Chapter 51
Chapter fifty-one
MAGNOLIA
Sutton and I had just finished training our newest employee, Doyle’s sister, Tally. We’d agreed to let her work here and there, when she was needed, so she could find her footing here in Savannah.
“I can’t believe you trust Charlie with your baby,” Sutton mused, wiping off the tops of wine bottles before re-topping them and passing them to Tally to line up in the fridge.
“He’s a great daddy, are y’all kidding me? He’s a good man. Works hard. Seems it runs in the family,” she said, her eyes smiling as she shot me a look across the room.
Tally hadn’t been around long enough to realize my mood swings and frantic pacing around the inn’s kitchen weren’t because of her or my brother watching the baby. I had thirty minutes until Lee showed up for our date, and I was only half ready.
I’d just gotten off the phone with Eunice, who let me know that Dane was back on Georgia soil, and between wanting to march straight to the police station to ring his neck and my nerves over this date, I was an absolute, adrenaline-charged train wreck.
“Where are y’all going tonight anyway? And is that how you’re wearing your hair?” Sutton was leaning over the kitchen island, eyeing me up and down, and Tally turned to stare right alongside her.
“An old, familiar haunt of ours.” I ran my hands through my hair.
“Will y’all quit looking at me like that?
Jesus. Ever since I stopped those keratin treatments my hair just does whatever it wants to do I guess.
” I sighed, and Sutton poured three glasses of wine from the bottle she’d been closing up, and we all took seats on the barstools lining the island.
“You know I used to be a hairdresser, right? I could help you, if you wanted me to,” Tally mentioned, her attention on my frizzy, washed-up seaweed head.
“I feel like that’s the fifteenth job you’ve listed off,” Sutton laughed. She hopped up and pulled some leftover charcuterie out of the fridge, setting it in the middle of the table. “Eat, Magnolia. We know your track record on a boozy, empty stomach. Never good.”
“I could create some beach waves if one of y’all had some hairspray and a flat iron. It would take probably five minutes.” Tally jumped up and ran her hands through my fuzzy, sticky red hair. I sighed, throwing my head in my hands.
“Do you remember when Little Orphan Annie had her makeover after getting to Daddy Warbucks’s mansion? Slap a little bow on the side of your head, and that’s exactly how you look,” Sutton said, cackling so hard she almost choked on an olive.
“Shut up,” I hissed, tears in the corners of my eyes from laughing.
“Are you going to call Lee ‘Daddy’ tonight?” Sutton was on a roll, and if I wasn’t howling and bent over cracking up with her, I would have slapped her.
“Please, Tally, help my hair. And bring that hot tool down here so I can beat my best friend with it when you’re done.”
Once Tally finished fussing over my frizzy mess, Sutton ran up to my portion of the house and grabbed a top and a tight pair of jeans. We all crowded in the small, downstairs powder room to see the final result of the night’s efforts.
“Lee might be calling you ‘Daddy’ tonight, you look that good,” Sutton snorted, as I pulled down my shirt, surveying myself in the long, antique mirror Eunice had pulled from an estate sale for me.
“Would you shut up with the daddy stuff, please? My behind does kind of look good, though,” I noted, spinning around and almost knocking the drinks out of Tally and Sutton’s hands.
“If I wasn’t an absolute basket case myself, I’d think y’all were as nutty as a squirrel turd,” Tally giggled, shrugging as she exited the bathroom.
“Did she just call us crazy?” Sutton and I both asked in unison, falling over each other laughing.
“Seriously, she ain’t wrong,” Sutton said, holding my hand in hers. “You’re going to be fine tonight. I know you’re nervous about another new beginning, but this one isn’t quite so new. It’s just a new chapter of an old, familiar story.”
I shrugged and let out a long, cleansing breath.
“I don’t want another chapter in our old story.
I want something different this time. That old book was so painful and exhausting.
Maybe we won’t have a book. Maybe we’ll have a song.
