Chapter Eight

See? I told you the AppleFest would be a great place to network.” Nonna watched the group of tourists walk away from their table with a delighted smile. “That’s six more people we’ve managed to sign up for our event.” She checked the list she’d scrawled out on the clipboard notepad she’d brought to collect sign-ups for their newsletter list.

Her grandmother had always loved to write lists.

“We’re up to thirty-five people who’ve already RSVP’d today alone!” She showed her the clipboard, sporting a told you so grin.

Leila had to admit, that was about twenty more people than she’d thought they’d be able to sign up in two hours of standing at an event. “I’ve already gotten six responses back from the invitation I e-mailed out earlier too.” She checked her phone again, still shaky from the encounter she’d had with August an hour ago. “Make that seven. So that brings our total guests up to forty-eight.” They had a lot of good momentum going. This event might actually work. “I also talked to Blake. His cousin is a country-western singer, and he’s happy to donate a few hours of his time for the cause.”

“Wonderful! Wouldn’t you know it? August has only been here for a week, and things are already looking up.” Her grandmother gazed across the park to where her fake fiancé was playing a carnival game with Ryan while Thea snapped pictures on her phone.

“That man is something else,” Nonna murmured.

“Yes, he is.” As much as she wanted to avoid looking at August, Leila let her gaze drift back to him again. She’d had a difficult time looking anywhere else all morning. After reminiscing about mint chocolate chip ice cream, they’d worked side by side, chatting with AppleFest patrons about the winery and their upcoming event. August had likely secured 99 percent of the sign-ups for their event with his charm and charisma. The only people she’d signed up were Nonna and Poppa’s dearest friends, who lived in Denver but had a summer house in Silverado Lake and would’ve come anyway.

“August has such a way with people,” her grandmother mused.

Yes, especially with children. Leila watched the man laugh with Ryan while they fished small toys out of a baby pool. The boy obviously loved spending time with his uncle Auggie. It was a side of him she’d never gotten to see before. “I didn’t know he was good with kids.” In high school, he had been good with everyone, but they hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time with young children.

“He’ll make a wonderful father someday.” Nonna slipped her arm around Leila’s waist with an excited squeal. “You two have had a rough road, but you already know the most important part of any relationship.”

Leila stared at her grandmother, mind racing. She didn’t. She didn’t know anything about building a solid relationship.

“Forgiveness,” Nonna said gently. “Learning how to forgive the one you love is all you need.” She squeezed Leila’s waist in her loving way. “If you can forgive, you can be together forever.”

Leila stared at August and Ryan again, a darkness descending over her heart. She hadn’t forgiven the man for walking away, no matter how sad his circumstances had been back then. If he’d talked to her—if he would’ve let her in—she would’ve been there for him.

“You will both make many mistakes,” her grandmother went on. “Just like Poppa and I have. But with forgiveness, you can overcome anything.”

But how do you forgive someone for breaking your heart? she wanted to ask. How could she forgive him for taking away her belief in love?

Across the park, Ryan and August’s turn at the baby pool ended. They high-fived and raced each other to another game set up near the parking lot.

“Oh, look!” Nonna hurried away. “It’s Jenny Spokes. She hasn’t heard about your engagement yet!”

That was surprising because her grandmother had told pretty much everyone who had walked past the booth about the upcoming wedding that wasn’t to be. Leila hung back while Nonna greeted yet another friend with the happy news. Just when she thought her heart couldn’t get any heavier. This whole facade had been a mistake. She never should’ve—

“Hey, Leila.”

She turned her head toward the familiar voice. “Jane.” August’s sister walked under the tent, pushing her daughter in a stroller. “Hi.” Leila cleared her throat so her voice wouldn’t sound so awkward. She’d been close to August’s sister back when they were dating, but the women had lost touch since then. She’d only run into her a couple of times in town since moving back, but not since getting fake-engaged to her brother. “How are you?”

“We’ve been good.” Jane knelt and lifted Charlee out of the stroller, setting her on the ground so she could toddle around.

Geez, the girl was a cutie—a halo of blond curls and round, expressive blue eyes.

“How about you?” Jane’s gaze followed her daughter everywhere she went.

Leila wasn’t sure how to answer that question. August’s sister knew about their arrangement, so it wasn’t like she had to pretend. Nevertheless, she also didn’t need to burden the woman with the long list of her current predicaments, so it was time to change the subject. “Wow, Charlee is getting big.”

