“It’s not that I hate Wright Vineyard,” I said, gesturing to the interior of the barn I was currently drinking in with my friends. I shot a pointed look at Julian Wright, the owner of said establishment.
Julian held his hands up. “Hey, I didn’t say that you hate us.” He slid his arm around his girlfriend, Jennifer. “That’s just what Hollin has been spouting.”
I seethed at the very mention of his name. Hollin Abbey was…trouble. He was a thorn in my side on a good day, and a huge pain in the ass every other day. It was unfortunate that he was the hottest guy in town. He swaggered around like he was some Greek god to be worshipped. And worse, he knew how to push every one of my buttons
“Hollin is an asshole,” I spat.
Julian laughed. “Obviously.”
“It’s kind of his specialty,” Blaire said. She’d ditched her signature baseball cap for the night, and managed to look just as stunning in jeans with her dark curtain bangs falling into her blue eyes.
Bradley shot me a dopey grin. “You should just ignore him, sweetheart. Don’t let him get under your skin.”
I gritted my teeth at the words coming out of my boyfriend’s mouth. It had been six months since Bradley and I had decided to try this for real. After years of on-again, off-again, it was now or never. I should want to see happily ever after with Bradley. Then why did every word out of his mouth make me want to cringe? Why did the thought of continuing this another six months seem more like a business arrangement than anything with passion? Why was I even doing this?
“Sure. Ignore him,” I said. “That’s a good idea.”
Blaire hid her smile behind her wine glass. Jennifer coughed to try to cover her own laugh. The three of us were roommates, and they’d heard the long diatribe of should I or shouldn’t I dump my perfectly nice, normal, and considerate boyfriend.
“Hollin isn’t great at being ignored,” Julian said with a smile of his own. He had all of that Wright charm with the dark hair and eyes, enough charisma to spare, and the dominance of someone who always got what he wanted. And he’d gotten Jennifer the same way. But the smile he was shooting my way said that he’d heard about the worst of my relationship too.
“Just ask every girl he’s three date ruled,” I said with an arched eyebrow.
“Three date rule?” Bradley asked in confusion.
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. What he said isn’t true. I like it here. It’s just not Sinclair Cellars.”
“Touché,” Julian said.
My father had worked at Sinclair Cellars since he’d immigrated from Mexico in the ‘70s. After the owner’s kids had shown no interest in the property, my dad had worked his way up and been rewarded with ownership of one of the best vineyards in West Texas. I’d been working there since I was a kid and was now a manager. It was in my blood.
“You have to admit the barn is great here though,” Bradley said obliviously.
“Sure. The wine is better at Sinclair.”
Julian winced. “Hey, our new vintage is impeccable.”
“And yet we’re not drinking that.”
“Take that up with Hollin,” he said with a smirk.
“Whatever. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
“Hey,” Bradley said. He leaned forward and planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Come back soon.”
Then he tipped a little farther forward. Everything happened in slow motion as he lost control of his wine glass. I tried to jerk back but wasn’t fast enough. The glass slipped out of his hand, and the red wine we were drinking splashed out…all over my white shirt.
“Fuck,” I cried, jumping backward and throwing my hands into the air.
“Oh shit,” Bradley said. The glass fell onto the hardwood floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. “Jesus.”
I stared down in horror at the huge red stain spreading across my favorite shirt. There was nothing I could do. I’d have to toss it. All of that hit me in a matter of seconds before everyone else got to their feet.
Julian ran for something to clean up the mess. Blair and Jennifer pressed napkins to my ruined shirt. And Bradley…he just sat there, his mouth hanging open, utterly helpless. This was far from the first time that wine had spilled on me. It was sort of an occupational hazard. But this felt different. And my anger was threatening to boil up and unleash on him.
Blaire stepped between us as if she could see what was about to happen. “I think I have a jacket in my car.”
“I…I have a shirt. A gray shirt in my gym bag,” Bradley said with a cough. “I can go get it.”
“No,” I said. I stepped away from my friends. “I’ll get it. I don’t want to sit here any longer.”
“I can go with you,” Bradley offered, a little manically.
But then Julian was back with a broom in hand. He threw a towel at Bradley. I’d never been so thankful for Julian Wright.
I didn’t so much as flee as stomp angrily through the crowded barn and outside into the chilly night air. My hands were clenched into fists. I wanted to kick something. Mostly my boyfriend.
