Page 19 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RETT

Jade paused at her front door, keys in hand. “You don’t have to come in. It’s not…what you’re used to,” she said with a glance over her shoulder.

He frowned at her. What did she think he was, a member of the royal family?

“I went to college. I’ve lived in small apartments before. Besides, this is your own home. I live in my grandma’s house. How embarrassing is that?”

She cracked a small smile and unlocked the door. It opened and instantly blinded them with afternoon sunshine.

He followed her and hefted her tote bag inside. Penny torpedoed past them, nearly knocking him headlong into the entryway.

Jade’s head swung from left to right. She was clearly self-conscious having someone else in her space.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll try to be quick. Do you want some water?”

“I’m fine.”

There wasn’t any reason to be embarrassed about her apartment.

It was a standard New York studio brightened substantially by a bright orange couch and magenta accent wall.

His toes sank into a rug that looked just like a patch of moss on a forest floor.

A pile of colorful throw blankets waited in a wicker basket next to the couch, and the appliances in the kitchen were a shade of mint.

It was cozy. Much homier than his place.

He strode over to the easel that clutched a blank canvas. Art supplies were organized neatly in a three-tier cart next to it. He inspected them and took pictures of the brands. Just in case she agreed to the paint and sip night.

While she climbed a small spiral staircase that must have led to a sleeping loft, he cracked a smile at the cross-stitch mounted next to the window that read “Eat a Dick” in flowing script.

A painting hung above the couch. He had Googled some of her past work but seeing it in person was something else.

Gray clouds and raindrops came to life, practically dripping onto a red umbrella that covered two adults each holding the hand of a child. He almost reached out to see if it was actually wet. A sign that read “Bronx Zoo” hovered above them.

“This is beautiful,” he said without turning to look for her.

Footsteps rang on the staircase.

“Oh. Thank you. It’s a memory.”

“Your parents?”

She sidled up next to him and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Yeah. I painted it the week after they died. My dad was gone a lot, so this was a special day. We practically had the zoo to ourselves because of the rain.”

“I think they’d be really proud of you.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Ah yes, I’m sure all parents hope that their children will be nearly bankrupt and on the brink of homelessness at twenty-six.”

He turned to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Her blue eyes were watery as she stared back at him, and he caught a tear with his thumb as it slid down her cheek.

“You will never be homeless. If the worst happens, you can come back to Hammondsport. We take care of our own.”

His pulse quickened at the thought of Jade settling down in town. Not that he was rooting for her to lose her apartment. Or looking for a real relationship.

She stepped out from under his arms and turned toward her windows. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m usually a lot better at looking on the sunny side of things. This week has just been…a lot.”

“What have I told you about unnecessary apologies?”

“You’re right. I’m going through some shit, so chill, okay?” She crossed her arms and stared defiantly at Rett.

He smiled and almost moved forward to kiss her. But it wasn’t the right moment.

“That’s better. How can I help?”

“Mind taking this to the car?” She nudged a weekender bag toward him. “I have to pack up Penny’s things. She’s very particular.”

He nodded. “Did you pack something for the party?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned to look back at him. “Of course. I went Old Hollywood glam.”

“Perfect.” He picked up her bag and headed for the truck.

An hour later, Rett stood in front of a display of primers.

He glanced at his watch. At this rate, they definitely wouldn’t make it back before closing time at the winery.

Jade had insisted that they visit her usual paint store before heading back, and it was becoming an unexpectedly irritating adventure.

He thrust his phone at her. “Financial literacy lesson number one. Do not buy the same product in the city that you can get from Home Depot for thirty dollars cheaper.”

She pouted. “But I prefer to support small businesses.”

Frustration prickled under his skin. This was basically budgeting 101. “That is a relic from another time when you didn’t have to worry about money. For now, you can only get the absolute musts here. Everything else—primer, equipment, brushes?—”

She gasped. “How dare you accuse brushes of not being in the ‘absolute must’ category.”

He sighed. “Fine. I’m not an artist. But I’ll tell you right now we will not be buying stirring sticks and paint tray liners here. A piece of plastic is a piece of plastic.”

“Just so I’m understanding everything properly, my time is worth nothing and it’s more financially responsible to leave the city and drive five hours out of the way to save two dollars on painter’s tape?”

“I only said that because we’re going that direction anyway.” Rett’s voice rose.

