Page 52 of Bourbon Wishes
Jax cuts his eyes at me, his expression severe. "I've got Bastian here. He needs to talk to you. It's urgent."
"I already heard," Uncle Eli says. "Miriam called Nathan, who called me. And Audrey and I already talked about it. He has our blessing, but if he doesn't put a ring on her finger, he's getting a boot up his ass."
"He can hear you," Jax says.
"Good. If you don't put a ring on her finger, I'm putting a boot up your ass," Uncle Eli repeats to me.
"That's the plan."
"Smart man." Uncle Eli pauses. "I already talked to Nate. He has no objections."
"Then that just leaves Uncle Trevor."
"He won't object either," Uncle Eli says. "Lucy adores Constance, and Trevor and Gracie love Lucy. If giving her your share of the winery means Lucy is happy, they're happy."
"Good, then there's nothing stopping you from fixing this," Haven says, scowling at me.
"Fixing it? What'd you do?"
"He asked me to list her position before he even talked to her. Now, she's on her way to LA, and he doesn't know if she's coming back."
I scowl at Haven. Why the fuck does everyone in my family have to meddle.
"What the fuck?" Uncle Eli growls. "Have you lost your goddamn mind, son?"
"Clearly," Haven sniffs.
"I fucked up," I mutter, hauling myself to my feet. I don't need them to beat me over the head with that fact. I'm already doing enough of that myself. And truthfully, it isn't fucking helping. Because the worst goddamn thing I can think of is her not coming back…and right now, that'sallI can think about.
She has to come back. Christ, she has to.
My house feels deadwithout her. There are little pieces of her scattered all over the place—her shoes in the foyer, her book on the coffee table, her girly shit all over the bathroom. But seeing it all burns like a motherfucker.
I don't know what to do with myself when she won't answer my calls. They go straight to voicemail. So I stroll out onto the porch, trying to escape her smell. It doesn't really help.
I need to know she's okay. I need her to talk to me.
Hell, I need to know she's coming back.
I don't want to be here while she's in LA, probably crying over me. I want to be wherever she is. Since the day she started, I've wanted to be where she is. My skin crawls when I'm not near her.
She thinks I'm a controlling asshole, and maybe I am. But the truth is…I never had any with her. I've been losing control since the first damn time she smiled at me. And I've wanted her just as off-balanced and out of sorts. I've wanted her just as feral and desperate. I never wanted to control her. I just wanted to be the one thing she couldn't live without.
My phone rings, ripping through the silence.
I snatch it up, answering without even looking at it, praying it's her.
"Constance, baby?"
"You son of a bitch," an unfamiliar voice growls. "You fucked my sister and then fired her?"
Fuck.
"Caleb," I sigh, bouncing my head against a post. Of course Constance told her brother what happened. He probably wants to rip my goddamn throat out right now.
"Answer the question, you asshole."
"That's not what happened," I say.
