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He quickly averted his eyes. “I can make it.”
“No, no, let me,” I said, jumping to my feet and hurrying into the kitchen.
“I’ll find something else to watch,” Marley said as Maddox followed me.
“Y’all have made yourself at home,” he said, dropping his bag on the dining room table. His computer made a clunk on the wood.
He went over to the pantry and scooped out some dog food for Walt, who promptly fell on it like he was starving.
“Well, it’s Gran’s home,” I said. “I’ve always been more at home here than with my mom.”
“What’s your mom doing this weekend?”
I shrugged as I poured the liquor for a sidecar. We were running low on the good brandy. “She and her gentleman caller went away on his yacht. Or something.”
“Interesting. Do you know who she’s dating?”
“I met him briefly earlier in the week.”
I had no opinion of the man my mother was currently sleeping with. He wasn’t my dad, and that was all I knew. She deserved to be happy after all these years alone, but I couldn’t help but feel a knot of betrayal.
“And did you finish her journal?”
I shook my head as I passed him his drink. “I haven’t had time with the long hours. I got to the end of her summer. She stopped writing during the first semester at UGA. And it’s been hard to keep going.”
Maddox took a sip of the drink and coughed. “Shit. I shouldn’t have let the drunk girl make my drink.”
“What? It’s not good?”
“It’s strong as hell.”
I laughed. “Oh. Well, you need to catch up.”
“I’ll pass. You and Mars have a good time.”
“Okay,” I said wistfully as he headed back into the living room with Walt on his heels.
Marley had turned a Pixar movie on. Her head lolled to the side as she watched absentmindedly. Maybe we’d had a little too much to drink.
“Did you work on this one?” Mars asked Maddox.
His eyes skipped to the screen, and he nodded. “Yeah. Before I started my own company.” He shook his head at Marley. “Maybe you should drink some water.”
“Probably a good idea,” she agreed. “I might have to call it an early night. I’m not cut out for this anymore.”
Marley stumbled into the kitchen to get water.
“You could stay,” I repeated.
“Nah, you have fun.”
“Maddox,” I said, reaching out for his hand. “Stay.”
He let me take it, and sparks flew all over again. I was sober enough to know that I should back off, but I was drunk enough to want to kiss him. Our fingers interlaced for the span of a breath before he released me.
“You’re drunk,” he said.
“So?”
He sighed. I could feel the conflict in him. He stepped forward, brushing a lock of my hair off of my face. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I like having you here.”
I listed toward him, wanting nothing more than to let this go further. The alcohol making me even bolder than I already was.
“I like being here with you.”
“If only it were that easy,” he said with a sharp inhale.
“It could be.”
His forehead came to mine. His lips a breath away. I could lift to my tiptoes and claim them for my own.
But then he took a step back. “Good night, Josie.”
And I let him go.
“Come on, Walt.” He stepped into the downstairs master bedroom with Walt jogging in after him, and the door closed with finality. My heart crumpling at the gesture.
Marley cleared her throat behind me. “Josie?”
My lip quavered for a breath, and I turned to my best friend. “Hey,” I said shakily.
“Are you all right?”
I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell her that what had happened didn’t matter. I was drunk and acting stupid. Maddox had made it clear that he didn’t want anything to happen. I was the one making it worse for him. And I needed to stop.
“No,” I whispered.
Marley came and put her arms around me. “What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing.”
“You look too hurt for nothing.”
“He just … he doesn’t want anything from me anymore.”
Marley laughed softly as she stroked my hair. “No, Josie, that isn’t true. He wants it more than anything. You just have a rough history. And you need to figure out how to trust each other again.”
“He said we’re too different.”
“Maybe you are,” she whispered. “But Derek and I are complete opposites, and we made it work. So, if you want to make it work, then you’re going to have to figure it out.”
My resolve hardened. The spark between us was still there. He felt it. I felt it. I couldn’t live with myself without seeing if we could do this one more time. No matter what our history said, I would prove to him that I was second to none.
17
SAVANNAH
PRESENT
Derek flopped down onto the towel next to Marley. “Are you going to sit here all day?”
