Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Ian
As I hightail it out of the diner, I’m annoyed with myself.
I don’t even know if I’m running away from the idea of internet commentary or if I’m actually running away from Winnie.
And the way she makes me feel.
Like I could fall in love with her.
Which is insane.
Right?
We’re total opposites.
I don’t know how that could possibly work.
I’m being standoffish with her and I know it and I hate that it’s making her uncomfortable.
But I can’t seem to stop myself. I need to pull back for I get sucked in too deep.
My phone dings with a text notification. I glance at it as I head down the street toward home to figure out if I need to make a statement about the video or not.
Fuck.
It’s the group chat with my brothers. I know this isn’t going to be good.
I sigh and brace myself for harassment.
I get it. In spades.
HOT BOURBON GUY?? Who comes up with this shit??
From mama’s titty baby to hot bourbon guy…little bro hired a good PR rep.
I’M FUCKING DYING.
And my twin brother just comes in with simple, but highly effective, laughter.
Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha
“Just fucking great,’ I mutter to no one.
“Hi, Hot Bourbon Guy!” Miss Bettie calls out to me in a sing-song voice as I walk past the edge of the festival.
I give her a wave. I don’t trust myself to speak.
“Represent!” one of our distillery workers calls out to me. He makes like he’s giving me a fist bump.
“Bourbon is sexy!” yells a mother pushing her baby in a stroller.
Spring has made everyone crazy. It was a long winter.
Thank God today is the last day of the festival.
Tomorrow everything will return to normal.
My phone buzzes. It’s my mother.
You look very handsome in that video.
“Jesus.” I shake my head.
I call my twin brother. “Hey, hottie,” he says.
I can hear the grin in his voice.
“That’s a fucking weird thing to say to me given we’re identical twins.”
“No, it’s not. All those compliments are for me too, really. I’m loving this.”
If he’s baiting me, it might be working. “Can you stop giving me a hard time for three seconds? I need to know what you think we should do about this.”
“Uh, nothing. It’s great free advertising. You didn’t say or do anything stupid. You look and sound like a promotional video for Four Brothers.”
That gives me pause. I lean on the fence that outlines the front of my property. “You don’t think it sounded…self-serving?”
“No. It sounded like you believed every word you said.”
“I do.”
“Then lean into it. We’re a new distillery but people still love tradition, history.”
My jaw unclenches. I can feel my shoulders drop in relief. “Okay. Good. Damn, I thought this might be really bad.”
“Not at all.”
Instantly, it occurs to me that I need to go back to the diner and apologize to Winnie for taking off the way I did.
“What?” Ian asks.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I know. But what else is going on? Because I can hear it.’
“I didn’t even say anything,” I repeat. Sometimes being a twin has its drawbacks.
Like when my brother wants to poke around in my head.
“It’s a woman,” Dylan states.
I sigh. “Yes. There’s this new girl in town and she’s funny and interesting and sexy as hell and…”
“And?”
“She thinks I’m too serious.”
“She said that?”
“She said I’m serious. I guess I added the ‘too.’”
“So you don’t actually know how she feels.”
“I can tell,” I insist.
Dylan snorts. “Oh, yeah, women just love it when you try to tell them what they’re thinking or feeling. Just like you would if she assumed anything about how you’re feeling.”
I remain silent. He has a point but I’m not willing to admit it.
“Just talk to her. And you are a serious guy but some women respond to that strong silent type, you know. Go for it and see how it all shakes out. Don’t end it before it’s even started.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Yes. Just like it was easy for you to tell me to go for it with Lauren and I’m glad damn I listened to you. Lauren is my person. Who knows who this woman might be in your life? Do you want to risk never finding out?”
“No.” The idea makes my fist tighten. “This feels so damn impulsive though.”
“You’re not running off to Vegas to get hitched. You’re talking about dating her. Right? Unless you do want to run off to Vegas, in which case I say tell me when so I can buy a plane ticket to stand up as your witness.”