Bradley’s truck was parked at the back of the lot wedged between two other giant trucks. I unlocked it and jerked open the back door and grabbed for the gym bag. His shirt wasn’t going to fit me, but it would be better than wearing something soaked in wine. Maybe Blaire could work her magic and make it look okay. After all, she was the famous influencer.
I’d just ripped my blouse off when I heard a low whistle and then a low gravelly voice said, “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
My head jolted upward as Hollin Abbey came into view. Just the sight of him made my knees weak. I wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination and still he towered over me. He had on jeans and a white T-shirt, revealing the black inky lines of his full sleeve. His beard had recently been trimmed. His hair was a soft blonde and eyes so blue as to reach the endless depths of the ocean. When they caught sight of me shirtless, my breasts half-spilling out of the nude bra, they rounded wide.
I was too angry to be self-conscious. I balled my shirt up, threw it into the bed of the truck, and then put my hands on my hips. “Like the view, Abbey?”
He smirked, the cocky annoying look he always gave me. “Yeah, I do.”
I huffed. “I don’t want to deal with you tonight.”
He leaned against the truck next to Bradley’s, which I belatedly realized was his. He crossed his muscled arms across his chest. I averted my gaze so I wouldn’t stare at the bulging biceps and incredible chest. “Why are you naked out here? If you wanted more people to come to Sinclair, this probably isn’t it.”
“Fuck off, Hollin.” I yanked out a gym towel and patted down my skin. “Bradley spilled a glass of wine all over me. I’m just getting a shirt.”
He snorted. “Smooth.”
“I didn’t think you were coming out tonight. Don’t you have a date?” That was what Julian had said.
He took a few steps toward me. Always in my fucking personal space. “Why? Jealous?”
“Not in a million years.” I glared at him and then went back to rummaging through the bag to find that damn shirt. “I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to be graced with your presence.”
“Don’t worry, Medina,” he said, his voice silky smooth. “I’ll always be around here for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Save it for your next conquest.”
When I didn’t find what I was looking for, I pulled open the side of the bag. I sank my hand into it, and it closed around a box at the bottom. I froze.
Hollin must have read my change in body language. “What?”
With a gulp, I withdrew the box from the bag, praying to all things holy that it wasn’t what I thought it was. In the parking lot light, the black box was very clearly for a ring.
“Oh fuck,” Hollin said with a wide eyes. “Is that…?”
I gaped and popped it open. A glittering diamond ring peered back up at me. It was…not at all something that I would have picked out for myself. I’ve always liked simple things. I wasn’t one for big displays or crazy jewelry. This thing was almost gaudy.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I breathed.
“Bradley’s proposing?” Hollin asked, his voice low with an edge to it that I’d never heard.
“He sure as fuck better not.”
I closed the ring and threw it back into the bag like it was a grenade with the pin pulled. I shook my hands out. Fear blossomed in my stomach. I had to put a stop to this.
“Sure looks like he’s going to.”
“And why do you care?” I snapped at him.
Hollin chuckled. “Still got three dates with you, babe.”
“You’re going to get three dates with me over my dead body.”
“We’ll see.” All confident as if it was inevitable. He nodded his head at the bag. “What are you going to do about that?”
“None of your business.”
I found the gray shirt I’d been looking for and pulled it over my head. It smelled like Bradley, and for a second, I felt nauseated. He’d bought an engagement ring. He must have thought that I’d say yes. I couldn’t even fathom it. Was this his now or never?
Hollin frowned down at my shirt. “Not that.” He popped open his truck and tossed me a shirt from his truck instead. It was a white button-up clearly three sizes too big for me. It smelled like a musky cologne that made my toes curl in my boots. Hollin. It smelled like Hollin.
For the first time in our long acquaintance, I didn’t argue. I slipped Bradley’s shirt back off and pulled Hollin’s onto my curvy frame. I worked on the buttons, and when I was done, he stepped forward. I stilled, wondering what the hell he was doing. He took my arm in his hands and then slowly rolled the sleeves up to my elbows on one arm and then the other. My body tingled at every brush of his skin against mine.
He grinned. “Tuck it in in the front.”
I did as he instructed with an eye roll. “This?”
He nodded. “You look good in my clothes, Medina.”
I stepped forward, and his eyes rounded slightly in surprise before settling back to his arrogant know it all look. “When we get back inside, you’re going to keep your mouth shut about everything that happened out here.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll take a baseball bat to your Harley.”
He hissed. “Cold blooded, babe.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You’ve been warned.”
Then I sauntered back inside as if I hadn’t just seen an engagement ring or been completely frazzled by Hollin Abbey of all people.
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