Page 64 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

Imani held out her arms as if to keep her balance and then placed her left foot straight on the line. “I have to prove my honor. Otherwise, you’ll go telling my mom that I got drunk at your bar and you had to carry me home.”

He laughed. “Oh, so I’m a snitch now?”

She lifted her shoulder and put her right foot in front of the other. “I don’t know yet, brother. You might be.”

The brother blew the wind right out of his sails. His humor faded as the realization that he was flirting, but she might not be punched the air from this lungs. This could all just be her way of getting along with him just like their parents wanted. He’d read too much into her turning down Brian and staying there with him.

Imani continued walking the line. Oblivious to his change in mood based on the smile and teasing glint that remained in her eyes. When she was a few steps in front of him, having successfully walked the line with no problem, she said, “Told you,” and contined to walk toward him.

“Why didn’t you leave with Brian earlier?”

“Huh?” She stumbled as if caught off guard.

Cyril shifted forward and placed a hand on her hip to keep her from falling over. He expected her to immediately pull back, but she didn’t. She frowned up at him, confusion on her face. From this angle the light was behind her, and he couldn’t clearly see her expression.

“Why didn’t you leave with Brian?” He had to know if she’d stayed with him because she was trying to treat him like her future stepbrother, or because she’d wanted to spend time with him.

“I...wanted to talk to you.”

Her soft voice scratched across the frustration growing inside him. The frustration of wondering what was going on in Imani’s head. The frustration of wondering if she felt the same. The frustration of knowing that as much as he should put distance between them a part of him only wanted to draw her closer.

“You’ve been with me for hours and haven’t said anything I’d consider a secret.” In fact, she’d spent most of her time at the bar joking with him and Joshua. After they’d left the lighthearted banter continued. While he enjoyed her company, this couldn’t be the only reason why she’d stayed until the bar closed, could it?

She shifted in his arms. Cyril let her go even though every part of him ached to continue holding her. He didn’t step back and neither did she. That was worse, he could still feel the imprint of her body against his.

“That’s because I’m not good at saying what’s on my mind sometimes,” she admitted. “Especially when it comes to how I’m feeling.”

“Is something wrong?”

She fidgeted and looked everywhere but at him. “I want to thank you for the other night. You didn’t have to hold me when I cried. You didn’t push me to talk about my dad. You listened and didn’t try to just fix me or the situation.” She took a heavy breath and met his gaze. “I appreciate that.” She said the words in a rush, then looked away again.

“I don’t think I can fix that situation.”

“You’d be amazed at how many people try when I tell them about my dad. It’s why I don’t bring it up. I don’t need to hear, ‘go to therapy,’ ‘let go and let God,’ ‘move on,’ or ‘your best revenge is living right.’ I get it. I know all of that and I’ve tried all of that, but it still hurts and I’m still mad. I don’t know why people don’t want me to be mad?”

“Every single day I’m angry that my mom was taken away from me as quickly as she was. Every single day I want to scream about the events that ruined my life. I’ve heard everything you’ve heard, and I know that I should try to forgive and let go of the anger. But I’m still angry.”

She stopped shuffling from foot to foot and looked up at him. Even with the shadows masking her face he felt the intensity of her stare. “And you’re okay with being angry?”

“I’m okay with it because I know that anger isn’t all that I have. My dad’s love. My friendship with Joshua, the relationships I’ve made here in Peachtree Cove. The anger about what happened with my mom isn’t the only part of me. I don’t think your anger is the only part of you. You love your mom, or you wouldn’t have rushed here to check out my dad. You’re a great doctor not only because you’re doctor of the year, but because of the way you jumped in to help Kaden. You’re a friend who picked up right where you left off with Halle and Tracey. Your anger is just one part. You can have it, but you don’t have to let it define you.”

She let out an annoyed huff. “Why does your dad have to be marrying my mom?”

“That’s what you say after all that?”

She shook her head. “That’s not the reason I said that.”

“Then what is it?”

She sighed and narrowed her eyes before meeting his gaze. “Right now, I want to kiss you, but we both agreed that isn’t what we should do.”

She moved to turn away. Cyril’s arm shot out and wrapped around her waist. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of the street, or that he’d been the one to say that they needed to move on after the kiss. The only thing he cared about were the words that had come out of her mouth. The words that soothed the frustration scratching at his insides like sandpaper.

He waited a heartbeat for her to pull away and when she didn’t, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. Her body relaxed and she leaned into him. She tasted sweet and her curves were soft and warm. Maybe this was a mistake, or maybe this was the best thing to ever happen to him. Her lips pressed gently against his, their breaths entwined as his tongue slid against hers and he’d swear on the mountaintop that this was the best thing to ever happen. From the second he’d met her eyes that day at the Dairy Bar he’d felt it. The electric sizzle and hum of awareness that this woman would change his life forever. He wasn’t sure how they would make this work, but he’d regret never making it work more than anything else.

A horn honked. The two of them jumped apart. The streets might not be full, but they weren’t exactly empty. Instead of looking at the driver who interrupted them, he put an arm around Imani’s shoulder and hurried her across the road and behind the building to the parking area.

The lights in the parking area were bright enough for him to see her features. He didn’t want to drop his arm from around her shoulders, so he didn’t. When they got to the passenger side of his truck he placed one arm on either side of her. His gaze searched her expression for any sign of regret. There was none. Only desire reflected in her dark eyes.

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