I sat there staring at the door, the echo of her heels fading down the hall.
As friends.
The phrase repeated in my head like a cruel joke.
She might’ve been ready to pretend we were still together for everyone else, but pretending I wasn’t still in love with her?
That was the one thing I didn’t know how to fake.
I waited a couple of minutes before I pushed from my desk and headed to the vineyard where the shoot was being set up.Ben and Rhone carried out a table, placing it between two rows of vines.Rose stood back, her finger tapping her lip as she let the vision come to life in her mind.This was her method.She’d been doing it for ages, and it worked.Every.Single.Time.There was a reason she excelled at her job.
She was a rare mix of beauty, intelligence, creativity, and whimsy.She could take a basic bottle of wine and photograph it in a way that made it look like the most coveted bottle of wine in existence.
I loved scrolling through her photo gallery after a shoot, helping her pick out the best ones, even if I insisted they were all the best picture she’d ever taken.
The memory stabbed at my gut, and I shook my head, forcing myself into the present.I never expected something so simple as looking at photos together would be something I should have cherished.Now, who would she look at those photos with?
“Of course you show up now,” Ben said.“After all the heavy shit has been moved.”
Ben had quickly become one of my favorite people.He had only been with us at the vineyard for a little over a year, and with Sherry for a few months officially, but I already looked at him like a brother.Now… I didn’t know exactly what he was to me.
Why the hell was everything so damn complicated?
Rose turned, plastered a massive smile on her face, and skipped toward me, pressing on her toes and planting a kiss on my cheek.The feel of her lips on my skin tilted my world, and I instinctively wrapped my hand around her waist, pulling her close.
Her coconut vanilla scent consumed me, and I fought the urge to nuzzle into her neck.
“You’re late!”she joked, but when her eyes met mine, the joy slipped.It was a mask.Another lie.And I didn’t know how much more I could take.This all felt like an act.Mainly because it fucking was.But the thing I couldn’t figure out was why the hell I was going along with it?
Because I love her.
The thought was fast and swift, knocking me in the gut.
Despite whatever the hell had happened between us, I loved her with every ounce of my soul.There was no time or distance that would change that, and I only hoped she felt the same way and would realize it sooner rather than later.
I couldn’t let her be the one who got away.
The shoot was going perfectly.I was so wrapped up in angles, lighting, and placement of the wine bottle that I had completely forgotten about every complication in my life, including the one who had obediently taken every direction from me.
But now, on the final shoot, the one where I wanted a couple wrapped up in each other, the bottle of wine in his hands, I realized perfection was an illusion, and this was downright uncomfortable.
“I just need you to place your arms like this,” I said, grabbing Wyatt’s arm and wrapping it around my stomach.My body tightened as the weight of his hand settled on my stomach, and a sharp pulse of shame flickered through me.I had never lied to him, not really, but this… even though words never came out of my mouth, it felt like the biggest lie of all.
The camera was set up on the tripod, and I had us angled toward it.When we got the poses down, I would set the self-timer and hopefully nail the shots.
Wyatt’s mouth brushed my ear.“Like this?”A chill ran up my spine, sending a burst of electricity through my body.
I closed my eyes, settling myself into this new reality, trying my hardest not to turn and kiss him.Tears pricked at my eyes, and I hated every fucking second of this.Why couldn’t he just marry me?Why couldn’t we just want the same things?
Why did I want more than he was willing to give?
God, he was making me question every decision I had made.
“Yes,” I said, stepping away from him.“Like that.”I didn’t look at him.If I did, I would crumble.This was already too hard.“I need to set the timer.”I hurried to the camera, made all the necessary adjustments, set the timer, and ran back to Wyatt.
His arms instantly wrapped around me, pulling me close.His scent hit me like muscle memory— cedarwood and soap, the smell of a hundred mornings tangled together in bed.My lungs burned with the effort it took not to melt into him.
“Relax,” Wyatt murmured, his breath brushing against my skin like a caress.“You’re shaking.”
