Page 34 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

JADE

Jade brushed a coat of mascara over her eyelashes.

Another full day of staring paralyzed at a blank wall in the café had passed.

Anxiety was setting in. Her sketchbook was full of half-assed ideas, but none of them seemed right.

This wasn’t some ordinary painting that Margie could just take down and put in storage when it fell out of fashion.

This mural could very well stand until the building was one day taken down to the studs. The pressure was cripplingly high.

She thought this little town had given something back to her. And in a way, it had. She could sketch again, even paint a little. But the real magic was still missing.

Rett’s gift bag from the night before caught her eye. She had been slightly miffed after he snapped at her and hadn’t opened it as instructed. She hefted it onto the counter. Why was it so heavy?

Inside was a laptop and a tablet. Anger flared like someone had just dropped a match at a gas station. What the hell was he doing, buying her expensive electronics? She didn’t need his help.

She grabbed her phone with a mind to cancel for tonight. Penny whined from her position curled up at Jade’s feet. Something about her soulful eyes froze her on the spot. Jade paused and took a deep breath.

Penny was right. This was her past trauma coming out.

Rett was not Nate. This wasn’t some flashy gift meant to control her or enhance her public image like the Hermes bag Nate insisted she carry during her photo shoot for Painter’s Brush magazine.

The one she later sold to cover a couple months of rent.

Rett had never given her a reason not to trust him. He had done nothing but help her since the day of her apology.

She opened his contact and typed out a message.

Jade: Thank you for the gift. I’d like to pay you back, but it might be awhile.

A few minutes later, her phone dinged.

Rett: There’s nothing to pay back. It’s an investment from someone who believes in you. Are you wearing the last gift?

She glanced down at the electronics. Unless he wanted her to fashion a dress out of an iPad box as some sort of creative exercise, there wasn’t anything to wear.

She dug through the bag and found another parcel wrapped in tissue paper.

She yanked it out and unfolded it. A lacy bra and panty set in a deep eggplant color slipped into her hands.

A thrill ran through her belly at the thought of him discovering it, peeling away the layers of clothing until only this gift separated them. What would his hands feel like as they raked over her flesh? Would he be rough? Gentle? Domineering?

She put it on and flittered around the kitchen.

Gravel crunched outside, signaling his arrival. A tingle ran down her spine, and she turned and threw her sketchbook into her oversized studded tote. Just in case.

She blew out another long, slow breath. Why was she so nervous? This wasn’t even a real date. It was a facade. She could have explosive diarrhea the entire time and it wouldn’t even matter. The stakes could not have been lower.

But when she opened the door and saw Rett standing there in a suit jacket, with slicked-back hair, and holding yet another bouquet, the nerves multiplied.

“Hi,” she said, almost tripping over her overnight bag as she backed up. He hadn’t explicitly stated that she was staying over, but she believed in being prepared.

Penny immediately descended on him, pressing a slobbery tennis ball into his side until he plucked it from her mouth and bounced it across the floor.

When Penny vacated, Rett handed Jade the bouquet and leaned in for a kiss that left her lips burning.

“I’m running out of vases, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You live in a pottery shed.”

“That doesn’t mean I can just start shoving flowers in things all loosey-goosey.”

He cracked a smile.

“Sorry. Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” He held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down.

Butterflies danced in her stomach. His gaze was long and slow, like he was trying to memorize everything about her. For a fake boyfriend, he lent a lot of intensity to the role.

“You’re looking pretty handsome yourself.” She tugged at a button on his shirt and let her hand trail to belt level.

“Are you wearing my gift?” he asked.

“I might be. Will I need it?”

“Oh. You’ll need it. Did you pack an overnight bag?”

“Is it incredibly presumptuous of me to say yes?”

“On the contrary, it would have been rude if you hadn’t.”

Her insides might as well have been in a paint mixer. “Great. And what am I doing with Penny?”

“We’ll drop her off at home. Uh, my house.” A slight flush crept into his cheeks. Interesting. She had never seen him flustered before. Maybe he was a little nervous too. It had probably just been awhile since his last date.

“Perfect. Come on, sweet girl,” she called to the dog.

Penny rocketed out from behind the couch, three tennis balls in her mouth.

“Are dogs allowed in the 5k tomorrow?” Jade asked as she packed up the dog’s things.

