane said, the sound of the city bustling behind him. “I got your picture. You look beautiful. What’s the occasion?”
“Lee’s playing at the bar tonight with Ryan.
We have about 200 people coming, I’m guessing, so I thought I would get a little dolled up.
” I was talking a mile a minute, but after that moment with Lee and not hearing his voice for over a week, I was on edge.
“What’s going on, Dane? Why haven’t you called? ”
“You didn’t tell me that,” he groaned. I heard him get into a car and shut the door aggressively.
“Of course I haven’t. I haven’t even talked to you. Is everything okay? I heard you were sick, too.”
“Everything’s fine. I’ve just been busy. Did you sign the agreement yet? My father said he hadn’t seen it.”
“Not yet. I gave my edits back to your brother the other day. So, what is—”
“Have y’all been spending every waking minute together or what? Jesus Christ, he cannot help himself.” His voice bristled with agitation.
“He’s buying part of the bar, Dane. Or the Wilder Trust is. Whatever. Of course he’s been around.”
“Wait, who told you that?”
I remembered my conversation with Eunice and shut my trap.
“It was in the paperwork. I can read, you know.” I exhaled slowly, trying to steady my nerves.
I had this sneaking, overwhelming feeling I was being played for a fool.
“Or was I not supposed to know? Because the way you’re interrogating me makes me feel like you’re trying to leave me in the dark. ”
Dane let out a sarcastic laugh. “I just didn’t expect you to read over the whole boring thing. Alright then, I’ll see you next week.”
He hung up, and I sat down on the edge of my bed, wondering why he didn’t bother to ask me how I was or, more importantly, tell me why he hadn’t called once since he’d been gone.
The door to my apartment opened again, and I heard a small scuffle involving Pickle, and then a shriek.
“I’m in my room, Sutton,” I called out.
She walked into my room holding out a container of food. “Peace offering—leftovers from the bridal shower prep. Please eat something.” She eyed me up and down. “Wow, you look great. Damn, I look like a potato.”
I laughed as she immediately began rifling through my clothes for something to change into, ripping my closet apart.
“Dane just called,” I said, digging into my food.
She whipped around, holding a floral blouse, letting the long bell sleeves slap her in the face. “Shit! Ouch. Oh my God, what did he say?”
I shrugged. “I sent him a pic of my outfit because I’m feeling myself something fierce tonight, and he had a hissy fit about Lee playing at the bar and then didn’t answer me when I asked why he hadn’t called.”
“Can we break up with him? Seriously?”
I shoved a huge bite of lobster mac and cheese into my face, chewing aggressively.
With a mouth full of food, I spat out, “I’m not freaking breaking up with him!
Besides, you’re the one who’s always going ‘Oh, he’s so great for you, Magnolia.
’ ‘He’s so kind, Magnolia.’ ‘Just let him hump your leg a little bit, Magnolia.’”
Sutton’s face fell. “Whoa, Jesus. Okay, fine. But if the guy can’t answer a simple question, what’s the point?”
“I’m going to see this through. And when he comes back, I’m going to move in with him.”
Her face went white as a sheet, and she crossed the room slowly, sitting down next to me on the bed. She pulled the container I was devouring out of my hands and put it on my nightstand, taking my hands in hers.
I kept my eyes on the floor and drew in a long, calming breath. What almost happened between Lee and me earlier would stay between the two of us, and I needed to keep him as just a friend in order for my business to survive. In order for my heart to survive.
If keeping Lee at arm’s length and getting serious about Dane was what it took to keep my heart—and the bar—intact, that was what I was going to do. It was what I needed to do.
After all, if Eunice Wilder could thrive in the arms of a Wilder man, couldn’t I?
“What’s going on, girlfriend?” Sutton started, a soft, somber tone coloring her voice. “I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything, you know that. Ever since Lee’s been back, I feel like there’s some weird wall up between us. I hate it.”
“Me too. I can feel it myself. I’m sorry, Sutton. I just… I think I need to be with Dane. I think I need to do what I should have done a long time ago.”
“What’s that?”
I let out a long exhale. “Just be friends with Lee. Enjoy my life as Dane’s wife, go to tea with Eunice, and keep the bar. And that’s all.”