Chapter 20 #2
Kami stepped into the garden wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a long gauzy taupe dress that split down the middle to reveal knee-high boots.
She was pretty and her outfit was hot, Ani remarked to herself, and yet she felt no longing.
Not even a twinge. Not being sucked in by Kami, it felt like a superpower.
Like she’d been deprogrammed from some years-long hypnotic spell and could finally see clearly.
And what a beautiful, liberating, long-overdue sight it was: Kami was just a person.
“Hiiii, everyone,” Kami beamed. “Can’t wait to see the—”
Then she gasped when she caught sight of the dome. “It’s so perfect.” Then her face fell. “But…”
Her eyes started to well with tears. Raffi stepped forward and put a hand on her arm. Envy surged hard in Ani. But no, that was stupid; she knew how Raffi felt about Kami.
“What is it?” he asked Kami.
“Kam?” Galia asked in concern. Ani’s envy was quickly replaced by worry.
Kami began to shake, her face turned red, and her eyes filled with tears. Oh no. “Why isn’t it more…white? Didn’t I ask for white? I thought I specifically asked for white. It’s just not white enough!” she whined. “Why did you make this huge decision without consulting me?” Her tone grew angry.
Somehow, whether by proximity or some other force, Kami was taking out all her annoyance on Raffi, like it was his call.
Ani had seen this side of Kami a few times, when things didn’t go her way at, say, an airport, and she wasn’t able to use her charms (or platinum card) to fix the situation.
Not pretty. Ani was about to walk over and say that the lack of white tiles was completely her doing when Raffi spoke.
“You’re absolutely right, Kami. I thought white would be perfect, too, at first.”
And Ani stopped dead in her tracks. Was Raffi about to throw her under the bus? What in the actual hell?
He continued. “But then I realized this amount of white stone, facing this way with the sun”—he pointed upward, helpfully—“would completely blind all your guests and ruin the photos.” Raffi spoke slowly, calmly, rationally.
Not only had he not sacrificed Ani as the scapegoat, but he took responsibility as the person who made the decision, taking the fall for it while Kami was in a state to blame someone.
And on top of that, his measured response seemed to be calming Kami down. Just when Ani thought she couldn’t like him more.
“Oh,” Kami said. “That’s…that’s a good point. I wouldn’t want that.”
“That’s right. That’s what I thought, too.” Then, and only then—when the tension had fully ebbed from Kami’s shoulders—did he glance over at Ani, his voice shifting ever so slightly as he added, “I didn’t see it until Ani pointed it out to me.”
Ani felt the warmth in his gaze, the quiet pride in his expression as he said her name.
She stepped forward, ready to take this.
“Also, Kami, the good news is, this place is going to be absolutely decked out in white flowers. So you’ll get all that bridal white, plus the natural earth tones of the stone and dome.
Honestly, with the flower order you guys put in, you’re barely going to even see the stone. ” She gave her a reassuring smile.
“Okay, that makes me feel better,” Kami said, seemingly placated but still in the process of getting over it.
Ani whipped out her phone and pulled up the mock-up she’d shown Raffi. She held it in front of Kami. “Dang it, I see what you mean,” Kami said.
Galia chimed in, “I like it the way it is. I mean, it’s perfect. I don’t get what the problem is.”
Kami turned to her and laughed. “Of course you don’t. You’re just a kid.”
Galia turned away as if slapped, and Ani felt for her. She squeezed Galia’s shoulder. “Not for long. October birthday?”
Galia nodded sadly, apparently still stung by her sister’s words.
Kami piped up. “Walk me through what else needs to be done? But I have to leave in like ten minutes. Galia and I have a lunch with an old friend at Farmstead. We’re going to put some makeup on her and try to get her to pass for twenty-one so we can all partake in the vino.”
Galia came back to life at this, being included again in her sister’s afternoon.
“Fun,” Ani said, not quite hiding her bitterness.
She was somewhat envious that Kami could do whatever she pleased during the work week, since her businesses were mostly run by managers she had to check in with only occasionally.
A lip gloss company, a boho accessories drop-shipping company, a Pilates equipment company that simply put her logo on some standard Pilates reformer machinery.
What a life. Then again, the less effort put in, the less there was to be proud of.
That was how Ani saw it, anyway. Although she thought Kami was probably plenty proud of herself.
“Did you say Grace was in LA?” Raffi asked.
“Yes! Her promo stuff is really ramping up. They dropped a couple teasers, and the trailer is being released this week. I’m so excited for her.”
Raffi, Sanan, Chris, and Ani all shared various exclamations of interest. It was pretty cool. They were all now one degree of separation from Robert De Niro.