“Can she run that far?”

She scoffed. “She’s practically a triathlon competitor. She’s definitely in better shape than I am.”

“I doubt that,” Rett said.

Jade turned to him, and his eyes snapped up from her ass-region to her face-region. He winked and picked up her overnight bag. “Ready?”

She nodded, and they left, locking the door behind them.

“Oh, pull over.” She craned her neck. A lemonade stand had just come into view.

“Why?” He looked her up and down like he was expecting to find a sniper’s red dot.

She gestured out the window at the two children manning the booth. “‘Cause dreams.”

He obligingly pulled the truck over, and Jade hopped out. She had a special soft spot for child entrepreneurs.

“Hi, guys,” she said.

The two kids straightened. “Customers.” A boy nudged the little girl next to him. “How can we help you?” he asked in what sounded to be his best customer service voice. Adorable.

“What do you have?”

“We have lemonade, iced tea, and apple cider.”

“Ooh. I’ll take two apple ciders, please.”

“Coming right up. The cups.” He nudged the little girl with his elbow.

In seconds, two slightly sticky cups of apple cider were waiting for her on the table.

“How much?”

“Two dollars,” the little boy said. He sounded unsure.

She slid a ten across the counter. “Thanks, guys. Have a good night!”

“Your change,” the little girl called.

“I don’t need it. Thanks.”

Rett was waiting for her with a smile. He opened the door and helped her climb in. By some miracle, she didn’t slosh apple cider all over the truck.

“Here. Best apple cider in Steuben County,” she said when he slid back into the driver’s seat.

“Cheers,” he said, and they clinked paper cups.

She pulled a face. “Wow, that is…warm.”

Rett snorted. “And just slightly alcoholic. Do you think they found it on the side of the road?”

“Definitely. Or maybe the trunk of an abandoned car?” She rolled her window down and dumped the rest out.

Rett did the same, then reached over Penny to put his hand on her thigh.

“What? You look like you have something to say,” she said.

“You know how we were talking about wise financial decisions?” A tight smile was on his face like he was suppressing a laugh. His eyes shone in the fading light.

“Listen, they were kids, okay?”

“And you’re on the verge of homelessness. Maybe let’s try to rein in the spending on backpack cheese and roadside hooch.”

She poked him. “I will give up my apartment before I give up backpack cheese.”

“Well, at least you have your priorities in order.”

She snort laughed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I think that apple cider might have given me some kind of exotic infection.”

“Same. Maybe we should skip the date.”

“Don’t you dare. Explosive diarrhea be damned. You’ve made me wait this long. If you don’t shiver my timbers tonight, I’m going to tell your parents we’re not that serious and I’ve caught you looking at pictures of twenty-one-year-old actresses on Instagram.”

“Did you say shiver your timbers?” Amusement sparkled in his eyes again.

“Yeah. What, you’ve never heard of pirate foreplay? You na?ve vanilla waffle cone.”

“Do you always insult people so much during first dates?”

“I could say the same to you. I think you’ve called me a poor dummy about thirty-seven times since you picked me up.”

“You’re not a poor dummy,” he said defensively.

“Mmhmm,” Jade said noncommittally. “So, Vanilla. Tell me what’s on the agenda for this date?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She stared at him. “That’s all I get? It’s a surprise?”

“Yes.”

“Well, am I dressed appropriately? These suede boots are not built for nighttime hiking.”

“No nighttime hiking.”

“Great. So we’ve eliminated one of several thousand possibilities. All right, I’m prepared to be wowed.”

Jade didn’t mind a good surprise. Nate had often pulled them off. It was one of his few redeeming qualities, though in hindsight they were usually just bait for his Instagram. She sat back in her seat and buried a hand in Penny’s floof. At least they were almost at Rett’s.

“I forgot to tell you,” he said. “The winery added a booth at the festival tomorrow, and my usual employees can’t run it, so I’ll have to take you home after the 5k.”

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re going to deprive me of my first Finger Lakes fall festival?

No way. I’m obviously going to help you with the booth.

No arguments,” she said with a pointed finger.

“It’ll be great for our cover story for the town to see two lovebirds running the booth.

And I’m sure you can give me a crash course on whatever your mobile POS system looks like. ”

“You have a point. I’ll get you a T-shirt.”

“And a bandana for Penny.”

“Obviously.”