Chapter 29
Rosa
I t’s late in the morning when I finally wake up. Jake is gone, of course—probably out in the fields working.
It feels almost decadent, lounging in bed until—I check my phone, plugged in on the nightstand—a quarter to nine.
After the excitement and stress of the past couple days, I clearly needed the extra rest.
Yawning, I wander downstairs to the kitchen and pour myself a mug of coffee, doctoring it with half-and-half and a teaspoon of sugar. I grab an apple out of the fridge and sit at the table, scrolling through my phone while I eat.
It takes me way too long to notice the note on the kitchen table.
Meet me under the oak tree, it says in Jake’s rough scrawl.
I flash back to all the other notes like this he’s left for me over the years. Tucked into a jacket pocket, left in my locker at school, hidden under a barrel in the wine cave like a scavenger hunt with my favorite prize at the end of it.
My heartbeat picks up, and I hurry out the door, wondering what Jake is up to now.
I pass Emi and Javier in the vineyard, and they call out a cheery hello as I walk by.
The sun is hot overhead, and I wish I’d thought to wear a hat. Or sunglasses. I squint down the road, shading my eyes with my hand.
Jansen’s place is abuzz, workers striding up and down the rows of vines, and I wave at a couple of people I recognize from the other night. I keep walking, and the big tree on the edge of the property comes into view.
He’s sitting there, under the broad branches, a smile on his gorgeous, familiar face. All the other times we’ve met here flash through my mind—as children ready to play after schoolwork was done for the day, as friends heading off to the next summer party by the river, as boyfriend and girlfriend eager to spend every stolen moment together.
The day he proposed.
The day he came back—and helped me save Caparelli.
I hope, with everything in me, that this will be a happy memory, too.
He lifts a hand and waves me over. “Have a seat,” he offers, patting the ground next to him.
I sit. “Is Jansen going to boot our asses for trespassing?”
“Nah.” He plucks a blade of grass and twirls it between his fingers. “I got permission.”
“Good call.” I squint at him. “So what’s going on?”
“I have something for you.” He reaches over and pulls a box toward himself, then lifts out a stack of papers and hands them to me.
I glance down, and my heart drops.
They’re our annulment papers.
“I don’t understand.” My hands are shaking.
He turns slightly so his whole body is facing me. “Rosa, for years I’ve hated your uncle for making your decisions for you. For forcing you to sign the annulment papers, for keeping you under his thumb, telling you what to do. Your choice, your autonomy, was taken away.”
I nod, as much to encourage him to keep talking as it is to show that I’m listening.
“And last night, as I held you in bed, I realized I’m just as bad as he is.”
“Jake, no?—”
He holds his hand up. “Yes, I am. He took your choice away when he made you agree to the annulment. I took your choice away when I didn’t file the papers without even discussing it with you. I kept you tied to me, legally, without your knowledge or your consent.”
I stare at him, barely blinking.
“In all of this, you’ve been left out of the conversation. I’m done doing that, Rosa. Whatever happens now is all up to you.”
“What do you mean?”
He pushes to his feet and starts pacing. “I mean if you want to file the papers, go ahead. If you want me to leave, I’m gone. But if you want me to stay…” He shoves a hand through his hair. “I’ll stay, Rosa. I’ll stay forever.”
“Jake,” I breathe. I’m trembling for a different reason now. “What—what are you saying?”
He holds out his hand, and I take it, rising to my feet. He’s close enough I can smell the clean scent of him. I’m dizzy with it.
“I love you, Rosa. I always have, and I always will. But I want you to have the freedom to make this decision. For you. For us. It’s your turn to choose.”
“My turn.”
“And if you want to take it slow, think about it, I can move into town.”
Every cell in my body protests at that idea. “And the job offer?”
“I called Tomás this morning to tell him I wasn’t available.”
“You turned it down?”
He gives me a look that feels like a duh and shrugs. “Oak Creek Canyon is home, Rosa. I don’t want to keep running. Whether or not we’re together.”
The sound of that is like a punch in the gut.
“And I also met up with Jansen to see if he’d be interested in hiring me as a consultant. After harvest, of course.”
“Is…is he?”
