Page 51 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

RETT

Rett crossed his arms and stared at the woman who had dropkicked him in the heart.

There was a time when he would have done anything to get her back.

He’d had their entire future planned out.

Marriage in two years, kids in five. He knew her favorite band, her Taco Bell order, her ring size.

But in this moment, she might as well have been a stranger.

“Thank you for agreeing to talk,” Alexa said.

He stared back at her and said nothing.

“I just wanted to apologize.” Her cheeks had turned pink. “For everything that happened between us—and the way it all went down.”

“It was a long time ago,” he said flatly. He turned to look over her shoulder, where the lake lapped at the edge of the dock. Maybe it was time he got a boat. Even if its only purpose was to be an emergency escape for stupid conversations like this one.

“Still. It was unkind and inappropriate.”

He raised his eyebrows and barely bit back a laugh. “Sleeping with my brother in my own apartment? Inappropriate?”

“I’m really sorry,” Alexa continued. “I don’t want you to think that what we had didn’t mean anything. You were an amazing boyfriend.”

“Not as amazing as Chris, apparently.”

“I wish I could explain.” Her voice was softer now. “We were just drawn to each other.”

His eyes narrowed. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the same bullshit excuse Nate had given Jade. Alexa was trying to butter him up for something. It was about time he found out what.

“But that doesn’t excuse the way I ended things.” She was clearly flustered, uncharacteristically stumbling over her words. Good.

In their relationship, he had forgiven too easily, too quickly. But he didn’t owe her anything anymore.

“Good talk. I’m going to check on Jade.”

He walked off without another word. Finally, an apology. Two years too late. It didn’t give him any sense of satisfaction.

When he arrived inside, Jade was nowhere to be found.

Chris looked up from digging in a messenger bag. “She went to the basement.”

Rett thundered down the stairs. As he entered the gym, Jade whirled around. A tear was rolling down her cheek.

“What happened? Did Chris say something to you?”

If he had, he would end him. Blood be damned.

She wiped the tear away and straightened. “No. It’s nothing. The gallery just emailed me back. She said they’re nice, but they can’t sell landscapes.”

His shoulders slumped. “I’m so sorry.”

He held his arms open, and she rushed into them. They held each other for a moment, blocking out everything else. What fools they were to not see the beauty in front of them.

“For what it’s worth, they don’t deserve you. We’ll figure something out,” he said, breathing in the honeysuckle scent of her hair.

She pulled back and squared her shoulders. “I think I already have. But we’ll talk about it tomorrow. Do you think you can take a couple hours off?”

He hesitated. The day would be consumed with party prep. But Jade needed him. He could make up the hours later.

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

Her gaze moved to the ceiling. “I feel like your brother’s up to something.”

“Oh, he’s definitely up to something. Should we go find out what it is and get it over with?” He offered her an arm, and she took it.

The door upstairs popped open. “Quick question. Where is your fire extinguisher?” Chris shouted down the stairwell.

The piercing wail of a smoke detector screeched in the background.

“Jesus Christ.” Rett gathered the nearest five canvases and stormed up the stairs, Jade right behind.

Smoke burned his nostrils when they entered. Something on the stove was on fire. He opened the front door and carefully set the paintings in the front seat of his truck, then ran for the fire extinguisher. In seconds, his previously spotless kitchen was covered in white foam.

“Sorry about that,” Chris said. He scraped the contents of the dish into the trash.

Rett grunted and coughed on the smoke. Was it not enough that Chris had seduced his girlfriend? Did he need to destroy their family home too?

Jade stood by the open patio door, wafting smoke out with a kitchen towel. She shook her head at him. It was a good thing they had left Penny at the cottage.

If he didn’t get these people out of his house, he was going to lose his mind.

“What’s that?” Rett pointed at the living room. Chris’s laptop was open, and what appeared to be a PowerPoint was displayed on the TV.

“Oh, I just had some ideas for the vineyard and thought we could talk about it.”

Rett cocked his head. “Surely the real estate market is keeping you too busy to worry about what I’m doing all the way out here.”

Chris’s face was turning red. “I just thought you could use some help. Mom and Dad said the winery is struggling.”

Jade took a step toward Chris, hand clenched in a fist, but Rett cut her off with a look. As much as he would have loved to let her pound his brother to a pulp, Chris was not above pressing charges.

She cleared her throat. “How about I work on cleaning up while you two talk? No sense in wasting a perfectly good—and casual—PowerPoint.” Her tone was like the tip of a blade.

“This isn’t your mess to clean up,” Rett said. He picked up his glass of wine—which had miraculously remained unscathed—and tugged Jade into the living room and onto the couch.

“Thanks for being willing to hear me out,” Chris said. He stood awkwardly in front of the TV, beads of sweat on his brow. Smoke was still thick in the air.

Alexa took a seat next to him in an armchair, apparently unbothered by the fact that she had nearly burned his house down.

The chances of them offering a solution that would magically solve the winery’s problems were less than zero. But if he didn’t let Chris go through his spiel, his parents would never let him hear the end of it.

“So,” Chris said, suddenly producing a clicker. “What I wanted to discuss with you was the prospect of bringing in some outside help. If we bring in outside grapes or outside wines for a blend, we could amp up production by twenty-five percent starting at the beginning of the fiscal year.”

Outside grapes? Seriously? For fifty years, every grape in every bottle had been cultivated in this area code.

A bar graph appeared onscreen. Rett’s shoulders tensed.

