Page 39 of Love Unforgettable
I’m trying. But I’m still disappointed.
Abort feelings, Lexie. Abort feelings. You aren’t disappointed, you’re neutral. Apathetic even. He doesn’t matter.
The pregnant breeder suddenly appears at my side.
“Hey, I just want you to know that he’s a good guy. Cole. You should really give him a shot. You won’t regret it.” She turns and walks away without another word.
“What the fuck?” I say.
“Lexie,” Kat says in a sing-song voice. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Nothing, I told you everything, I swear. I have no idea where that came from. Why does she care? Did he make her do that? Ohmigod.”
“Well?” Remi asks.
“Well, what?”
“You gonna give him a chance?”
“He’s a good guy, Lexie,” Kat says mimicking the breeder.
“Can we just drop it, please?” I plead.
They both look at me for a minute. I’m sure to gauge how serious I am about dropping it. Pretty fucking serious if you ask me. I glare at them, they look back to their plates and continue eating.
I rein my feelings-not-feelings in and we finish out our meal with very little additional Trevor or Cole talk, for which I’m grateful.
“The winery renovations are finished, right?” Remi asks me.
“Yes. This Doc Richardson event in a couple days will be the first one there.”
“You nervous?” Kat asks.
“Terrified,” I admit.
“Lex, it looks amazing. I mean I haven’t seen it one hundred percent finished, but what I saw before was incredible. Besides, now you have Mavis as a business partner, how bad can that be?” Kat laughs. Remi and I join her. Although, I’m a little reluctant to laugh. Because I often wonder myself, just how bad can it be?
A while ago, Mavis decided she needed a hobby, so she told me she was going to work in the tasting room. Which I was totally fine with. There’s really not much in this world I wouldn’t give that woman if she asked. Except then she told me she didn’t like the downtown tasting room. That it lacked the character and appeal of a true winery.
That’s when she offered to “buy back” into Lovestone. Her rationale being that it would give me the capital to revamp the house, which did need it, as well as build a new tasting room and lab, plus modernize the other outbuildings on the main property. As an aside, she would sell her house by the ocean and move into the same condo building as Babs and come see me every day at the winery. And since I deny Mavis nothing, she now lives in a condo near Babs, and she takes an Uber to the winery near every day, using my tasting room as a hobby to spend time on.
She and I went a little crazy with the renovations, I fear, but the end result is breathtaking, I have to admit. So, we’ve closed the downtown location, my heart and soul, with my little barrel room and my little lab, and I’ll be there.
All the time.
With Mavis visiting every day.
Christ, Lexie. What were you thinking?
* * *
Kat and I wait with Remi in front of the restaurant until her Uber comes. After which, she goes one way and I go the other, each of us having parked in different directions. I find my Jeep easily, mostly because I always park under a light if I’m coming back to my car at night. Except tonight it looks like someone is leaning against it. I reach in my purse for my pepper spray. As I get closer I see it’s Cole. For just a second, I’m tempted to pretend I don’t recognize him and spray him in the eyes. But I don’t. Instead I ask him what he’s doing there.
“Well, if I’m real honest, sweetness, I’m waitin’ on you,” he says.
Ignore your increased heart rate, Lexie. He doesn’t matter.
“Okay,” I say. “Why?”
