Hot Southern Mess (Sample)

I put my book down on the tray table and looked out the window. It was no use. I had read the same page at least three times and still had no idea what it said. The plane would be landing in Atlanta soon anyway. Why not go ahead and give into the temptation to obsess?

I’m an idiot. All of Magnolia Flats will be gossipping about this before dinner. Claudette is going to be so pissed. I should have been the one to tell her. I’m the worst friend ever.

Forty-five minutes later the plane had circled the airport twice before getting clearance to land, my connecting flight was late, and I was still beating myself up.

There were only a few things that would make me feel better about my current predicament: shopping, chocolate, calling Fisher to clear up any misunderstandings, and calling Claudette to come clean.

Shopping it is.

Hartsfield-Jackson is not a small airport by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still an airport. That means the shops are filled with overpriced items nobody needs anyway. I wandered through several of them before giving up and buying expensive chocolate and coffee at one of the cafes.

My flight wasn’t any closer to boarding than when I started. The weather had turned ugly fast, and I watched the nearest status screen as my flight, along with so many others, go from “late” to “delayed”.

Sighing, I pulled out my phone. Not quite having the courage to face the situation head on just yet, I called Fiona.

“Hey, friend!” Fi’s chipper voice exclaimed upon answering. “Are you home already?”

“No, the weather in Atlanta has turned to crap and my flight is delayed. I’m passing the time and thought I’d see how bad the aftermath is.”

“The staff did a pretty good job without me last night. Which is good, since that’s what I pay them for,” Fi responded. Fi owned and ran a rather successful bar and grill in our hometown. It was adorable and cozy, and it probably didn’t hurt that it was one of the only places in town open past nine o’clock. Magnolia Flats was that kind of town. Actually, all of Riverside County was like that.

“Have you heard any crazy rumors?” I tentatively asked my friend. That was the best part of about Fi owning the local watering hole - she was privy to every rumor or piece of news that blew through that town as soon as the first blabbermouth breathed the words.

“Not since I saw you last night,” she half laughed. A quick pause told me she was already catching on. “Why? What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar. Spill.”

I closed my eyes tight as if to hide from what I was about to say. “I... might have...sort of…”

“Oh, for the love, spit it out.”

“I kissed Fisher.”

The sharp intake of breath was followed by a squealing giggle. “Seriously? Fisher? The Fisher? As in Caspian Fisher Beauregard?”

“That’s the one. Our best friend’s older brother. On the night of her engagement party,” I was somewhat less enthusiastic.

“Well, yeah, there’s that. Have you told her?”

“No.”

“Coward.” The amusement in Fi’s voice brought me out of my self-berating state and straight into one of ire.

“What am I supposed to say? Hey, congratulations, again, on getting engaged! Thanks for making me a bridesmaid! Oh, by the way, I made out with your brother last night, and there is a solid chance that the whole town will be talking about us instead of your wedding. So even though you have been waiting for this since we were barely old enough to put your mom’s lace table runner on our heads like a veil, you’re officially yesterday’s news.” I huffed a breath. “That would go over well.”

“It’s not like you did it to purposely undermine her.”

“It doesn’t matter, if it gets around town, all anybody will be talking about is how her brother and one of her best friends hooked up the night of her party. That’s not the kind of attention she wants.”

“Well, nobody is talking about it. So either nobody knows and Fisher’s not talking, or nobody cares.”

“We know the latter isn’t true. On a slow news day, you run the risk of someone making something up just to have something to say.”

Fi laughed. “True. So tell me what happened.”

I took a deep breath and forced it out. “Well, since my parents left the party early and I didn’t have a car in town, Fisher offered to give me a ride home. So when we all finally dispersed, he took me back to my grandmother’s house.”

“You mean your house.”

“Yeah.” The house had technically been mine for about six months now, ever since Nana’s will was settled. The house was at the edge of town, and she had no doubt been hoping her prodigal granddaughter would finally move back home and “settle down” like she always thought I should. I couldn’t just sell it, so for now, it was where I stayed whenever I blew through town. “Anyway, he walked me to the door, and while I was unlocking it he put a hand on the door frame and got a massive splinter.

“I invited him in so I could help him with it and then give him a bandage. I found a first aid kid and was helping cover the cut when I looked up at him and he just kissed me.”

“Wait, you said you kissed him.”

“He started it, but...I definitely kissed him back,” I admitted.

“Then what?” she asked with far too much interest.

“I’m not even sure exactly. There was a lot more kissing, and somehow I ended up sitting on the countertop next to my grandmother’s antique teapot.” I shook my head as if it would somehow erase the awkwardness of the memory. “His phone went off and it just...broke the spell, thankfully. He answered it and backed away from me. After that, he waved and let himself out while he was still on the phone. I’m pretty sure it was Gunther saying he needed a place to sleep because his wife kicked him out again.”

“It probably was. I did hear a little something about that today. So he just walked out with not another word?”

