Chapter 7
Seven
As soon as the door rattled shut behind her, Riley stopped on the sidewalk and pulled in a deep breath. The air was thick with the scent of sun-warmed grapes drifting in from the vineyard—a fragrance she’d once thought of as home. Growing up, that smell had been her calm in the middle of chaos.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Mateo’s name.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Bryson’s voice called from behind her.
She froze, her thumb hovering over the screen.
“I get that after you bury your father, you’ll probably hop a plane and vanish into some exotic mountainside again,” he went on, stepping closer.
“Fine. But while you’re here? You don’t get to waltz into my tasting room, drop a grenade, and then disappear just because Monica decided to be—” he paused, his jaw tightening, “—herself.”
“I’m not running,” she said, exhaling hard, flexing her fingers.
Half of her wanted to shove him aside and storm off.
The other half wanted to collapse into him.
“I just can’t deal with her. Or you. Not after my mother made it sound like my existence was the reason we can’t breathe the same air.
And then Monica…” Riley’s voice cracked, tears stinging her eyes before they spilled over.
“She turned my dad’s death into some inconvenience for her damn garden party—and a reason to take a shot at—”
“Hey.” Bryson stepped in, brushing the tears from her cheek with his thumb.
“I’m sorry she rattled you. That was cruel—she was cruel.
And, yes, it was intentional. She’s… good at that now.
Too good. She’s not the same person you knew back then.
She’s shallow, selfish, and the only person she cares about is the one in the mirror. ”
“Sounds like my mother.” The words tasted bitter in her mouth. Monica had become exactly what Riley had spent twelve years running from—someone who used cruelty as currency and saw other people as obstacles to whatever she wanted.
“Listen, I can see if one of my siblings can cover for me here. Or you can come back in and hang out. We’ve got some great flatbreads. I don’t want you to be alone.”
“No. I’ll be fine. I just need space.”
He hesitated, brow furrowing in that way she remembered from years ago.
“I hate that look,” she said quietly. “It means you’re about to dig up something heavy.”
“Considering what just happened, I don’t believe you and I have completely cleared the air. And since you’ve always mattered to me, I want us to be able to be friends. It’s important to me. I think we need to have the Monica talk.”
“Is that kinda like a TED Talk?”
“You’ve always been adorable when you’re deflecting,” he said, amusement glimmering in his eyes.
“But I’m serious. I don’t want us to be at odds every time we cross paths with her, and it will happen.
I need you to hear my side, and I want to hear yours.
In the past, I don’t think either one of us stopped to listen to what the other was saying.
Instead, we flung hurtful words at each other. I’d like to move beyond that.”
“I honestly don’t know if I have the bandwidth for it.
I’m running on fumes, and there’s no gas station in sight for what I need.
” Only, she wasn’t exactly sure what she needed.
She swallowed. Hard. If her father were around, this would be exactly the kind of thing she’d talk to him about.
A blanket woven of clarity and determination settled around her shoulders.
The gaping hole left by her father’s loss made some things clearer than they’d ever been before, and one of those things was that life was too short to walk around with open wounds. She and Bryson both deserved to heal
“But…” She took a breath then lifted her gaze to his. “Okay. Just not today. I’m gonna head back to the inn, take a nice, long, hot bath, read a book, drink some wine that your mom brought over, order room service, and crash.”
“Sounds like a perfect night.” He lifted her chin with his thumb. “Call me if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is. I’m here for you.” He leaned in and brushed his warm lips against hers.
Her heart stuttered in her chest. The kiss was so achingly familiar, like coming home and saying goodbye all at once. It stirred feelings she'd spent years burying, and for one dangerous moment, she wanted to pull him closer instead of letting him go.
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said. He stepped back inside, leaving her alone on the sidewalk.
The last time her emotions had swung this wildly, she’d been eighteen and boarding a plane for Alaska.
But she wasn’t that reckless girl anymore.
She was thirty-five, a woman who’d seen the world, who should know how to steady herself.
Bryson was right—if she didn’t face her past, it would eat away at her until there was nothing left.
She looked down at her phone. “Shit.” She pressed it to her ear. “Mateo?”
“Well, hello there,” his voice boomed, dripping with amusement.
Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t just listen to that whole conversation.”
“I plead the fifth,” he said, laughing. “Isn’t that what you Americans say?”
“You get some weird pleasure out of other people’s drama.”
