3. Kylie
Chapter 3
Kylie
W ow. That was the only word echoing through my mind as I stepped into the winery and saw him behind the bar. Fifteen years have passed, and somehow, time has only been kind to him.
Matt used to play football, so he’s always had that tall, solid, athletic build. He’s still broad shouldered with strong arms, but there’s something different about him now. Something in the way he carries himself. It’s not just that he’s older, it’s almost as if he’s grown into the man he was always supposed to be. The boy I once knew has become a man, and it shows. There’s confidence in him now, a quiet authority. Now that he'll be running Grape Expectations, I expect the town will respect him just as much as they did his uncle, maybe even more.
And then there’s the dad thing. God. It’s sexy as hell.
I have to mentally shake myself and snap back to reality, because for ten full minutes I stood frozen in the doorway, watching him move around behind the bar. My fiancé didn’t cross my mind once. Not even a flicker.
I was already second-guessing getting married and it had nothing to do with Matt Byrne. Patrick sold me a life that is the opposite of what I’m actually living. The first six months were a whirlwind. He swept me off my feet and took me places. We did anything and everything I wanted. He was attentive. He worked, but he never did overtime, he never worked weekends, and he never took work trips away.
On our one year anniversary, everything started to change. He missed it completely and left me sitting alone in a restaurant. Talk about embarrassing. He showed up at my house at one in the morning, having just flown in, and said he had a meeting that turned into dinner and he couldn’t walk out on the possible investors. And he definitely couldn’t walk out on his dad.
I always knew the time was coming where he would take over the company. He never lied about that; he never tried to hide it. He told me his dad was looking to retire and wanted him to take over the business but I didn’t know it would be this soon.
Then we quickly went from dating to being engaged, because it looked better for the company. He said it could be a long engagement, we would establish a relationship that was strong. But his father quickly nixed that, saying he wanted him married to show a family lifestyle, the same as what he built prior to this.
Now here we are, planning a wedding that Patrick doesn’t even care about and in the middle of planning a life I don’t know if I can live. I don’t want to be anchored by a job, and I don’t want to be tied to a husband that puts said job first. I want to wake up on a Sunday morning and decide to grab tickets to a football game. I want to run out to dinner for pizza at eight o’clock at night. I want to dance under the stars at Grape Expectations like I used to do.
That last thought hits me like a punch to the gut.
“Ky, your phone is ringing.” My sister's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I didn’t even hear her come in. I see a picture of Patrick flash on my home screen and know he’s not coming. I stand from the table, saying, “Excuse me for one moment,” and answer the phone while walking to the front of the winery. “Let me guess?—”
“Kylie, I’m so sorry. They pushed my flight back. I can’t get another one until tonight, so I’m stuck at the airport.”
I bite my lip to keep my negative words at bay. It’s not his fault, right? He’s not the pilot. But he could have come home last night. He could have taken an earlier flight like I asked. And he could have remembered we had this meeting, told his dad to cover for him, and been here with me. After all, it was his dad’s idea to push this wedding date up.
“Do you want me to put you on FaceTime so we can do this together?”
“I'm in a noisy airport. Do you think I’ll be able to hear you?”
“Can you hear me right now?” My sarcasm is loud and clear.
I hear his sigh come across the phone. “Yes, I can hear you. You’re right, I’m just very tired?—”
I cut him off. “If you’re not going to be one hundred percent into this, then let’s not do it right now.”
“I just said you could put me on FaceTime, but if all you’re going to do is moan and groan about it, then I don’t want?—”
My hand tightens on my phone. “You’re tired. Maybe you should just relax in a chair for a while.”
“Besides fighting with somebody to get me another flight, all I’ve been doing for the last four hours is sitting in a chair.”
I take a deep breath and try to calm my anger. Fighting about this won’t solve anything. “My sister is here with me. I’ll make the arrangements with her.”
“Of course she is,” he mumbles.
“Excuse me?”
“I said I’m glad she’s there with you, Kylie.”
