Page 12 of All This Time (Blossom Peak #1)

“Don’t think for a second that I’m going to let that comment slide, Laney.

” His finger dances up my arm, lighting my skin on fire as breathing begins to feel almost impossible.

“You can’t avoid me this time. You can try to pretend we weren’t friends once and that we are strangers now, but you and I both know that’s a fucking lie.

Like it or not, we’ll be working together for the next three weeks, and it’d be great if you didn’t make the wedding duties more difficult than it needs to be. Don’t you agree?”

“What’s going on here?”

I lift my eyes to find Dilynne standing next to the popcorn cart, her arms crossed over her chest, smirking at me with a knowing grin.

Fletcher steps away from me—thank God—and I brush my hair from my face, forcing a smile while desperately trying to cool down. “Just helping set up a few things for the movie night. Have you—have you seen my dad?”

“He was talking to Elliot and Tori in the tasting room, last I saw.” Dilynne rolls her eyes. “Of course they’d be here tonight.”

Fletcher studies Dilynne. “I’m beginning to think you’re just as much of a fan of Tori’s as you are of Elliot’s.”

Dilynne feigns shock, placing a hand to her chest while her mouth drops open. “Why, whatever gave you that idea?”

Fletcher laughs. “What’s the deal, Dilynne? Did she do something to you?”

“Just stupid shit back in school—saying a classroom smelled like a grease monkey whenever I walked into it, calling me a lesbian behind my back because I loved working on cars instead of painting my nails and doing my makeup like her and her friends, and generally always acting like she was better than everyone else. But don’t worry, I got back at her. ”

Fletcher winces. “Uh, what did you do?”

Dilynne leans over the table and lowers her voice. “I slipped a laxative into her smoothie during first period drama class. About twenty minutes later, she was shitting her brains out in the bathroom, American Pie style.”

God, I love her.

“Wow. Remind me never to leave a drink unattended around you. Does Tori know it was you?” Fletcher asks.

Dilynne smiles proudly. “Nope, but I have video of her running into the bathroom with shit on her leg in case I need leverage one day.”

“Noted.” Fletcher looks over at me. “And you knew about this story when you agreed to be Tori’s maid of honor?”

“I did, and I never would have said yes if Dilynne asked me not to. But I agreed for Elliot’s sake, not Tori’s. And if Elliot is so crazy about her, she must have changed a little bit.”

“And this way I have someone on the inside to get intel,” Dilynne adds, popping her shoulder.

Fletcher hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna go greet the bride and groom.” He turns to me before walking off. “You coming?”

“I… I’ll be there in a minute.”

Dilynne and I watch him walk off before she rounds the table and comes to stand by me. “Sooo… Did I interrupt something?”

“Absolutely not.” My eyes scour the courtyard and the crowd that has doubled in size since I last looked.

“You sure? You looked flustered when I walked up.” She nudges my shoulder playfully. “In fact, your cheeks are still red.”

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’m beginning to accept that I severely underestimated how much he still affects me.”

“Your hard nipples agree.”

“Oh my God.” Stomping across the lawn, I head for the main building, ducking inside a hallway where I can take a moment to gather myself, but Dilynne is hot on my heels.

She places her hand on my shoulder as I lean against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. “Okay, the nipple thing was a bit far. I’ll admit that. But what’s going on? You seemed to handle last night okay. Why are you panicking now?”

I lower my chin and meet her eyes. “Because I could avoid him last night. There were other people to talk to, and Ellis is the perfect distraction.”

Dilynne folds in her lips as she fights her laugh. “God, she had me rolling when she screamed she wanted to be a stripper.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, just one more thing to thank Fletcher for.”

“Okay, so you’ll actually have to talk to him now while you guys handle the wedding shenanigans.” She shrugs. “You already knew this, so what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is I have no idea how to act around him. Like, what am I supposed to say to him? We haven’t had a conversation in years. And then he shows up tonight and asks Elliot to move our meeting here so he can watch the movie with Ellis?”

Dilynne tsks. “Damn. Well played, Adams.” She lets out a heavy sigh. “Well, I say you just try to keep things casual, very PG. Only talk about the weather, your business, and the winery. But if he asks you about your dating life, tell him you bang a new guy every week.”

“What? Why?”

“So he knows you’re not sitting around still pining after him, or worse, full of cobwebs down there.” She dips her eyes down to my crotch and then back to my face. “Now that I think about it, when’s the last time you got any?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “God, I’m so glad that you’re concerned about my sex life right now. Truly.”

