30. Hallie
CHAPTER 30
HALLIE
“Are you folding your dirty clothes?”
I freeze as I’m placing a pair of jeans in my suitcase, feeling caught, though there’s a very rational reason for folding my clothes as I pack to head back to California.
“I packed very strategically to use every inch of space in my suitcase,” I tell James, continuing to move the neat piles of folded clothes into my bag. “If I just throw all of my clothes inside in one crumbled mass, I’ll never get the zipper closed.”
I glance up over my shoulder to find James standing in the bathroom doorway, the steam from his shower sifting into the room, his towel wrapped low on his hips. At the beginning of the week, I would have immediately averted my eyes rather than getting a glimpse of his half-naked body. But now, after officially being an item for three full days, I take a good look, studying his perfect V-cut, enjoying each sculpted muscle.
This week turned out so differently than how I imagined when we arrived, and now that it’s over, I can’t believe everything that happened while we were here. When we left California, I was hoping just to make it through the trip without my workers finding out I couldn’t stand James. Now, I can’t wipe the smile off my face whenever I look at him. We’ve gone from barely being able to be in the same room together to head over heels, unable to keep our hands off each other. It’s mind boggling.
James makes his way out of the bathroom, coming up behind me as I continue to pack my bag. He wraps his arms around my waist, holding me tight and kissing my neck.
“You better finish packing,” I murmur as I enjoy the feeling of his lips on my skin. “The shuttle to the airport will be here for us soon.”
“Don’t worry,” he says, kissing my ear. “I’m just going to throw my clothes into my bag in one crumbled mass.”
I roll my eyes, spinning around in his embrace to face him. With a playful grin, he leans down and kisses me, making my stomach do a quick flip. It still feels strange to kiss in private, without anyone watching, which seems like the opposite of how it should be. Maybe one day we’ll tell the story of how we started our relationship by pretending to be in love and ended up convincing ourselves most of all.
“I’ll be ready in a few,” James says after one last peck, reluctantly pulling away from me. “Although I have to admit I would love a few more days here.”
“Me too,” I sigh. “But it’s not like we’ll be that far apart. I mean, you live next door to me after all.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” James laughs.
As he walks to the other side of the room and searches through his bag for some clean clothes, I’m struck by the idea of going home and being neighbors again. What happens when we’re sharing a common wall, seeing each other every morning on the way to work, bumping into each other at the mailboxes? Are we an official couple or will everything change when we’re back? The question that weighs on me the most, is whether James has truly changed, or if he’ll go back to being the resident playboy. We haven’t talked about being exclusive, but I’m not sure I can take the idea of leaving for work and finding him at the gate with his most recent hookup.
“Does this shirt smell clean to you?” James asks, tossing a t-shirt my way.
I catch it and take a good sniff, nodding in approval before throwing it back to him.
“Yeah, I think you’re good.”
With a deep breath, I try to push my doubts out of my head. Things between us may not be well-defined yet, but they’re good. I can’t start self-sabotaging myself when I’m finally feeling happy.
The shuttle ride to the airport is silent and I suspect my coworkers are feeling the same way I am—reluctant to leave this beautiful place and return back to reality. Even though I love my job and I can lose myself in hard work, I still wish I had more time to spend at the ranch. There’s something about a family-owned business that feels different from a corporation and Dakota and her brothers really made the whole dude ranch experience something special for us.
The group splits apart as we check bags and shuffle our way through security. James and I get coffee from a kiosk and look through the gift shop, joking about buying matching Wyoming t-shirts. When we hear an announcement that we’ll be boarding soon, we make our way to the gate, where all three of the Winter brothers come over to say hello.
“I just wanted to once again say how much everyone enjoyed having you with us this week, James,” Scott says, shaking James’s hand. “As you’ve seen, we’re a tight knit group, a family, and it means a lot to us that our employees have a strong support system. We’ve all enjoyed getting to know you.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” James replies, shaking Clay and Lucas’s hands as well. “Thank you again for having me.”
“We’re looking forward to seeing you more often,” Lucas adds. “You fit right in with the Winter Brother Vineyards family.”
I can’t help but smile, thinking that maybe Chase was right after all. Maybe bringing a boyfriend on the retreat helped my chances of getting the promotion. It certainly didn’t hurt, that’s for sure. I still don’t know if the Winters are consciously looking to promote family values, but at least I showed them another side of me, someone who can have a work/life balance.
As the brothers move off, James squeezes my hand, giving me a quick wink.
