Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Alex was right. I needed to talk to her. But I kind of knew that already.
“How do I start that conversation?” I asked. “Where do I even begin?”
Alex looked at me like I had asked the stupidest question in the entire world. Then, he leaned over, put his hand on my shoulder and looked me square in the eye. His jaw opened like he was going to say something, but then it closed, and very quickly, he swatted me on the back of the head.
“Hey!” I shouted.
“Hey yourself,” he said. “You needed that. You need a kick in the ass, man. Just go tell her you like her, you idiot.”
“Just like that?” I said, rubbing the back of my head where he hit me. It didn’t really hurt, but it surprised me, and I wanted him to know I didn’t appreciate it.
“Just like that,” he said. “Now, go. Don’t waste time.”
“Now?” I asked.
Alex sighed and made like he was going to raise his hand to me again. I picked up my fist and held it aloft, and we stood across from each other in a = standoff for a moment.
“Hit me again and I will put your lights out,” I said.
“I’d like to see you try,” he said. “But for right now, I’ll back down. One shot was good enough.”
“You’ll have a receipt for that too, one day,” I said, heading for the door. “But I’ll forgive you if this works.”
“It’ll work. Don’t forget my Rueben.”
I closed the door behind me as I left and headed to the kitchen. The girls were hovering over a table, whispering over a plate of shrimp nachos. My heart did a funny little jump when I saw her, and I realized Alex was right. I needed to tell her before she decided that what we had wasn’t enough.
24
JODI
I’d been waiting all day to get a chance to talk to Ally just the two of us. It had been a busy Saturday morning, and that meant our lunch break ended up getting pushed much later than it usually did. It left me feeling on edge again, but for a completely different reason than I had been a few weeks before when I knew my brother was wandering the vineyard. And I needed to talk about it with someone.
It had been balled up inside my chest for the last couple of days and holding it in had become exhausting and stressful. I needed to let it out, and Ally was the only one I felt like I could talk to about it. She had become my best friend since coming to work at the vineyard. I appreciated the closeness and finally having someone I felt like I could really trust and depend on again.
But I couldn’t forget who she still was. The fiancé of one of the men who owned the vineyard where I worked. Technically one of my bosses. The near-sister-in-law of the man I was involved with. At least, who I thought I was involved with. And that was where it was getting complicated.
I knew talking about it with her could make it even more complicated if she reacted badly, but I just couldn’t keep it in. Ally and I ordered a few plates of the new appetizers to share and settled at one of the tables to relax for a little while before an evening service packed with reservations.
At first, I was very aware of Derek still walking around and knew I couldn’t say anything while there was the possibility of him wandering up. So, I chatted with her about nothingness to fill the time. We talked about the vineyard and that morning’s work, then about some of her projects at home and the plans she and Noah were making for vacations. Finally, Derek dipped into Alex’s office with him, and I knew I had the chance.
“That sounds great,” I said about the extended mountain trip they were thinking about. “The two of you are so sweet together.”
“And how about you and Derek?” she asked, taking the bait I’d offered up to guide the conversation where I wanted it to go. “How are things between the two of you?”
“Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Her face dropped. “Did something happen? What did he do? Oh, no. I knew he was going to say or do something stupid, and it was going to ruin everything. You are so perfect. For him, for the vineyard, for everything. I knew that dummy was going to manage to throw it all away because of his mouth.”
I shook my head, caught somewhere between the anxiety and slightly sick feeling in my stomach and wanting to laugh at her immediate reaction to the situation.
“No. We are still doing just fine. He hasn’t said or done anything stupid. At least, not yet,” I said.