Page 46 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

Tracey rolled her eyes. “His cousin is having issues with his girlfriend. He’s going to help him move his stuff.”

“Really?”

“His cousin and his girl are always fighting. Bernard is always up there trying to play peacemaker.” Tracey sighed. “I’m just irritated about his cousin calling him to Augusta tonight.”

“He’ll be back tomorrow?”

“He will.” Tracey nodded but didn’t sound exactly sure.

Imani felt there was more to the story, but she could tell by Tracey avoiding eye contact that she didn’t want to delve into the full details. Imani didn’t want to push. She could barely give herself advice about what to do with Cyril. She would be no help to Tracey in her marriage.

She slapped her hands against her thighs and smiled. “Well, since you’re staying here tonight...do you mind if I share one of your rooms with you?”

“Why do you want to stay with me?” Tracey asked, but a light brightened her eyes.

“I don’t think I can face my mom or Mr. Preston. Not yet.”

Tracey laughed. “Girl, yes. It’ll make the night more fun, and you can tell me all about how and why you kissed Cyril.”

seventeen

Even though there were several customers in the bar that night to keep Cyril busy, he couldn’t get kissing Imani out of his mind. If someone ordered his special blend, he thought about telling her about his love of beer right before they’d kissed. If someone asked about St. Patrick’s Day, he thought about her admitting she loved parades and then his kissing her. Just watching his patrons talk and laugh made him think about how relaxed he was in her company and the way they’d teased about compensation for his shirt right before they’d kissed. The woman, her sweet lips and soft body, were imprinted in his brain and he was worried he might not be able to erase her.

“Cyril, I hope that’s not my beer because I ordered the lager and not the pilsner,” Jay, a customer at the end of the bar, called out.

Cyril blinked and looked down at the glass he was filling. Sure enough, the glass was half full of the pilsner. He stopped the pour and groaned. “Sorry, Jay. I’ll get that right order for you.”

“Don’t pour out the pilsner. I’ll give it a try,” Jay said with a big grin.

Cyril slid the glass across the bar. “You know what, you can have this on the house.”

Jay’s eyes lit up. “For real? Thanks, man!”

“No problem.” Cyril grabbed another glass and filled it with the lager he’d originally ordered.

Joshua stopped cleaning glasses at the end of the bar and came over. “You need to take a break?” he asked with a raised brow.

Cyril nodded. He wasn’t afraid to admit when he was distracted and making mistakes. “Yeah, let me take a minute. Things have calmed down for a while. I’ll be right back.”

“Cool. Take your time. I’ll holla if I need you.”

“I appreciate that, man.” Cyril walked away from the bar and headed toward the office in the back.

The door to the bar opened and his dad walked in. Preston glanced around the bar, spotted Cyril and grinned. Instead of going to the office Cyril waited at the end of the bar for his dad.

“What brings you in here tonight?” Cyril asked.

“I was waiting on you to call me. How did things go with Imani earlier today?” Preston’s voice was filled with anticipation, and he rubbed his hands together. He wore his favorite peach-colored linen suit and his hair looked freshly washed and brushed to a shine. Which meant he was probably going to visit Ms. Kemp after leaving him.

Cyril’s stomach clenched. Visions of Imani in his arms, the taste of her lips and her breasts pressed against his chest filled his mind. That’s exactly why he hadn’t called his dad. How could he pretend as if nothing happened? He could barely remember to pour the right beer for his customer.

“Uhh...it was fine.”

The grin fell from his dad’s face. “You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?”

Cyril quickly shook his head. Thankfully laughter at the back of the bar gave him an excuse to look at something else. “Nah, nothing like that. We talked about the St. Patrick’s Day Festival and beer.”

“Beer?” his dad asked frowning. “Why were you talking about beer?”

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