Page 84 of Love Among Vines

She shoved the phone at him. The wheels of justice had turned more quickly than she had ever imagined. What kind of person was Nate to sleep with someone else on his own freakin’ honeymoon while his brand-new wife was upstairs? The fuckingaudacityof this man.

How had she never seen this side of him? Was it always there, buried beneath the glitz and glamour of long weekends in the Catskills and dinners in trendy, impossible-to-get-into restaurants? Was Ashley really the first person he had cheated on her with?

She had trusted him implicitly, never glancing at his phone when he was out of the room or sifting through Instagram DMs. She had accepted his love for her at face value only to be blindsided in the worst way.

Rett handed the phone back with a dark expression.

As much as Nate’s betrayal had hurt and even quite possibly ruined her career as an artist, at least she had never married the bastard. She deserved better. And she would find it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RETT

The last ofthe chairs hit the hardwood floor with athunk. Now he remembered why he had never scheduled another paint and sip. The setup and teardown was a giant pain in the ass. Hours that should be spent going over things for the party the following weekend were instead spent lugging dusty easels out of the barn and all the way to the tasting room. But it would be worth it to help Jade.

He flexed his fingers and surveyed the space. They had managed to clear the tasting tables away and fit twenty workstations in their place. At $50 a pop, they had grossed $1,000. He had tried to give her all of it, but she had insisted on splitting the proceeds evenly. It definitely wasn’t life-changing money, but hopefully it helped her a little.

Across the room, Jade was securing canvases on the easels he had just set up. Elaine said something to her, and she laughed. She wore a rust-colored sweater and jeans that she had spent a full ten minutes de-furring upon arrival.

She didn’t look any worse for wear after the news broke about Nate. She wouldn’t get involved with him now that he was single again, would she? The very thought raised his hackles.

There had been a moment—nothing but a moment—after Alexa had dumped him when he’d contemplated rekindling things. It had been their first Christmas broken up, and everyone had gathered at a rented house in Aspen for the holiday.

Their hands had closed over the punch ladle at the same time. A look had passed between them. Something had felt unfinished. Alexa, who had been several cups of punch deep, had looked at him with clear meaning in her eyes and walked purposefully into the empty basement.

He had walked over as if in a dream and had one hand on the knob before snapping out of it. Maybe his brother was a cheater. But he wasn’t. He had almost let the call of the familiar compromise everything he believed in.

But Jade wasn’t weak. She hadn’t even given up on her dream despite overwhelming evidence that she needed to move on.

Her question from earlier drifted to the front of his periphery. Whatwashis dream?

Ever since his grandmother died, he had been laser-focused on the success of the winery. He had given everything he had to this place, and still they were just treading water. Did he even deserve a dream when he couldn’t succeed with a business someone had hand-delivered to him?

That wasn’t to say that the winery wasn’t a dream itself. There was such beauty in the claret color of a fresh batch, a sense of pride from watching people enjoy the literal fruits of his labor. Every day had something amazing in it.

The tray of pastries on the far wall caught his eye. He had stayed up for hours the night before, perfecting each gold-dusted macaron. There was something deeply pleasurable about fiddling with a recipe until he got it exactly right. Baking was a lot like winemaking. It was science.

But baking wasn’t a dream. The Finger Lakes were lousy with bakeries. There was no market for a new one. Besides, he couldn’t very well betray the existing patisseries in Hammondsport. Ted would never shake his hand again if he bought the business next door and started hocking croissant fraises.

“I thought I was supposed to be the one freaking out.” Jade’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“I was just thinking about my homework,” he said with a smile.

“Good. I look forward to a full report. I’ve been doing mine too. Did you know that you can make a right turn at a red light?”

“Sure. Unless you’re in the city,” he said.

She frowned. “Shit.”

“How are you feeling about tonight?” He ran a hand down her arm. A flush instantly crept into her cheeks.

“I think it’ll be fine. I practiced at home—uh, at Margie’s.” She showed him a picture of a canvas with pumpkins beneath fall leaves.

“It looks great. You can do this.”

She gave him a flat smile like she didn’t really believe him.

“Do you want a glass before everyone gets here?” he asked.

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