“Reality TV is my cardio. And that Bryson guy? Hot voice, solid man vibes. But this Monica chick—spill the tea.”
“How’s everything there?” She’d been accused of being the queen of redirection. She might as well wear the crown for a little while longer.
“You didn’t call to talk about me. What’s going on?”
“Fine. Trying to navigate all this… is harder than I thought. Throw in an ex–best friend who married and divorced my ex-boyfriend, and it’s more drama than your Real Housewives marathon.”
“Ouch.”
She glanced up the street and froze. “And speaking of Stone Bridge’s latest real housewife drama—Monica. She’s standing in front of a shop with someone I don’t recognize. God, why am I still letting her get to me?”
“Because you’ve never dealt with it,” Mateo said. “And you’re still in love with the man she married.”
“I liked it better when all we talked about was my lack of a smile.”
“I’m just saying… be careful with yourself.”
“Crap. She’s headed this way. I’m hanging up.”
“You’d better call me later.”
She ended the call and rounded the corner—straight into someone.
“Whoa—sorry,” she said, looking up. “Sandy?”
“Holy shit,” Sandy said, stepping back to take her in. She was in a crisp Stone Bridge PD uniform, her blonde hair pulled into a sleek ponytail. “I’d heard you were back in town.”
“Just got back the other day,” Riley said.
“I’m so sorry about your father. He was such a great man. My oldest loves him.”
“You have kids?”
“Two.” Sandy’s smile was about as wide as a human could possibly make it. “A boy and a girl. One’s three and the other four months.”
“Crazy personal question, but are you and—?”
“Are you asking if I stayed with Pauly? God, no. That romance died out faster than the ink dried on our diplomas.” Sandy smiled. “I met my husband, Mason, about eight years ago. He was here on a golf trip with friends. It was a crazy romance. We married just a year after we got together.”
“What does he do that he could just pack up from wherever he lived and join you here?”
“He’s in sales. A manufacturer’s rep. He works from home but has to travel a lot.
Now that I’m the Police Chief, with better hours, our life is a little easier with the kids.
But it’s still hard, because Mason’s gone a few days almost every week.
” Sandy had been a ball of energy in high school, always wearing a huge grin on her face. Not much had changed.
“Sounds like a wonderful life.”
The sound of Monica’s voice filled the air. Riley cringed, forcing herself not to glance over her shoulder. The rhythm of high heels clicking on the pavement got closer and closer, grating on her last nerve.
“I’m sorry. I need to—”
“Hi Sandy,” Monica’s high-pitched voice hit Riley’s ears like a cannonball. “And Riley. Hmmm, did something happen?”
Sandy’s face lit up like a damn Christmas Tree. “Oh, we’re just catching up. But I was heading toward that fancy SUV of yours to give you a ticket. You’ve got about three minutes before I refuse to turn my back.” She pointed a finger. “You’re parked in a no-parking zone.”
“So sorry. There were no spots left.” Monica held up the platter she’d picked up from Bryson. “I just had to pop in real quick and get this. I’ve been so busy with the Garden Party planning that I didn’t have any time to prepare for a little gathering I’m having this evening.”
“Right.” Sandy cocked her head. “Better scoot. I’m not in a good mood today, and don’t like being taken advantage of by people I used to be friends with a long time ago.” She waved her hand as if she were asking a toddler to run along.
“I’m going.” Monica leisurely strolled down the street with her hips swaying like she was trying to get someone’s attention.
“How do you do that with a smile on your face?” Riley asked.
“There are moments I don’t smile, but you should have seen the one I sported the day I arrested Robert Wilkerson.” Sandy chuckled.
“Wait. What? He was arrested?”
“Oh, boy. Your mother didn’t tell you?”
Riley shook her head.
“Ponzi scheme. Sadly, your mom invested and he’s now in federal prison.”
“Jesus. I had no idea.” While she and her family weren’t close, that was something she figured her brother and sister would’ve mentioned.
Unless her mom had begged them not to—though, the only way she’d do that was to protect her reputation.
Knowing those two, they would’ve kept their promise to her while she constantly bothered them, worrying they’d spill her dirty little secret.
“It rocked the entire town,” Sandy said. “Do you have time for a cup of coffee?”
“I’d love that.”
They fell into step, walking toward the local diner. Once inside, cups in hand, they slid into a corner booth.
“Can I ask you a question?” Riley asked.
“Of course.”