Page 12 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER TEN

RETT

Rett stood in the foyer, half-empty bottle of champagne in one hand and Jade’s clutch in the other. She was rolling on the floor, over and over again like a drunk rotisserie chicken.

And frankly, he didn’t blame her. He knew all too well what it was like to have someone close utterly betray him. Although a lot of the sting had subsided, he’d never forget that morning.

His heart ached for Jade. While she probably should have suspected from the beginning that it wasn’t just an emotional affair, that didn’t make the news any less devastating. She deserved better than this.

The door opened, and one of the other bridesmaids—not the rude one from the tasting—walked in. She probably could have crushed his skull with one of her biceps.

“What the hell are you doing? The wedding starts in twenty minutes. Camila will shit an entire duck,” the bridesmaid said.

“I’m processing, Kenya,” Jade said from the floor. “It turns out Nate screwed Ashley for an entire month before breaking up with me. And then they both lied about it for two years.”

Kenya’s mouth fell open. “Oh, hell no. Give me some of that.”

She snatched the champagne from Rett’s hand and tossed it back. Then she threw her clutch at him and dropped to her knees. Seconds later, her hands were above her and she was rolling along right next to Jade.

“Who makes bridesmaids wear thousand-dollar satin dresses? I’m so done with them.” Kenya rolled over to a potted plant and grabbed a fistful of soil. She sprinkled it on herself before continuing to roll.

“I’m not stopping until every inch of this dress is rumpled. And then I’m going to get obscenely drunk and make a scene. Sorry, Rett,” Jade said in his direction.

He smiled. “I’d be happy to help.”

He was friendly with the owners of Barrington Terrace. They would definitely give her a pass if he explained the circumstances.

“And then tomorrow,” Jade continued from the floor, “I’m never going to think of any of these people again. Except for you, Kenya. I like you.”

Kenya stopped and rolled onto her front. Potting soil had created several dirty streaks and splotches on the dress. “Aww. Thanks, Jade. I like you too.”

“And then,” Jade added, “I’m going to make so many incredible paintings. And one day, Patricia is going to want one of them so badly. And I will make sure every single one of her friends gets to have a Jade Gardner original. But never her.”

“What are you doing? Are you insane? Patricia is going to flip out.” Another bridesmaid had apparently entered the foyer. Her eyes bulged.

Jade shot a glance over her shoulder. “Good.”

The newcomer marched over and grabbed Jade’s wrist. “Was this your plan all along? Wait until the wedding and then humiliate Ashley?”

Jade yanked her wrist back. “No, Camila. My original plan was to marry Nate and have his babies. But then he fucked Ashley because I was sad that my parents died.”

Camila’s thin lips pressed together. “What do you mean?”

Jade relayed the story.

Camila listened intently. At the end, she crossed her arms and glanced out the front doors.

“Well, that certainly explains why Ashley was hiding in the closet and refusing to come out. She kept saying ‘what if he does to me what he did to her?’”

“It’s going to be a disaster,” Kenya said as she climbed to her feet. She smoothed a hair that had escaped from her updo. “Is she coming?”

Camila nodded. “I sent Nate in after her. They’re outside now.”

Good. Assholes deserved to marry each other. Jade seemed to feel the same way, because she rose to her feet, adjusted her straps, and took her clutch back.

Her eyes blazed when she turned to him. “I’ll see you out there.”

The sun beat down overhead, and Rett shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The air was choked with the scent of the floral arrangements that covered nearly every surface.

He was already on his third check-in with Elaine, whose responses were getting shorter and snippier.

Everything was fine, or so she said. It was just as well, since he couldn’t leave Jade when she was in such a vulnerable state.

A string quartet off to one side of the ceremony site began an instrumental version of Taylor Swift’s “Lover.” It had been one of Alexa’s favorite songs. And here it was again, back to haunt him.

He narrowed his eyes. The groomsmen came down the aisle and lined up at the altar.

They all looked a little hungover. Or maybe high?

The best man was particularly sweaty and a little pale.

Nate looked smug, like he had gotten away with something.

If anyone deserved to be punched off the side of this hill and into the brush, it was that douche.

Based on the overly showy dress that was just a shade darker than white, the mother of the groom had just walked by. And from the smell of things, the flower girl had just shat her pants. The bridal party was falling apart at the seams. Good.

Everyone turned as the bridesmaids began to filter in.

Kenya led the charge, smiling coyly as she strutted down the aisle.

Her dress was irrevocably wrinkled and soiled, but it almost looked like she was just making a fashion statement.

She had taken her hair down, allowing her natural curls to shift in the wind.

A couple attendees cocked their heads and whispered among themselves.

There was the rude one, a pinched expression on her face. And then there was Jade.

Her eyes moved over the rows as she walked, brows contorted. Even with the wrinkly dress and disheveled hair, she was breathtaking. She caught his eye, and he smiled.

