Page 32 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“Stop.” She pointed out the front windshield. “That’s the spot.”

He pulled to the side of the road. “What spot.”

“Right there.” She continued to point then looked at him. His confusion must have been clear because she shook her head. “Just come on and I’ll show you.”

She was out of the truck before he could respond. Sighing, because he did not see anything and wasn’t excited about walking through the woods, he opened the door. If it were anyone but Imani, he would let her go on her way. That wasn’t quite true either. He wouldn’t have left anyone alone on the side of the road and waved them off down a barely visible trail in the woods, but he knew he couldn’t leave her. Not only would his dad and her mom skewer him, but something inside him rebelled against any thought of leaving her alone in the middle of nowhere.

He followed her to the edge of the brush line. She turned back to him and gave a triumphant grin. “See. The trail is still here.”

He looked over her shoulder and cocked his head to the side. “I’ll be damned. There is a trail.”

A small path through the woods. Not so clear that a vehicle could get down, but also not so overgrown that he couldn’t tell people used it. If he walked down the road or even biked the way she had, he may have noticed, but not driving past in his car.

“Told you,” she said smugly.

“And this leads to the lake?”

“It does.” She glanced at his truck. “I would ride my bike, but I don’t want to leave you behind.”

“Who says I’m coming?”

“I haven’t been down here in years and since you’re here you might as well come with me. Two people are better than one.”

“You weren’t worried about that when you biked your happy ass over here,” he muttered but softened the words with a half smile.

She laughed and shrugged. “Maybe not, but that’s why fate put you here. My momma always says God looks after fools and babies. And I was most definitely a fool for biking over here alone.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to do this alone again.”

She turned away and headed toward the trail. “We’ll see.”

He shook his head but followed her. “I may not be here to save you next time.”

“I’ll drag Halle or Tracey with me next time,” she said.

The light of the late morning sun faded as they entered the shade of the trees. Away from the road it was much cooler. Though late February in Georgia wasn’t as cold as it used to be back home, it still wasn’t walk through woods without cover weather. He pulled off his jacket and slid it around Imani’s shoulders. She stopped and her hand lifted to her shoulder. Their fingers brushed. Cyril quickly pulled his hand from the electric zap of her touch.

Imani turned toward him. “You don’t have to give me this.”

“You were sweating and it’s cold. Put the jacket on.” He looked past her down the trail that didn’t seem close to ending. “How far are we going?”

“It’s not that far.” She thankfully slid her arms through the sleeves of his jacket.

“That’s not an answer,” he said.

“You can see the lake through the trees since the leaves are down.” She pointed down the trail. “Come on, we’re almost there.” She started walking and he followed.

“I’ve never noticed the lake through the trees.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “How long have you lived out here?”

“Almost six years. Why?”

“Are you always this unobservant?”

“I’m not unobservant. I go to work, I go home and I help around town. I don’t do nature like that.”

She chuckled and turned away. “This isn’t doing nature. This is a shortcut to the lake.”

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