Page 13 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JADE

“What’s your favorite memory of your parents?”

Rett sat cross-legged underneath a table, tuxedo jacket discarded on the floor. He was wearing a waistcoat again, and his white shirt was rolled up to his forearms.

Jade sawed off a bite of prime rib and leaned back thoughtfully while she chewed.

They were concealed by a white linen tablecloth that hung to the floor.

Music droned in from the ballroom down the hall.

They had run off with their dinners and taken refuge in the smaller event room after Patricia elbowed her on her way to the dance floor.

“It’s so hard to choose. We didn’t have a lot of money, so we never traveled very far outside the city.

But once in a while, my mom would take me out of school on a ‘mental health break.’ We’d take the train into the city and go to museums or head to Coney Island.

She was so patient, even when I was a bratty teenager.

I hope she knows how much she meant to me. ”

Was it physically impossible for her to not overshare? Get it together, girl.

Rett leaned over and squeezed her hand. “Trust me, she knows.”

Warmth flooded her. It was hard to tell if it was the wine or Rett’s strong, comforting presence, but she was feeling a thousand percent more grounded than she had this morning.

“What about you? It sounds like your parents were gone a lot.”

He finished his bite before speaking. How civilized. “They were. But I’ll never forget the first time I saw my mom onstage on Broadway. She was amazing. She just effortlessly captivated everyone in the room.”

She smiled. A late-night Google of his mom the night before had revealed a decades-long career. “Well, it’s easy to see where you get your charisma from.” Oops, the wine had brought out the flirting. And not even a very skillful attempt.

Take it easy, dumbass. He’s only your fictional boyfriend.

“And your dad?” he probed.

“Oh, he was just your classic, salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. He was a truck driver, so he was gone a lot. He loved quietly. Sometimes he’d bring me gifts from places he’d been.

A stuffed animal from a truck stop, a weird candy from a small town.

He was so proud of me for getting into NYU. Sorry, I feel like I’m talking a lot.”

He smiled. “I like hearing your stories. Besides, as your fake boyfriend I’m obligated to obtain an extensive personal history to play the part. Speaking of which, we should probably make our dance floor debut soon.”

Jade dropped her napkin onto her lap. Suddenly, the idea of impressing her ex-boyfriend’s family with her personal and professional growth wasn’t as attractive. She would much rather stay here, under the safety of the tablecloth, with the sexy winemaker and his bedroom eyes.

“I don’t know that I need to prove anything to them,” she said. “I don’t care if Nate’s grandpa thinks I’m pathetic, you know? They’re not going to be a part of my life anymore.”

Rett nodded. “I understand. I just don’t want you to have any regrets. One dance? We’ll make a big show of it and then get the hell out of here.”

She sighed. “Okay, one dance.”

He crawled out from under the table. She followed, and he gently tugged her to her feet. Oof. The wine was definitely catching up to her. She stumbled on the hem of her infernal satin dress, and he caught her. For a moment, they stood there in the dark banquet room, staring into each other’s eyes.

There it was again—the hint of a tingle at the base of her spine. Shit, all of her art supplies were in her big purse at the house. With the amount of wine in her system, any artistic attempt would probably look more like cave drawings anyway.

“Come on.” He led her out the door and into the hallway.

She snuck a look at him. Her head was swimming pleasantly. How was a man like him on the market? Curiosity won out.

“Rett?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you still single?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on. You’re stupidly hot. And you own your own business. You dress like an adult. Or maybe like a merchant from the early nineteen hundreds.”

He cocked a smile but didn’t say anything.

“You must get a dozen thirsty bachelorette parties a weekend, and you’re polite even when confronted by drunk assholes. How have you not found your soulmate yet?”

He smiled grimly. “I thought I had. But then she found my brother. Since then, I’ve tried to keep things…less complicated.”

“I hear you on that. It’s easier to keep people at a distance.”

“Is that why you’re still single?” he asked as they walked.

Jade sighed. “I have a really unfortunate history of falling in love super quickly and having my heart obliterated.”

“How fast are we talking here?”

“Maybe a week for my high school boyfriend. He made me a mix CD,” she explained.

Rett raised his eyebrows.

“A few days for my college boyfriend. I found him playing the guitar on the back porch at a house party so it kind of felt ‘written in the stars.’ Spoiler alert: it was not.”