You know, our song? I’d always asked him to write something just for us, back when we were dating, so it fits. ”
Sutton nodded, and Tally yelled from the front foyer that Lee had arrived.
As we made our way to the front, I laughed quietly to myself that still, after all these years, the sight of Lee standing in my sitting room, hands in his pockets, looking around aimlessly and in awe of the inn, made my stomach flip-flop like a teenager again.
When he turned to look at me, his eyes drank in every detail, and he bit his lip, his gaze washing over me like a tidal wave. Across the room, Sutton fanned herself dramatically, while Tally rolled her eyes and pulled her toward the Public House area of the inn.
“You look beautiful, Maggie. You really do. And this place, wow,” he said, gesturing to me and the lobby surrounding us.
“Wait until you see the rest of it.” I couldn’t help but smile, a big ear-to-ear grin that I meant with every fiber of my being. I could hardly believe he was here and that this was real.
“I can tell you, without a doubt, I am truly looking forward to that,” he said, his cheeks flushing red and his eyes filling with desire.
“Let’s get on out of here before we’re undressing in my lobby and scaring all my guests,” I said, grabbing my purse from behind the check-in counter. “We have some very special reservations tonight.”
We walked down the wide, sprawling steps, and I turned to marvel at my new home. Through a dimly lit window, I could see the pub in full swing, people talking, clinking glasses together, and moving about inside.
In a corner, under an antique standing lamp, a woman sat typing on her laptop, looking up to observe her fellow patrons in the bar.
“Who’s that?” Lee slipped his hand in mine, and we both stood watching her for a moment from the bottom staircase.
“Her name’s Claire. She got in last week from St. Augustine, Florida. I guess she’s from the area. She’s working on a romance novel.”
“Maybe we’ll give her something to write about tonight,” he said, pulling me toward him and planting a kiss on my cheek. “Where are we going anyway?”
“Back to where it all began. But this time, we’re going to write a different story. Or song, or something. It all sounded really good when I was shoved in the bathroom with the girls.”
He chuckled. “Wherever it is, Maggie, I’ll just be happy to spend the night with my girl by my side after all this time.”
We kept our hands intertwined as we walked the sleepy streets of Savannah. We stopped in front of the Mercer house where, from the window, the caretaker of the estate, Sarah, waved at me.
“All the years I’ve walked by this house, and I’ve never seen someone inside this place. It’s still a museum, right?”
Sarah opened the front door, and it let out a howl, as if it hadn’t been opened since one of Jim’s Christmas parties decades ago. “Come on in, y’all. We’re all set up for you.”
“In? We’re going inside? Legally? Shit,” Lee said nervously, lifting his arm up and fighting the urge to run his fingers through his curls, opting to not disturb them in the humidity.
We walked through the small courtyard in front of the Mercer house, and I leaned in to give Sarah a hug. She extended her hand to Lee, and he looked around her to catch a glimpse inside the house.
Sarah let out a small laugh. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Leland. Your momma is a great friend of mine. As is Ms. Pruitt, here. You’ll get to look around, but this is a museum, after all, so be mindful of that. Not like the last time y’all were here.”
Her eyes were playful as she shot me a wink and extended her arm for us to walk into the black-and-white tiled foyer.
A look of recognition poured over Lee’s face, and he smiled.
I could tell he was remembering the night we’d broken into the sprawling home and how it set us on a course to where we were today.
“Poetic, Magnolia. Meeting at the start,” he whispered, as we followed Sarah through the hallway, looking into the rooms we once ran blindly through during the night so long ago when we were just kids.
My heart pulsed with memories, and it almost felt like yesterday when we stood in this same, long hallway, our hearts beating erratically, but for different reasons. Back when things were simple. But I think, deep down, we knew then what we knew now.
That we were made for each other and nothing could stop that.
I squeezed his hand a few times, and he pumped mine back, and we locked eyes for a second, only breaking our gaze when Sarah opened the back door to the courtyard.
“I assume you two are very familiar with this old door here,” she laughed, and we both nodded in apprehensive agreement. “The courtyard’s all yours. Oh! I have something for you two. I’ll be out in a minute. Go get settled in.”
