Azurdee’s cheeks flushed and I beamed with pride. I glanced up at Tristan, who was laughing. I walked up to Ryn and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said hello. I reached for Tristan’s hand to shake it. He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug and whispered, “Thank fuck you showed up. Ryn was about to kill Mom!”
I laughed and gave him a push.
Before I knew it, my mother had hooked her arm through Azurdee’s and was walking into the house. “Tonight there’s a dance in town. I’ll introduce you to all our friends. You do two-step, right darling?”
Azurdee nodded her head and said, “Yes ma’am, I do.”
“Oh good! My Michael loves to dance.”
Azurdee looked over her shoulder and winked at me as she said, “Yes ma’am, he does.”
“If you love that girl you will get her away from Mom, fast,” Tristan said as he slapped me on the back and put his arm around Ryn’s waist. Then he made his way into the house behind my mother and Azurdee.
I stood there and watched as Azurdee laughed at everything my mother said. She immediately fit in, and I had no doubt my mother would love her.
The most overwhelming feeling moved through my body as I smiled and shook my head.
I loved her. I loved Azurdee Emerson more than the air I breathed.
I hadn’t had this much fun or laughed this much in a long time. I loved Lark’s parents already. Lark had made Joyce and Peter out to be terrible, but they were kindhearted and loved their two sons more than anything.
I sat at the wood table and tried to listen to Joyce and her best friend Terry talk about teaching me how to make a proper cobbler. Once Joyce found out I loved to cook and was opening my own restaurant, she was in heaven. I had made everyone French toast for dinner after Lark insisted it was the best he’d ever had.
I had been in the kitchen talking to Joyce when Lark walked in dressed in Wranglers and cowboy boots. When I looked down and saw the cowboy hat in his hands, I was almost positive I moaned. He smiled and winked at me as he made his way outside. Joyce leaned over and whispered, “I’m going to guess this is the first time you’ve seen my boy in his natural element.”
I shook my head. I’d seen Lark in jeans and boots before but something about how he looked right now was causing my breathing to pick up and my body to ache for his touch.
“I can’t believe he’s mine,” I whispered. I slammed my hand over my mouth and looked at Joyce. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
She began laughing and said, “Azurdee, I’ve never seen my son look at another woman like he looks at you.”
I dropped my hand and said, “What about Nikki?”
Her smile faded briefly before she smiled sweetly at me and said, “You know about Nikki?”
I nodded and said, “Yes.”
“He loved her, Azurdee. He was devastated by her death, but the way he looks at you…” she smiled bigger and looked into my eyes. “I’ve never seen him so in love with someone in my life.”
I sucked in a breath of air. “You think he’s in love with me?”
She giggled and said, “Please. I know my son and he is head over heels in love with you, sweetheart.”
I had to grab onto the counter. My heart felt like it had just dropped to my stomach and my stomach was doing some insane dance. I felt my face blushing and when Ryn walked into the kitchen, she looked at me and said, “Are you okay?” She walked up to me and whispered, “Did she say something to upset you?”
I shook my head and said, “No, not at all.”
Tristan walked in behind Ryn and said, “Come on y’all, or we are going to be late. I’m ready to get my dance on.”
I glanced over and looked at Lark talking to some guy. He was our age and I was guessing Lark knew him from high school. When Lark threw his head back and laughed, I suppressed the whimper I wanted to let out.
Everyone was so incredibly nice and they all seemed to love Lark. Although everyone here called him Michael except for Tristan, Ryn, and me. Scott had told me Lark began going by his middle name after Nikki died. I had no idea what the hidden meaning was behind why he did that and I would never ask him.
Tristan walked up to me and smiled. As I glanced up at him, I smiled back. He was just as handsome as Lark. Same height and build and almost the same smile. I’d never seen a smile like Lark’s. It melted my heart and I swore I fell more in love with him every time he smiled at me.
“Care to dance with me?” He glanced at Ryn, who was sitting at the other end of the table talking to Peter. Tristan seemed to treat Ryn more like a friend. There were a few times she went to kiss him and he would just smile and turn away. Other times he kissed her with so much passion I had to look away.
I looked back up at Tristan and nodded my head as I held my hand out for him. Jason Aldean’s “Even if I Wanted To Be” began playing, and we both started dancing. We didn’t speak for the first minute or so. I finally pulled away some and said, “Why are you with Ryn?”
His face was shocked, but then he slowly smiled. “My brother said you were a smart one. Does it show that much?”
I smiled slightly and said, “Maybe not to everyone, but it does to me.”
He tilted his head and asked, “What shows?”
I quickly looked at Ryn and then looked back at Tristan. “One thing that stands out is you love to dance and she doesn’t.”
He nodded and said, “True.”
I continued on. “She seems like she is a safe pick for you. After talking to her, I know she is focused on her career big time. She works a lot and likes to have fun. So I’m guessing she isn’t pressuring you to settle down.”
He stared at me, not saying a word. “I’m guessing there might be another girl in there somewhere? Am I right?”
He closed his eyes and smiled and then opened them again. “Her name is Liberty and she is the polar opposite of Ryn.”
I let out a giggle and said, “That scares you?”
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t necessarily think it scares me. She just wants…more. I’m not ready for more. But I think when I am, Liberty is who I should be with. She is smart, has a good head on her shoulders and would be a good fit for me.”
I nodded.
Tristan pulled back and smiled and said, “I have to tell you, Azurdee, I haven’t seen my brother this happy in a very long time. You know about Nikki, right?”