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“And I think we all have Lily to thank for closing this eight-million-dollar deal.”
“Nice of you to say so. You’re the one with the good instincts.”
I turn to look into the restaurant, where Lily is still busy engaging with Patty while typing on her phone.
“She really is a natural, I think. Definitely runs in the family.”
I think I hear air blowing out of his nostrils. “Get back to me about that office park as soon as you can” is all he says before hanging up.
Does that man really not see in his daughter what everyone else on earth can see?
I have never been able to figure Jay Barnes out, especially when it comes to Lily. I know she hasn’t been able to figure him out either. But I know she wants to. I know she wants to prove herself to him, and I know she wants the respect of her only living parent more than she wants anything else in life right now. And I know I want her to get what she wants.
Fuck.
That First Love that we deserve is gonna have to wait.
This is gonna hurt.
Fucking hell. Why the fuck did I agree to come to the most romantic fucking vineyard in the Rogue Valley, with the girl I’m obsessed with, who I can’t fucking get involved with if she needs to stay on her game at work? And why the fuck can’t I stop drinking this fucking delicious wine and staring at her, when we should both be back at the fucking office?
I’m all about keeping the clients happy, and yes—we’re going over a lot of their contingencies and details of financing, and once their broker has gone home, I’m able to discuss their business plan and revenue growth projections with them—and that means I probably won’t have to come back here to meet with them as many times as I’d planned to this week while they’re staying in the area. So I guess it’s saving time.
But fucking hell. Why does Lily have to keep smiling at me so sweetly? Why does her foot have to keep grazing mine under the table? Why can’t I stop picturing her naked and remembering the sounds she made when she came all over my face yesterday?
Patty keeps asking her if she’s going to be in any plays at the Shakespeare Festival, and Lily just laughs it off, like she’s not that kind of actor—not that good of an actor. But she was. She was dazzling on stage, back in high school.
“You knew her in high school?” Patty asks me.
Shit. Did I say that out loud?
Lily’s eyes have gone wide, and her lips press together.
“Barely,” I say. “I mean, we knew each other a little, sure. My dad was the groundskeeper for the Barnes property. Still is. So, we knew each other because of that. We should try to get Mike on the phone, to get him up to speed,” I say to Roger in an attempt to change the subject.
“Wait,” says Patty as she grasps Lily’s wrist. “Are you a Barnes? As in the Barnes Group? And you’re an assistant?”
The Tripletts are from out of town, and they were a referral from their San Francisco business manager, Mike, so they haven’t met Jasper and they probably don’t give a shit about our personal history or our weird current predicament. But I feel like a fucking idiot for letting that slip anyway.
“I am a Barnes, yes,” says Lily, “but I’m just getting started in this business. Learning the ropes.”
“Well, I think that’s great,” says Patty. “Good for you. Gosh,” she says to her husband. “I guess that’s just what it’s like in a small town, huh? Must be nice. Roger and I both grew up in big cities and moved around a lot, so we’re barely in touch with our old friends.”
“Oh, we weren’t friends,” I say like an asshole. And an idiot. Because I could have just changed the subject and we could have moved on, but no. I can’t move on. Not when it comes to Lily Barnes. But I’m doing this for her own good, and because if she keeps smiling at me and looking at me with those warm doe eyes, I’m gonna get us a room at the lodge tonight and I’m gonna ruin everything. So I will ruin this moment instead. Fuck it. Patty and Roger won’t even remember this conversation tomorrow. “We had friends in common,” I go on. “But I went to a public school and she went to a private school, and when she graduated, she left town without saying good-bye to anyone and we didn’t talk for five years, and now she’s back and she’s my assistant. So that’s that story. That’s it. Anyone want another glass of wine? I think they’re closing soon.”
Patty and Roger exchange awkward looks, and I keep my asshole eyes fixed on Lily. She stares at me, so confused, and then she looks sad and then she looks mad and then she looks resigned and then she looks away from me and I want to fucking die, because this is what it’s going to be like for us for another year now.
“Actually, we have a dinner reservation, so we should probably get back to the hotel to change,” Roger says. “Can we get back into this tomorrow? You’ll come back down?”
“Sure,” I say, signaling to the waitress for the check. “I got this,” I tell Roger and Patty. “Enjoy your dinner.”
Patty gives Lily a hug, and the three of them walk across the grounds to the parking lot while I wait around to sign the credit card bill. I hadn’t noticed that it’s clouded over and there’s a sudden chill in the air. Or maybe it’s just me.
The Tripletts have driven off, and Lily is standing next to my car by the time I reach it. She’s holding a Ziploc bag and frowning at me. “Are you okay to drive?” she asks.
“I’m not drunk. I’m just an asshole. Areyouokay to drive?”
“I am stone fucking sober. Are you going back to the office?”