“I’d say this week was a success,” he says softly.
“Yes, I’d say so,” I smile back at him.
“I think it could be a win-win,” James adds. “You get the promotion, and we end up together.”
“The perfect ending.”
I lean in to kiss him, but as I pull away, I happen to glance over James’s shoulder to see Chase talking to the brothers with a grin on his face. I might be feeling a lot better about my chances of getting the job, but I can’t forget I still have some stiff competition.
Once the pillow wall was permanently removed from the hotel bed, I can’t say I got a lot of sleep at night, so as soon as the plane is in the air, I lean against James’s shoulder and shut my eyes, napping for most of the flight. I wake up with a jolt as the plane lands in San Francisco, rubbing my eyes and praying I didn’t drool on James’s shirt. I’m still feeling groggy as we make our way to baggage claim to collect my giant suitcase.
“I need another coffee,” James sighs as we wait for the bags to make their way onto the carousel. “Do you want one?”
“No thanks,” I shake my head with a yawn. “I think I might go straight to bed when I get home.”
“I like the sound of that,” James says, leaning in for a kiss. “Care for some company?”
“I’m pretty sure that would defeat my purpose of being in bed,” I laugh.
“Yeah, but it’d be a lot more fun.”
As he heads off to find some coffee, I open my phone and start to scroll through my emails, flagging anything that needs a response once I’ve had some sleep.
“I’m just going to take a taxi,” I hear a familiar voice hiss angrily and I look up to see Chase and Annette standing just on the other side of a huge white column.
“No, we can’t risk anyone seeing us leaving separately,” Chase replies. “And keep your voice down.”
I glance around, realizing that they can’t see me and don’t know that I can hear them. I consider moving away, since it’s obvious they’re having a private conversation, but after all the hell Chase has put me through, I can’t help but be curious.
“Everyone’s going to find out eventually that we’re separated,” Annette says with a sigh.
I feel my eyes snap open wide, and I duck completely behind the column, hiding myself from view.
“I know, but they can’t find out before I get the promotion,” Chase replies, sounding agitated. “That was the whole point of us pretending to be together all week.”
“I can’t keep this up much longer,” Annette responds.
“Just a little while more, please.”
I suck in a sharp breath, stunned at what I’m hearing. Chase and Annette have been together forever; they were high school sweethearts. I can’t believe that they split up. I feel horrible for them and what they’re going through, especially with two kids.
“It’s just until I have the promotion,” Chase adds.
“That damned promotion,” Annette groans in response. “It’s the only thing that matters to you—more than me, more than our family.”
“Annette—”
You barely spent any time with me and the kids with your current job,” she cuts him off. “I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if you were the sales director.”
“Who do you think I’m doing this for?” Chase responds, his words strained as he tries not to raise his voice.
“Don’t say us, Chase,” Annette scoffs. “This is about you and your ego. The kids and I would much rather have had you home all this time. More than the money, the new cars, the fancy technology, we just wanted you. ”
“Once I?—”
“No, it’s too late. You’ve been absent for too long and I just can’t do it anymore.”
I can hear Chase let out a long breath, and as the conveyor belt starts to move and the first bags come down the ramp, he steps forward and immediately spots me standing on the other side of the column. Our eyes lock and I can see the panicked look on his face. He can tell right away that I overheard their entire conversation and that I now know the truth.
My suitcase is already making its way around the conveyor belt, so I hurry to grab it, wanting to avoid a confrontation, but Chase rushes after me.
“Hallie, it’s not what it sounded like,” he says. “It’s just a rough patch but we’re still very happily married.”
I didn’t want to get into it in public, but once he tries to dig his way out of it, I can’t keep my mouth shut.
“All this time you accused me and James of pretending, when you were the one faking your relationship,” I hiss, narrowing my eyes at him. “You did every underhanded thing you could do, and you were lying the whole time. Shame on you!”
I start to storm away, but he follows after me.
“Hallie wait,” he says. “What does that mean? Are you going to tell the brothers about this?”
“It means you’re a hypocritical ass, Chase,” I huff.
I spot James coming back with his coffee and hurry to meet him by the doors. I still can’t believe that Chase was lying to our bosses while at the same time, he was on my case all week long. The Winters will probably be pretty disappointed not only to find out the truth, but also to know that it was Chase’s job that ruined his marriage. It’s not lost on me that after everything Chase put me through, I now have an advantage over him. The question is, will I use it?