Neither of us speaks and the silence is deafening. “Okay, I’m going to hang up now before this turns into something more than it really should be. Let me know when you get a flight and I’ll meet you at the airport.”
“No need, it will be late. I’ll take an Uber back to the apartment,” he snaps.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” I pocket my phone and drop my hands to my sides, taking one more deep breath before turning around with a fake smile and walking back to the table. Sadie and Matt both look up at me, my sister with a raised brow and pursed lips and Matt with a questioning glance.
“He’s not going to make it because his flight was delayed, but we can continue.” I say matter-of-factly and take my seat once more. The place falls silent. I roll my lips inward. “Somebody needs to talk and we need to keep planning here,” I tell them.
My sister looks at Matt. “Can you give us a minute?” He pats the table twice and makes his exit and she turns to me. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I don't know if this is the right thing to do.” I rush out the words knowing I should’ve been saying this all along but not wanting to really admit that I have gone this far despite all my doubts.
“Then don’t do it if you’re not happy.” When I shrug, she asks, “Why are you doing this?”
“I was happy. We were happy until his father named him successor quicker than expected.”
“Are you sure it was quicker? As soon as he started dating you, his father started pushing him to get married, settle down, and take over the company.”
I look at her. “Are you saying I was the right time, right place girl?”
“I'm not saying that. I’m sure Patrick loves you, but I’m saying you were at the right time and at the right place for what’s convenient for him .” She twists her lips and looks at me with concerned eyes. “But it’s not what’s happy for you.”
I sit back in the chair and look around the winery, glancing to the left and watching Matt as he dusts off some of the bottles behind the bar. “You were happy with him,” she says quietly.
“That was fifteen years ago.”
“But you’re both back here in Starlight Bay now.”
I scoff. “Yeah, and I’m also engaged to be married in the place he owns.”
“What do you think the chances of that are?” my sister asks sarcastically.
“Oh, you think this is fate?”
“No, I'm the logical one. You’re the one who believes in all that shit. What are you thinking right now?”
I don’t say what I’m thinking out loud, but in my head, I’m wondering how I got to some place I didn’t want to be and the only one who could pull me out is standing ten feet away.
As if he can read my mind, he looks my way and smiles. You okay? he mouths, and I nod, beckoning him back to the table with a wave.
He comes back holding three glasses and a bottle of wine. “Let’s make this planning a little more fun. What do you say?”
“Sounds like a perfect idea,” I relent and ignore my sister's kick under the table.
He uses a corkscrew to open the bottle. I watch his forearms flex as he holds the bottle in one hand and pulls the cork with the other. Jesus, I need to get a grip. The cork pops, and I automatically call out, “Pour timing!”
He looks at me and replies with, “Don’t you mean time to pour!” We giggle together and my sister kicks me under the table again.
“I can’t believe you remember that,” he says quietly but with awe.
“Your uncle said it every time he popped a bottle! Even when I'm alone and open one, I can hear him say it.”
He smiles and it looks a bit sad. “So, Sadie, I actually wanted to ask you for a little help. Apparently National Wine Day is soon and my uncle always made a big deal out of the holiday. Mr. Pace reminded me at the estate signing but I'm floundering a bit here.” He pours the wine and passes us glasses. We clink them together.
“I’d actually love to help.” Sadie’s eyes light up as she takes a sip. “Event planning is a dream of mine.”
He smiles and glances at me. “Your organizational skills will come in handy for sure.”
She narrows her eyes at me then at Matt before they land back on me. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“As you should,” Matt says.
“I can help too.” Both my sister and Matt snap their heads toward me. “What? I like to party.”
Matt snickers. “ Planning a party and being the party are two different things, KJ.” The nickname only he had for me slips out and washes over me, and I feel at peace here. I feel at home. If he notices it, he doesn’t mention it.
I shrug. “It will keep me busy. I want to help. In honor of Uncle Paul, let me be a part of it.”
Matt’s smile grows and his eyes twinkle. “You’re both hired.”