Page 74 of The Secret to a Southern Wedding

“Because I wish I could make these feelings for Cyril go away.”

“No, you don’t,” Tracey said matter of fact. “You like him, so just like him and go with it. Life is too short to deny yourself what makes you happy.”

“Going for what makes me happy right now might not make my mom happy.”

“How do you know that?” Tracey asked. She shook her head. “I need you to quit having this same argument with yourself over and over again. You don’t know what she’ll say until you tell her. Considering how happy your mom is right now I don’t believe she’ll go all I forbid you two from seeing each other. You can’t help that you fell for him before you knew who he was. If y’all hook up, some people will talk about you and say it’s weird, but others will accept it for what it is. So why don’t you get into the real reason why you’re hesitating.”

Imani blinked. She’d thought she’d get to at least sulk over her impossible situation for a few more minutes before Tracey called her out. She looked from Tracey to Halle. Halle just sipped her wine and raised her brows. No help there.

“Well damn, call me out why don’t you,” Imani muttered.

“I already went through this with you and I meant what I said before. Life is short. You want him. He wants you. And you’re both interested. So why not go for it instead of pretending as if you don’t feel this way?”

“Because he might turn out to be just like my dad.” She blurted out the thoughts that haunted the back of her brain.

Halle slowly put down her cup. “Yoooo. That’s a lot.”

Imani ran her hand over her face. “I know. It is a lot. It’s the big thing that’s kept me from being able to trust any guy ever. What if he’s like my dad? What if he’s going to lie to me? What if he’s going to do something that might hurt me?”

Halle leaned forward and stared into Imani’s eyes. “Everyone isn’t like your dad.” She spoke softly but firmly, concern etched on her features. At that moment Imani could see every bit of the concerned and caring assistant principal Halle had become.

“I know that. Logically, I understand that, but my dad was supposed to be this perfect guy, and his words led his girlfriend to come to our front door and shoot my mom. Every time I get close to a man, I worry that he’s going to wake up one day and think that getting rid of me is better than just breaking up. And no, deep in my heart I don’t think Cyril will try and murder me. But trusting him—trusting any man—it’s hard for me. I think I can really like him, and I don’t want to get in my head and mess it up later, so I’d rather not go further.”

Compassion filled Halle’s eyes and she reached over to rub Imani’s shoulders. “Oh, sweetie, you’ve got to stop letting what your dad did control your life.”

Usually when someone told her to stop letting her past direct her future she got irritated and pushed aside their words of comfort. With Halle, though, it was different. Her cousin had been there for her during the entire aftermath. Her compassion actually comforted Imani rather than grated on her nerves.

“I know that. I’ve spent countless hours telling myself the same thing. Usually, I can break things off with a guy and not think about it. I feel as if I saved myself from eventual heartache and pain, but with Cyril... I don’t feel that way.”

Tracey shifted closer to Imani and put her hand on her back. “How do you feel?” she asked softly.

“I feel like he’s just as hurt as I am. That he understands how easily the good life you have can be snatched away. When I cried, he just held me. He didn’t tell me how to feel or try to fix it, he just let me be. And he did that because he lives with his own pain. I want to trust myself with him, but there are so many other things that say I shouldn’t.”

Tracey frowned. “Things like what?”

“I live in Florida.”

“And you hate it,” Halle said with a soft laugh. “So move back here. We miss you and we need a good ob-gyn here. Dr. Baker is horrible, and Kaden wouldn’t have gone to the hospital if you hadn’t seen the warning signs.”

“But I’m doctor of the year.” She’d spent her entire career trying to be one of the best doctors out there. She’d finally achieved that with the recognition at the hospital. Moving back home meant starting over.

“And you’ll be doctor of the century here,” Halle said with a grin. “Plus, you can give back to a community that really appreciates you.”

“I don’t know if I want to do private practice. It’s a lot going out on my own.”

“You may not have to,” Tracey said. When Imani gave her a questioning look, she shrugged. “We only have a stand-alone emergency room in Peachtree Cove, but the hospital is looking to put offices next door that specialists and general practitioners can use. It’s called a timeshare or something, but you could definitely practice there. That way it’s not entirely on your own.”

“How did you find out about that?” Imani asked.

“The guild,” Tracey said easily. “I haven’t joined yet but they have damn good information at the meetings.”

Imani considered what Tracey revealed. If the hospital system opened here then she wouldn’t be going out on her own, but still. It wasn’t a done deal or guaranteed to happen. There were other things standing in the way. “Our parents,” she said, though some of the fight had left her as her friends’ encouragement mingled with the interest in her brain.

“Would more than likely support you two together,” Tracey said. “If anything, Mr. Dash would change everything to a double wedding if he could.”

Imani laughed. “I’m not saying I want to marry Cyril.”

Tracey winked at her over the rim of her cup as she took another sip. “But you can say yes to a relationship that you want. If you’ve never felt like trusting in someone until now, then should you give yourself a chance to experience that?”

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