Page 72 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

Linda waved a hand. “Girl, stop. Let me get ready so we can go to the shop.” She focused on the phone as she walked out of the kitchen. “Who do you think it is? Maybe Sharonda who works at the bakery next door. She’s cute and been eyeing him.”

Imani watched her mom walk out of the kitchen then sank into one of the chairs. She placed her hand to her head and groaned. Just when she’d begun to think living in a small town might be okay, she was reminded that people in Peachtree Cove swarm to rumors faster than ants to an Oreo.

twenty-eight

“You know the entire town is talking about you, right?” Joshua spoke to Cyril the moment he came through the back door of A Couple of Beers. A huge grin spread across his face and his eyes were wide and curious behind his glasses.

Cyril glared at his friend. “It’s not the entire town, just the nosey people who have too much time on their hands.”

Cyril knew how quickly the rumor mill in Peachtree Cove worked. He’d done as much as he could to avoid ever being the topic of conversation. He’d been able to keep his name out of the mouths of the most insistent gossips by working, going home, helping the guild then repeating the process. Maybe that was why he didn’t have a full appreciation of how fast news would spread of him kissing someone in the middle of Main Street.

He couldn’t even claim he’d been so caught up in the moment that he hadn’t considered that they weren’t completely alone. He’d completely understood kissing Imani in public came with the chance of being caught. But when she’d said she wished they hadn’t decided to stay apart, the excuses had overtaken common sense. It was well past midnight. No one was really out that late in Peachtree Cove. The ones who were out tended to mind their business. He hadn’t considered the slim possibility that one of his dad’s friends would actually be downtown that night.

“You can try to downplay this all you want, that doesn’t stop you from being the talk of the town.” Joshua raised his brows and lowered his voice even though no one else was in the back of the bar with them. “Who was it?”

He tried to give his friend a censuring look. “Don’t tell me you’re also wrapped up in this?”

“It’s not about being wrapped up in this. It’s about being your friend. You haven’t talked about a woman in a minute. Now you’re kissing one in the middle of the street? I need to know what’s the deal,” Joshua returned, unaffected by Cyril’s look.

“Nothing’s going on. I just got caught up in the moment.”

Joshua cocked his head to the side. “You expect me to believe that? Out of everyone I know, you don’t get caught up in stuff. Especially like this. You were kissing her in the middle of the damn street. Was it Imani?”

Cyril nearly tripped over his own foot. He settled himself and tried to casually lean against the desk. “Why would you say that?”

Joshua eyed him suspiciously. “Because she stuck around until after we closed and left with you around that same time. So, unless you ditched Imani five minutes after you left and found some other woman to kiss, then that leaves her.”

Cyril groaned and rubbed his temple. “Does that mean everyone in town knows it’s her?”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “For real? It was her?”

“Quit playing and answer me. Has her name been brought in with the rest of these rumors?”

Joshua shook his head. “Nah, man. Our customers were gone and I’m pretty much the only person to know she left here with you.”

“You said pretty much. That means others may know.”

“Come on, Cyril, there’s the wine bar down the street and the people here who knew she was sitting at the end of the bar waiting to talk to you. It’s not going to take long for other people to start to put two and two together. What I need to know is why were you kissing her?”

He sighed. “It just kind of happened.”

“You don’t just kind of kiss someone,” Joshua said. “I thought there might be something going on with you two, but I wasn’t sure. I mean, anyone around can tell there’s a vibe. You two click even more than her mom and your dad.”

Cyril moved to push back his fedora, but it wasn’t there. He’d left the house quickly and come straight there. “Which is exactly why we shouldn’t be vibing. Our parents are getting married.”

Joshua shrugged. “So?”

“So? Josh, are you out of your mind? My dad has finally found happiness after everything that went down with my mom. It’s his chance to start over. I never thought he’d be here, but he is. Now I’m supposed to tell him to let it all go because I want to be with Imani?”

Joshua held up a hand. “Hold up, hold up, hold up. You said a lot just now. Let me start with one thing. Why would he have to let go of what he has with Ms. Kemp just because you want Imani? And, please tell me that you don’t think telling Mr. Preston that you want to be with Imani means he has to end things with her mom?”

Cyril sat down on the table and threw up his hands. That’s exactly what he meant. The entire reason why he’d held back. His dad wanted them to be a family. That couldn’t happen if he and Imani were together. “We can’t hook up if our parents are getting married. I know all that, but when I first saw her, I was immediately attracted.”

“When you met her at her mom’s place?” Joshua asked frowning.

“No, before that. I first saw her at the Dairy Bar right before meeting her at her mom’s. I didn’t know who she was, but the second I saw her I knew I wanted to get to know this woman. Even though she squirted me with mustard.” He laughed thinking about how she’d turned to face him with that sexy smile then shot the line of mustard down the front of his shirt.

“Wait, Imani is the mustard girl?”

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