“I know.” Jane snatched the winery’s brochure out of Charlee’s hand just before the girl took a bite out of it. “She’s walking all over the place. And she’s into everything.”

“I can imagine.” Leila had to smile, watching the girl glance at all the swag on their table with wide-eyed curiosity. “Here.” She picked up one of the foam cup cozies with their logo and handed it to Charlee. “Totally toddler proof.”

The girl happily took it, babbling her thanks before she stuck it right into her mouth.

“Perfect.” Jane laughed. “That ought to keep her busy for a while.” She swung Charlee up into her arms and held her on her hip. “So, you didn’t answer my question. You doing okay?”

“Sure.” Leila focused on the toddler so she didn’t have look into Jane’s eyes. August’s sister had initially been there in the aftermath of her brother’s abandonment. She’d even apologized on his behalf once, telling Leila she knew her brother would eventually get it together and come back. Neither one of them had thought it might happen more than a decade later.

After a quick glance around, the woman leaned closer. “Auggie told me about your arrangement. It has to be hard pretending, after everything that happened with you two.”

The woman didn’t know the half of it. “Yeah.” She finally raised her eyes to Jane’s. “I obviously didn’t think this whole thing through.” They hadn’t even made it a full week without her falling into the past. If she had spent five more minutes with him and her mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, she might very well have kissed him right in front of Ryan. Every time she saw a glimpse of who he used to be—of how they used to be together—she was tempted to forget the way he’d abandoned her. How was she supposed to keep this up for a few more months?

“Maybe it’ll be good.” The woman switched Charlee to her other hip. “I know things ended badly between you, but August has changed a lot since back then. I mean, look at him.” She gestured to where Auggie and Ryan stood at the archery display, shooting arrows at a target. “I never thought of him as a family type of guy, but he’s seriously the best uncle. The kids love him.”

Nope. This was exactly what would get her into trouble with August—focusing on his good qualities, watching him have fun with Ryan. Eating ice cream with him. “I thought I was over what happened all those years ago.” It had taken a long time, but she’d managed to stop thinking about August altogether. And then he’d come back. “I should be over it.” She shouldn’t have such a hard time looking at him, spending time with him.

“I’m not sure how you ever get over someone you truly love.” Jane’s tone held both sympathy and understanding.

“I did love him.” She might have only been in high school, but she had given her whole heart to Auggie. And she’d never quite recovered it.

“I know you did.” Jane lowered Charlee back into her stroller. The girl still seemed content to sit and gnaw on the cup cozy. “I know this might not help, but I really believe he loved you too,” the woman said quietly. “In his way, he’s trying to make up for how things went.”

Was he? Or was he here only for the benefit of his career? “Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m here if you ever need to talk or anything.” Jane’s smile turned snarky. “Or if you want me to put him in his place. You let me know.”

A laugh lightened her mood. “I might have to take you up on that.”

“Anytime. I’m happy to get in his face.” Jane waved at Toby, who was now talking to August and Ryan near the games. “I’d better go find Miss Charlee some real food before she has a meltdown. But let’s get together soon.”

“I’d like that.” Leila hadn’t had a lot of time to do anything other than work and take care of Nonna over the last several months.

“Give me a call,” Jane said as she walked away.

“I will.” Maybe after the event. It would be nice to rekindle some of her connections in town, to put down roots again. She could use a friend to help her get through these next few months. Especially a friend as nonjudgmental as Jane.

“Looks like you could use some fun.” Blake approached from the table he’d set up to promote his dental office a few booths down. He didn’t appear to be a typical dentist—at least not the dentists she’d experienced. The man had a friendly white smile, naturally, but he was also casual, usually wearing jeans and a T-shirt when he wasn’t dressed in his scrubs. He wore his black hair longer and had an overall rock-and-roll vibe about him. Or maybe she simply thought of him as a rock-and-roll guy because he played the classic rock station in his office.

“I meant to ask you this earlier. How’d you manage to get the whole morning off?” she asked, returning his friendly smile. His practice was always completely booked. She’d had an appointment with him not long after moving back, and he’d immediately put her phobia of dentists to rest with his humor and approachable smile. When he’d asked her out the next day, calling the winery, she’d accepted, wondering if maybe she could finally manage to fall in love with someone else after August. But after a few dates, she’d told him she only wanted to be friends. And he had been a friend, namely texting her to check in after her grandmother’s treatments and dropping off meals when they came back from appointments in Denver.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m still here.” His eyes scanned the crowds. “I really should get back to the office, but I was thinking about trying out some of the carnival games over there first. Care to join me?”

