The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,25
could feel her breath on his cheek. “My arm is fine. What hurts is remembering the politics of the lunchroom in elementary school.”
“She’s in kindergarten.” He examined her cut, touched the edge of it. “There are no politics.”
“Don’t fool yourself. Girls can be brutal, and from what Violet told me her new lunch-table friend has gotten a jump on her queen-bee status.”
“I can’t believe she shared more with you than she has with me.”
“It’s hard to talk to a dad about girl drama. Or I assume it would be. I didn’t have that option.”
“Violet has me forever, but most times I feel like a two-bit stand-in for the type of parent she really needs.”
“She needs someone who loves her unconditionally,” Avery said quietly. “You’ll do.”
The words could barely be considered a compliment, but they resonated through Gray like he’d just been awarded a Congressional medal. “Your arm looks good. Put a fresh bandage on it in the morning.”
“Thanks.” She turned to face him more fully, her bare knee brushing his leg and sending a jolt of awareness through his veins that felt like the heat from a shot of straight whiskey.
Damn, he needed to get out more.
“Have you heard about the deal with Niall’s memorial service on Saturday?”
“Yep. The station’s ladder truck is part of the parade every year. I guess Mal is hoping to get some national press coverage—honoring the memory of a town hero and all that. It may bring more tourists into town for the end of the summer season.”
“Who’s Mal?”
“Our mayor,” he clarified. “Malcolm Grimes. He was elected last year and is doing his best to revive things around here. For all Niall’s purported devotion to Magnolia, he didn’t make it easy.”
“What do you mean?”
Gray sighed. He wasn’t one to speak ill of the dead and didn’t relish getting involved in an already complicated situation. “Even after his art stopped selling, Niall held a lot of sway in town. He wanted things done a certain way, mostly in a way that made him look good. Any ideas for events or tourist campaigns that drew notice away from Niall Reed as the center of attention... Well, he managed to get most of them shot down by his cronies on town council.”
“The more I learn about him, the less I like.”
“He had his moments of bigheartedness, and he loved this place in his own way. At the end of the day, he was a narcissist. I don’t think he had it in him to see beyond himself.”
“Carrie, Meredith and I inherited a veritable Poopapalooza.”
“You’ll find a way to make it work.”
“Like you have with Violet?”
“Not the same thing.” He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of Stacy and her skewed priorities. “But yes.”
“Your daughter is lucky to have you.”
“My ex-wife would disagree.”
“Is it appropriate to use the word bi-otch for a grown woman who doesn’t do right by her kid?”
He felt a muscle tick in his jaw. Normally he wouldn’t allow himself to think disparaging thoughts toward his ex. He didn’t want to color Violet’s opinion of her mom. His life was all about what was best for his daughter. Fostering a solid relationship with her mom was part of that. But in the quiet of this moment, with a woman who had no knowledge of his past or any reason to lie to him, he could admit the truth.
“Absolutely,” he said, relief at being able to drop his mask for even a few moments cresting in him like a wave.
Avery lifted her hand to his face, smoothing out the tension he held there with her soft fingers. Need tumbled through him as her gaze dropped to his mouth. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to brush his lips against hers.
He expected the heightened jolt of desire and the yearning for more, but what surprised him was the emotional respite of touching her. The contact soothed him in ways he hadn’t expected. Kissing her was like finding a soft