“I appreciate your sarcasm, and I think that’s why we’re such good friends.

But my point is, if Spencer was the last guy to go down under”—she points to the juncture between my legs—“then we need to get you laid. All the pent-up sexual frustration is probably why Fletcher is having such an effect on you.”

I can’t deny that she may have a point. “Yeah, maybe.”

She snaps her fingers. “Then that settles it. We go out next Friday and you don’t come home until you’ve seen a dick and felt it in your vagina.”

I stare at her, blinking slowly. “You’d think, given how long we’ve been friends, that nothing you say could shock me, yet here we are.”

“It’s a gift.”

“When’s the last time you had sex?”

Staring up at the ceiling, she thinks for a second before answering. “Last weekend.”

“What? With who?”

“Jeremy.”

“Asheville guy? You’re still seeing him?”

Holding a finger up in the air, she replies, “Correction, we’re not seeing each other. We have sex. There’s a difference.”

Jeremy is a guy Dilynne met at a car show last year.

He’s been her unofficial fuck buddy ever since.

Part of me wonders why she doesn’t want more with him, but I know my best friend better than that.

Dilynne has never really been interested in relationships.

She’s had a hard enough time with men given the industry she’s in, and most guys she’s dated can’t handle her outsmarting them when it comes to cars, or the fact that she’s not the type of girl that will change who she is to make them happy.

Those are the qualities that I love most about her, but I know she struggles with that when it comes to relationships.

“Well, you know I have no experience with casual, and I’m kind of busy being a girl boss in my life right now.”

She sighs. “Yes, but this is the time to try something new. You need to enjoy your single status while waiting for Mr. Right.”

“Hey, I’ve been on a few dates recently.”

“Yeah, literally two in the past three months and besides that, nothing. What’s stopping you from going on more?”

“Uh…well…” I bite on my bottom lip. “I’m busy running my business, and you know… It’s Blossom Peak. Not exactly a hotspot for eligible bachelors.”

“Agreed, but that doesn’t mean you need to continue to live in this monotony.

” Dilynne straightens her spine and tightens her ponytail.

“So, I stand by my suggestion. We go out next Friday night, we find you a man to clean out the cobwebs downstairs, and hell, maybe you even invite him to the wedding as your date, just to give yourself a buffer for Fletcher.”

I hate to admit it, but Dilynne might be onto something. “Ugh, fine.”

She fist pumps the air. “Hell yes! Operation De-Cobweb is a go. And if all else fails, I’ll kidnap Fletcher, tape his mouth shut, and let you say everything you’ve been holding in, so you can finally move on.”

I arch a brow. “I swear, with the way your mind works, I’m fairly certain you could get away with murder.”

She pops her hip out to the side. “Oh, I know I could. I didn’t binge all those murder documentaries for nothing.”

***

“Thanks for letting us use your office, George.” Elliot holds the door to my father’s office open, motioning for Tori, me, and Lucifer—I mean, Fletcher—to enter ahead of him.

The familiar room still smells strongly of oak like it did when I was a kid.

The same family photos line the walls, and a few new ones have been added over the years.

My father’s desk sits in the far left corner, a beautiful picture window behind it that showcases the vineyards behind the building, and the conference table is off to the right where my father holds meetings for the staff when necessary.

Standing in the hallway, my father smiles as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his khaki slacks.

“Of course. You kids can talk freely back here, and it’s a hell of a lot quieter than anywhere else in the winery right now.

” Even as he speaks, the dull sound of the movie echoes through the walls.

My father’s eyes meet mine. “Lock it up when you’re done, sweetheart? ”

“Sure, Dad.” He blows me a kiss before shutting the door. When I turn around, Elliot and Tori are sitting next to each other on one side of the conference table, and Fletcher is in a chair directly across from them.

Elliot waves me over. “Come on, Laney. Let’s get this done so we can all go enjoy the rest of our evening.”

“Thanks for being accommodating about this, by the way,” I say as I head for the chair that’s furthest away from Fletcher. “You know I always help my dad with these events.”

Elliot nods. “No problem. After Fletcher called me, Tori and I agreed it just made more sense. Plus, it gives us another excuse to scope out the winery before the wedding.”

“That’s true.” As I begin to take my seat, Fletcher’s voice stops me.

“What are you doing?”