Southern Desire (Southern Heart 2)

“We’ve had some good times here,” Kinley tells her. “This was our hangout back in high school. Aaron and Evan and their friends would all load up and me and mine would follow after them like shadows.”

“And you would just come out here and what? Swim?” Whitney asks.

“Yeah. I mean, we would swim, listen to music, dance, just hang out.” Kinley describes our younger years.

“Dance?”

“Yep,” Evan says. “Roll the windows down and crank the radio up. Between the headlights on high beam and the bonfire, it set the mood.” He winks at his wife.

“You two were together then?” Whitney questions.

“That answer better be no,” I say, knowing it is.

“No, we didn’t get together until I came back home from college. Evan found himself suddenly a single father and he needed a friend. I was there.” She shrugs.

“Uh-hum.” I clear my throat.

“Both of you were there,” Evan adds. “I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

“Lexi?”

I can hear the question as well as the hesitation in her voice.

“Is our daughter,” Evan answers. He doesn’t leave room for further interrogation.

“Unca Awon, I hab it now?” Lexi asks me.

“Yes. Come here.” I motion for her. She hops up from the ground and runs to me. I scoop her up and take her to the back of my truck. Opening the food cooler, I pull out a bag of suckers. “Now, you have to sit still when you eat this.”

“My will.” She grabs for the bag.

“After you eat your dinner.”

“But my not hungwy.”

“Well, you won’t need a sucker either if your belly is full.” She sticks out her little lip, and if it were not for the simple fact that my sister would overrule me, I would give her the sucker . . . or two.

“Come here, Lex. Let’s make you a sandwich, and then you can sit with me and we can have a sucker,” Evan says, reaching for her.

I lift the coolers out of the back of the truck and wheel them to the gazebo. Kinley and Whitney trail behind with the bags of supplies. “I’m glad we decided to do this,” I say, once we reach the gazebo.

“Me too. Now move and let me do my thing.” McKinley uses her hip to move me out of the way.

“Wow, you’re really taking this mom thing to a whole new level,” I tease her.

“Has nothing to do with my beautiful children and everything to do with the fact that I make a better sandwich than you do.”

Whitney laughs at this.

“Hey now, you’re too new to be choosing sides just yet.”

“I beg to differ,” she says, reaching for the bread to help Kinley. “Us girls have to stick together.”

“Yeah, Unca Awon, giwrls better,” Lexi joins in.

“Dude, we need Walker to grow up fast. We’re outnumbered,” I tell Evan.

“Don’t you dare wish that on me. My babies are going to stay little forever,” Kinley scolds me. She is totally using her mom voice.

I raise my hands in surrender. “Sheesh, woman, I was kidding.”

“Da—darn right!” she says. I can see her biting her lip trying hard to hide her grin. She’s not as badass as she likes to pretend.

The sun set an hour ago. I confess, I’m sitting here wishing for time to slow down. I was worried about joining them tonight. They’re all family and I’m the new girl, an employee. McKinley was persuasive, and to be honest, I wanted to get out of the house. She’s great to work with and little Lex is adorable. If I’m being completely honest, I wanted to see if my idea of Aaron is accurate. I keep telling myself that he’s not the great guy that my alcohol-clouded brain thought him to be last weekend. That, and well, Olivia wasn’t lying when she said that he and Evan both are a sight to behold in swim trunks.

I’m lying on a blanket on the grass staring up at the night sky. I’m taking it all in, just enjoying the night, when I feel him beside me. I know it’s Aaron; I would recognize his scent anywhere. It’s unique to him. Not to mention, I can hear Evan and McKinley playing with Lex. He doesn’t say anything as he settles in beside me.

“It’s beautiful,” I finally say, needing to break the silence.

“It is,” he agrees.

Taking a deep breath, I turn to look at him and discover he’s not looking at the night sky. He’s looking over at me. I can feel the blush that covers my cheeks. My only saving grace from further embarrassment is the fact that it’s dark out, with only the moonlight guiding us.

“It’s peaceful,” I say, scrambling to break this sudden . . . tension, or whatever this is between us.

“One of my favorite spots on the farm. Only one that tops this is the one just over the hill from the main house. It’s where I would like to build my own one day.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“The one.”

I’ve heard the word “swoon” more times than I can count. I’ve read it just as many, but until this minute, I’ve never personally experienced it. I’ve dated, been hit on by guys, been in relationships, and not one interaction in any of that made me feel like those two simple words do.

“Are you looking for her?” Why I ask, I don’t know. I guess I’m curious about him. He’s hot as hell, and from what I know of him, he’s a genuinely nice guy. Not sure how he’s not been snatched up yet.

“There’s not really an easy answer to that question. Do I want what they have?” He points over his shoulder at his sister and her family. “Yeah, I really do. Am I in a hurry and actively looking for it? Not really. I have this theory that when I meet her, I’ll know.” He pauses and lies back on the blanket. “I want what my parents have, what they have.” He motions again to McKinley and Evan. “I’m not willing to settle for less.”

“So you’re a serial dater? Just waiting to find her, the one?”

“Not so much. If I’m not feeling it, I don’t see the point in continuing to hang out.”

“Okay, wait.” I sit up and lean my weight on my elbow. “So you date, and if you don’t get the vibe that she’s ‘the one,’ you end it and never go out with her again?” How in the hell does he expect to get to know someone?