“I don’t know…” There weren’t as many people milling around the promotional booths now. Everyone either seemed to be playing games or enjoying the treats from the various food trucks and stands. Besides, if Leila wanted to find more people to invite to the event, her best bet would be to head over to where the fun was happening. “I guess I could take another break. For a few minutes, anyway.”

She checked on Nonna, who was now surrounded by a cluster of Silverado Lake’s quilting club members a few feet away from their booth—most likely discussing what Leila and August’s wedding quilt should look like. “Let’s go.” Right now, before they started asking her about patterns and fabrics. “I would love to play some games.”

“Maybe I’ll win you one of those stuffed unicorns.” Blake held out an arm like a true gentleman. He might be a rock-and-roll guy, but he also had this chivalrous quality about him. Like when he offered his hand to help her up out of the dreaded dental chair, and always stepped aside to let her go into the hallway first. He would make a great partner for someone. If only she had been more attracted to him.

“Where should we start?” he asked as they passed by the bottle ring toss. “I used to be a pitcher in high school, but throwing is about my only skill.”

“What about the balloon dart game?” She led him across the grassy corridor to a small tent with no line. “If you’re good at throwing, you can win me the unicorn.” Then she could go give the stuffed animal to little Charlee.

“Darts.” Blake nodded and grinned. “Sure. I like your style.” Together, they approached the small wall of balloons that the local newspaper staff had secured to a board.

“Here you go.” The young girl working the game handed Blake six darts. “If you get six in a row you get the grand prize.” She stepped back out of the way.

“We want the unicorn.” Blake stood behind the line they’d marked off in the grass and closed one eye, holding up the dart as though aiming. “Here goes nothing.” He let the dart fly and it struck a red balloon with a loud pop.

“That’s one,” the girl called.

“Five more to go.” Leila gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “You’ve got this.”

“I hope I’ve got this.” He seemed to set his aim again, and then one after another he popped five more balloons in a row.

“Woo-hoo!” She cheered him on from the sidelines while the girl pulled the unicorn down from a shelf behind her.

“Here you go, my lady.” Blake handed it to Leila with a bow. “One stuffed unicorn.”

“Thank you. Charlee will love—”

“Hey.” August marched between her and Blake, eyeing the unicorn. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Oh.” Really? He had? Not ten minutes ago, the man had been completely occupied with Ryan. “What do you need?”

Instead of offering her an answer, August faced Blake. “I’m August Harding. Leila’s fiancé.”

For a second, she was too stunned to speak. What the hell was he doing? He’d come all the way over here just to let the man know he had some claim on her? That wasn’t like August at all. At least, not the August she used to know. She’d had a lot of male friends and even hung out with them when they’d been dating, and he’d never acted jealous.

“Fiancé?” Blake looked to her for an explanation. “Wow. I saw you two hanging out earlier, but I had no idea you were even dating anyone.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She hadn’t been, she wanted to tell him. Not until a week ago when she’d suddenly gotten herself engaged. “Uh…sorry. I guess it never came up.” Suddenly, she noticed the stares starting to come from all around them.

“Right.” Blake started to back away, as though he didn’t want August to get the wrong idea about them. “Well, congratulations, you two. I should get back to my booth.”

Leila’s face burned. “Blake, wait. I’m sorry I never said anything.” He probably wondered why she’d held out on him when he was constantly entertaining her with stories about the women he dated.

“No worries.” He waved her off. “We should get together for coffee soon, though.” His raised eyebrows told her she had a lot of explaining to do.

“Right. For sure.” Why did her voice suddenly waver? She hadn’t thought twice about playing a game with the man, and yet here August stood, his shoulders as rigid as the expression on his face.

The few people who’d stopped to watch them shuffled on past, but for some reason, it still felt like all eyes were on her and her fake fiancé.

Mortification transformed into anger, and Leila quickly turned on her heel and marched away from the balloon dart game, her feet blazing a trail toward the parking lot. She wasn’t about to make a scene in front of everyone like August had.

“Where are you going?” he demanded behind her.

She kept walking. “I’m going to put my unicorn into the truck so I don’t have to carry it around.” She needed another break, a second to hide from the eyes, the excited squeals from her grandmother’s friends. She would have to give Charlee her present later. Right now, she had to get away from the man who was currently following her so she didn’t yell at him in front of the whole town.

