A Magnolia Friendship - Anne-Marie Meyer Page 0,5

I made sure to situate myself so that my back was to the bar.

Different songs started up and I began to feel old. I hadn’t heard most of the ones that got the club goers to their feet. Instead, I leaned against the table for support as I sipped my drink.

We’d been idiots to think that wearing our stilettos would be fun. We just looked like weird friends who insisted on matching—and that was when we weren’t stumbling over our feet as we tried to walk. Thankfully, I had some experience living in heels. My job required business formal every day. But Shari and Clementine were struggling, and it was almost comical to watch them walk like newborns across the club.

I’d had enough of standing around, not dancing, and not really being able to talk. Exhaustion took over. I leaned into Maggie, who’d taken a break from dancing to come back to the table for a drink of water.

“I’m going to split,” I said as I shouldered my purse. I was ready to go home, take a bath, and crawl into bed.

Since Mom and Dad were back at the family house, I was also ready to get their lecture about the mayor staying out all hours over with so I could finally fall asleep.

Tomorrow was a busy day of campaigning, and with Dad home to focus on my reelection, there was going to be no rest for the wicked.

It was going to be full speed until election day.

Maggie furrowed her brow. “Are you sure? I mean, you can stay. It won’t be the same without you.”

I tossed my bottle in a nearby trash can as I shook my head. “Nah, I’m ready to go.” I turned and headed through the club and out the front doors before she had the chance to say anything else. The thrumming of the bass could be heard outside as the doors slowly closed behind me. Once they were shut and the noise dulled, I finally felt like I could hear, despite the ringing in my ears.

Taking in a deep breath, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. The air was cleaner out here, and the trill of bugs helped sooth my ragged nerves. I was a little tipsy from the alcohol, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I’d spent countless nights at evening parties, drinking with some of the political elites.

There wasn’t much that could shake me, and I knew my limits. I never let myself get too tipsy. My job required poise and elegance no matter the circumstance.

The sound of a car pulling up drew my attention, and relief flooded over me when I saw that it was a cab. Talk about fortuitous timing. I waited outside for the door to open, and a moment later, I was met with two very familiar brown eyes and a mess of curly brown hair.

My jaw dropped as I flung my arms around my baby brother and pulled him into a hug. “Danny!” I exclaimed.

He was tense at first, but then a moment later, he laughed as he squeezed me like he’d always done in the past. “Tori?” he asked as he pulled back to stare at me. I slugged his shoulder, and he dropped his arms to pull away from me. “Geez,” he said, “I see you’re still just as violent as I remember.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but couldn’t dispel the smile that played on my lips. “I didn’t know you were coming home.” After graduation from law school. Daniel took off to Greece without so much as a goodbye or a look back. The last I heard—besides the occasional tag in a social media post—Mom was lamenting that she once had a son, but not anymore.

While I was tied down to this town, Danny got to be free. As much as I loved my baby brother, I couldn’t help but feel as if he lived the life I’d always wanted. He got to fly away from the nest with no responsibilities or commitments to hold him down.

His tanned skin and casual attire was proof of his freedom. He wasn’t beholden to the Holt-family appearance. He could be whomever he wanted to be.

I wasn’t sure who I wanted to be besides Victoria, mayor of Magnolia. Or how to be anything else but that.

Daniel was still rubbing his arm as he studied me. “I didn’t want Mom to make a big deal about it.” He leaned forward. “Can you keep it