Page 95 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

Halle’s smile widened. “Because you miss him, and you want to see him.”

That was true. She did miss him. Had missed him from the moment she left him. But she couldn’t go see him. Not when her mom was still hurting from the breakup with Preston.

“It doesn’t matter if I want to see him. My mom doesn’t want to see him or his dad.”

“Your mom doesn’t have to see him,” Halle replied dryly.

“You always were the instigator in the group,” Imani said giving her friend a narrow-eyed look.

Halle only shrugged. “I’m just saying. You’re in town, you might as well see him.”

“What if he doesn’t want to see me.”

Halle rolled her eyes. “Girl, I should throw this pillow at you. Of course, the man wants to see you. He asks about you every time he sees me or Tracey.”

“He does?” Imani perked up.

Halle raised a brow. “And since you’re lighting up like a Christmas tree, that proves you want to see him.”

“I’m not lighting up.”

“Chile, please! Don’t even sit there and lie. Go see that man.”

“Can I take care of you first?” Imani protested.

“My arm is broken. My legs, feet and everything else works just fine. And since your mom is not here hovering, now is the perfect time for you to sneak away and see him.”

Imani considered the words. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to see Cyril. He’d been in her thoughts constantly and the moment she’d gotten into town and confirmed Halle wasn’t in any imminent danger she’d obsessed about seeing him even more.

“But what—”

“But nothing. I’ll tell Aunt Linda that you went to get me something from the store and Tracey will cover for you if you take a long time. Just go see that man.”

As much as good sense said not to, Imani couldn’t ignore the quickening of her heart. She wanted to see him. That didn’t mean anything would happen. She’d just make sure he was okay. Doing that didn’t mean she was betraying her mom.

She stood. “I’ll only be gone for a minute.”

Halle shook her head. “If you’re only gone for a minute then Cyril isn’t the man I thought he was.”

Imani didn’t find Cyril at the bar. Joshua said he left to check on Mr. Preston, who hadn’t shown up to help cut the middle school football field and wasn’t answering his phone. Worried, Imani went to their home, but no one was there either. She decided to go home and see if her mom had heard from him or had any idea of where he might be. She’d considered calling Cyril, but felt her call would just be a distraction if he was worried about his dad.

To her surprise, Cyril’s truck pulled up to the front of her mom’s house at the same time she arrived. She quickly got out of the car and walked to the end of the driveway. Cyril got out of the truck and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from sighing. He wore a tan T-shirt that fit his broad shoulders and dark pants. A brown fedora shaded his face from the midafternoon sun, but that didn’t block the way his eyes lit up after he saw her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Cyril walked up to her. He was so close she wanted to reach out and hug him. She’d missed him so much.

“Looking for my dad,” he said. His gaze scanned her face as if searching for something.

“You think he’s here?”

Cyril shrugged. “I don’t know. I heard you and your mom were back in town and wondered if maybe he would come see her.”

“I was here to see if she might know where he would go.”

Cyril frowned and looked confused. “You’re looking for my dad?”

“I went by the bar to see you and Joshua told me that he didn’t show up for work. I also went by your house.”

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