Chapter 2
Many nights I had dreamed of this exact moment. Well, not this exact moment. In my dreams there was no witch of a woman, trying to make me feel inferior because what I lacked in height I made up for in weight. But Nero taking me in his arms, devouring me with those luscious lips? I almost stopped kissing him to pinch myself, to assure myself this wasn’t a dream.
His hands pressed to either side of my face, and he drew away. His blue eyes, that were so dark they looked almost black, bore into mine. This wasn’t a dream, but it also wasn’t the reality I’d hoped for.
“She’s gone.”
He didn’t kiss me because he realized he’d been in love with me for years, or that he looked at me and finally saw a woman he couldn’t resist. Not even close. He kissed me because, once again, his dick got him in trouble. One of these days, I wasn’t going to be here to bail him out, and he’d need to start thinking with the right head.
I pulled away, refusing to get lost in the moment more than I already had. I needed space. I needed to forget how soft his lips were, how perfect our tongues slid against each other, and how we kissed with the same reckless abandon.
“Glad I could help.” I stepped out of his hold. The warmth of his hands dropped away, and a chill ran through my entire body. “Now I have to go.”
“But we’ve barely had a chance to catch up,” he said. “I wanted to hear about the wedding cake.”
I smiled. He was just trying to be sweet after using me. Nero had a reputation, and some of it was true, but for those who called him heartless, they had no idea who the real Nero was. I did, and that was why I’d been hopelessly in love with him for so long, despite the fact he’d slept with almost anyone with a tiny waist and perky boobs. Two things I did not have. My boobs were too big to be considered perky.
“Once again, your charm ruins the thing you really want.” I poked his stomach to show I was joking, then grabbed my bag and headed out. Outside, I inhaled the sweet September air. There was the slightest crispness to the night, a sign that fall was just around the corner.
The feel of Nero’s lips lingered on mine, and I fought the urge to scrub it off with my sleeve like a kid who was kissed on the cheek. But the part of me that wanted to pretend the kiss meant so much more won the battle to savor the memory for a little longer.
I made my way down the steps and almost made it to the car when my name floated across the parking lot. I spun with a smile. I was never not happy to see my best friend.
“Sherry!” I said, as if I didn’t see her every single day of my life. Her light brown hair was pulled out of her face, though some unsuspecting strands fell free. Her white shirt was tucked into a pair of black pants that hugged her petite frame. Unlike her obnoxiously tall brothers, she was only two inches taller than me; it was nice I didn’t have to crane my neck to talk to her.
We’d been best friends since the first grade when my parents moved to this small town after my dad decided not to reenlist in the army. He hung up his army fatigues for a hard hat and joined my grandpa’s construction company. With Grandpa long gone, Dad was the man who called all the shots.
“Did Laurent and Phoebe decide on their cake?” Sherry asked.
“Sure did. They went with my design.”
“I knew they would. I told you it was exactly what Phoebe was looking for.” Phoebe had changed her mind about four times since that first tasting. She and Laurent were finally getting married after a complicated two decades, and she wanted everything right. I didn’t blame her. You only got married once.
Well, only once to the same person.
Actually, nope, that wasn’t true either. I’d made plenty of wedding cakes for divorced couples who decided to give their marriage another go.
Love was as complicated and as beautiful as Nero.
Heat filled my cheeks at the thought, and I quickly turned toward my car. “I’m heading home for some reruns of Sex and the City and a bowl of popcorn. You in?” I’d watched all the serial killer documentaries and had been watching Sex and the City while I waited for a new docuseries to release.
“Sure. I just need to grab my bag and finish up a few things here. Can I meet you at your place?”
“No, you have to leave right now,” I deadpanned, and Sherry shoved my shoulder.
“Shut up,” she said with a laugh.
“Lainey, Sherry,” a familiar sing-song voice came from behind us.
“Odette, five o’clock,” Sherry whispered before throwing her hand in the air and waving.
I turned and smiled at the sixty-plus-year-old woman coming our way in her orthopedic cork wedges—that were actually really cute—paired well with her navy-blue capris and top with blue and white flower embroidery. She loved a matching set. Odette also loved makeup as much as she loved gossip. Her blue eye shadow extended to her eyebrows and her pink lipstick crossed the barriers of her lips, creating a new clown like smile.
Most people thought she looked pretty ridiculous, but I thought it fit her personality—bright and colorful. While many people whispered behind her back, which was rude in itself, no one ever had the heart to say it to her face. Other than Albert, but he was mean to everyone, and Odette always brushed him off.
“Hi Odette.” I flashed her a smile, and she returned it with a lipstick smudged one of her own.
“It’s good to see you,” Sherry said.
“You as well,” Odette offered, but her eyes locked on mine. “Is it true?”
My eyebrows pulled together, confusion running through me. God only knew what she was talking about. She probably heard something from somebody who heard from someone else. But I was as nosy as the rest of them. “Is what true?”
“You and Nero are together,” she said, and Sherry’s laugh was like a sonic boom, electrifying the night. I didn’t know whether to be insulted or impressed.
“Odette, where did you hear that nonsense?” Sherry asked.
“Oh, I didn’t hear it. I saw it with my own two eyes. Right there in the tasting room. Your best friend and your brother were lip locked like they were giving each other CPR.
Sherry’s eyes flew wide, before blinking in rapid succession. If I hadn’t known her my whole life, I’d think she was a malfunctioning cyborg. “Come again.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to downplay this revelation. “It was nothing.”
“But you did kiss? You kissed Nero,” Sherry stated.
