I run a hand through my hair. “But I’ll do it, okay? Can we stop talking about it?”
“For now.”
The words are measured, and I have no doubt he means it. I’m just thankful he didn’t bring up April. I’d been young and stupid, proposing to my college girlfriend in the aftermath of my brother-in-law’s death. I saw firsthand the sheer agony Bristol had gone through and impulsively asked my girlfriend to marry me.
She’d been horrified, and looking back, I was too.
But at the time, it felt like one of thosedon’t let another minute pass you bymoments.Unfortunately, all that happened was she broke up with me and I had to finish out the semester avoiding her at all costs.
It had been exhausting, and I’d gotten the hell out of there and run home to Magnolia Point the minute I graduated. The problem was, I hadn’t wanted to go to college in the first place, but voicing that made me sound whiny and ungrateful. So, I kept my head down and, minus the whole botched proposal thing, escaped relatively unscathed from academia.
“Did you hire that new mechanic yet?” I ask, hoping to change the subject and acting like I don’t read all the emails that come to the Lowcountry Automotive account.
Because I do.
I triage what I can so my brother can do theactualmanaging of his business.
That includes hiring another mechanic to help with the overflow that hasn’t let up in the past six months.
“Yeah, he starts after the new year.”
“That’s good. Maybe you’ll get to see more daylight and spend time with your girl.”
“And what about you?” he says, standing to his full height and crossing his arms over his barrel chest. “You work here, plus manage your graphic design business. Hell, man, when was the last timeyousaw daylight or went out?”
I sigh, dreading this line of questioning because it never changes. Thankfully, I’m saved by his teacup pig, Chip, as he wanders into the room. Talon rescued the little black-and-white piglet when some tourists abandoned him a couple of summers back. The little guy had become a mascot of sorts for the garage and part of the family.
Navy was especially fond of him, making them inseparable most days.
But Chip’s distraction only lasts for a minute before my mind wanders back to my college days and the past I can’t escape.
Everyone thinks that the heartbreak I felt was over Aprilspecifically,and as callous as it sounds, it wasn’t. I’d been broken by theideaof her. Fun and sexy—effervescent—the sort of beauty that left everyone in awe just because she walked into the room.
But more than that, she’d been humble and kind.
And I’d been drawn like a moth to a flame and gotten the shit burned out of my wings. Being in Magnolia Point had helped. Plenty of tourists looking for a casual vacation fling meant no one would get attached and we could all be on our way.
But Aspen Greene is the trifecta of things to avoid.
She lives here.
She’s Cora’s best friend and now friends with my sister, therefore entangling herself into my family for all eternity.
And to round out the reasons why I need to stay away from her, she’s that same sort of fire that drew me in all those years ago. But Aspen burns hotter,brighter,and is guaranteed to leave me as nothing but a pile of ash if I get too close.
Like that first time in the bar, I’d barely survived, and every day since has been a lesson in self-control I’d rather not possess.
Because despite knowing how detrimental she is to my health, I still crave her obsessively.
4
[Social Media Post from the Taste of Magnolia Food Truck]
Hot chocolate bombs are going fast! White, Milk, Dark, and Peppermint Still Available!
#supportlocal #tasteofmagnolia #magnoliapoint #holidaytreats
Lowcountry Automotive: Know what goes great with hot chocolate? Oil changes and tire rotations!
