Forever My Baby

“That’s exactly what I had in mind when I opened it,” Garland said.

Rochelle took Kai by the hand and said to the group, “We’re going over here to look at some dresses.”

Ryker met Garland’s gaze. “I can’t believe I’ve run into you twice in a week after all of these years. It must be fate.”

Garland let out a small laugh.

“It really is good to see you again,” he told her.

“Ryker, it’s nice seeing you, too.”

“I still go out to the cemetery to visit Parker.”

Garland seemed surprised by his words. “Really?”

He nodded. “He was...is still my best friend.”

“I miss him terribly,” she admitted. “Losing both Dad and Parker has taken a toll on Mama. She has good days and bad days.” After a brief pause, she added, “She’s not the same woman you remember, Ryker.”

“He took a part of all of us when he left,” Ryker stated.

Garland nodded.

“It’s good to see that you’re doing so well. You have always been such a creative spirit.”

“Business is great,” she told him. “In fact, I’m thinking of adding a second store in Charleston.”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

Then Garland gave Ryker a sneak peek at a new collection that was not yet on the sales floor. Ryker could feel the heat of his mother’s gaze on them as they moved around the store. Her eyes seemed to follow Garland’s every movement.

Ryker settled on purchasing several items for Kai, which seemed to thrill Garland.

As she assisted an employee with bagging up his purchases, Ryker peered at her intently.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take another look at the Laurent Princess collection in the back?” Garland inquired.

“No, thank you,” he said with a grin. “I think that I need to get my daughter out of here right now before she finds something else she wants.”

Garland laughed. “I understand. I have to keep my own daughter out of the shop. She thinks she should personally own everything here.”

“You have children?” he asked, his eyes straying to her left hand.

“One,” she responded. “I have a daughter.”

Ryker stepped closer to embrace Garland. “I meant what I said,” he told her. “Let’s get together soon.”

“It was very nice meeting you, Miss Warner,” Rochelle interjected. “You have a lovely store.”

“Thank you.”

“Son, we’d better get Kai home. She’s sleepy and you know how she gets when she’s tired.”

He glanced over at Garland and said, “I hope to hear from you soon.”

Ryker gave her one final smile before quickly escorting his daughter out the door. Kai had just spotted another stuffed animal. He needed to get her out of the store before she begged him to buy it.

* * *

“Do you know that man?” her employee asked in a low whisper after Ryker and his family had exited the shop.

“He’s a DuGrandpre, Robyn,” Garland responded with a tiny smile. “Ryker DuGrandpre.”

“I knew he looked familiar. There was a huge feature about their law firm in one of the magazines I read recently.” Robyn broke into a grin before adding, “He’s handsome, don’t you think?”

“And very married,” Garland stated. “Or didn’t you notice the wedding ring on his finger?” However, she noted that he had not mentioned his wife in their conversation at all. But still Ryker was very good-looking with firm muscles. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time at the gym working out and taking great care of his body. And his aftershave was as delicious as his appearance.

“I never moved past his face,” Robyn responded with a shake of her head.

She laughed. “You’re bad.”

“There’s no harm in looking, Garland.”

“Well, I make it a habit to never pay attention to married men.”

“When it comes to a married man, I just look at them every now and then,” Robyn admitted. “I wouldn’t deal with one—that’s for sure.”

“I know that.” Garland knew Robyn well. She had been with her from the inception of the boutique. She was the assistant manager, and Garland loved working with her and having her on the team.

“He may be married, but I couldn’t help but notice that he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off you.” Robyn straightened a dress that hung lopsided on a hanger.

Garland shrugged in nonchalance. “It’s not what you think. He was best friends with my brother. They were college roommates and frat brothers.”

“Oh, I had no idea.”

“Parker and Ryker had been inseparable,” Garland said. “He really took it hard when Parker passed away. I never saw him again after the funeral.”

“So this is the first time you two are reconnecting?”

“I actually ran into him in Charleston on Wednesday,” she said. “That was almost a week ago.”

“So what’s up with his mother?” Robyn inquired. “She could barely focus on shopping because she was eyeballing you so hard.”

Garland shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve ever met her. Parker had known her pretty well from spending a lot of time at their house when we were all in college. She was probably making sure I wasn’t flirting with her married son.”

Garland decided to change the conversation back to work.

“I just ordered the cutest little flower girl dresses,” Garland announced. “Wait until you see them, Robyn. The entire collection is stunning.”