“Yes, but only because Nero had a woman who wouldn’t leave him alone, so I told her to leave my boyfriend alone and to seal the lie, he…” My hands fluttered about as if they were trying to catch the right words and put them in my mouth. “He kissed me. See. No big deal. Just a little show for an unwanted tourist.”
“Unwanted tourist? Don’t paint the woman as the villain. He does this to himself.”
“He tried to reject her nicely multiple times,” I defended.
“Well darn,” Odette said. “I thought we’d have another wedding in our future.”
This time my laugh rang out across the parking lot. “That is never going to happen.”
Odette sighed as if she was just informed her dog had died.
“And if you can put an end to the rumor mill, I’d appreciate it.” If we let this thing get wind, there’d be no stopping it. Every little spark needed to be extinguished.
Odette straightened her purse strap on her shoulder. “I’m on it.” She about-faced and headed toward the tasting room with determined strides.
“See you in a bit,” I said to Sherry.
Sherry stood there, mouth agape, staring at me like I grew a second and third head in the last two minutes. I glanced down to make sure my long-lost twin wasn’t emerging from my shoulders.
“You kissed my brother?” she asked disbelief swirling in her light brown eyes.
“I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me.”
“You kissed my brother.” This time it wasn’t a question.
I guess the semantics didn’t matter much. “Yes.”
The confused lines flattened, and her mouth closed, turning into a concerned frown. “Are you okay?” Her hand landed on my arm, squeezing.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because for whatever god forsaken reason, you’ve been in love with the jackass since you were fifteen. I swear if you want me to hit him, I will. It’s been a long time since I clocked him one.” She pounded her fist into her palm, and I appreciated the enthusiasm.
“I don’t want you to hit him.”
“Are you sure? It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”
“He doesn’t,” I said, defending him like I always did. Sherry said I was blinded by my “crush” on him, but I wasn’t. Nero was as good as the rest of the Grasso bunch. He was just a little rough around the edges, was all.
He only kissed me because that woman tried to belittle me. That kiss wasn’t just a kiss. It was showing a woman who thought she was better than me, that she wasn’t. I was just as desirable as her, despite the fact that a tub of coconut oil couldn’t get my ass into her jeans.
I didn’t want to fit into her jeans, though. Mine fit just fine.
Nero knew growing up I had insecurities with my lack of height and abundance of curves. As I got older, I learned to embrace them. Chocolate came in all shapes and sizes, and each one was delicious in its own right, and so was I.
I didn’t blame him for not noticing me. People liked different things, whether it was clothes, food, how they spent their weekends, and none of them were wrong. Just like Nero wasn’t wrong for not being attracted to me. There were plenty of men who were. I just hadn’t found the right one yet. And until then, I would continue to feast my eyes on that sexy bad boy who would always hold a special place in my heart.
Sherry released her fist and sighed. “I really want to hit him.”
“You’ve wanted to hit him every day since you were old enough to hit.” I laughed.
“I know, but it’s been so long since I did.” The last time was twenty-two years ago when Nero was fourteen and we were twelve. He made a joke about some boy to Sherry, and what I believed to be was out of embarrassment, she lashed out and decked him… hard. Poor Nero sported a black eye for two weeks. Sherry a broken pinky.
It was funny she was considered the nice sister. Then again, compared to Chardonnay, everyone was nice.
“While I appreciate your offer, I wouldn’t want you to cause any damage to your hand. You have events to plan.” As Vine Valley Vineyard’s event planner, Sherry’s role was crucial to the business, especially now, as wedding season was in full swing.
“Damn it. I hate when you’re right.”
“I know, but someone has to be the voice of reason.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Never better,” I said with a smile I thought was convincing.
Sherry’s eyebrow arched. “If you’re not, you’ll tell me.”
“Always.”
Sherry held up the very pinky she broke all those years ago.
“Are you serious?” We hadn’t done pinky swear in years.
She didn’t drop her hand, so I hooked my pinky with hers, kissed my thumb, then spit off to the side just as Sherry did the same.
“If I knew twenty-five years ago we’d still be doing this, I would have left out the spitting part,” I said.
“It is pretty gross, but it’s our seal, and you did it. So you better—”
“I will tell you if at any point I am not okay because your brother gave me a platonic kiss that meant absolutely nothing.” I believed my words, but as they left my mouth, a bit of guilt plummeted into my gut.
But I kept a poker face, and when Sherry nodded, I exhaled in relief.
“I’ll meet you at your place then,” Sherry said before taking off toward the building.
I headed to my car when I heard my name echoed across the parking lot again. I turned as Odette hurried over.
“I wanted to let you know, I handled the situation.”
“Thank you, Odette. I appreciate it.” I went to continue on my way, but Odette shifted on her heel.
“Just because this kiss was nothing, doesn’t mean the others won’t be something.”
“Others?” I shook my head. “Odette, I’m not going to be kissing Nero again. It was a onetime thing and meant nothing.”
Odette smiled, her overly bright pink lips spreading wide. “I don’t know. There’s something in the air. I feel it.”
She pivoted on the ball of her foot and moseyed on back to the tasting room.
I glanced at the September sky and closed my eyes. And waited. For what, I wasn’t sure. A shift in the air. A flutter of a breeze that brought a sense of calm and hope. After a second, my lids popped open.
“I feel absolutely nothing,” I said and finally got in my car. I put my seatbelt on and started the engine. Instead of pulling right out of there, I waited another second, closed my eyes, and angled my head toward the sky.
Yup, nothing.
There was no shift in the universe because Nero’s lips touched mine for the first time. Everything was exactly the same. Despite the dreams of my fifteen-year-old self, Nero and I weren’t destined to be together. We weren’t written in the stars or whatever the fairytales said. No, we were nothing like that.
When it came to Nero, I would always just be his sister’s best friend.