Page 76 of The County Fair Queen

"Rivers?" Jordan said.

I sighed, because somewhere along the way, Jordy had mastered the art of clairvoyance. Fuck. It had been less than an hour, and I already felt like a part of me was missing. I could picture him so clearly. Those beautiful brown eyes that had a way of making my knees go wobbly at the worst possible times. His pearly-white teeth that could send me into a hypnotic state each time he smiled. The rasp in his voice when any time he'd say—

"Firecracker?"

His hand against my shoulder. His breath against the back of my neck. I was walking away from the one person who'd seen me at my worst and cared enough to claim me. The man whose initials were permanently etched into my baseboard. My king. Well, my queen now, I supposed. I could hear him so clearly. Like he was right there beside me.

"Phillip? Baby?" And then the world was spinning. Or, rather, I was spinning. Through no action of my own, I was whirling around on my heels so fast, I almost fell on my ass. Any other day, I might have threatened to sue him for bodily and psychological harm. But not that day. Not when he was standingright in front of me, smiling at me with so much hope in his eyes that I almost couldn't bear it.

"What… Rivers? What are you doing here? You were asleep."

Beau tugged my shirt, grinning up at me. "You can thank me later."

"Mr. President…" I faux chided, my voice cracking as I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair.

"He woke me up right after you left," Rivers said. "Gave me some pretty solid advice, too."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "He told me if I didn't give you a proper goodbye, I'd regret it for the rest of my life." His fingertips traced my chin, ascending and descending the length of my jaw like they had all the right in the world to do so.

They did. They absolutely did.

"So, I guess that's what I'm doing here," he said.

"Telling me goodbye?"

"Well," he coughed, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. "That, or…"

"Or what?"

"I just—Phillip…"

"Hey," I said, cupping his face. "Look at me, Riv. It's just you and me right now, okay?"

"There's at least fifty people here, Firecracker." He still wasn't looking at me. It was like he'd taken that first step, but was too scared to follow through with the second. I knew that fear. I'd lived that fear for twenty years. Never again. Not when it came to him.

I shook my head. "It's just you and me. None of them matter right now."

"Well, that was uncalled for," Aunt Lurlene huffed. "I show up at dawn to see him off, and he goes and tells the world he doesn't give a rat's behind about me."

"I blame Mayor Rivera," Danvers called out, taking a sip of his coffee. "I wouldn't put up with that, Mrs. Fletcher. You ought to forbid this. Cut Phillip off financially if he doesn't break up with him right now."

"Well, sugar, why would I do that?"

I stroked Rivers' cheek, soft and slow. His eyes were still focused on the floor, every trace of his courage having left him. This man. This silly, ridiculous little man.

"You should give me a go at him," Danvers said. "I'd have him barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen where he belongs."

"He doesn't have ovaries," Beau said proudly. "I learned that in class."

"You're seven years old," I said, my eyes never straying from Rivers' face. "What school teaches first graders about the reproductive system?"

"I'm nine," Beau grumbled. "I've told you at least a hundred times."

"That's sexist," Aunt Lurlene said to Danvers. "I'm not having a misogynist for a son-in-law. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Danvers Davenport. Does your momma know you talk about potential partners like this? Do I need to call Thelma and give her the business?"

"Hey," I said, pressing my forehead to his. "Just look at me. Please?"

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