Chapter 20
JULES
S he wasn’t the type to second guess herself. But as she tied the halter of her pink and red floral dress around her neck, she couldn’t help wondering if inviting Riley tonight was a horrible idea.
Of course, he seemed like the kind of guy that got along with everyone. And her mother certainly wouldn’t be abrasive to him. She just didn’t want him to see this side of her—the side that built defenses against her own family.
She let out a sigh as she scrunched the fresh waves she put in her hair.
Then with a pass of her favorite lipstick—classic rouge—she smacked her lips together and held her head high as she marched towards the door.
She felt confident knowing Riley would be by her side. Like she could be her true self.
For that reason, tonight would be fine, she reasoned as she locked the apartment up and started towards her car.
She had herself fully believing it too by the time she reached Sterling Vineyards.
Then as she weaved up the drive through rows of grapevines, her thoughts stilled.
It was marvelous here—the vineyard enclosed by mountains, the low sun casting orange and pink across the valley.
Tucked away in the back sat a wooden lodge boasting two stories of glass and chandeliers gleaming from inside.
The sight was stunning, and she made a mental note to thank Riley for suggesting it.
Jules parked and reached for her phone to tell him where she was, so they could walk in together. He had offered to pick her up but she’d insisted on arriving separately, in case he needed to make a getaway from her drama.
Before she could get her phone out though, there was a knock on her window. With a slight start, she turned to find Riley standing there in a crisp, pale blue button down and his hair freshly trained back from his face, no hat in sight.
“Look at you all cleaned up,” she remarked as she climbed out. Closing the door and leaning back against her car, she studied him head to toe. “While I prefer you looking like the Riley I know, this blue is really nice on you.”
His eyes sparkled as he took her in, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Well, none of my looks have anything on you. Juliette, you’re gorgeous.
” He took a step towards her, his hands dragging down her bare back.
“I especially like the backless thing you have going on with this dress,” he added in a low, alluring tone.
She took a step closer as well, reaching up to undo the top few buttons of his shirt. Adjusting the opening, she ran her fingertips down the chain around his neck. “Now you look more like my Riley,” she murmured to herself.
When his grasp around her tightened and he dropped his lips to her temple, she had a feeling the words reached more than herself. “ Your Riley, huh?” he rasped against her hairline. Then before she could respond, he kissed her head and turned towards the winery. “Ready?”
She took a steadying breath, unsure if it was necessary for the impending dinner, or the way he was making her insides feel like slush. “As I’ll ever be.”
Keeping one hand on the small of her back, he led her through the parking lot. It was a mild night, a gentle breeze catching the hem of her dress as they moved, and his palm felt warm pressed against her.
Stopping short of the door, Jules turned to him.
“You know, there was a time when I would have never believed you if you said I’d dread this.
My family was my everything. That won’t be my mom in there, not really.
And whatever she says about my dad tonight, it won’t be accurate. He’s not a bad guy, just determined.”
Riley nodded, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing. “There’s something to be said about a man and his foolish pride.”
From the tone of his voice, it sounded like he had his own experiences with foolish pride.
She wondered what those first few months of recovery were like for him, she wondered how he handled the news he couldn’t do what he loved any longer.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret for leaving the hotel room before he woke that morning.
Would they have stayed in touch? Could she have been there for him?
Pulling the winery door open, he promised, “Say the word and we’re out of here.”
“Should we have made a code word?” she whispered back, spotting her mom across the way.
“You just give me that let’s get out of here look,” he replied with a grin. “Same as that night in Texas.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t protest. Not when the mention of their night together flooded her with heat. It would be so easy to give him that look again.
Trying to clear the memory, she turned her attention to the scene before them.
Sterling Vineyards was beautiful inside.
They passed under the second story walkway with a towering fireplace and headed towards the center of the room lit up by the breathtaking crystal lighting.
Weaving between the white cloth tables with small wildflower arrangements and tea light candles, they headed for the back corner of the space.
Her mother had managed to snag the best table in here on a crowded summer night—secluded, overlooking the vines, and the back porch didn’t obstruct the sights.
She noticed that heads turned as they made their way over, everyone clearly interested in Riley’s presence. “You have fans,” she murmured to him.
His hand returned to the small of her back as he leaned in. “This town likes their rodeo. But I think you’re the one turning heads tonight looking like a cowboy’s dream.”
