Page 5 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER FOUR

JADE

The front door snapped shut behind Jade as she and Penny stepped onto the dew-covered grass.

She tucked her water bottle in the side pocket of her backpack and surveyed the front lawn.

Once again, a hungover Ashley had cancelled the morning festivities.

Camila was probably fuming. With the other girls still in bed, Jade and Penny were on their own.

There was something magical about this place.

Not the house—though it was decorated nicely enough, it didn’t feel like home.

Home, in her mind, meant outrageous blooms of color, soft blankets, fifty scattered dog toys, and paint supplies in every nook and cranny. Not that she was currently using them.

The lake and the surrounding hills, however, held a promise she couldn’t quite put into words. Maybe it was just the change of scenery or the fleeting moment of inspiration from the day before, but something felt different here. And she was going to run straight to the heart of it.

She and Penny set off in the direction of the charming small town they had passed through on their way to the wineries yesterday. Hills rose and fell around them. The lake was partially visible behind a mask of leaves that had just begun to turn yellow.

A memory crept in. She and Nate had spent their last spring break of grad school in the Catskills.

He—or more accurately, his family credit card—had booked a stay in an absurd resort in the Hudson Valley.

They had hiked for hours before tumbling into bed, headboard crashing against the old-fashioned wallpaper.

And now it was nothing but a memory.

She had loved him so damn much even though he was the opposite of who she had imagined her soulmate to be. In line to manage his dad’s hedge fund, he wore suits to class and dragged her to galas. His family unironically had lunch at the Ritz at least once a month.

A middle-class girl from Queens, Jade hadn’t really fit into his world of designer labels and charity events. But he had drawn her in with his easy smile and quick wit, offering his elbow and shepherding her through every family and society event for a year and a half.

A car zoomed past on her left, and she flinched. Pining over Nate had accomplished exactly nothing. He was marrying her best friend this weekend, and she needed to accept it and move on.

Her pace quickened as The Killers blasted in her ears. Penny galloped along at her side. Maybe if Jade ran fast enough, she could outrun the memories.

A side stitch forced her to slow down as they wound down the hill and into the town square.

The morning sun glimmered on the lake to her right.

To her left, pathways cut through green grass to a charming gazebo.

People bustled up and down the sidewalks, waving at each other.

The smell of fresh coffee and sweet cinnamon drifted over from a turquoise café with a sunflower on the sign.

The yellow door beckoned, but the single dollar in her wallet begged her to reconsider.

It was friggen adorable.

She passed a row of historic-looking buildings and came to an abrupt stop.

Was that a vending machine full of artisanal cheese?

She all but pressed herself to the glass.

The machine had a credit card reader. Surely her budget could survive one purchase.

Maybe two flavors. What if it was the secret to throwing off her painter’s block for good?

It would be irresponsible not to try it.

Five minutes later, she and Penny trudged up the opposite shore with a backpack full of smoked cheddar and honey goat cheese. The two-lane road felt familiar. It must have been the one they took yesterday while winery hopping.

She tugged Penny in close and moved back into a run. It was harder here with the hills, but the exertion kept her mind from wandering.

Her lungs burned as they crested a hill. Rows of grapevines sloped up a gentle incline on her left. And there at the top was Rhodes Vineyard.

Her heart fell into her butt, and she pulled to a halt. Penny looked at her.

The wine that had unlocked her first glimmer of inspiration was behind those doors. But Blake’s attitude had made a horrible impression on Hottie McWinePants. It wasn’t really Jade’s responsibility to apologize, but he deserved one regardless. Would he even be there this early?

Penny seemed to agree, because she raced up the stony driveway.

Jade’s heart rate kicked up a notch as they approached the door.

This winery was dog friendly—there had been a French bulldog named Mina at the table next to them yesterday.

But Penny had a habit of greeting people by leaping on them. That must be why Jade was nervous.

She glanced down at the now sweat-soaked T-shirt and bike shorts she had thrown on without a thought. It wasn’t what she would usually wear to make a good impression. But she would never see these people again. Why did she care?

She cracked open the entry door, and a wave of air conditioning hit her. Thank god. Maybe it would dry out some of the sweat. Penny pulled her farther inside.

Elaine, their server from the day before, stood at one of the tasting tables, bottle of cleaner in hand.

“Good morning!” she said cheerfully. “Welcome to Rhodes Vineyard.” Her smile faltered when she saw Jade.

Damn it. So much for an incognito visit.

“Hi, Elaine,” Jade said. “I just came back to pick up some bottles. I really enjoyed our tasting yesterday. I’m sorry for the others in my group. I think they were just hungry.”

Elaine brightened. “I’m so glad to hear you say that! Our vintner works really hard to honor his grandmother’s legacy.”

“Well, he has a real gift.”

Someone cleared their throat behind Jade, and she jumped. Penny yanked on the leash and beelined for whoever was behind her.

