Chapter 5
Ani
Ani walked up to the winery at nine that morning with Sanan at her side.
As they approached the villa, Ani noticed a thin piece of plywood, painted gray with red outlines, sitting atop the death-trap rocks.
And as they drew nearer, she read words that warned “Caution: Watch your step” printed in neat handwriting. Raffi’s? she wondered.
“That’s an odd choice for the winery,” Sanan commented, not knowing the particulars. “Doesn’t match the beauty of the rest of the place. I wonder if they already started construction.”
“Oh, uh, that might have been my doing,” Ani said as she stepped across it. The plywood held well and she did not go flying to the ground this time. “Long story.”
“You got it, boss.”
“Sanan…”
Her assistant was all about rules and hierarchy and doing things the right and proper way.
Sanan had said her father was in the military and ran his household like an army unit.
Ani had to continually remind Sanan that she had a more relaxed view of things.
Part of her wished she had let Sanan in on the Avedissians’ actions before the wedding; she bet Sanan could have death-stared them into handing over the money. Too late now.
“Sorry, sorry, not boss.”
The day was cold and Ani had worn her best wool coat for the occasion, figuring she wasn’t going to get down and dirty today.
They were just planning and measuring. It was long, loose-fitting, and plum-colored, and it made her feel like a million bucks.
Just the right type of thing to wear around Raffi, to show him she wasn’t impressed by all his YSL shirts, Gucci shoes, and seventy acres in Napa. She could hold her own.
Ani steered them to the side of the winery, toward the garden.
There stood Raffi and his contractor friend, bro-ing it up among the cherry trees.
Raffi slapped his friend on the arm and threw his head back in a laugh.
No doubt talking about some weekend conquest, Ani thought.
Well, she was just glad she wasn’t one of them.
And she would hold her ground, no matter how chiseled his jawline was.
Raffi’s demeanor changed when he noticed Ani and Sanan. His smile softened and he stood more upright. Raffi was wearing a sports coat and button-down shirt at nine in the morning. His shoes were black and pointy. This guy had no chill.
“Ladies,” he said, and Ani scowled at him.
“Raffi, this is Sanan, my amazing assistant,” Ani said.
“Nice to meet you. Raffi,” he said, extending his hand.
Raffi nodded to the man next to him. “And this is Chris, the lead contractor I told you about.”
Chris shook Ani’s hand, then reached for Sanan’s, who seemed to freeze up a moment before remembering herself and quickly taking his hand.
“Sanan,” she said in a voice Ani had never heard before.
Shy? Sanan was never shy. This Chris guy was pretty cute.
About the same height as Raffi, beefier, most likely Armenian by the shape of his eyes and dark brows.
Ani and Sanan were almost always all business and didn’t discuss personal matters—not that Ani had any personal matters to disclose besides, you know, the debt—so Ani didn’t know if Sanan was seeing anyone or if she was even into men.
Guess this Chris guy was Sanan’s type, though.
“I see you have a temporary fix over the lawsuit rocks,” Ani said to Raffi.
“Careful, you’re hurting the plywood’s feelings,” Raffi said, smiling. Damn it, that was kind of funny, she thought, while also thinking, My god those teeth are sexy. She didn’t know she had a thing for sharp incisors.
“So you’re telling me it is still going to be around for the wedding day.”
“I figured it added a nice touch of ‘abandoned warehouse’ to the place. Too pretentious otherwise.”
Chris chuckled. “C’mon, man. We were just talking about filling that space in.”
Ani tried not to feel impressed by this. Raffi was just taking sensible advice.
“Well, that’s good. Should we get started on the plans?”
“Definitely,” Raffi said. He walked over to the part of the garden by the cherry tree grove.
“This would be the perfect spot for the Pinterest dream wedding dome. We’ve got the cherry trees, some vineyards, you’ve even got the villa in your view if you’re sitting here as a guest. I know I’d be happy to watch a wedding from these seats.”
Chris nodded with approval.
Ani took in his suggestions. She’d come prepared but wanted to consider all angles. “That is a pretty spot for sure, very lush, but I was also thinking…”
From her tote bag, Ani whipped out her iPad to share the digital renderings she’d created. She had spent some time playing with different design options, finding the best spots for the dome and fountain.
“Over here,” she paced to the back side of the garden, “would give you the most symmetry. It has the best view of the hills and distant vineyards, and if you’re thinking about the time of day when most ceremonies and receptions take place, the sun won’t be in your eyes.”
