Page 105 of Love Among Vines

He glanced at Jade, who was neither wheezing nor struggling. There was kindness in her eyes, but also a sparkle of amusement.

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it expecting a teasing text from Tom. Instead, a far worse surprise waited: his brother was coming to the party. And that meant Alexa would surely be joining him.

He straightened, stomach in a hard knot. “Let’s go.”

He set off at a jog again, and Jade joined him.

“You know,” she said gently, “it’s probably just dehydration. We polished off that bottle of sparkling last night without a water nightcap. It’s a rookie mistake.”

Dehydration. Of course. Not the inevitable aging and failing of his body. A mile later, the deep burn in his chest had grown almost unbearable. Ragged breaths tore through him.

He couldn’t control his own body, and he couldn’t control the winery’s flatlining. He couldn’t even keep his long-term girlfriend from falling in love with his jackass of a brother. His attempts to help Jade would probably fail too. They only had aweek left together. What was it about him that was so innately destined for failure?

His pace quickened. Maybe if he just pushed hard enough, he could outrun everything. The stabbing pain worsened, and he pressed his hand to it.

“Why don’t we take a walking break?” Jade asked gently. “Penny would love the sniffing time.”

Rett nodded. “For Penny.”

Fuck.

Their pace slowed to a walk, and she wound her fingers through his.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a low voice.

“I’m fine.”

“Your vibe is super intense for someone who knocked their first attempt at sparkling wine out of the park.”

Penny paused her tree-sniffing duties to nose his hand.

He grunted.

“Party stress?”

He nodded. “My brother is coming.”

The words were out before he could second-guess them. What was it about her that pried the truth from him?

Jade stood tall. “Your brother the girlfriend-stealer?”

“The only one I have,” he muttered.

“Shit.” She tugged Penny away from a jogger. “I’m happy to spill wine on him. Or your ex. Or I could propose to you in front of everyone and totally upstage him.”

He cracked a smile against his will.

“Why did you invite him?” she asked.

“If I hadn’t, my parents would have. I didn’t want to rock the boat.”

“You don’t owe him anything just because you share DNA.”

“Maybe not. But if I have a family someday, I don’t want family gatherings to be awkward.”

She frowned. “You’re a better person than me. I would have dumped gasoline on that bridge, tossed a match, and never looked back.”

“Weren’t you just in your ex-boyfriend’s wedding?”

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