Chapter 28

Guilt ripped through Grace as she walked down the stairs and exited the building. Archer’s defeated, resigned look occupied her thoughts for the first half of her walk.

“I’m not doing anything wrong,” she reminded herself. “But why does it feel like I am?”

She needed to stop thinking about her boss. It wasn’t fair to her. She should be excited to finally meet the man, the other man, who was taking up headspace. With each step closer to the festival, her guilt slowly shifted to nervous anticipation.

The wine festival was an annual outdoor event. One of the main streets downtown was blocked off to allow only foot traffic, and vendors from all over the world came to showcase their products. Vendors who were brave enough anyway, or hadn’t heard, or believed the rumours of Hell’s Gate.

Grace tried to go every year. She looked forward to the festival and would stock up on bottles of Cab Sav from around the globe.

This year, she had been so consumed by her new PR project, that she had forgotten all about it. If it wasn’t for this blind date, she would have missed it completely.

I wonder how he’d react to me buying twenty bottles of wine? she considered as she giggled to herself. That would be a great first impression.

With the entrance in sight, she felt her phone vibrate.

Mystery_Man

Hey! Just running a few minutes behind. I’m sorry if you get there first. Wait for me? I’ll see you soon ??

Grace

I just got here, no worries!

Grace entered the street. The familiarity embraced her as she enjoyed the aroma from the various food trucks and the sound of the live band playing in the distance, as she made her way to the German stand. She knew exactly where to go. The layout hadn’t changed in years.

Many booths offered free samples, which Grace happily partook in. She grabbed cards for the samples she liked to remind herself to return to that vendor later to buy a bottle. By the fourth sample, her nerves started to settle and she was more than ready to meet her date.

The German booth was situated in the middle of the event, but it felt like a quieter area. While half the event was on the street, the other half poured into the event grounds, and this booth was tucked in between two massive trees. It was a coveted spot, and she found out years earlier that the company paid extra every year to claim it.

Not wanting to look awkward while standing there waiting, she grabbed her phone to let her date know she was in place.

I’m here. Just off to the side out of the way

Also - had a few samples, so you’ll need to play catch up!

“You’re here!”

Grace heard the man’s voice from behind her and whipped around to find a tall hooded figure stand ing before her. He raised his head and blood-red eyes met hers.

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