Page 36 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“I’m not trying to force anything on you, Imani. I’m happy. Finally. Can’t that be enough of an answer?”

As much as Imani wanted to say no, she couldn’t. Preston did seem to make her mom happy. The ease of her mom’s laughter and the sparkle in her eyes were all real and something Imani hadn’t witnessed in years. Linda seemed more relaxed now that she wasn’t angry at the world. Imani didn’t believe a rushed wedding was what needed to happen, but she also couldn’t help but feel good seeing her mom shedding the hurt from the past. Which was why even though she’d come to break up the wedding, she was starting to feel guilty for wanting to do so.

“I want you to be happy, Mom. I really do. That doesn’t mean I want to make Preston my stepdad without really knowing who he is,” she said.

“That’s why you’re getting to know him now,” Linda said in the that’s final tone of voice that told Imani the discussion was over. “Ooh, I like this song. Have you heard it?” Linda turned up the radio.

The song in question was a new R & B ballad that had played repeatedly on every radio station for the last month. Classic Linda Kemp move. Pretend everything was okay and change the subject. Imani wanted to push, but years of knowing that pushing only caused her mom to retreat had her nodding and listening to the overplayed song about love and joy.

They arrived at the town hall two love songs later. The guild meeting was held in the community room on the second floor. The same place where the group met when Imani was in high school and had to tag along with her mom to the meetings. Back then Linda had been a very active member of the guild, but after the scandal with her husband, she’d pulled back when she discovered most of the people on the guild had either known about her husband’s affair and said nothing, or tried to console her in an attempt to get every salacious detail. Imani was surprised Linda had rejoined, but according to her mom, the board and the membership had changed.

Imani walked in behind her mother and expected to find the small group of nine or ten members who’d made up the Business Guild when she’d been a teen. To her surprise, the room was filled almost to capacity.

She stopped at the door and looked around. “Wow.”

Linda turned back to her. She looked at the crowded room then back to Imani. “Way more people than you remember.”

“A lot more. Before it was like a social club.”

Linda shook her head as she waved at a few people in the room. “Not anymore. The new board is focused on promoting the businesses in Peachtree Cove, keeping the economy strong, working with the town on economic development and having fun. It’s not a social club, but we do have socials to encourage networking. Come on, let’s get an agenda and find a place to sit.”

She followed her mom to the front of the room. Cyril sat behind a table set up next to the podium. Several papers were stacked in neat rows in front of him.

Imani frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m the secretary,” he said with a brow raise.

Yeah, he’d already told her that. “I know you’re the secretary,” Imani said in a rush.

Cyril’s answering smile made her stomach tighten. His black fedora was tilted back giving her a clear view of his direct gaze. “I know you know.”

“I just forgot for a moment. I keep forgetting...” Because if she’d remembered she wouldn’t have come. Not when she was fantasizing about the man kissing her when he obviously realized that kissing her was the dumbest thing to do right now.

He grinned that sideways grin that made butterflies take flight in her stomach. “It’s fine. We didn’t talk about the guild the last few times I saw you.”

No, they had not. Just like that the memory of his hands on her waist and the muscles of his chest beneath her palms flashed in her mind. Heat filled her cheeks and her heart rate jacked up twelve notches. Clearing her throat, she looked away.

Cyril took a sheet of paper off each stack and handed it to Linda. “Here you go. Agenda, minutes from last meeting, treasurer’s report and a handout from the town on the St. Patrick’s Day Festival.”

Linda grinned between the two of them. “I was wondering if they were going to do something big this year.”

“Where are we going to sit, Mom?” Imani asked.

Linda looked over Imani’s shoulders. Her eyes widened and she waved someone over. Imani turned and barely contained her groan. Preston was there and not at the deacon board meeting as her mom had said.

“Linda, I saved us all a seat at the front.” Preston pointed to four chairs that had papers in the seats. “I’m hooking up the projector for the mayor and then they’ll get started.”

Her mom grinned and blushed. “Thank you, baby.”

“Anything for my sweetheart.”

Imani barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “I thought you had church or something?”

Preston beamed at her as he placed a hand on the small of her mom’s back. “I did, but I told the pastor that I wanted to be here with my family. He understood. It’s important for all of us to spend time together before the wedding.”

Linda practically batted her lashes at him. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Imani did roll her eyes. She looked to Cyril to see if he was just as disgusted, but he just shrugged before handing papers to someone else.

---