Thankfully, no one had congregated in the parking lot. Leila made it to the truck and tossed the unicorn into the back, barely acknowledging the beeps as August used his key fob to unlock the vehicle’s doors. When she turned around, he stood directly in front of her.

“What the hell was that about?” Forget not making a scene. He’d totally embarrassed her in front of Blake and whoever else had been watching. “That man happens to be my friend, thank you very much. Which is more than I can say for you.”

“You almost blew our cover,” August shot back. “What if your grandmother saw you flirting with that guy? What would she think?”

“Flirting?” Leila laughed. If that was flirting, she was in big trouble. “We weren’t flirting. We were talking.” August had no clue about her relationship with Blake. “I was watching him play a game so he could win me a unicorn that I could give to your niece. Last time I checked, it wasn’t against anyone’s vows to have a conversation with a friend.” But August’s shoulders remained rigid, and anger flashed in his eyes. “It’s not like I was cheating on you,” she whispered loudly. “We’re not really engaged.”

“I know.” He blew out a sigh and seemed to wilt right in front of her. “You’re right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” August planted his hand against the top of his extended cab and stared at the ground. “We’re not together. Not really.”

“Then why?” She watched him carefully. “Why did seeing me have fun with Blake bother you?”

“God, Lei.” He dragged his tortured gaze up to hers and stole the breath from her lungs with a single look. “Being with you, I forget. I forget that I screwed everything up. I forget things aren’t the way they used to be. I take one look at you and—” His jaw seemed to lock.

“And what?” she croaked, unable to look away.

It felt like it took him a year to answer. Maybe longer. Her heart beat mercilessly against her ribs, punishing her with a growing ache.

“And I remember why I loved you so damn much,” he finally uttered.

She remembered too. Not why he’d loved her, but how. As much as she wanted to forget, she remembered how he’d always looked deeply into her eyes for so long before he would kiss her. She remembered how his hand would always find hers and hold on—no matter if they were sitting in their art class or walking in the vineyard together. She remembered how he would sing the perfect song to her, whether she was happy or sad or in need of cheering up. In those moments, she’d never felt more loved by anyone ever.

“I have no right to want you.” He said the words almost to himself, as though trying to make them sink in.

He did, though. He wanted her. She could read the want in his eyes, and that tormented look made tenderness bloom in her heart again.

Leila had no idea when she’d ended up so close to him, but as she clutched a fistful of his shirt in her hand, she didn’t know if she wanted to push him away or pull him closer. Her heart was flying away from her now, bringing her outside of herself. Only one man had ever made it beat like this—frantically, out of control.

“I have no right to want you.” August spoke the words with more force this time, but that tone only made her blood rush faster. She could no longer make a sound decision, so she pulled on his shirt, bringing him close, standing on her tiptoes so she could touch her lips to his.

The shock of that small brush of a kiss nearly knocked her back. But August’s arms came around her, steady and sure. He eased her back against his truck and caressed her lips with his, luring her into the same rhythm they’d perfected long ago.

Leila inhaled him, the spice and pine, as she tasted the mint on his tongue from the wintergreen gum he’d always liked, so familiar and yet somehow all new too. Every kiss they’d shared was still branded into her heart, but this was not a boyish August. There was an urgency behind the kiss that hadn’t been there when they’d been kids messing around.

These were a man’s lips, firm against hers, insistent and teasing too.

Leila locked her hands at the small of his back, bringing him closer than she dared, and melted into him. Kissing August was like walking into a warm, cozy room after being out in the bitter cold for too long. Relief enveloped her, somehow grounding her and making her float at the same time.

“Ahem.”

The sound of a hearty throat-clearing tore them apart. Leila opened her eyes, but it took forever for the world come back into focus. When she could finally see past the blinding rush, she noticed Jane standing a few feet away with Toby and Charlee.

“Sorry for interrupting,” August’s sister said with more than hint of amusement. “We’re heading home, and Charlee wanted to say good-bye to her uncle.”

August didn’t even turn his head toward his sister’s voice. Instead, he continued to stare into Leila’s eyes. “Good-bye, Charlee. See you later.”

Jane laughed. “Ha. You don’t see her at all right now. But that’s more than fine. You two carry on.”

Leila heard the stroller moving, the wheels scraping the asphalt, but she would have to give Charlee the unicorn another time. Right now, she couldn’t step away. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.

The only thing she could do was kiss August one more time.