Page 21 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

JADE

A gasp roused Jade from sleep.

“Jade? What happened to you?” A warm presence settled next to her.

Jade and Penny had briefly fallen asleep beneath the awning of the café. The inky darkness of night was receding, replaced by a deep purple with pink edges.

Margie stared back at her, concern in her eyes.

Jade sat up and smoothed her hair back. “Sorry, I just wanted to make sure I was here on time.”

It was mostly true.

“Come inside,” Margie ordered.

“Oh, I have Penny with me. Rett is supposed to?—”

A full-body shiver shook her. Her clothes were still soaked, and the wind cut straight through them.

“Never mind that, she can stay in the back until he gets here.”

Keys jingled as Margie unlocked the bright yellow door, and Jade climbed to her feet. Okay, her wrist was definitely swollen. But everything was probably fine. She could paint through the pain.

Margie ushered her inside. She whipped a blanket off a couch by the window and wrapped it around Jade.

“Oh, I don’t want to make it?—”

“Sweetheart,” Margie interrupted. “Where were you last night?”

Jade hesitated. Something in those deep brown eyes compelled her to tell the truth. “I was…camping.”

Margie raised her eyebrows. “Have you ever camped before?”

“Well, no.”

Margie shook her head. “Why didn’t you stay with Rett? Or at a hotel?”

Jade’s shoulders slumped. Maybe it was best to be honest. She explained the entire situation minus her agreement with Rett.

Margie crossed her arms and looked sternly at Jade. “That settles it. You’re staying in my guest house.”

“Oh, I couldn’t.”

“Nonsense. I will not have one of my contracted employees falling out of trees and walking six miles in the rain. Consider housing part of our contract.” She swept her gaze over Jade from top to bottom. “And food while you’re here working. You look like you need a hot meal.”

Jade bit her lip. She hadn’t expected such an outpouring of kindness. If she had fallen asleep under an awning in New York, the business owner probably would have chased her off with a broom. But Margie had opened her home to her without hesitation. She was either insane or incredibly kind.

“I have a bike you can borrow too. Sit,” Margie said. She pointed to a table.

Jade obeyed without comment. Some of the paintings had come off the wall, and Margie had cleared a space. Her stomach twisted. Would she be able to create something to fill that space? What would Margie even want?

The heavenly scent of coffee spiced the air. A minute later, a steaming mug landed in front of Jade.

“Let’s chat about the mural before everyone gets here.” Margie took the seat across from her.

“Of course.” Jade sat up straight and grasped the mug between her hands. Pain shot through her wrist, and it was definitely swollen now that she could see it clearly. Shit. Maybe she could paint with her non-dominant hand?

“I would love an encapsulation of the town,” Margie said. She put her hands in the air like she could see it already.

Jade froze. What the hell did that mean?

“Hammondsport is such a unique place. The people are so kind, the history so rich.”

She gestured widely, and Jade took in the model airplane that dangled above the register and the Keuka Lake silhouette on the bathroom door.

“It’s impossible not to love. And I would really love to see it on my wall every day.”

“So you just want me to paint the town?” Jade clarified.

Margie shook her head. “No.”

She swiveled and pointed at Breakfast at Epiphany’s . “When I look at that painting, I can feel New York. I want you to paint a feeling. I want my customers to feel the town when they look at it.”

“Okay,” Jade said slowly. Just how the hell was she supposed to manage that? And with an injured wrist, no less.

Just another impossible task for her To Do list.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Jade jumped. She had been staring at the wall, willing it to show her exactly what Margie wanted. What if she couldn’t give her what she asked? How was she supposed to evoke a feeling?

Rett stared at her, a bouquet of sunflowers clutched in one hand. Her heart jumped for a second, and her mood immediately shifted. Oh, right. They were supposed to be fake dating.

The café had opened, and a table of elderly women gawked at them. What was this, some kind of busybody quilting circle?

“Morning.” Jade rose to her feet. She sidled over to him and kissed him on the cheek. He smelled like sandalwood and soap. The energy emanating from the busybody table was palpable.

Rett’s energy, meanwhile, was rigid. He tossed the bouquet on Jade’s table and pulled her closer. His thumb scraped over her cheek.

“Did this happen at the house?”

“Not exactly.” She stepped away to escape his unnerving gaze, but he grabbed her injured wrist. She inhaled sharply and snatched it back.

“What happened?” he asked again, voice hard.

“I fell out of a tree. Wait?—”

Rett picked her up and hefted her over his shoulder. The bell on the door clanged as he carried her out onto the sidewalk.

“Put me down,” she yelled at his back. She had an unimpeded view of his ass from here, and it wasn’t helping her focus.

“No.” He pulled his phone out and held it to his ear, still walking.

“Hey,” he said to someone. “I need you to meet me at your office. Yes. Thanks.”

He slid it back in his pocket. “What were you thinking, climbing a tree in the rain? If this was part of your experience crusade?—”

“You thought throwing myself out of a tree was an experience I decided I needed to have?” she said to his back.

“I don’t know how your mind works,” he said.

“Obviously not.”

This was ridiculous. She didn’t have any time to waste. She needed to figure out how to encapsulate an entire town or her rebirth as an artist would go up in flames.

“Morning, Rett. Everything okay?” an unseen person asked.

“We’re doing great, Ted. Save me a scone, okay?” Rett’s voice rumbled in his chest like a bass drum.

“Put me down,” she said firmly.

“No. You need medical attention.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I saw you flinch when I touched your wrist. Is that your painting hand?”

“Maybe,” she admitted.

He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, sighed, then continued on.

“My legs aren’t broken,” she added.

He ignored her. “Why were you climbing a tree?”

“I was hiding a bag.”

