Page 67 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“Mmmm, I could stay here and go back to sleep.” She lowered her arms and wiggled closer causing her behind to press into his dick.

“So could I.” He lightly squeezed her breast before brushing a finger across her nipple. He really could get used to waking up like this. Not just with a woman in his bed. With Imani in his bed.

“Should I ask what time it is?”

“Do we really want to know?” He kissed her shoulder. “We can pretend like it’s four in the morning and we’ve got a few more hours together before we need to get up and face the day.”

Her husky chuckle sent ripples of pleasure across his skin. “I like that because there is no way I’m getting up at four unless I’m doing rounds at the hospital.”

He brushed his lips across her shoulder. “No rounds. Just a lazy day ahead. You and me, here in this bed.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Yes it does.”

Grinning, Cyril pushed her hair aside so he could nibble and kiss her neck. He could get down with this fantasy. She turned in his embrace and faced him. Her fingers played across the muscles of his chest. Her touch was assured and comforting, just like her.

“But we do have to face the day,” she said regretfully.

The regret in her voice stirred inside him. She was right. His dad may have spent the night with Ms. Kemp, but he was an early riser and could come home at any moment.

“We do.”

“And the consequences of what happened last night.”

He frowned. “I don’t regret what happened?” He was willing to accept whatever consequences and hoped she didn’t feel sorry about what they’d done.

“I don’t regret it. In fact, I want to do it again.” Her smile wasn’t shy or hesitant, but eager.

Cyril’s heart rate sped up. This woman was everything he could possibly want in a person. He wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it when she left. “You do?”

“Yes, but can we really do this without my mom or your dad finding out?”

“I don’t know. Peachtree Cove is a small town. Most people figure things out.”

She grunted and frowned. “Not necessarily. We didn’t figure out my dad was sleeping with the young cashier from the grocery store until it was too late.”

He squeezed her hip. “Hey, we’re not like that situation.”

“I know.” Her arms wrapped around his waist. She came forward and Cyril shifted onto his back so she could comfortably rest her head on his chest. “Plus, if we’re seen together that isn’t going to cause a big commotion. People expect us to be together for the wedding.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you think you can keep the secret from your dad?”

Not for long. He didn’t like keeping secrets. He hated that his dad asked him to keep the details of what happened after his mom’s death from Imani and Ms. Kemp. He couldn’t continue to do that. Not after he’d slept with Imani. He’d already grown to care about her and her mother. He didn’t want to give them any reason to not trust him or his father.

“I’m good at keeping secrets when I have to,” he said. “This one I can keep, but there are others I don’t want to keep anymore.”

She leaned back and looked up at him. “You’re keeping a secret now?”

“Nothing about me is a secret. I just don’t like diving into the past a lot. What happened with my mom. Why we ultimately moved to Peachtree Cove.”

She shifted back. Her gaze dropped to the tattoo on his forearm. A cross surrounded by roses, his mom’s favorite flowers, and the words I love you in his mother’s handwriting. Taken from one of the last notes she’d written him.

Imani reached out and ran her fingers over the words. “Is this for her?” He nodded and she asked quietly, “What happened?”

“We didn’t just lose her, she was murdered.”

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