Jade whirled around. Shit . There he was. Rett was slightly less grumpy-looking today, but his expression was equally serious. His navy suit was paired with a matching bowtie. How long did it take him to get ready in the morning? Did he have a professional collar-starcher on staff?

He bent down to pet Penny. She sat on his overly shined dress shoe and panted happily as he scratched behind her ears.

“Is there something I can help you find?”

His voice hit her like lightning. It was deep, grumbly, but refined. Something stirred in her soul.

Did he recognize her? Maybe he was hopelessly nearsighted and couldn’t place her due to the fact that she looked like she had climbed out of a swimming pool.

“Yes, actually. I just came in for a couple bottles. The dry Riesling and the Blaufr?nkisch.”

“Let me get those for you.”

“Thank you.” She waited awkwardly while he pulled two bottles off the shelves and slid them into paper bags.

She slung her backpack off and opened the neck to find her wallet. Before she could stop it, three blocks of cheese tumbled onto the counter.

Amusement sparkled in his eyes. “You know you should refrigerate those.”

Jade’s cheeks grew hot. Did he think she was an idiot? “I was planning to. I just ran past that cheese vending machine in the village and was compelled by an outside force to stop.”

Rett nodded. Was that the hint of a smile on his lips? “We’ve all been there.”

He rang up the total, and her stomach twisted as she handed over her card. This trip was bleeding money out of her. How far would two bottles get her? Maybe the wine plus the closure of the wedding would be enough to finally lift this black cloud from her life.

“You won’t want to put Splenda in these, by the way,” he said as he tucked the receipt in the bag and pushed them toward her.

Damn it. Her cheeks grew hot again. He definitely remembered her.

“I am so sorry about yesterday.” Oh no, word vomit was coming. “I love your wine. Seriously. This is going to make me sound like a crazy person, but it awakened something in me.”

His eyebrows rose, but she couldn’t stop.

“I know the girls I was with yesterday were assholes. Blake—the primary offender—was really going through something. Most of us are. It’s sort of a messed-up situation, actually.”

Penny whined at her side as if Jade was embarrassing her, but the runaway train kept going.

“You see, Ashley—the bride—is marrying my ex-boyfriend. And I’m the idiot who introduced them.

I was so excited when they hit it off. They’re both huge Knicks fans.

We went to a game during March Madness in our last year of grad school.

I could almost see him falling out of love with me after that, you know? ”

Rett was frozen in place.

“But we still made plans. I was killing it in the art world at the time, and he was lined up to work for his dad’s hedge fund right after graduation.

We were going to move in together, a beautiful two-bedroom in Midtown.

I saw my whole future written out in front of me.

I’d be Mrs. Jade Astor with my own studio space and galleries fighting for my art.

And then on move-in day, I walked in and there they were. ”

Her voice faltered. Rett reached across the till like he was going to comfort her but paused halfway and tapped the counter instead. Maybe he wasn’t a stoic stick-in-the-mud after all. Or maybe he had been reaching over to strangle her and put her out of her misery.

“He didn’t cheat on me, if that’s what you were thinking.

Not physically, anyway. I walked in and they were standing in the kitchen, arguing.

He hadn’t even brought any boxes with him.

He knew that he wasn’t going to go through with it, and he still let me sign the lease.

He let me go on believing that he still loved me, even though I knew the second I walked in that room that he was already gone. ”

Penny jumped up her leg, and Jade patted her on the head.

“So now I’m a bridesmaid who has to stand at the altar and watch my childhood best friend marry the man I thought I was going to marry.

And I’m going to have to go make small talk with his family without even a plus one at my side.

Or a career to discuss. I have never been so pathetic in my entire life. ”

Rett frowned, but she plowed on.

“What I’m trying to say is I’m an artist who hasn’t created any art for two years.

Not even a doodle. I used to get this feeling—like a tingling sensation—when inspiration hit.

My mom would call it the ‘muse tickle.’ But I haven’t felt anything since that morning, standing in an empty kitchen and watching my boyfriend choose someone else. Until yesterday.”

She put a hand on the top of a bottle at the register.

“Something about your wine cracked me open again. The profile, the bouquet, the incredible and barely detectable blend of fruit and earthiness. It was a small tingle, and it didn’t amount to much, but it was there.

I can’t thank you enough for your art. I don’t know if it’s going to be the answer to my problems, but for the first time in two years, I have a tiny bit of hope. ”

Someone sniffed loudly behind her. Elaine leaned on a broom, tears in her eyes.

“That man did not deserve you.”

Jade smiled.

“Uh—thank you,” Rett said.

Heat crept into her cheeks again. She had just spouted a veritable fountain of crazy all over this poor man.

“I’m really sorry for word vomiting all over you, and I’m sorry for what happened at our tasting yesterday. I just wanted to say, from one artist to another, your creation is transcendental. Thank you for giving me hope.”

Before he could say anything, she turned on her heel and left.