He stopped again. “Is this a social media thing?”

“No,” she said indignantly. “I just didn’t want it to get stolen while I was working.”

“Why would somebody break into a random vacation home to steal your bag?”

Jade didn’t respond.

“Jade.”

“Yes?” Her head began to throb from being upside down.

He lowered her to the ground and gently held her arms. His green eyes burned into her. “Where were you last night?”

“I was at a campsite, okay? Are you happy, Detective Kidnapper?”

“Why—”

She explained everything. Honesty was technically in their fake relationship bylaws, so she owed him the truth. When she was done, he closed his eyes and massaged his temples.

“That’s it. You’re staying with me,” he announced.

“No, I’m not.”

How many times did she need to tell him that she didn’t know him well enough? Every true crime story started with a charismatic stranger.

“You can’t stay at the campsite. It was freezing last night. You’re?—”

“What’s going on?” a new voice interrupted.

Jade whirled around and came face-to-face with a stunning woman in a white coat. A colorful dress in a funky pattern lurked beneath. Her red lipstick matched the frames over her eyes.

“Thanks for coming,” Rett said as the newcomer unlocked the door.

Jade took a step back and read the sign on the building: Braeburn Family Medicine.

“Cindy, this is Jade.”

Cindy stuck her hand out, and Jade shook it, then flinched. Pain flashed in her wrist.

“Oh. I see.” Cindy peered at Jade’s wrist. “What happened?”

Rett glanced at his watch. “I have to go. Take care of her, please. Send me the bill.”

Jade spluttered, but Rett silenced her with a kiss. His mouth was warm and hard against hers. She froze and nearly shoved him away, but tingles exploded up and down her spine. Damn it, muse tingle. Always the worst timing.

And with that, he was gone.

Cindy’s eyes were wide, and there was a small smile on her face. “Please tell me this was a sex injury.”

Jade’s mouth froze in an O of surprise.

“I’m just kidding,” Cindy said. “Come with me.”

She led her to an exam room and did a quick set of vitals.

“So, how did this happen?” she asked as she gingerly turned Jade’s wrist over.

Jade explained the bare minimum.

Cindy looked a little suspicious but refrained from commenting. “Okay. I don’t think anything’s broken, but let’s get a set of X-rays to be sure.”

Relief struck like a blanket fresh out of the dryer. “You don’t have to do that.”

“As your doctor today, I kind of have to.” She ushered Jade down a hallway to a room marked Radiology.

“So how do you and Rett know each other?” Cindy asked. “I almost fell out of my chair when he told me he was escorting someone to a wedding. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s been over a year since he’s taken a day off work.”

“We met at the winery. I was on a bachelorette trip and one of the attendees insulted his wine. Which was ridiculous.”

“Right? It’s the best,” Cindy said. “Turn your hand this way.”

She manipulated Jade’s hand on the table, then lowered a machine over it. She left the room while the X-ray was taken and came back a minute later.

“Not broken. But I bet it hurts.”

Jade nodded.

“Ibuprofen or Tylenol as needed and ice for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time,” Cindy instructed. “With rest, it should look better in the next two days. If it doesn’t, stop back in.”

“Thank you. I have my insurance card in here somewhere—oh, wait. My purse is back at the café. Rett didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare.”

Cindy waved a hand. “You don’t need it. This one’s on the house. I rarely get to use the X-ray machine, so it was a good refresher for me.”

Jade squirmed. Was this town’s entire economy just run on kindness? It felt a tad irresponsible, even to her.

“But anyway, I’m not surprised about Rett. When he has something in mind, it has to be taken care of immediately.”

“How do you know him?”

“I’ve known him since middle school,” Cindy said with a smile. “We used to date, but we very quickly realized we’re better off as friends.”

“Oh.” Of course he would have been interested in Cindy. She was smart, kind, and gorgeous. The two of them probably would have made children so beautiful it would have hurt to look at them.

Cindy got up, and Jade followed her back to the lobby.

“So, are you staying in town?”

“For a little while. I’m doing a mural for the café.”

Cindy’s gaze drifted to her wrist. “I hope you didn’t promise delivery in the next two days.”

“No. Just before Rett’s anniversary party.”

“Good. You’ll be fine. Come see me again if you’re not.”

“Thank you so much again. Are you sure I can’t pay you?”

“I’m sure.” Cindy’s eyes lit up. “Hey, the boys usually play poker the second Wednesday of the month. It’s like the one social thing Rett still commits to.

Do you want to come over for a girls’ night in?

We usually do dinner and cocktails and engage in some career or book chat. Maybe some idle town gossip.”

Jade paused. If she went, she would be perpetuating the fake relationship narrative and blatantly lying to Cindy, who seemed by all accounts to be a lovely, warm, genuine person.

It hadn’t seemed so bad to lie to Rett’s family for just one day.

But these were his close friends. She resolved to talk to him about it before the evening—surely if they were best friends, they would be able to let them in on the secret.

“I’d love to come. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

“Here, put your number in. I’ll text you the address.” Cindy handed over her phone.

Jade entered her number and handed it back. Even though this whole situation was temporary, the prospect of new female friends warmed her soul.

Cindy tucked her phone away. “Awesome. I’m so excited. With you, there’s just four of us. Do you have any dietary restrictions? It’s my turn to cook.”

Jade shook her head. “How do you feel about dogs? I have a golden retriever who’s kind of my ride-or-die slash emotional support fur baby.”

“Um, I love dogs. Bring her. We have a big, dopey pit bull named Branson and a fenced-in backyard.” She glanced at her watch. “Crap, I have to get some charting done before my eight o’clock. We’ll see you on Wednesday.”

“Can’t wait.” Jade waved as she left. Had she just made a new friend?