Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
tristan
I hear a click and turn toward the area Paula and I were standing in before I pulled her aside. Piper is standing with her phone lifted in her hand. It’s pointed directly at us.
Paula turns to see what caught my attention. “What the hell?”
Her sister’s eyes are wide, and she knows she fucked up. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to intrude.”
“Well, you sure seem like you’re fine with butting in on private moments.” Paula pulls away from me. Our little bubble of solitude has burst and her guard has gone up once again.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I turned the corner and y’all looked adorable. I only wanted to capture the moment for you.” She lowers her hand and slides her phone into her pocket. “I really am sorry.”
Those are her last words before she runs off. I’m not upset. Her intentions were good, but even I know the invasion of privacy isn’t something Paula enjoys.
With her sister gone, she buries her face in her hands. “What is with her always trying to capture everything on her phone? I don’t understand it. Sometimes you need to live in the moment.”
I bend down until I can see her face. Well, her hands and slowly move them away. “She was trying to capture memories. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I know.” I give her hands a soft squeeze.
“Dale felt the same way when he’d look into the crowd and see phones instead of faces.
It really bugged him. But I told him the same thing.
His fans may only be able to see the band once in their lifetime.
Those videos and photos are proof of their experience.
Something they’ll look back on and cherish. She probably thought the same thing.”
“Why do you always have to be so rational?”
“With Dale, that’s what I’m paid for.” I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her waist. “For you, it’s so you can see the good parts of your family. They aren’t always coming at you for something to do with the business. They genuinely like having you around.”
I lead us out of the small alcove. “And because I know the importance of keeping record of memories. All I have left of my grandparents are photos. Even though it’s sad sometimes, I love looking at them. You can see the love emanating from them, even in the candid shots.”
This time she stops our movement, and wraps both arms around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.” I assure her. “It never came up.”
“No, but I feel like a shitty person now.” She buries her face in my shirt.
It’s another tell I’m picking up from her when she feels like she can’t control a situation.
“You know all this stuff about me, and I barely no anything about your family outside of your parents and brother. Even that is bare minimum.”
“It’s fine.” I rub small circles on her back.
“We have time to learn more about each other. Besides, I don’t know much about your family, either.
” When we were still a fake couple, we kept everything surface level.
It was my insistence to keep my feelings in check.
Now, we have the opportunity to really get to know each other.
“When we get back to Asheville, we’re going on a proper date without my meddling family around.”
“That’s a promise.” I laugh. “Let’s find the rest of the group.”
Hopefully, she can clear the air with her sister.
She’s so used to being treated like the outcast because she doesn’t want the same things that her first instinct is to go into defense mode.
Hopefully, that can change before we leave.
We only have one more full day, and I want them all to be on the same page.
Not for them, but for Paula. She needs to know her family has her back even if she’s not working for Starlit Fields.
“You want to help with the grill?” Peter asks as I come into the kitchen.
“Sure.” Luckily, I know what I’m doing when it comes to grilling. It’s one of the things my dad had me help him with when I was living at home.
Mom always did theatre and music things with me. With Dad, we grilled and watched football. He’d come to my shows, but he didn’t have the same passion for it my mom did. Well, still does. She always asks if I want to see a play if the stars align while I’m in town.
“You may want to get a jacket before we head out there. We have the outdoor heater, but it’s still chilly.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I rush down the hallway and to our room. That has a nice ring to it. Too bad it’s only ours one more night. At least then we can have some privacy.
Paula is sitting on the bed with her phone in her hands.
“What are you looking at?”
She looks up, teary-eyed, and wipes her face. “It’s the picture my sister took.”
“Wow. It’s so bad it’s making you cry?” I sit down next to her. “It’s because of me, right?”
“No, weirdo.” She smacks my chest. “It’s not because of you. It’s a really great picture.”
I don’t make any movements to let her have her moment. It must be a really good picture if she’s rendered speechless.
“Can I see it? Or, are you keeping it a secret from me.”
She laughs before leaning on my shoulder. “I’m not keeping it to myself. Just savoring the moment.”
“Did you and Piper talk?” Honestly, the picture doesn’t mean as much to me as her relationship with her sister. She’s one of the few siblings Paula is close to. I know arguments happen in families, but I think if everyone here talked more, there wouldn’t be so many hard feelings toward each other.
“Yeah.” She nods. “It was exactly like you said. She thought it was something we would cherish. I apologized so much for flying off the handle. She’s the one I trust most in this family and I treated her like crap.”
“As long as things are good between you now, then I’d say it was a good talk.”
“Yeah, we’re cool. Lucky for me, she knows I only need time. She was more embarrassed because you’re the one who caught her taking the picture.”
