Page 66

Sherry
“I’m an idiot,” I said to Lainey as I shoved a spoonful of cake in my mouth.Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate curls.Death by chocolate… except it wasn’t killing me; it was sustaining me.The way Ben had looked at me when he swore he would prove himself was ingrained in my brain, and no chocolate could wash that away.That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to keep trying.I forked more cake into my mouth.
“You sure you don’t want me to start on a voodoo cake?”
I sighed.“As tempting as it is, I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Because you love him.”
I groaned and engorged myself with more cake.“You know my rule of not dating someone I work with?”I glanced at Lainey, and she nodded.“Can’t get more complicated than this, now can we?”
“It can always be more complicated.”
“The man I love is the son of the man who is trying to bring down my family legacy, all because he’s a greedy, money-hungry bastard.The irony.”
“That definitely wasn’t on my bingo card, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t think it was on anyone’s bingo card.This shouldn’t have even been an option.”
“But it is, so now you need to figure out how you feel about that.”
“How I feel?I feel like an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot.”
“Then what am I?I fell for him.Over and over.I had my chance to walk away, but he kept roping me back in, and each time I let him.Not once did I see this betrayal coming.”
“That’s because you fell forBen, not his father or his last name.The man who looks at you like you hang the stars.Who makes you laugh and throw your rules to the wayside.”
“If that’s even who he really is.”I pouted and shoved more cake into my mouth.“For all I know this is part of some big plan to fool me, compromise me, and swoop in and destroy Vine Valley Vineyards.”
“You wouldn’t be this torn if it were fake.Somewhere deep inside, you know the truth.Trust your intuition.”
“My intuition and I aren’t on speaking terms right now.”
“Well, you better make up soon.In the meantime, Domenique is going to be here any minute to try cakes, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t have chocolate crumbs and tears all over the table.”
“Some best friend you are,” I joked.
“I offered the voodoo cake, and you said no.So now you’re getting some tough love.Put your big girl panties on and deal with it.”
I crinkled my nose.“You know how much I hate that saying.”
“Which is exactly why I’m using it against you.”
“You’re mean.”
“And you love me.”
“I have to.I’ve known you almost as long as my siblings.”
She planted her hand on her ample hip and shook her head.“I will let that slide only because you’re dealing with heartbreak, and I don’t want to kick you while you’re down.”She handed me a napkin and motioned to the table.
“You’re making me clean up my crumbs.I think that qualifies.”
“The last time you were this dramatic, Bobby Winkleton broke up with you after the eighth-grade dance because you wouldn’t let him cop a feel on the dance floor.”
“God, why do you remember everything?”