“Well, Zoe Ravens now, but yes.” Caden nodded his head and snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Zoe does have a Southwood connection. Her family’s from there, right?”
Maggie nodded. “Yes. And the Ravenses are going to remodel her grandmother’s old home and make it a satellite station for Ravens Cosmetics thanks to fellow beauty queen British Ravens, a Southwood native. And Southwood has a new citizen.”
“Soon to be three,” Caden added. “So what do you want to do for the rest of the day? A movie? Dancing?”
“Caden,” Maggie began with a slow Southern drawl, “this is great that we’ve been able to knock out a few good ideas for the pageant like the food and the artwork we secured from the art galleries and some of Dr. Evans’s collection.”
“Great, let’s celebrate with lunch,” suggested Caden. Something about her tone changed from fun to serious. “Narobia’s Grits and Gravy is right this way. They have a great brunch.”
“What about Ebony?”
“Ebony can’t stay mad at me for eating someplace else,” Caden bragged. “She’s practically family.”
As if she knew, Maggie nodded her head. “She and EJ, eh?”
Even though EJ was older than the rest of them, it didn’t mean he was wiser. EJ had been nursing his crush on Ebony for at least five years now, bringing her the freshest fish or first pick of what he caught. Whenever Caden’s mutual friends called him up, typically asking for tickets to a sporting event, they mentioned how EJ began grooming himself before leaving his boat rather than not caring who smelled him. On the other hand, Caden always felt it was best to look his best. It wasn’t about attracting women so much as presenting himself in a businesslike image. He wanted his clients to know he took care of himself and his money, so that they’d trust him.
“She’ll understand,” Caden finally said. “Besides, she has a knack for turning breakfast into something to eat later.”
Maggie stared out onto the road. “Why isn’t she in a restaurant? She’s an awesome chef. You can’t hog her all the time.”
“I bring her on when I have company.” Caden glanced over in time to see Maggie roll her eyes at him. He reached over and touched her leg. “You need to get your mind out of the gutter, Miss Magnolia.”
“Sure, as soon as you want to explain this epic bachelor party I’ve been hearing about.”
“Speaking of bachelor party.” Caden snapped his fingers together. “We have a few events coming up where we’ll need to make a public appearance as a united front.”
Maggie’s face cut over to him. “We were just out in public, Caden. We left your mother’s party last night. We’ve got to do something about Saturday.”
When she gave him the wide-eyed blank stare, he went on. “Your aunt Brenda is getting married, and we need to make an appearance.”
“Need is kind of strong, don’t you think?”
“What I think,” Caden said taking her left hand and stroking her bare fingers, “is we need to get you a ring.”
Maggie pulled her hand away and made a fist before covering it with her other. “We don’t have to go to such extremes. I’m sure I have something in my jewelry box at home. Speaking of which, I need to get there.”
“Everything you need is here in Savannah.” Caden puffed out his chest. “Including me.”
“I love how confident you are, Caden, really I do.” The strands hanging from Maggie’s messy red bun began to swirl as the car headed down the street. Caden put the top back up for her sake. “Thanks. But as I was saying, I came down here yesterday with the intention to head back to Southwood today.”
“Okay?”
“I need to go back home.”
“There are stores here.”
Beneath the fabric of her white dress her chest rose and fell. “Why would I buy more clothes when I have some in my apartment?”
As Caden drove down Habersham Street, his fists clenched the steering wheel with the revelation of Maggie’s reality. Since when did she, a fashionista, give up a chance to go shopping? She was broke. How had he missed this? A year ago she’d partied like a rock star, shopped straight off the runway at Fashion Week and sprinted off from continent to continent. Now he realized why she’d disappeared from social media and took a job working behind the counter at a cupcake shop.
“Your father lost all his money,” Caden suddenly said. “Didn’t he?”
“What does he have to do with anything?” Maggie’s eyes turned green and she scrutinized him with a snarl of her red-painted lips. “Are you questioning my finances?”
“Well...”