Page 70 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“No problem. That’s what friends do. You can give me all the juicy details later. Meet me at the bookstore this afternoon.”

“That’s cool. See you then.” She hung up and glanced at Cyril. “Tracey’s got me covered.”

“Sounds like she’s a good friend,” he said.

“She is. We had this same system back in high school. Act like we know nothing or give an alibi when we know the other person is doing something they shouldn’t be doing.”

“Did you need alibis a lot?”

She shook her head. “Not hardly. I wasn’t about to mess up any chances for a scholarship to get out of town as fast as I could after high school.”

“Then she needed them?”

Imani laughed. “You’d think it was Tracey, but she didn’t bother hiding anything she did and honestly, while she was always ready to pop off on someone she didn’t really get into trouble. We had to cover for Halle a few times, though.”

He turned to gape at her. “Halle? For real?” He focused back on the road.

Imani nodded and grinned. “Yep. Halle was quick to sneak out and go where she wasn’t supposed to. But don’t get too excited. She wasn’t sneaking off to get into any trouble. If there was a rally, protest or lecture somewhere her dad would try and put her on punishment and force her to stay home. But if she was with me or Tracey, then the punishment was magically lifted. We knew if he called us asking then she’d probably used us as her excuse for why she wasn’t at home studying.”

“Wow,” he said chuckling. “I never would have expected that of the three of you she was the sneaky one.”

“That’s why we got away with so much. The Get Fresh Crew was rarely suspected of getting into trouble.”

“Hold up, The Get Fresh Crew?” He grinned and raised a brow.

“Yep, that’s what we called ourselves.”

His deep chuckle rumbled through the car. “I love it.”

Despite the silliness of their current situation, him sneaking her back to her car and them using friends to find an alibi, he hadn’t smiled much since earlier. She was glad she was able to make him smile and laugh. The sadness in his eyes as he talked about his mother hadn’t truly lifted after his dad got home. He’d shared what had to be one of his most painful memories with her. For him to feel comfortable enough to talk to her about it meant he trusted her. She connected with his pain and the need to not let it consume you.

What he’d said the night before, about always being angry but not letting the anger guide him resonated with her. She’d lived with her anger for so long. And she’d never considered herself as an angry person and believed she’d learned to cope with what happened. But she had let the anger direct her decisions and actions for most of her life. She’d moved away from family and friends because she didn’t want to be surrounded by the pain of her past. She hadn’t trusted a single man she’d ever dated and broken things off whenever they asked more of her instead opening herself up to love or intimacy for fear of being betrayed. Being back home proved everyone had found a way to move on and there was a support system in Peachtree Cove she didn’t have in Tampa. Then there was Cyril. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to stop letting anger guide her and finally be open with Cyril just as he’d been open with her.

They arrived downtown quickly and although she wanted to linger in his truck, kiss him goodbye and plan their next liaison, she didn’t. Downtown wasn’t as busy in the morning as it would be later in the day, but people were already arriving to open the stores. She couldn’t risk being seen jumping out of Cyril’s truck and word getting back to her mom before Imani had the chance to say anything.

“Call me later,” she said as she opened the door.

“I will.” He said the words as if not calling her wasn’t a possibility, and her heart flipped.

Imani jumped out of the truck and held her head down as she quickly got into her car. She waved as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Thankfully, Linda hadn’t made it back from trekking out to the bed-and-breakfast by the time Imani arrived.

Imani called her mom’s cell after realizing she wasn’t there. “You’re looking for me?” she said after her mom answered.

“Yes, I’m looking for you. Why are you acting like that’s surprising? You didn’t come home last night.” Linda sounded both irritated and relieved to hear Imani’s voice.

“I’m sorry. I should have texted or called.”

“Yes, you should have. I know you, Tracey and Halle are back together and want to act like you can do what you want, but you can’t just do stuff without thinking. I need to know you’re okay.”

Imani felt guilty for not checking in. She wasn’t ready to tell her mom about her and Cyril, but she could have at least thought ahead and let her mom know she was okay. “I’m sorry, Mom. I got caught up having fun with them last night and didn’t think. I’ll do better next time.”

“You better. Where are you?” The last question was asked without any lingering worry and just curiosity.

“I’m back home. Are you on the way back here?”

“I’ll be there in a few. Don’t go anywhere. You’re helping me in the shop today.”

After making her worry, she wouldn’t think about saying no. “Yes, ma’am.”

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