Page 40 of Once Yours (Love & Wine)

Oh my fucking god, he can’t be serious. He’s the one who blurted out some insulting comment about marriage and kids while his girlfriend was present and I’m the one overreacting? Please.

“Goodnight, Dylan,” I call, closing the door and walking toward my apartment. I’m not up for an argument tonight and that’s all that’s going to come from this conversation.

This time he does exit the car, jogging behind me to catch up.

“Tessa, seriously. You’re going to walk away from me? Can’t we just talk about this?” he now asks and it’s getting even harder to control my eye roll. I did try to talk about this, and he did not seem interested. But of course now he is because the night is about to end and he was getting closer to getting laid.

“I think I tried to talk about it and you were pretty fucking aloof about the whole thing,” I answer back, opening my door and just as I’m about to close it, Dylan slaps a hand against it, forcing it open.

“Come on, Tessa. I am sorry. I just reacted badly. I told you I haven’t really given it any thought but I’m willing to. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yes, it’s enough. I just don’t want you in this relationship thinking it’s just a fling. It isn’t that for me anymore.”

“It isn’t that for me anymore either, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I want to talk marriage and kids, especially with a group of people. That’s a conversation for us and us alone,” Dylan states, his words firm, making me feel a little guilty for being angry at him.

He was blindsided by the question and to be honest, so was I, but his reaction was not necessary. This is going to be one of those things that we both view differently and there will be no agreement on it. I need to let it go. He said he would think about it, and I need to just be fine with that. I guess our past will always make me hesitant to believe he isn’t going to bail.

“It’s new,” I whisper, still scared he’s going to call the whole thing off. I don’t want to come across desperate or needy. I don’t need a guy in my life, but I like Dylan more than I thought I would. I’ve enjoyed our dates and he’s made me believe in something more.

“It is new,” he whispers back, reaching for me and I take his outstretched hand. He pulls me against him, his arms wrapping around me, my head resting on his chest. “Our relationship is our business.”

I laugh out loud at his last comment, looking up at him, I narrow my eyes. “Is it really when we work at Somerville’s? I’m pretty sure it should be renamed Nosy Romance Winery and Vineyard,” I tease, lightening the tension between us.

“Okay, you’re right. Maybe we should just quit our jobs and run off together,” Dylan says, smiling down at me.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

We stand together in silence for a few more minutes. There will be arguments in relationships, especially new ones, and we need to learn to work through them. I guess this is us working through this mistake even if we haven’t addressed what caused the issue in the first place.

He’s willing to give it some thought. Let it go, Tessa.

“So, are we good here?” Dylan asks.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

We say goodbye, a quick kiss and he’s off and I’m in bed, ready to analyze everything that happened tonight and looking forward to some sweet, sweet insomnia.

The next morning, I find myself back at the Somerville property making sure all the building permits are in place and the crew is here and started. Luckily for me everything is running smoothly and I remind each and every person on the jobsite that we need to move fast with Lauren and Jack’s babies coming soon.

Lauren comes up behind me as I’m checking a few things off my to-do list. She’s pretty active in what is going on with her house and it’s been great. It’s nice to have her here and to be able to run things by her almost immediately.

“How did things go last night?” she asks, her teeth clenched together with concern. She was front and center for the marriage debacle conversation. While we didn’t talk about it last night, it was obvious that everyone in the room could feel the tension.

“They really didn’t go anywhere. I tried to talk to him about it, but it’s kinda an awkward conversation. I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s never done this whole relationship thing and I think Jack caught him off guard with the marriage comment.”

“Jack catches everyone off guard,” Lauren jokes. “Dylan likes you. He talks with Penny a lot about you. He just needs some time to adjust to the idea that relationships lead to marriage and sometimes marriage leads to babies.”

“Yeah, hopefully. It’s not like I even want to get married or have kids anytime soon. I mean, I do eventually, but I just got this business off the ground.”

“Sometimes guys are just weird about commitment, not saying Dylan is.”

“Oh, he is, obviously,” I tease, rolling my eyes. “I don’t want to force him into anything.”

“I’m pretty sure Dylan can’t be forced into anything,” Lauren says. “He’s usually lowkey and goes with the flow, and people like that can sometimes have a hard time when it comes to being…” Lauren doesn’t continue, so I fill in her missing words.

“Pinned down?”

“No, because I would never view you as someone who is demanding or difficult. Think about it from Dylan’s point of view. He’s young, what, like twenty-five?”

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