I stifled the urge to sigh. “You have a calendar. That’s the whole purpose of—”

“Got it. Right.” He yanked me into a hug and pounded me on the back, kissed his mother on the cheek, then trotted around the building to where I presumed Brandi would pick him up.

In the car, Darcy took a moment to put some sunblock on her face and shoulders before opening the Benz’s moonroof. I didn’t bother trying not to stare now. There had always been this sort of easy flirting between Darcy and me, and now that we’d reestablished that dynamic, I didn’t see the need to hide my interest. She caught me looking and smiled.

I’d set the groomsmen up at the Mills House Hotel. It was on Meeting Street in the heart of historic Charleston and had the sort of tropical charm that I wanted to revisit while I was in town. Staying at Darcy’s was infinitely better, of course. Anywhere that put me in close proximity of the long brown legs she flashed while getting comfortable behind the steering wheel was a place I wanted to be.

“So, how is Jared doing with all of this? Any cold feet or second-guessing on his part?”

I laughed. “Not even a little bit. I think he’s finally met his match with Brandi.”

A little smile quirked her lips. “I believe you’re right. She’s a nice enough girl. A little pushy, but she means well.”

Brandi was a born and bred Chicagoan, which was a personality in complete contrast with Jared’s traditional Southern upbringing. It was definitely more brash and confrontational, but not unfamiliar to me.

“Did you think that about me when we first met?” I asked. “That I was a little pushy, but I meant well?”

Reluctant to take her eyes off the stop-and-go traffic, she glanced at me then back at the road again. “Tommy, when I met you, I thought, ‘Well, here is a charming young man who knows how to flatter and charm a woman and look at her in a way that makes her feel like there’s no one else in the room.’”

“Hm,” I hummed with a chuckle. “That obvious, huh? I thought I was being subtle and respectful.”

“You were,” she said, then corrected herself. “You are always respectful. Subtle, never. But always respectful. It’s flattering to get that kind of attention from a young man. Especially when you’ve spent a majority of your life married to a man who seemed determined to trade you in for a new and improved model.” Her mouth flattened into a bitter line.

“I’m sorry.”

She scoffed. “I’m not. He cheated on me for years. I wish I didn’t have to deal with the remnants of his affair, but—” She drew in a sharp breath and cringed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all of that.”