The courtyard was aglow with a canopy of twinkling lights, casting a soft, magical shimmer over everything.
What was once a multilevel space with a pool now sprawled out as a single, flat expanse, enveloped in lush, cascading greenery.
The old pool area had been transformed into a serene oasis with vines draping gracefully from the trellises and potted plants adding vibrant splashes of color.
In the center of the courtyard, a small, intimate table had been set up, adorned with flickering candles that danced in the gentle breeze.
The table, draped in a delicate white linen cloth, was flanked by two plush chairs.
Soft, ambient music floated through the air, blending with the subtle scents of blooming flowers and fresh greenery, creating an atmosphere of cozy elegance and romance.
“How the hell did you pull this off? This is incredible, Magnolia,” Lee said, hopping down the staircase excitedly.
“You think I pulled this off? You better send your momma a thank you bouquet tomorrow,” I laughed, watching his eyes twinkle under the lights and the stars.
He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down. The carriage house door opened, and Doyle appeared with a bottle of champagne, donning a full-blown tuxedo and a shit-eating grin.
“Lovebirds,” he cooed, shooting me a wink. Sarah sneaked up from behind us and gently placed two crystal glasses on the table in front of us.
“The estate’s prized Baccarat’s. Magnolia, please don’t hurl one at his head, or worse, trip and knock over the table. I’ve seen you in action. I know these things are possible,” Sarah said, and we all erupted in laughter.
“Dinner’s on its way out,” Doyle chirped, a formal tone lacing his voice. “Savannah’s best chef is sadly tied up with her new beau, but we’ve brought in some excellent dishes from a few different local places. I think you’ll be pleased.”
Lee let out a cackle at Doyle’s over-exaggerated performance, and I joined him. It felt good to laugh, to let the bubbles of the champagne hit me in the nose, to let go of everything that had been winding me so tight.
Ever since I’d talked to Eunice and learned that Dane and Kasey were behind bars, that the rest of the money was being moved around to its rightful place—mostly my bank account—I felt a freedom like I’d not felt in a long time.
Or ever in my life, if I was being honest with myself.
Everything I had was mine, and mine alone. The Inn & Public House was received with rave reviews. People loved the atmosphere, Sutton’s food, the accommodations, and the service. Sutton and I had worked so hard, and we both reminded each other, regularly, of just how lucky and strong we were.
And now, I was sitting across from a man that I’d loved my entire life, who loved me back, and we were starting on a journey unlike one we’ve ever been on before. A real journey, just the two of us, and the friends and family that were genuine, loving, and truly happy for us.
We enjoyed our small plates from several local, Savannah-based chefs, and bottles on bottles of wine from Jordan and Doyle’s shop. When we finished dessert, Doyle turned up the stereo from the second floor of the carriage house, letting the music pump softly throughout the courtyard.
“Dance with me,” I said huskily, a deep sense of happiness and relaxation washing over me. I pushed my chair away from the table and reached my hand out to take his.
“For the rest of my life, if you’ll let me,” Lee said, his eyes sparkling with a soft, dreamy look, showing just how happy and content he was.
We moved for a few beats, the grass tickling my ankles, and I leaned back to look at his face. For the first time in the almost-twenty years Lee had been in my life, I never felt more comfortable or confident than I did in that moment.
“I’ll let you,” I said, moving my face slowly toward his.
“What? What do you mean? Wait, are you saying…”
“I’ll let you dance with me for the rest of my life, you idiot.”
Lee let out a laugh, letting his head fall back, but keeping our arms locked together. “Are you serious, Magnolia? You mean it? This is it?”
I smiled and nodded my head. “I mean it, Lee. It’s always been you. It will always be you. All you have to do is ask.”
He dipped his head toward mine, his voice low and gruff in my ear, sending chills down my spine. “Magnolia Louise Pruitt, will you be my girl?”
“I’ve never had a choice, Lee. I’ve been your girl from the start.”