Page 135 of Love Among Vines

“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.”

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