Jade plucked the wineglass from his hand and set it on the end table amidst the trash Alexa and Chris had left. He hadn’t even noticed how tightly he was holding it.

“What vineyard?” Rett asked.

Chris fumbled. “It’s a small one. Goat’s Bollocks Vineyard. They’re outside of Trenton. Massive chunk of land, lot of grapes.”

Trenton? He had to be joking.

Rett took a deep breath and leaned forward. “Do you know what makes Rhodes Vineyard so unique, Chris?”

“The wine?” Chris asked rather than answered.

“Sure. But do you know why? I’m sure you did some research before coming to me with these ideas.”

“The dirt,” Chris offered.

“The Finger Lakes create a microclimate,” Rett began. He went on to describe retreating glaciers and their effect on the soil, growing seasons, winter damage, slopes, and drainage.

Chris’s eyes were glazed over. Alexa was struggling to focus. Even her customer service smile slipped a bit by the end of the tirade.

“So all of these elements come together to make flavorful, unique wines. Do you know what this region in New Jersey is known for lacking?”

Chris shrugged.

“Adequate drainage. This leads to overblown fruit, diseases, mold growth. You’re trying to sell me on subpar grapes. Why?”

“I told you. I’m trying to help amp up production and cut down on costs.”

“And what’s your role in all this? What do you gain?”

“Well, as the liaison between suppliers, usually there’s a fee?—”

There it was. As suspected, he came under the guise of offering help, but he was really here to line his own pockets.

“So you need money. Again.”

“That’s not why—” Chris began.

“What happened?” Rett prompted when Chris’s scarlet face turned purple. “I assume there was another bet that went wrong.”

“No, I—” Chris began again, but Alexa silenced him with a look. Her expression had soured like someone had forced her to eat the dessert she decimated.

“It was supposed to be a sure thing,” Chris muttered. “Beauchamp had it in the bag. But then he tore his ACL.”

Jade swore and went to get up, but Rett tugged her gently back down.

“I’m not an ATM. You never paid me back last time, and that’s part of the reason why the winery is where it is today. That money was slated for upgrades. You told me you could double it. So where is it?”

“I don’t have it, okay?” Chris threw the clicker onto the couch. It bounced off and hit the floor with a thunk. He pointed at Rett with a shaking finger.

“You’re so fucking selfish. I’m the oldest brother. This should have all gone to me . But no, grandma gave it to Rett the Golden Boy.”

Rett stared at him. “This isn’t Downton Abbey. You’re not owed anything just because you’re older than me. You don’t even like wine.”

“I love wine.”

“Really? What’s terroir?”

“ What’s terroir ?” Chris mimicked in a high-pitched voice. “Pack your bag, Lexi,” he yelled. “We’re leaving.”

“Finally,” Jade muttered.

As Chris and Alexa stomped up the stairs, Jade gasped. “What’s Alexa’s last name?”

Of all the topics in the world, she wanted to keep discussing his ex-girlfriend?

“Dumont,” he said.

“Does she have a friend named Shelby? Or Sheldon, maybe?”

“Yes,” he said slowly.

She pulled out her phone and frantically tapped at the screen. She shoved it in his face. “That drug-peddling internet troll. She’s LexiD from the mean Yelp reviews. And these must be her friends.”

Rett stared at the series of one-star reviews, all from the same day. He assumed a group had had a lackluster tasting. But it was a hell of a lot more likely that Alexa and her friends had left them after the will reading.

“Did she dump you because she thought your brother was inheriting the vineyard and the house?” Jade whispered.

“No, that would be insane—” he began, but Jade had already rushed up the stairs.

He dashed after her, but she was already yelling at Chris and Alexa.

“Delete your review,” she said in a voice he had never heard from her before. Gone was the relaxed, fun Jade. This was City Jade, and she looked ready to throw down.

Alexa straightened up, pair of jeans in one hand and a suitcase open on the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then how did you know I was talking to you?”

Alexa went pink again. “I’m not taking it down.”

Jade took a step into the room, and Alexa flinched. Chris stepped in front of her.

“There are people—real people—who work at the winery and depend on Rett for their livelihood. You’re hurting them more than you’re punishing Rett.

I know you must be a good person, because Rett wouldn’t have dated you if you weren’t.

Do the right thing. Take the review down. In front of me. Right now.”

“Even if I did know my password?—”

“You know it. And I’m going to sit right here until you delete it.” Jade juked around Chris and perched on the end of the bed. She looked calmly at Alexa.

Alexa let out a frustrated noise and pulled her phone out. She scrolled for a while, then turned her phone to Jade. “There, see?” She swiped a finger. “It’s gone.”

Jade hopped up. “Thank you for doing the right thing. I look forward to seeing you guys at the party.” She grabbed Rett’s hand and pulled him out of the room and back down the stairs.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

No one had ever gone to bat for him the way she just had. His parents had pretended like Rett and Alexa had never dated.

“Yes, I did. She doesn’t get to ruin your life twice.”

“She didn’t ruin my life.”

“What do you mean?”

“If she hadn’t fucked my brother, I never would have met you.”

A small smile appeared. “That was almost adorable.” She leaned in for a kiss. This one was sweet, tender. Warmth spread to his fingers and toes.

He held her for an extra second. “Do you want to get out of here? Maybe take a drive?”

“You mean me?”

“Yeah. You’re legal now. Let’s drive over to the winery parking lot. You shouldn’t be able to do too much damage there.”