Page 52 of Lessons in Lemonade

“Did you do this?” I ask her.

She smiles and shakes her head. “He did.” She points to Jack.

My eyes whip back to him and I see that he’s a little dirty, but with his hands shoved in the pockets of a nicely worn pair of athletic pants and that smolder he wears so well, he still makes butterflies take flight in my stomach.

“How did you do this?” I again look at the tables.

“You said you wanted to create a Southern ambiance, and outside of azaleas, I couldn’t think of anything more Southern than these.” There’s a hint of vulnerability in his voice, but there shouldn’t be—what he did is amazing, and I’m in awe.

The arrangements have been made, and yes, they still lined the vases with the slices of fruit, but every one of them is overflowing with magnolias. Where I had wanted orange blossom branches, he replaced them with magnolia buds and then surrounded them with the large white blooms. They are beautiful, and there are so many of them.

Tears gloss my eyes.

“They’re perfect,” I tell him, shaking my head in astonishment. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“I did have some help. Meg, this is Eddie.” He points toward his friend. He looks to be about the same age, but he’s smaller in stature than Jack is.

“Hi, Eddie.” I smile at him, and he smiles back.

“Nice to meet you, Meg.”

“And Diane and Taylor helped put them together,” Jack says as he moves toward me.

“I just . . . You guys . . . Thank you. Thank you so much,” I tell them, looking to each person. Everyone is pleased with my reaction, and that just makes this so much more wonderful. I’m beyond humbled that they did this for me.

“Well!” Eddie claps his hands together. “On that note, I’m heading home.” He walks over to Jack, they give each other a one-armed man hug, and Jack thanks him again. “Good luck today, Meg. I can already tell it’s going to be great.”

“Thank you, Eddie. I really do appreciate it.”

He waves to the four of us and heads out the door as Diane picks up her bag.

“If you need anything else, just give me a call.” She smiles at Taylor, at me, and then lingers on Jack. “Well done,” she says to him, and then she’s gone too.

Silence falls over the three of us, and I turn to face Jack, completely forgetting that Taylor is in the room. All I see is him. All I want to see is him.

“I’m so happy,” I tell him, walking to stand directly in front of him. Those chocolate eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles at me and drinks me in. It’s not a coincidence that I’m wearing his favorite pair of heels today. He’s previously commented on them twice, and I like the way he made me feel in them. They put an extra boost of confidence in my steps, and I need that today.

“I’m glad.” His voice has dropped a little, and it’s rough. Just two little words, but I feel them deep in my soul. Gently, he lifts a hand and brushes back one of my curls, tucking it behind my ear.

Without thinking, I jump up and wrap my arms and legs around him. He catches me easily and holds me to him. The warmth, the solidness, the feel of him against me—I instantly melt into him, and it’s the best feeling in the world.

“Taylor, give us five minutes,” he says over my shoulder as he starts walking toward the kitchen.

“No worries! Take all the time you need. Well, maybe not all the time—I need to start the madeleine cookies soon.” She laughs.

“Your knee,” I blurt out.

He chuckles. “Not really thinking about that right now.”

Stepping through the swinging door, Jack turns us and pushes me against the wall. It’s just him and me, and I’m over the moon with appreciation and gratitude.

“How did you do this? Where did you get all of them?” I rest my arms on his shoulders and lace my fingers through his hair.

“If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it until the day I die, but Eddie and I might have driven around all night and cut them out of trees.”

I blink. “You what?”

“You wanted Southern, so we went straight to the source.” One side of his mouth quirks up.