A shopkeeper in a brown smock appeared. “Aww. How long have you guys been married?” she asked.

“We’re not married,” they responded in tandem, both glaring at each other.

“My mistake. Can I take anything up to the counter for you?”

Jade huffed, then hefted everything out of her cart except for paintbrushes, a rainbow of different mural paints, and matte wall varnish.

“I have to put these back. But you can take these up. Thanks.”

The shopkeeper wheeled the remainder of the supplies away. Jade’s expression was cloudy as she forcefully shoved paint tray liners back into their place on the shelf. It was worth it, though. He had probably just saved her upwards of $200.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. Shit. It was Elaine.

“Hello?”

“Hi, boss. Everything is okay, I just needed to let you know one teensy thing.”

His stomach contorted.

“What is it?” he asked flatly. He knew something would go wrong. He shouldn’t have left.

“Since you were gone, Rob led the afternoon tour,” she said hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“And while they were in the barn, one of the customers knocked over a case. We lost all twelve of the bottles.”

He inhaled sharply. One case wasn’t great, but they had had worse mishaps.

“It seems he was overserved before arriving,” she explained.

“Okay, well, thank you for letting me know.”

“There’s one other thing. It was a case of the sparkling.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck. He only had two cases allotted for the party. Now fifty percent of it was gone. And he didn’t even know if it was any good.

A hand landed on his arm, and he almost jerked away. Jade looked at him with concern in her eyes.

“Is everyone okay? Glass cleaned up?” he asked.

“Yes, everything’s fine. For what it’s worth, it smelled great.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “I’ll stop in when I get back to town.”

“All right, boss. Sorry again.”

“It’s fine.” He hung up the phone and wiped a hand over his face. This was what he got for taking his hands off the wheel.

“Is everything okay?”

He moved through the aisles to the register. “It’s fine. We just lost an entire case of sparkling wine.”

Jade pulled her wallet out as the cashier scanned her items. “Sparkling? I don’t remember seeing that on your tasting menu.”

“It’s new. It was my grandmother’s dream. She died before she could start a test batch.”

She squeezed his arm. “That sucks.”

“It was also my plan to reinvigorate the business. Sparkling is a different beast, and not many of the wineries in this area offer it. And now half the test batch is gone.”

She paid and seemed to consider the news in silence. As they hit the sidewalk, she piped up.

“You know, this might actually be a good thing.”

He raised his eyebrows. “How?”

“Scarcity, Mr. Finance. On the occasions that I produced just one painting, the value sometimes tripled. By destroying half your product, you’ve significantly increased the value of the remaining half.”

“That’s assuming it’s any good.”

She glared at him. “Don’t be modest. Every wine I’ve tried is incredible. It brought back my muse tingle.”

“That’s because we use tried-and-true methods. Barring a bad harvest, it guarantees good results. But sparkling is an entirely new territory. There’s no precedent for me to follow. It’s a brand-new technique. It’s been an expensive endeavor, and I’m not sure that it’s going to pay off.”

And if it failed, disaster would follow. He would have to cut hours, raise prices, and do a hundred other things that would impact the livelihoods of people he cared about. There was no one to blame but himself.

They piled the supplies into the truck and buckled their seatbelts.

“I would be more than happy to be your impartial sparkling guinea pig. So you don’t have to risk your friends or employees lying to you.”

“Thank you. I might take you up on it. Want to hit a drive-thru? I have to get back.”

He had to make sure the glass was cleaned up properly. The last thing he needed was a shard stuck in a customer’s foot. Tomorrow would be a long day. And he still needed to budget time to start Project Jade. They had a lot of work to do in two weeks.

“Sure. There’s a great taco place four blocks that way.” She pointed north, and he inched into the road.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Rett asked.

“Prepping the mural space.”

“Café closes at two. After that?”

“I…don’t know.”

“Come to the winery. I’ll give you a private tasting. On the house, so you don’t have to touch your experience budget. Consider it part of your training for the anniversary party.”

She seemed to consider for a moment. “Fine. But I’m bringing backpack cheese.”

He shook his head. “We have backpack cheese. We’re going to do it right. And who knows? Maybe it’ll unlock something in you.”

“You have a deal.”

“Where are you staying tonight, by the way? You know you’re welcome to stay with me.”

Jade froze for a moment. “At Ashley’s parents’ house,” she said quickly. “I think it’s the least that family can do.”

“Okay. I’ll drop you off.”