“I’m used to it.” I wave the comment away. “I’m sure some of Crooked Halo’s fans have some pretty horrible pictures of me.”
“But this isn’t horrible.” She grabs her phone and lifts it to my face. “It’s perfect.”
She’s not wrong. The sun is illuminating us through the windows and she caught the exact moment I kissed Paula’s forehead. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a posed picture. This photo is something I’ll treasure for a long time.
Despite the meltdown she was having, she looks comfortable and completely at ease in my embrace.
People say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one leaves me without them.
All I see is adoration and the inkling of something more.
Something I don’t want to put a name to because I know Paula will think it’s too early for those kind of declarations.
But when you know, you know. And I know without a doubt I’m falling head over heels for her.
“Can you send that to me?”
“Yeah.” She presses a few buttons and my phone dings in my pocket. “Why were you rushing in here?”
“Oh, I was getting a jacket. Peter’s probably waiting on me.”
“For what?”
“Grilling dinner.”
She bursts out laughing and doubles over. “That’s because he burns everything. He needs someone to blame it on, or take over the job.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that.”
“It’s not something he advertises.” She regains control of herself. “Do you know how to grill?”
“As a matter of fact. I do.”
“Thank God. The food will be edible.” She pushes me off the bed. “You better go so he doesn’t ruin it for everyone.”
I give her a quick kiss before grabbing my jacket and hightailing it out of the room. Is he really that bad of a cook? Surely not.
Parker is in the dining area opening up a bottle of beer, but I don’t see his brother anywhere.
“Where’s Peter?”
“He went outside with the steaks. Please save them.”
Geez, he doesn’t have any fans of his cooking. Maybe it’s a good thing I decided to help him out.
“Thanks.” I slip my jacket on and head outside.
Sure enough, Peter is standing in front of the grill, except the steaks are nowhere in sight.
“I went ahead and got them started. You were taking a bit.”
The flames are as high as the lid of the grill. He really doesn’t know what he’s doing. “The flame is too high.”
“What?”
“The flame is too high. The steaks will burn before the middle gets to the right temperature.” Thanks Pops for that little tidbit of information when I was a teen.
“No problem. And sorry about taking so long. I was talking with Paula.” More like admiring the photo from earlier. I pull my phone out of my pocket to save it. I also make it my wallpaper while I have it pulled up.
“She’s different,” Peter says. His focus is on the grill.
“Who?” I know who he’s talking about, but I want him to come out and say it. He’s one of the brothers she’s not very close to, and I want to get a handle on what he thinks and feels.
“Paula. Not in a bad way, or anything like that. But she’s usually way moodier and meaner on game nights. She actually seems to be enjoying her time with us.”
“That’s good, right?” I don’t see where he’s going with this.
“Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with you.” He shakes his head. “She’s never brought a guy around. Hell, half the time she doesn’t show up unless she’s forced to. Then she’s in a bad mood the entire time.”
This is one of those moments where it’s hard to keep my mouth shut. I want to tell them it’s because they put too much pressure on her. That they don’t value what makes her unique. But I can’t, not yet. It’s not my place. But the day is coming when I’ll let my thoughts be known.
“I’m sure she has her reasons.”
“Yeah, I can’t really blame her.” He glances over at me before moving toward the heater. “Pierce is kind of a dick at times. But that’s how big brothers are supposed to be to the younger kids.”
I don’t know where he got that warped sense of thinking. My brother has never treated me the way I’ve seen Pierce treat Paula.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t single her out.” I’ve noticed he’s hard on the rest of them, but her especially.
“Yeah, I don’t know why he’s like that with her. I do my best to do what he asks. If I do it, then he can’t complain about it.”
How sad is it that they have this view of their brother?
I don’t think it’s something Pierce learned from his own father.
Paul has been nothing but kind and outgoing.
He hasn’t even brought up the winery with Paula since we’ve been here.
I feel like Pierce is putting the pressure on her saying it’s coming from their parents.
That will end up biting him in the ass one day.
“I get it. My brother was already in college by the time I was a pre-teen. So, we didn’t really grow up in the same house.”
He laughs. “What’s that like? I can’t imagine not having my brothers and sisters pestering me all the time.”
“Lonely, mostly.” I grab the spatula and flip the steaks. “I had friends, but when it was time for them to go home, I didn’t have anyone.”
“I don’t envy you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
We watch the steaks a little longer. They should be just about done. The wind picks up and the salt on the breeze is heavy. As much as I’m enjoying the beach, I don’t think I could live here full time.
“Do you want a beer?”
“Sure.”
He reaches into a small cooler and pulls out a bottle before handing to me. Maybe Paula’s family is a tad out of touch with who she is, but they do pay attention. I think she’d like to know that. But, it should come from them. Not me. It’ll make more of an impact on her.