She walked back to where Raffi and Chris were standing and gestured around them.
“Right now this seems great, but come four or five o’clock, in the late summer and early autumn when a lot of weddings take place, the sun is going to be blazing in your guests’ eyes.
And on top of that, photos will be ruined.
In that spot there,” she indicated back to the place she’d chosen, “you’re going to get that perfect golden-hour glow brides dream of for their outdoor weddings. ”
On cue, Sanan flipped her phone screen to the mock-up she had made of the golden-hour light at a September wedding here on the property.
Raffi seemed irritated.
Then he took several steps toward Ani.
He was close enough that she could see the faint stubble along his jaw and stripes of dark gold in his umber eyes. He looked at her intensely.
“Show me. Set me right on the spot where the dome is going to be.”
Ani swallowed despite herself. God, his eyes, so smoky and dark. It was deeply unfair they’d been gifted to a guy like Raffi.
She caught a look on Sanan’s face, one of confusion, as she headed toward the spot and Raffi followed like her shadow.
“We could build a platform right here,” Ani said, drawing a half circle around them with her finger.
“That’s doable,” Chris said.
Then Sanan perked up and held out her hand. “Don’t move, guys. Let me get this shot so you can see. You’re standing right in the perfect position.”
It was while Sanan was framing the picture with her phone that Ani realized she and Raffi were facing each other, like a married couple at the altar. They were just missing some vows and rings, and they’d be set.
“Should we hold hands?” Raffi whispered.
“Absolutely not,” Ani hissed back, which only made Raffi chuckle.
The thought of holding hands with him made the back of Ani’s neck sweat, even on this cold day. So she would not, she would absolutely not, do such an unprofessional, misguided thing.
“Got it!” Sanan cried. “Come see.”
Raffi stepped away, leaving Ani behind in her cold sweat.
She quickly followed and joined the huddle.
She could smell Raffi’s cologne from here.
Green and fresh, so clean and sharp. He didn’t douse himself in it, either, as many Armenian men were wont to do.
Just a touch, enough to be smelled up close.
Then she saw the photo. The way Raffi was looking at her made her pulse quicken.
His eyes were…admiring, almost tender, and it threw her off-balance.
After their clashes during their first meeting and the way she’d called him out so blatantly, multiple times, his look was…
unexpected. That was strange. Maybe it was a trick of the light.
Ani dared a glance at Raffi to gauge his reaction. He was staring at the photo. His expression was soft, almost vulnerable, as if the photo of them together had stripped away his usual bravado.
Then he blinked and looked away and said, “I see your vision now, Madame Wedding Planner.”
She straightened, crossing her arms as if to shield herself from the warmth that had briefly bloomed in her chest. Of course he’d deflect with a joke—this was Raffi, after all.
The man who supposedly could make anyone feel momentarily special, only to leave them wondering if it had all been an act.
She wondered if that was the charm she’d been warned about.
She let out a small, humorless laugh, more to herself than to him. “Please don’t call me Madame.”
“She doesn’t like nicknames like that,” Sanan added helpfully. “I try to call her boss all the time, and she always shuts me down.”
“That’s fair,” Raffi said, eyes glowing. “I panic when people call me sir. A doorman called me that last week and I dropped my keys, tried to catch them, and somehow bowed? It was a whole thing.”
Ani bit back a smile. The image of Raffi, all suits and smugness, bowing to a doorman like some flustered Regency gentleman, lodged itself stubbornly in her brain.
“Sounds dignified,” she said coolly, but her voice came out softer than she intended. Her cheeks felt warm, and she hated that her body seemed determined to betray her good judgment.
Back to business.
Ani glanced around the garden, imagining where the seating would go. “This might be a bit much, but I think we should build flooring here. It can double as a dance floor later on and would look perfect matching the dome and the winery colors.”
Raffi knit his eyebrows together. “How big?”
“Can I draw it?” Ani turned to Chris. “Got any chalk in there?” she asked, gesturing to his tool bag.
Chris checked. “Doesn’t seem to be.”
“We have some in the shed back that way. Used it recently for the, uh, rocks,” Raffi said.
“Fine, I’ll go grab it.”
“I’ll come with you,” Raffi replied, already starting behind her.
“I don’t need you to babysit. I can find some chalk.”
“The door can be a little tricky—”
“I can handle a door.”