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“Yeah?”

She nodded. “I didn’t date for a while after—” She caught herself. “After I left home. I just focused on work and hanging out with friends. Cam was in a sorority in school, so there were always lots of girls in and out of our house.”

I stopped myself from making the joke I wanted to.

But Mags caught me anyway. “Impressive self-control.”

I tipped my hat. “Not all heroes wear capes.”

She laughed. “I got a lot of certifications while I was working, and that kept me pretty busy.”

“What kind?” I asked.

She glanced up, like she was thinking, and it was so damn cute. “I learned how to do afro-textured hair, became a licensed hair braider, got my esthetician license, trained in massage and body work, got a certification on working with children... I think that’s it.”

“Wait, back up. Body work?” I wagged my eyebrows.

She threw a French fry at me.

I caught it, laughing, and ate it. “That’s impressive, Mags. You always were determined.”

She smiled, pride clear in her eyes. “It’s made me a better stylist, even if I don’t use all the certifications all the time.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “How’d you have time to almost get married with all that?”

She shook her head at me. “I dated a few guys. One proposed, and I said yes, but he didn’t really take my career seriously. He wanted me to quit when we got married, or at least when we had kids, so he could keep working full-time. I knew I’d never be able to own a salon when my partner and his family acted like my job was a distraction or a hobby. I ended up breaking things off before we ever set a date.”

I hated that for Mags. But also... “I feel like an asshole,” I admitted.

“Why’s that?”

“Because. I’m happy you’re here. That it didn’t work out with him.”

She smiled, the sun catching her pretty blue eyes. “Surprisingly? I am too.”

It was like all that sun landed on my chest, the way her words made me feel. I held back a smile as I ate the rest of my sandwich. Closing up the box, I said, “So I could take you back into town.”

There was a small smile on her lips. “Or?”

“Or I could get you dessert at my place. And that’s not a euphemism for anything else. Cross my heart.”

She laughed, then rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded. “Dessert sounds nice.”

18

MAGNOLIA

The sun was startingto go down as we cleaned up dinner and got back into Rhett’s pickup. He started the engine, and when I saw it was nearly eight, I realized I hadn’t even thought about texting anyone or wanting to leave for over two hours. I was having fun talking with him, getting to know him again.

There were still some similarities that existed between him and the Rhett I used to know, like the spark of mischief in his eyes or his heart-melting smile and the warmth in his laugh. But there was some new maturity there too, some depth and a clear sense of what he did and didn’t want. It was like having the boy I loved back but also the man I wished he could be.

And I realized I didn’t want this night with him to end, not when I saw the magnolia tree he planted in his dream plot of land, reminding him of me for the last twelve years. In the span of seconds, I hadn’t felt dumb or weak for thinking about him all this time.

He’d been thinking of me too.

Soon, we were driving under the Finnigan Farms sign and down a dirt path to a site with a few homes spaced out and a bigger shop and barn toward the corner of the property.

Rhett pointed out a stucco white house with brown trim. “Cooper lives in that house over there. Art and his family are in that big tan house over there.” He pulled in front of a small white clapboard house with a short cut lawn and a bed of sunflowers out front. “And this is mine.”