Ani walked Kami through more of the setup and wedding details, then Kami and Galia headed out.
Ani realized, after speaking to Kami, that she had more venue-related tasks to see to so she could ensure they had everything absolutely finalized.
She had a list from her vendors of items she had to check on.
This was good, as Ani wanted more time with Raffi.
Raffi, Ani, and Sanan walked through the grounds together while Chris got back to work, and Ani kept her tone and her inquiries very professional.
She almost hated herself for it. She wanted to joke more, open up, show him that she still cared about him.
But she was scared, especially in front of Sanan.
It probably wasn’t her imagination that while Raffi reflected her professionalism, there was a sadness in his eyes.
About fifteen minutes in, when the three of them walked into ?’s kitchen, Sanan’s phone buzzed. She read it, then her head popped up to Ani.
“Um, Ani, mind if I—” She indicated that she needed to pull Ani aside. Ani excused herself, and the two of them stepped aside.
“Ani, I’m so sorry, I know we still have a whole list of things we need to do here, but my mom texted me that my dad isn’t feeling well. Maybe he has food poisoning, but it could be something worse. I don’t like to seem unprofess—”
“Sanan, oh my goodness, of course. Don’t even worry. We can head back.”
Ani was slightly sad about having to leave, but she was not about to keep Sanan from her family.
Raffi’s head perked up at Ani’s words.
“You’re heading out?”
“Sanan’s got to go; we carpooled up here.”
Raffi nodded, thinking. “You know, I’m going into the city later. I could drive you back after running through the task list.”
“Really?” Ani asked. She did have more work she needed to get done here. And they came in Sanan’s car anyway. Sanan had insisted on driving because she obeyed the speed limits more judiciously than Ani—“No offense, boss.”
“It’d be my pleasure,” he said, and Ani’s body warmed instantly at his words.
Sanan gave a string of apologies, which Ani dismissed and assured her everything was completely fine. She asked Sanan to keep her updated, then Sanan gave her a quick, tight hug and ran off.
Raffi and Ani were left alone in the kitchen, where they had been alone months ago, Ani laying her dress out and doing her best not to flash her cheeks. There was a heaviness in the air, something charged, ready to spark at any second.
“We—we have to check the number of outlets,” Ani said.
“Seventeen,” Raffi responded immediately.
Ani shook herself from her shy stupor. “What? Really?”
Raffi smirked. Oh, there was that devilish smile of his. “I’m kidding. I don’t keep tabs on the number of outlets in all rooms of the winery.”
“I was going to say: Add savant to your list of skills.”
Raffi stepped closer to her, and her breath hitched. “Oh yeah? What are my other skills?”
Ani’s throat felt like she’d never had a drink of water her entire life. “Don’t make me list them.”
A moment passed between them, and he appeared to be fighting a smile. “Just checking to see if you…remembered.”
Of course she remembered. She’d thought about that kiss every single day, if not every single hour, since they’d been apart. And now he was standing close to her, so close, and she could step up on her tiptoes and feel that kiss again, his arms around her, drawing her in.
“I remember,” she whispered. Then she added, “But I have a big to-do list. I wasn’t expecting to discuss the, uh, situation at the engagement party so soon.”
Raffi shrugged. “Hey, I was just riffing off you bringing up my skills. Seemed a shame not to mention it with such a great setup.”
She really had teed that one right up for him.
“True, true. Okay, step one—help me count these outlets, and let’s do our best to, you know, remain professional.”
Raffi put his hand on his heart, and she remembered the beat of it, so hard and fast. “I am the soul of professionalism.”
She took a chance and bumped him playfully with her body. She loved seeing the surprise on his face, loved the feeling of his body against hers.
“Mm-hmm,” she said, then got to work.
They spent about an hour going through Ani’s checklist, and it was easier to keep their eyes on the tasks at hand when they were outside because Chris and his team were there, hammering, sealing, polishing.
When they were nearing the end of their discussion on electricity, Ani’s stomach gave a great angry growl so loud it could be heard even over the sounds of the construction crew. Damn, that was humiliating. Ani gave a half smile to cover her embarrassment.
But instead of smiling back or brushing it off, Raffi’s face appeared concerned. “When’s the last time you ate?”
She had to think aloud on this one. She wasn’t sure. “I don’t know, I guess I had an egg for breakfast and meant to have more but got distracted.”
He stood by her side. She could smell his desert-wind cologne, and she had to stop herself from closing her eyes and taking it in. His voice was sweet. “Ani jan, you have to eat. I’m taking you out.”
She began to protest but couldn’t quite form the words, because she realized that actually, yes, she would love that.