“Yep. And then my dad picked me up before the crack of dawn this morning to drive me to all the way to Memphis in time for my flight home. I didn’t really sleep so I’m surviving on caffeine and shame. What was I thinking?”

“That Fisher is super hot and you’re a single woman? Come on, if this had happened on any other night you might be a little reluctant to face Claudette, but you wouldn’t really be ashamed of doing it. Right?”

“I don’t know,” my hand found its way to my face and my fingers massaged my temples. “It would still be awkward and she might still be mad, but she wouldn’t flip her lid like I know she’s going to about it happening right now. Either way, I promised myself a long time ago I wouldn’t get caught up in Hurricane Fisher.”

“You didn’t just promise yourself. You and I both promised Claudette when we were fourteen. Right after Victoria got spurned by him and dropped Claudette as a friend. But that was a million years ago. I really don’t think she’s going to hold it against you.”

“Fi, this is Claudette we’re talking about.”

“Okay, before we go any further, I really need to know one thing,” Fi said sounding serious. “Was he a good kisser?”

“Fi!”

“What? I’ve always wondered.”

“Goodbye, Fi.”

“Spoilsport. Text me when you land in New York.”

I put down the phone and stared at it for a minute. Or an hour. I should tell Claudette. Shouldn’t I? If Fisher wasn’t talking, all I needed to do was keep my mouth shut and nobody would know. And then telling Claudette would be pointless. Right? There was no need to cause strife. Of course, keeping a secret in Magnolia Flats was a little like trying to nail Jello to a tree, pointless and impossible.

And why wasn’t Fisher telling anyone? Was he embarrassed too? Surely not. Fisher has grown up a lot since we were teenagers, sure, but once a player always a player. He’s the king of kiss and tell. So why is mum the word with me? And why does that make me feel weird? I should be grateful.

Ugh. Fisher. Why am I even stressing out over this? He lives in Magnolia Flats, I live in Brooklyn. It’s a long way to Mississippi from New York. This was just a mistake and it didn’t mean anything.

It wasn’t like I’d had a secret crush on him since I was fifteen or anything.

The phone vibrated on the table. Claudette’s name lit up on the screen. With a deep breath and a swipe of the green icon, I braced myself. “Hey, Claud.”

“Olivia Cecily Montgomery!”

I winced. Fi wouldn’t have betrayed me by telling Claudette so quickly. Fisher blabbed after all.

“What?” Playing dumb seemed like the best of all possible options at the moment.

“You left town without saying goodbye to me!”

Oh is that all? My shoulders slumped in relief. “I told you last night before you left the party that I had to leave town early this morning.”

“Last night was such a whirlwind, I can hardly remember most of it.” Background noise told me Claudette was also on the way home. She and Trevor were driving all the way back to Nashville because she had a shift at the hospital tomorrow. “Oh, by the way, my brother was looking for you.”

“Why?” I stiffened and was glad she couldn’t see me.

“Beats me. Fi came over just before we left to say bye one last time. When she told him that you’d already left he was almost irritated. Did y’all get into it last night or something?”

“Something like that. He gave me a ride home after the party.”

“Oh. Maybe you left something in his car. You might want to touch base with him and find out. I gave him your number in case it was something important.”

My eyes rounded, but I tried to keep my voice calm. “Good.” I glanced at the flight status board and started moving toward the gate.

“Listen, I’m probably going to email you tonight or tomorrow so we can start figuring out when we can get together again to do fun stuff like shopping for your bridesmaid dresses, wedding showers, and bachelorette party details.”

“Isn’t Fi supposed to plan those last two? You asked her to be maid of honor last night,” I reminded her, not at all surprised that Claudette was skirting tradition. Her mother certainly wouldn’t allow her to do so regarding the ceremony or reception, so this was her only chance.

“Yes, but she’s running her own business. She has a lot on her plate. It’ll be easier if she has a little help.” Which was Claudette code for I’ve been planning this since I was five. Don’t ruin this for me.

I smiled. Claud would never change. “I’ll be on the lookout for the email. I have to go, but y’all have a safe trip.”

“You too! Thanks for making the trip for me.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” I should have skipped the after party, though.

Hanging up, I saw I actually had a missed call and a new voicemail. My plane was boarding, so I ignored it for a moment while I dug out my ticket from my oversized travel purse. When I was safely seated on the plane, and the other passengers were still getting settled, I turned my attention to the message.

“Livi, it’s Fisher.” There was a pause. Is that it? “I didn’t realize you were leaving quite so early this morning.” Another pause. “Call me when you get this.”

Well, that was vague. Maybe I really did leave something in his car. Or what if...no. It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t have. We don’t even live on the same side of the Mason-Dixon anymore.

“Ma’am?” A flight attendant got my attention. “Please switch your device to airplane mode.”

“Of course,” I smiled at him.

I’d be in New York in a couple of hours. The whole situation could wait at least that long…