Jake nods. “I figure that’s something I’d be good at, whether it’s full time or just a side hustle.”
“You would.” I bump my shoulder into his biceps. “So which would you rather do?”
“Well, if I’m working with you here, at Caparelli, it would have to be a side hustle. But ultimately, it’s all up to you.” He turns and faces me, still holding my hand. “So what do you say?”
It feels like all of Oak Creek Canyon is holding its breath right now.
All I can see, feel, touch is Jake.
Making this choice? It’s scary. It’s overwhelming.
It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
“I choose you,” I say, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around him. “I choose us, Jake. I want you to stay.”
He lets out a long, shaky breath, his arms tightening around my waist. “Thank God,” he groans, his voice muffled.
We stand there for long moments, wrapped up in each other, until a distant shout from one of Jansen’s crew startles us apart. Then we both laugh.
“So, what now?” Jake says. “I can still move out, you know. Take things slow.”
“Slow?” I arch a brow at him.
“Ask you out on dates. Woo you.” He grins. “I want to woo the shit out of you, Rosa.”
“As delightful as that sounds,” I tell him wryly, “we’ve spent the first ten years of our marriage apart. The farthest you’re moving is into my bedroom, mister.”
“Well, in that case…” Jake leans over and pulls something else out of the box. He hands me a black velvet pouch. “This is yours as well.”
Hands shaking, I loosen the drawstring and tip the opening over my palm. A necklace tumbles out, with a rose pendant on it.
And nestled next to the rose is my wedding ring.
“Jake,” I breathe, tears brimming.
“You’re not supposed to cry,” he says, panic rising in his eyes.
I wrap my arms around his neck and laugh damply. “Good tears,” I tell him. “Definitely good tears.”
I can’t believe he saved them, all these years.
“I love you,” I tell him finally. The words have been ready to break free for a while now, and it’s a relief to let them out into the world. “I love you so much, husband.”
“I like the sound of that. I love you, too. Wife.” Jake kisses me, and I lose myself in the soft, deep, delicious sensation.
It’s different this time. As we pull apart, I try to figure out why.
Then it hits me. That undertone of worry and uncertainty is gone. All that’s left is the love, the joy, and the bone-deep knowledge that we’re in this together.
I hand the necklace to him and lift my hair out of the way as he places it around my neck.
Maybe sometime soon the wedding band will be back on my finger, but for right now, it’s exactly where it should be.
I take his hand and thread our fingers together, tugging him toward the house. “Come on, husband. Let’s go burn these annulment papers.”
“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” he says, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. “But I do have to get back to work eventually.”
As we pass by our vines, I wave at Emi and Javi, and Emi grins when she spots our linked hands.
I glance at Jake. “I think our crew can hold down the fort for at least a little while.”
It’s not like everything is magically solved. We’ll need to come clean with the rest of our families and friends, work on improving our communication skills, get to know each other again on a deeper level.
Treat Sasha to a spa day as a thank-you for encouraging me to keep the door to my wounded heart open a tiny bit. Just in case.
Tell Allegra and Bianca—and deal with the fallout when they realize literally everyone else knew before they did.
Fix the mess with the IRS before they come knocking with an audit.
I think I’ll leave that one to Jake.
But overall?
I couldn’t be happier.
Back at the house, we don’t actually do anything with the annulment papers. Instead I tug him into my—our—bedroom and push him onto the bed. I climb on after and straddle him, my palms cupping his gorgeous, bearded face. We kiss and kiss, his hands gripping my ass and my blood pounding in my veins.
I break the kiss and move off of him, stripping as I go. He’s naked in record time as well.
He springs forward and tackles me back into the pillows, pressing kisses to my neck and collarbone. I giggle at his sudden playfulness and the way his beard tickles my sensitive skin. His wide palm rests on my stomach, and I groan as it slides up and covers my breast.
His other hand slips between my thighs and teases me with gentle, tantalizing strokes. In no time at all, I’m ready.
Or maybe I’ve been ready all along—and just too stubborn to realize it.
I break the kiss and fumble in the drawer of my nightstand, pulling a condom out of the rapidly depleting box.
Then he rolls it on and pulls me close, and I smile and welcome him home.
THE END