Southern Attraction (Southern Heart 3)

“How was your night?” she asks sleepily.

“Good. Slow for a Saturday. How about yours?”

“Oh mine was good. I had dinner with my parents, then came home and cleaned, did some laundry. You know, life of the party,” she laughs.

“I thought you said the city was full of excitement and there’s always something to do?”

“There is, but you have to want to do it.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just….”

“What’s going on, James?” I use her full name, letting her know I’m serious.

“Nothing, really. I’d just rather….” She hesitates, then blows me away when she says, “Wait for you to call. I mean, none of it appeals to me like it did. You know?” she rambles on. “I mean, if you were here with me, there’s so much I could show you, but….”

“I’ll come to you,” I say automatically. She just voiced my earlier thoughts.

“You will?” She seems surprised.

If she only knew what I would do for her, to see her. “Yeah. You tell me what days work best for you and I’ll be there.”

“What about the bar?”

The bar. I didn’t think about it, but I don’t need to. I have staff and Liv. “Olivia can handle it. You give me dates, darlin,’ and I’ll be there.”

“I wish I could hug you,” she says softly.

“Baby, you have no idea.”

“Let me look at the schedule at work and I’ll get back to you.”

“Okay,” I agree. “Sweet dreams, James.”

“Night, Michael.”

Tossing my phone on the couch beside me, I grab the remote and turn on the TV, too amped up to sleep. I get to see her soon.

I make a mental note to ask her again midweek. In the meantime, I’m going to make sure the bar is stocked. When she calls, I’m coming for her—no questions asked.

Bar be damned.

I called Whitney first thing Sunday morning and she assured me that Mike has no idea I’m coming to town this weekend. She said everyone knew to keep their mouths shut.

I just about blurted it out that night on the phone. When he told me to name the date and he would come to me, I almost spilled the beans, but I bit my tongue. He asked me twice this week when he could come and visit; I told him that my boss had me working on a project and I needed a couple of weeks so I could take a long weekend and spend more time with him. He seemed disappointed, but he accepted my lame excuse.

As I cross the city limits sign, my heart races. I’m just ten minutes from Whit’s house. She said we’re going to get the gang together tonight. I know my best friend and she’s more than willing to work at fixing me up. Even Olivia’s texted me this week, telling me how excited Mike is going to be when he sees me. I know she’s right, and that has a blinding smile lighting up my face. I can’t wait to see him.

I pull up outside of Whitney and Aaron’s and they’re sitting on the front porch. It’s a warm day for mid-April. Whit bounds off the porch and rushes to my door. I climb out and we hug like it’s been months since we last saw one another, not weeks.

“How was the drive?” Aaron asks once we make our way up the porch steps.

“Good. Traffic was light.”

“I wish you would let us get you a flight.”

“It’s not a big deal, promise. So what’s the big plan for tonight? Mike’s going to be there, right?”