Rett nodded, but had a pinched expression like he was trying not to laugh. “And this idiot?” He gestured towards the ballroom.

“A weekend.” He had called her up after the ice skating incident and drawn her into his web almost immediately.

“You weren’t exaggerating.”

“Nope. So it’s a good thing this is temporary or I’d probably be proposing to you tomorrow.”

He laughed. “Are you ready?” He paused with one hand on a side entrance to the ballroom.

She nodded. “Let’s get it over with.”

As they opened the door, the DJ transitioned to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra.

“Oh man, you are so in luck,” he said, dragging her to the dance floor.

“Why?”

“My mom was obsessed with this song. And like the Hollywood socialite she was, she insisted that I take ballroom dance lessons. We’re about to impress some old people. Just follow my lead.”

Ashley’s parents box-stepped by them. Tracey waved cheerily as if she hadn’t just resuscitated a groomsman at her daughter’s wedding.

Nate and his crew of tuxedo-wearing buffoons were huddled around a table watching something on his phone—probably football.

Patricia had taken a break from reaming everyone out to chug some champagne.

Ashley was nowhere to be found. Hopefully she was accidentally dipping her reception dress in the toilet.

Rett took Jade’s waist and placed her other hand in his.

She wasn’t a complete klutz, but she had certainly never been a ballroom dancer.

With his hand in hers though, she glided across the dance floor, twirling and box-stepping across the polished floor.

His hand was warm on her hip, and she followed his gentle guidance like she was reading a book in a language only the two of them understood.

They locked eyes as he shepherded her around the dance floor.

She was dimly aware of some of the other attendees looking at them, but their interest didn’t matter.

Patricia could lob a Molotov cocktail onto the dance floor and Jade wouldn’t even notice.

All that mattered was this moment, spinning in a wrinkly dress on the arm of a winemaking stud.

The first gentleman she’d met in a long time.

Oh, hell. She was romanticizing her life again. Had she learned nothing? If she didn’t pump the brakes, she was going to catch feelings for this guy and then have her life ruined again when he didn’t need her anymore.

Just as she made a conscious decision to put some distance between them, the song came to a stop.

She breathed a sigh of relief as there was a smattering of applause.

She jumped and looked around, but it seemed like everyone was clapping for them.

Drunk Jade curtsied and turned back to Rett with the intention of yanking him off the dance floor.

They had made their point. And if someone still wanted to accuse her of being pathetic, that was on them.

But the DJ was back with another banger. “At Last” by Etta James melted out of the speakers.

“Oh, I love this song,” they said at the same time.

Okay, universe. Relax.

“One more dance?”

She nodded, and they came back together. Closer this time. His grip was lower than the last song, strong fingers brushing the top of her ass beneath the silk dress. Her toes curled.

They swayed together, dangerously close under the flashing lights. He spun her out and locked eyes as he pulled her back.

Maybe it was just the alcohol, but her brain seemed to have shut off entirely.

She had never danced like this with anyone, let alone a complete stranger.

Grinding in a dimly lit club was one thing, but this was something else.

He took charge, effortlessly steering her around.

Her fingers itched to pop the buttons on that waistcoat.

As the chorus swelled for the last time, he dipped her so low her breath caught in her chest. There was fire in his eyes as he held her. Slowly, so slowly, he lifted her back up.

The chemistry between them was indescribable. Every atom between them vibrated at a frequency she felt deep in her bones. Something was bound to spontaneously catch on fire. Or at the very least, her nipples would cut straight through this flimsy satin dress.

Her arms wound around his neck, and she nudged herself closer. His face was tipped down to hers, just centimeters away.

“And now please join us in the eastern corner of the ballroom where our bride and groom will cut their cake,” the DJ announced.

Stupid cockblocking DJ.

Rett pulled back and smiled. “Ready to go?”

Did he mean ready to leave so they didn’t run into anyone at the house? Or ready to rip her dress off in the parking lot? Either way, she would follow him through a tunnel made of barbed wire and scattered Legos.

“Definitely.” She barely gave the corner a passing glance on their way to the exit.

Nate smashed a fistful of cake directly in Ashley’s face. The crowd chuckled. Jade shook her head and pushed through the doors.

She would probably never see either one of them again. The thought didn’t hurt as much as it had that morning.

It was time for a fresh start.