Page 51 of The Vineyard Bride

Chapter Twenty-One

Jenny and her boyfrienddanced on the corner of the dance floor, both flushed with wine.Lola watched them from a distance, her heart bulging in her throat and her tongue sharply sweet from the cake.

“I’m just going to talk to Jenny really quick about this,” she told Tommy.“And then, I promise, I’ll let it all go.”

Tommy nodded.“She was your best friend for a long, long time.I understand that you have to honor that.”

Lola lifted up to kiss him again, wrapping her fingers around his and whispering, “I’m already so thankful that I married you!”

“Jenny.”Lola appeared beside them, where Jenny’s perfume wafted over her, crisp with something floral and vanilla.

“There she is.The woman of the hour.”Jenny pressed her lips onto Lola’s cheek.

“Thanks again for reading that poem,” Lola said.“I remember being twenty-five?Twenty-six?And sitting with you and Val and thinking about this woman, Kuan Tao-Sheng, and the incredible power she exhibited with words.It was beyond my wildest dreams that I would ever have a love like Kuan did.”

Jenny’s eyes watered as she collected her boyfriend’s hand in hers.“I feel the same.”

Lola’s ears thudded with the memory of that early morning, darting out from Harry’s garage as Valerie crept around in the back of the house.Was that her happily ever after?Didn’t she deserve so much more?

“I need to talk to you,” Lola breathed.

Jenny’s cheek twitched.“Let’s not talk about her today, Lola.She’s chosen her path.Today, we’re celebrating yours.”

“That isn’t it.”Lola pressed her tongue through the side of her cheek as she tugged Jenny toward the far end of the reception, where they stood near the wall of Grange Hall.There, Jenny crossed and uncrossed her arms distractedly, glancing back at her boyfriend as he refilled his cocktail.

“I went to see Valerie this morning.She didn’t look like herself.”

Jenny shrugged.“I think she said the exact same thing about you.”

Lola’s stomach twisted.“This is different, Jen.Really.There’s something wrong with that guy.Now, we’re pretty sure that he was involved in the hit-and-run accident that totaled my niece’s boyfriend’s car and really injured Tommy’s great aunt.”

Jenny furrowed her brow.“That guy?From the bar?You’re sure?”

“No.I’m not really sure about anything.I just—” Lola cleared her throat.“I feel terrible about the fact that we’re all so distant from one another now.And...”

“And maybe you’re projecting?”Jenny interjected.“Not to be rude.As I said, I want to celebrate with you today.You and Tommy and your union.Let’s not talk about her.Please.”

“I just...”

As Lola’s eyes swirled around distractedly, she glanced over the surrounding twinkling lights toward the parking lot, where the shadow of a woman lurked, carrying a large, wrapped present.Lola’s heart seized as she leaped back, nearly toppling over the small heel of her blue shoe.

“Val?”she called out.

The woman wore a black dress with a dramatic V-neck and a flowing skirt, which the wind cut through dramatically, whipping it back behind her.When she drew closer, it was clear she’d been crying, and her cheeks were blotchy and slightly purple.As ever, her makeup was perfect (except for the soft stains from her crying), and her legs were muscular and gorgeous as they strung out from the skirt.

When Valerie reached them, she pressed the present toward Lola and dropped her eyes to the ground.Lola accepted the present, genuinely surprised.It was almost like living out a dream.

“What are you doing here?”she asked Valerie.

Valerie shrugged.“I was invited, wasn’t I?”

Jenny and Lola locked eyes for a moment.

“Yes.Of course, you were.I wanted you here so badly,” Lola whispered, recognizing that she couldn’t immediately demand what was going on.“It’s just that I’m surprised.”

Valerie ignored her.Instead, she glanced out across the gorgeous garden and its twinkling lights.“The moon is hanging so perfectly over your party.Did you have to get a written permit to bring it here?”

Lola laughed, genuinely pleased with her joke.“Yeah.The process was a nightmare.God was like, ‘You want to hire the moon on such short notice?’”

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