Page 94 of Rare Blend
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I met with my financial guy and we worked out a better deal for your loan. Payments are now a much more manageable $350 a month.”
“Thank you for handling that,” I tell him, still a embarrassed I got myself in that mess.
He waves it off. “If you don’t make a bad money decision in your twenties, then you’ll make one in your thirties, and that’s worse.”
The conversation shifts, and he invites me to Jenn’s family’s Thanksgiving, repeating several times they would welcome me with open arms, that they’re really nice people. I tell him I’ll think about it.
“Goodnight, sweets. Feel better and get some rest.” He kisses my forehead and leaves.
Once my dad is gone, I continue to think about what he said about settling. Was I settling becoming a technical writer instead of continuing to pursue journalism? At the time, it felt like the more responsible decision. It’s not as if dreams pay the bills, but now I’m questioning what I even want at this point. My job at theHeraldis only supposed to be temporary. Everything about Red Mountain is supposed to be temporary.
Later on that night, I contemplate texting Ethan but decide against it. I think what I actually need is space. A day. Maybe two.
CHAPTER 35
Ethan
THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
The day before Thanksgiving, the winery is a madhouse. It’s an all-hands-on-deck kind of day. Even Ariana is hard at work, having shut down Novel early to help out. She and Layla are manning the tasting room so our regular attendants can have the day off. Between wine club members picking up their fall release cases, locals and out-of-towners doing tastings, and the restaurant overflowing, it feels like every corner of the estate is filled. To stay away from the commotion, I remain upstairs in my office.
“You mind if I cut out early?” Tawny asks. “I have a lot of prep work to do before my in-laws come over.”
“Go ahead,” I tell her absentmindedly.
She leans her body in through the doorway. “Oh, and by the way, you have a visitor.” She winks and then disappears down the hall.
I get up and round the corner, about to ask who it is when I find Marisa, nearly running into her. She looks so fucking pretty.
But more than that, she looks healthy, too. The color has returned to her cheeks, and her eyes look much more alive than the last time I saw her. Apart from a text to ask how she wasfeeling, I haven’t seen or spoken to her since she kicked me out after I told her about her mom not coming.
She looks at me, chin slightly down, lips rolled back and a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.
“Hey,” I say, breathless.
“Hey.” She smiles. It’s her nervous one. “Busy?”
Extremely.“No, come on in.”
I lean my hip against my desk, and she sits in one of the leather wingbacks. “I wanted to come by and apologize for the other night. I shouldn’t have been so short with you, especially after you were nice enough to make me soup and take care of me. I feel really bad about the whole thing. I think it was the fever, you know? It was making me cranky and emotional, and really, I was a mess.”
I love it when she rambles. “No need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re feeling better. And that you don’t look like a sickly Victorian child dying from scarlet fever anymore.”
Her jaw drops, releasing a gasping laugh. “You’re an ass.”
“Go for Ethan,” Gavin’s static voice blares through my radio, causing us both to jump.
I grab the radio off my desk. “This is Ethan. Over.”
“Do you have time to go down to the cellar? I think I left behind my stainless steel wine thief. Can you go check? I have to pick up Lily and don’t have time.”
“I’ll handle it. Over.”
Marisa rises, sliding her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll head out. You seem busy.”
That may be true, but I’m not ready for her to leave. “Have you seen the cellar yet?”
“No,” she says hesitantly, but her eyes are curious. “It’s not creepy down there, is it?”
