Page 34 of White Wedding
“Oh, really? You?”
“Yeah. Some dumb shit. If I could take it back, I would.”
“I can relate. It sucks being judged for our past mistakes, doesn’t it?”
When she held his gaze, he was tempted to move in closer and kiss her. To taste her soft lips and feel her silky hair underneath his fingers.
He stopped himself in time. If his mistakes had taught him anything, it was that he had to stop acting impulsively and think about the consequences of his actions. To put his job first and behave like a responsible adult.
But that didn’t make him want her any less.
Chapter 13
With all her heart, Victoria wanted to kiss Rafael. To place her arms around his neck, pull him close, and feel the brush of his lips against hers.
When was the last time she’d been properly kissed? Certainly not with Ben, whose kisses had been quick pecks, more for optics than anything else. Any kiss with Rafael was bound to be much better.
But when Connor’s voice broke the silence, she pulled her hand away from Rafael’s. She couldn’t let her emotions cloud her judgment. Not if she wanted to keep this wedding on track.
Araceli held up a bottle of red wine. “Blackwood Cellars Premium Cabernet. Special Edition.”
Victoria gave her brother a wry smile. “How very generous of you.”
“Araceli told me she’s never tried any Blackwood Cellars wine,” he said. “If she’s going to work for you, we needed to remedy that. Add it to Darren’s tab.”
“Will do. Anything else you need?”
“Nope. Araceli told me about all those Christmas trees. Let me know if you need help. Jess would probably be up for it.”
Araceli clapped her hands. “We can make it into a party. It’ll be so much fun.”
Fun for them, maybe. Victoria had already suffered through three nightmares in which she was forced to decorate a never-ending parade of Christmas trees. But a decorating party might relieve the pressure.
Rafael stood up. “We should get going. Let’s load up the bins.”
Within a few minutes, they’d packed everything in the trunk of his car. Victoria wanted to take his hand, or give him a hug, or do something to express her gratitude, but she restrained herself. Tomorrow morning, she could call him from her office and thank him. As part of her job.
After Rafael and Araceli had left, Victoria assumed Connor would follow suit, but he leaned against his truck and assessed her. “Looks like your boy forgave you.”
She looked down, feeling awkward. “I think he felt sorry for me, so we established a truce. That’s all.”
“A truce, huh?” Her brother’s grin was far too smug. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember how much Jess hated me when we first got to Maui for Marc’s wedding? After two days, we called a truce. Six hours later, we ended up in bed.”
She clapped her hands over her ears. “No details. Please. That’s not going to happen here. You and Jess were on vacation at a tropical resort. Rafael and I are working. This is ajob.”
“Fair enough. But what about after? What’s to stop you from getting together once the wedding’s over?”
She hadn’t allowed herself to think that far ahead. But it didn’t matter. She’d still be living under her father’s thumb, subject to his rules. “Not an option. Dad would hate it if I started dating Rafael.”
“Who cares what he thinks? He’s a selfish asshole. Please tell me you’ve stopped chasing after his approval.”
She sighed. “It’s just…I hate the way he treated me after Paris. Like I wasn’t worthy to be his daughter. But when I started dating Ben, he acted proud of me again. We even went golfing a few times.” She blinked back tears, remembering how excited she’d been when her father had asked her to join him on the golf course. He’d been the one who first taught her the sport, shortly after she turned ten.
“Hey,” Connor said softly. “I get it. The only reason I stuck with Blackwood Cellars for five years was because I thought he’d finally respect me. Especially after I started putting in the work. But it didn’t matter. He was convinced I was a fuckup, and nothing I did was going to change his mind.”
