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“I’m not saying you need to sing “Kumbaya” with your mom around a campfire or even send her a card on her birthday, but this hurt, this pain, this anger you’ve been holding for her... it makes me nervous, especially when your dad told me she’s trying to reach out to you. And what happened with Camryn? You’ve been at my house all week, not a call or a text sent to her.”

Mags eyes welled with tears, and it hurt like hell to see her crying. “What Camryn said to me—”

“Was awful,” I said. “I agree. You need to tell her you won’t accept that nonsense anymore.”

“But?”

“She’s your best friend. She’s been your best friend foryears. She’s scared shitless with a baby on the way, and she’s worried she’ll mess it all up. Sometimes stress makes people say stupid, hurtful things.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows. “Cam told you that?”

“She didn’t have to,” I said. “That’s how I’d feel with a baby on the way. And I think it would show a lot of maturity on your part if you were there for her, even when she wasn’t lovable. Sometimes, the most unlovable people are the ones who need us the most.”

Maggie wiped at a stray tear, but the water from her hands just dampened her face. “It’s beenyearswithout talking to my mom. I don’t even know who she is anymore.”

“Then now might be a good time to give her a chance to show you who she’s become,” I said.

“And what if Cam really does hate me?” Maggie continued. “She’s been thinking all those things about me behind my back.”

I tilted my head “Come on. Tell me you haven’t thought a time or two that she and Coop are batshit crazy for doing what they’re doing.”

Her cheeks warmed.

“Exactly. But you didn’t tell her that because you’re a good friend. Just like she’s a good friend to you by keeping it to herself until now.”

Maggie nodded, looking down at the water. When she looked up, she asked, “What did you talk to my mom about?”

I lifted a corner of my lips. “I asked if she’d like to meet us for lunch while we’re in Dallas—at a place that doesn’t have steak knives or hair trimmers.”

Maggie let out a hoarse laugh. “That was probably a good call.”

“So you’ll go?” I asked her.

The blue water reflected up to her face, catching the circles under her eyes as she nodded. Then I realized this distance between her and her mom was probably weighing on her even more than it had been on me. Maybe we both needed this to move forward.

“Come here,” I said, opening my arms.

She crossed the hot tub, sitting in my lap and letting me hold her close. I brushed back her hair and spoke into her ear. “This means so much to me, that we can grow, together.”

She nodded, sniffed, and looked up at me. “You’ll be there the whole time, right?”

“I’m never leaving your side.”

57

MAGNOLIA

I lookedthrough the windshield of the car to see the building in front of us. It was an unassuming place called Barry’s Coffee, and we’d gotten here fifteen minutes early despite me changing my mind a hundred times about whether or not I wanted to come.

Rhett squeezed my hand and said, “I’m here for you, no matter how this goes.”

The tension in my chest eased, if only slightly. “I want to show you that I’m willing to work on being more forgiving,” I said. “Isn’t that the point of twin flames? We show each other opportunities for growth?”

He smiled, kissed my forehead. “That’s the point ofus, twin flames or not.”

I leaned into his kiss and took a few deep breaths. “Let’s go order and sit down.”

As we walked inside, my legs felt shaky, and part of me worried that she’d no-show while another hoped she would. What if she was the same woman who left me all those years ago? Could my heart take another disappointment?