Page 25 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“Got it.” He focused on Imani. “No need to order. I’ve got you.” He winked, and Imani never knew she could physically feel the effects of a wink deep in her midsection until that moment.

She shook her head. “I don’t like beer, remember.”

“And I said I’ve got something you might enjoy. Try it on the house. If you don’t like it, you’ve lost nothing.”

Sighing, she shrugged. She was here to relax and unwind. “Fine. I’ll give it a try.”

He grinned as if he hadn’t expected anything else before moving along. After he walked away, she looked at her two friends. “Since when did you two start drinking beer?”

“Since Cyril opened this place,” Halle said as if that made perfect sense.

“Facts,” Tracey said with a mischievous grin.

“So you only come here because of him?”

Halle’s look said the answer was obvious. “A fine, single, Black man opens a bar in downtown Peachtree Cove? Ma’am, half the available women in town started drinking beer.”

“And half the thirsty men in this town started coming to hit on the women,” Tracey added. “Once people realized Cyril was cool and his beer was good, then everyone else started coming.”

She looked at Halle. “That’s why you came? Did you two...” Halle was single, and despite not talking about Shania’s father, she did date and was on the lookout for her forever romance. Maybe she’d considered Cyril as a possibility.

“What? No.” Halle held up a hand and shook her head. “Cyril is cool and all, but he’s not my type.”

“Why not? He’s handsome?”

The minutes the words left her mouth she wished she could pull them back. She wasn’t supposed to be attracted to Cyril. But if you convince your mom not to get married then it wouldn’t be weird. She shoved that thought right out of her head. She wasn’t going to break up her mom and Preston just to start something with Cyril.

“He is, but you know Halle loves dark-skinned dudes,” Tracey said with a smirk.

Imani nodded slowly. “You know, you’re right about that. She does go crazy for a chocolate man.”

Halle chuckled and shrugged. “I can’t even be mad at you two, because it’s true.”

The three of them laughed as Cyril came over with their drinks. He raised a brow as he looked between them. “What’s so funny?”

Tracey shook her head. “Girl talk. Don’t worry about it.”

He passed out their beers and food. “Got it.” He placed his hands on the bar and met Imani’s eyes. “Let me know what you think.”

She eyed the drink before her. “It’s pink.”

“You don’t like pink?”

She did. It was one of her favorite colors. She wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of admitting that. “I’ve never seen pink beer before.”

“Ale,” he said.

“What?”

He pointed to her class. “It’s a strawberry ale. Give it a try.”

She pursed her lips before lifting the glass and sniffing. It smelled fruity. He maintained eye contact with her as she took a tentative sip. The sweet taste of strawberries was undercut with a tartness that reminded her of a nice jam. She lowered the glass and licked her lips. Cyril’s eyes narrowed in on her mouth. The corner of his lips lifted in a half smile and the confident look in his eye that had attracted her when they first met returned. Heat spread through her body like wildfire.

His eyes returned to hers. “You like it?” he asked in a low, self-assured voice.

She did. More than she’d expected, but she didn’t want to admit he’d so easily guessed her tastes. Imani shrugged. “It’s tolerable.”

Chuckling, Cyril’s voice lowered. “Not easy to please. Means I’ll have to work harder to find out what you like.”

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