“You’ve got this,” he mouthed at her.

She smiled and passed by him, taking her place by the altar.

The music stopped, and the doors at the end of the aisle swung shut. The song changed to the bridal march, and everyone stood.

There went the bride, buried in yards of fluffy fabric. There must have been thirty thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry on her person if those diamonds were real. She looked happy in spite of everything that had transpired. Apparently her confession had granted her some unearned peace.

Snap. The sound drew Rett’s attention back to the altar, where the head of Jade’s bouquet looked to have fallen off.

He made eye contact with her and mimed taking a deep breath. She hid the stems behind her back.

“Dearly beloved,” the officiant began.

Twenty minutes passed as he expounded on the importance of marriage, love, and kindness.

It was sweltering outside. All the attendees looked miserable.

Rett checked his phone and email while the man droned on.

His mind turned to the party. There was still so much to do—decorations to select, catering to confirm, and time was running out to name the wine.

While he enjoyed hosting parties, he didn’t have a knack for décor.

Hopefully Jade would make good on her promise to help.

He glanced again at the financial projection he had run. His stomach twisted. Would the party and the new wine be enough? Or would he destroy his grandmother’s last dream and completely embarrass his family? He had to pull the winery out of its nosedive. Whatever it took.

His gaze shifted back to Jade. Maybe she would be willing to do some kind of promotion for the winery. Or better yet, a paint and sip night? He had hosted one once before, and it had gone reasonably well. But Jade was a respected artist—or at least she had been. Such an event might be beneath her.

This ceremony had lasted a decade at least. He didn’t even have the benefit of extra time with Jade during it since she was currently sweating to death while watching her ex marry her best friend.

For all the drama of the morning, it was a boring ceremony.

They had moved on to some kind of unity ceremony with two glasses of wine.

“As these wines came from two different regions, so did Ashley and Nate,” the officiant said. “These grapes were nourished by the minerals in the soil and the warmth of the sun, just as you were nurtured by your families and your unique environments. But now, your paths become one. Your?—”

The officiant was interrupted by the best man, who apparently lost consciousness. He fell into the back of Nate, who lurched forward and dropped his glass.

Red wine hovered in midair for an instant before splattering down the ivory fabric of the wedding dress. It dripped onto the ground, sending streaks down the fabric. Ashley looked like she had just stumbled off the set of a horror movie.

She stared open-mouthed at her dress. Gasps escaped the crowd.

A woman from the audience jumped to her feet and appeared to be checking for a pulse in the unconscious groomsman. The woman in the showy dress joined her.

“You idiot!” she screeched at the groomsman, who was starting to come around. “You’ve ruined everything.”

“Mom,” Nate said with a warning in his voice.

“We’re going to take a five-minute recess,” the officiant announced.

Rett jumped up and hustled to the patio, where large water dispensers waited.

He carried a cup back to the altar and dropped to one knee next to the woman who was still checking vitals.

The groomsman was sitting up and appeared no worse for the wear.

The bride, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, thank you,” the woman said when he presented the cup.

“No problem.” He stood and winked at Jade before going back to his seat.

It had happened once or twice at his winery too. Hungover bachelorettes on their fourth stop of the day. There was always emergency water at the tasting tables.

When he sat back down, he glanced at Jade. How was she feeling? The idea of standing up with Chris while he married Alexa was enough to make him itch for the punching bag strung up in his gym. But it would never come to that. Alexa would eventually get tired of him, and then she’d be gone for good.

Eventually, the officiant restarted the ceremony. Ashley emerged in yet another white dress, though this one was a lot less complicated-looking. The rings were exchanged, the vows were repeated, and finally, mercifully, everyone stood for the recession.

Rett checked on Jade again. Her eyes were closed, and her shoulders dropped away from her ears. Even in a wrinkled dress, she was a vision.

Was it the catharsis she had been hoping for?

As people drifted away from the ceremony site, he sidled up next to her.

“You did it.” He laid a hand gently on her arm. “How does it feel?”

Her eyes snapped open. “Good. I’m kind of glad I stayed. I never in my wildest daydreams would have imagined this shitstorm of a ceremony.”

“It’s not often you get to see karma in real time.”

“Right. You want to go get drunk and eat a stupid amount of hors d’oeuvres?”

“I’ll have a glass, but one of us needs to keep their head above water. Especially since I’m driving you back to?—”

She inhaled sharply. “Oh, shit. I didn’t even think about the fact that I was supposed to stay overnight and leave with them in the morning. Ashley won’t be there, but?—”

He shook his head. “We’ll leave early and get your things. You can bring them to my house. We’ll figure out how to get you home later.”

She hesitated, and he almost proposed a different plan. Was he being too forward?

“You know what? Fuck it. That sounds great.”

A night alone with Jade? He couldn’t imagine a better distraction.