To my complete shock the idea of doing something so outrageous doesn’t horrify me. Or make me shut down. Or want to run away and hide out in a rick house by nothing but bourbon barrels.
That’s all I need to know.
I need to talk to Winnie.
Now. I need her to know that I’m in.
Except she’s not in the diner when I burst through the door after ending the call with Dylan. The teens are there either.
I spin on my heels, ready to find her, when I realize I have no idea where her new apartment actually is. I turn back, desperate.
The clock is ticking and I feel like I’m on the verge of blowing the best relationship I might ever have before it even gets started.
Lucy eyes me over her cup of tea. “Looking for Winnie?”
I nod. “Yes.” I practically shout the word.
Her eyes widen. “Damn. You’ve fallen for her already, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” This time I speak firmly, with less volume. Not frantic, with conviction. “Do you know where her apartment is?”
“You should probably know where a woman lives before you sleep with her,” Lucy comments.
Great advice. I just stare at her. I’m not going to confirm or deny anything.
“She’s moving in upstairs,” Buddy says, wiping his hands on a towel. “Doors open.”
“Buddy!” Lucy reprimands.
He just shrugs. “It’s not exactly a secret. Besides, Winnie has it almost as bad for him as he has it for her. It’s written all over both of their faces.”
I rush toward the door. The stairs to the apartment are in the back of the building. “Thanks, Buddy! I’d kiss you if I wasn’t in such a hurry!”
“Don’t even think about it,” he tells me.
Running up the exterior steps, I throw open the apartment door. It’s empty except for a rolling suitcase, a bag of dog food, and a blanket.
Plus Winnie’s lamp, returned. With every inch of the base covered in turquoise rhinestones. It’s more fitting for Graceland than a small apartment in Kentucky.
But it’s definitely a statement.
That was fast work on Lucy’s part. Goes to show how the town has already taken a shine to Winnie.
I hear voices on the stairs.
A minute later Winnie appears in the doorway, carrying a box. She draws up short.
Two teen boys make sounds of protest. Which is fair, considering they’re carrying a mattress.
“Ian.”
“Winnie.” I reach out and take the box from her. “We need to talk.”
She sighs, her shoulders slumping. “You’re right.” She moves out of the doorway and the boys bring in the mattress. “Just put it against this wall.” She gestures. “Then can you get the table next? Thanks, guys.”
“Sure.” They prop the mattress against the wall and eye me with curiosity. Then they head back out, their shoes pounding on the steep stairs.
“Where’s Barrel?” I ask.
“With the girls from the glee club. They have him firmly on a leash and far away from corn dogs.”
“Good.” I nod. Then, “I think I told you I have a twin brother,” I say, because I have to start somewhere and I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling.
Winnie’s eyebrows shoot up. “I don’t think you did. Just that you have brothers.”
“Well, I do. He’s my identical twin and he’s totally different from me.
Opposites, really. The thing is, that’s part of why he and I can be so close.
Because we’re not alike at all. So we complement each other.
I keep him from doing anything really stupid and he keeps me from being way too serious. He’s my best friend.”
Winnie doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me, waiting for me to make my very roundabout point.
I clear my throat. “This morning I woke up thinking you have a way of making me lose all common sense. And how dangerous that could be. But it’s the opposite of that.
” I reach out and take her hand in mine.
“I love spending time with you and I want to know everything about you. I want to grow bigger with you, embrace who we both are, together. I want to be with you if you’re willing to give me and my way too fucking tidy life a chance. ”
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“There’s no mic and you don’t need to make a speech.”
She’s smiling though, and rocking on her heels forward, closer to me. I take it as a good sign. I draw her up, wrapping my arms around her.
“But I’m obviously really good at it.”
Winnie laughs softly. “I already made my mind up that I want to be with you.”
That is music to my ears.
“Oh, yeah? When was that?”
“When you let my dog sleep in your bed with me. Now shut up and kiss me.”
“My pleasure.”
So I do.