Page 64 of Love Beyond the Illusion
I shove my hands into the pockets of my dress slacks, thinking about my feisty wife I have waiting for me back at our villa. “Honestly, it’s alright. She handled it.”
Tom walks out shortly after us. “I say you both think about what they’re proposing, but I’ve known you guys for long enough to know that you won’t be taking his buyout offer.”
My mother glances at me with a simple look, but there’s much more behind it. She waits for me to speak first, and when I don’t, she starts like we’re picking up a conversation that’s already begun. “Look, we’ve talked about this. If you truly have no interest in the winery and can’t see a future here for yourself, then you must make that decision soon.” Her voice strains with anguish. It would be devastating for her to give up that place. She loves it so much and barely knows a life without it.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Yes, I want to do this—but I’m conflicted still. The entire operation is a lot to take on.”
“There are other options that we can flush out. Maybe neither of you run it and instead hire a chief executive officer to handle that side of things,” Tom suggests.
“That was my father’s role. He had his hands in everything.”
My mother turns back to me. “Since he left us three months ago, you’ve had a lot of space and time to figure out what you want.”
I pace back and forth in the hallway, which resembles more of a hospital than an attorney’s office. “I’m moving here, aren’t I? I’m leaving the life I built in Arizona, my friends, a marketing job I loved, and I’ve already purchased a home. I don’t know how much more you want me to do?” I shout. “Fuck!” My frustrations are getting the best of me.
Her eyes grow red. “I only want you to be happy. That’s all I have ever wanted. I know this wasn’t your dream, but your dad and I always hoped you would see its beauty.”
“I know that.” I blow out a heavy breath, tired of this same conversation. “I’m sorry for getting upset. It’s just a lot of pressure, especially when it feels like this entire town is rooting against me. The only people I have on my side are you, Gemma, our wonderful employees—and Piper.”
When I hear myself say her name grouped with others who are a part of my life, I see how much she’s becoming one too. But that makes this whole situation piss me off even more because Piper lives in Arizona, and now I have another reason to resent having to move away.
I storm out of the building, feeling like the world’s weight on my shoulders. That meeting didn’t go as I thought it would. Steve and Preston came to play ball. I may not be passionate about wine, but I am confident to a fault, and even though a part of me is still unsure, I need to succeed. And no better way to push me to do it than this.
Fuck them both.
Getting into my car, I white knuckle the steering wheel. Adrenaline is burning through my veins. I hate being put into the position of feeling controlled. My childhood felt restrained as my path was built for me before I could even speak. I fled this life, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Now, I feel controlled once again, not only by Steve and Preston but by this community.
I’m in a haze driving along the windy highway past the wineries and vineyards. The only thing I accomplished at the meeting was proving that I have a short fuse and am still stubborn.
As I approach the entrance to the villas, my heart escalates, knowing that Piper is there waiting for me. After my morning, she’s the only thing I want to see right now. The past couple of nights of falling asleep with her snuggled up to me have been peaceful and yet so simple but intimate at the same time. It was a little awkward after what we did the other night, but I’m craving more, and I believe she is, too, especially after I woke up this morning with her tangled around me again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Piper
Low,smokygraycloudscover the sky, keeping out the sunlight for most of the day. I’ve never been a girl afraid of thunderstorms and even appreciate their chaos. I’m taking full advantage of this cozy day by curling up in bed with my Kindle. I’ve only moved to take a quick shower, then came to lay under the thick comforter. Every few minutes, flashes of lightning light up the dark bedroom.
Jack barges in through the front door just as a loud crashing sound and vibration from the storm rattle the shutters. Startled, I yelp and inadvertently throw my Kindle across the room. Jack is standing in the door frame to the bedroom.
“Shit. You’ve got to stop scaring me like that.”
I laugh, but his demeanor is off. When he left, he said not to expect him until later in the afternoon, and from the way he stalked toward me with a straight face, I could tell the meeting did not go as planned.
“Take off your clothes,” he commands, loosening the tie around his neck. His shoulders are square, and his eyes blaze as they pin me from across the room. He stands hidden beneath the shadows in the doorway.
“Excuse me?” My eyes widen. I stare at his silhouette, slowly moving toward me and out of the blanket of the obscure darkness.What the hell did he just say?
“Take off your clothes, Piper,” he repeats. A gentle, demanding tone in his voice makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and my legs quiver with curiosity.
“Are you seriously telling me to remove my clothing?”
A look of frustration sweeps across his face, and I can tell he needs something else at the moment, and it doesn’t have anything to do with our blossoming friendship.
“Yes, now take them off yourself, or I will help you take them off.”
I spring out of bed and open my mouth to protest once again, but Jack steps into me, pressing a finger over my lips, halting my words and thoughts. The heat from his body pours over me like warm honey and causes my eyes to fall closed, descending into a moment of pure sensation. “I don’t need you to be myfakegirlfriend. I need you to be myrealwife.”
My lungs constrict, and I can barely suck in air. Not knowing how to respond, I’m in shock but overcome with excitement at the same time. “If that’s what you want,” I give in with a whisper.
