But that smile he gave her felt so genuine…
No!
She was Ani the wedding planner, and she was going to pull herself out of debt and keep her heart intact if it was the last thing she did, goddamn it.
12
Raffi
About a weekafter running into Ani at Tilde, Raffi rolled up to the work site that was once his winery’s garden to find Chris and his crew already there at nine a.m., cutting stones and laying them out. The sand-colored stones Ani had picked were looking fantastic, just as she had predicted. Ani. He wondered if he could find some excuse to call her over to check out the progress.
Then again, he had seen how Ani reacted when Grace said, “It’s not like you’re still in love with her or anything.” Ani’s laugh, plus the confessions she’d spilled at the Embarcadero, definitely implied Ani was, in fact, still in love with Kami. He was such a fool, pining after someone who was hung up on someone else.
Andyes, he, too, had answered affirmatively to Kami’s “Hey, babe?” It was like some ancient artifact came loose and tumbled out of its place on the display shelf. It had been instinct, to answer her call, at one time. Kami did have a certain power, he’d give her that. She had presence and charisma andapparently the ability to summon up a ten-year-forgotten “Yeah?” to the question “Hey, babe?” But that was the end of it; he wasn’t melting in Kami’s proximity otherwise. Unlike Ani.
“Hey, man,” Chris said and walked over for a handshake/low five combo.
“It’s looking great, bro.”
“Good. I wanted to make sure it was still going according to plan. I guess Sanan is coming over anytime now to assess.”
Chris ran a quick hand through his hair when he mentioned Sanan, and Raffi’s heart skipped a beat. Sanan, Ani’s assistant, was coming? Might that imply…?
“Is Ani coming, too?” Raffi asked.
“Don’t know. Why?”
“No reason.”
Chris stared at him. Raffi stared back.
Raffi cleared his throat. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
“You do that, man,” Chris said, and went back to work.
Raffi swept into his office to see if any progress had been made on the sales end of things. They’d had slightly more wine tasters come by and a slight uptick in wine club members, but the enterprise sales were not going well, and without those, or a massive upswing in individual members, their run rate was looking grim. He had about seven months of cash flow before he’d have to put his tail between his legs, go to his father, and admit he had failed.
Which was simply not an option.
Raffi made a few more calls, left more messages, and hoped. The wedding was five months away. He couldn’t depend solely on its presumed success and had to keep acting in the meantime.
He peered out the window to see Sanan’s slim figure as she chatted with Chris. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and Chris leaned in just a little too close during their conversation. Then they laughed like they were sharing a private joke. Maybe Ani was just out of sight.
He walked out of the building into the garden, looking this way and that for Ani’s long, thick hair and her huge eyes, but she didn’t seem to be around.
“Hi, Sanan,” he greeted from afar, and she greeted him politely.
She walked over. “Ani wanted to check up on the design but couldn’t make it. She’s picking linens and flatware with Kami today—”
Sanan said a few words after that but Raffi didn’t catch them, imagining Ani simpering after Kami, hearts in her eyes. Kami was being so flirtatious with Ani, anyone could see it. How could Grace not? Or maybe Grace did and was simply not bothered. Kami had a flirty personality, so maybe Grace knew exactly who she was marrying. It never bothered him when he was dating Kami, after all.
Still, it irked him how Kami laid it on so thick with Ani and how Ani ate it up. “She’s getting married,” he wanted to tell Ani. “You have to get over it…and, you know, possibly consider who’s right in front of you. Me. I’m talking about me.”
“Let me know if you need anything. I have to make some calls,” he told Sanan, whose visible task list seemed to be all contractor related anyway.
In truth, he had a text he wanted to send. One text, two motivations.
Ani jan, how are things going? I’m here with Sanan. Everything seems fine, but I want to make sure this wedding goes perfectly. Can I help in any way?