A shiver ran through her as his breath tickled her ear in tandem with his thumb sweeping up her spine. Her senses were overwhelmed by his presence, only stoking that heat further.
“Riley, right? It’s so lovely that you came along,” Francine said, rising to shake his hand before pulling Jules into a stiff hug. “Tell me, how do you know my daughter?”
They all took a seat at the round table and Riley leaned back in his chair before replying. “I’m the wrangler at Hayes Ranch. I have the pleasure of working closely with her this summer.”
To anyone else, he would still appear relaxed and pleasant with that lazy smile on his face. But she could see it in his gaze as his eyes shifted over to her. There was a discontent simmering there, a guardedness. On her behalf?
“Well, aren’t you lucky, getting more time with her than her family.” Apparently, Francine was in a mood tonight. “I barely got this dinner.”
Riley’s jaw tensed. But before any other words could be said, the server appeared at the table.
“Welcome y’all—oh, Riley. What a treat to have you here,” the pretty brunette purred. Her eyes glanced around the table, finally noticing the rest of her patrons. “Are you here with your girlfriend?” she asked, her voice icy now.
“Maren,” her mother read the server’s name tag politely. “I’ll be ordering a bottle of this lovely special edition you’re advertising—for the table.” She lifted the foiled card from the centerpiece and pointed at the cabernet listed.
Jules’s shoulders relaxed as she watched them bend their heads over the specials list, her jealousy settling back down.
With her mother distracted, Riley reached over and squeezed her knee under the table.
There was amusement in his eyes once again—either at her jealousy or the fact that Maren had referred to her as his girlfriend, she couldn’t be sure.
All Jules knew was that she was going to need more than one bottle of wine for the whole table.
Maren excused herself without another word about Riley or Jules, and a beat of silence hung over the table. Everyone waited for someone else to bring up the tense conversation that had started. But Jules was more interested in why Francine had tracked her down with a surprise visit.
Before she could ask, Riley cleared his throat and beat her to a question. “How did you like town today, Ms. Graham?”
He was going for a more polite dinner conversation than her, then.
“Oh, call me Francine, dear.” Her mother reached out and patted his arm that sat stretched across the table. His other still rested on Jules’s knee, hidden by the linen tablecloth. “And it was just lovely. So charming!”
“What brought you to town, Mom?” The words were about as blunt as Francine had been, maybe it was a family trait.
“I can’t visit you? This was easier than taking a pack through foreign land to spend some time together.”
“It’s not like you stuck around home either,” Jules shot back. Riley’s hand squeezed her knee, and she met his gaze and locked on. She allowed his presence to help calm her like she hoped it would.
Maren returned, the conversation on pause as wine was poured and a basket of thin, crunchy breadsticks deposited. After holding the glass up to examine it and taking a sip, her mother answered. “I had no intention of leaving your father.”
Plucking a breadstick from the basket, Jules bit off the end.
A satisfying crunch rang out. “Then what happened?” This was more open than they had been with one another since everything fell apart.
And while it was suspicious that her mom was so casual about it now, she wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
“We had plans. A whole host of them. And vowed to make them happen once you were out on your own.” Her mom had a far off look in her eyes, as if back in the memory.
“When you graduated high school, we decided you still might need us while in college. Then you graduated college, and it was about getting you settled in your own place. But Miles was no closer to being ready.”
Jules felt her knee begin to bounce, tension creeping throughout her body. Riley dragged his hand back and forth along her thigh until the pace of her leg slowed. She brought all her focus to the perfect amount of pressure coming from his hand, grateful to have him there.
Lifting her wine glass, she stole a glance at him as she took a drink. His eyes were already on her. Holding his stare for a moment, she could tell he was searching for that look. The one that said she wanted to get out of there.
Across the table, Francine continued. “Then your grandfather died. And I knew that was it, our plans would never happen. Of course, I still hoped. It started as me only leaving for the weekend. Just a small trip, not like the ones we were supposed to take.” Her mother held her head up high, her shoulders straight and confident.
“He couldn’t care less that I was gone, or that I extended it to a week. ”
“When you were visiting your old college friend?”
“Out in California, yes. That moment when I came back and he hadn’t seemed to care either way, it was enough for me to leave for longer. Then I just didn’t go back—I thought maybe one day he would come after me, ask me to return.”
“Have you told him that?”
Jules reached for her wine glass once again, hoping to wash away the building sadness in her gut. It was as if her dad was forcing himself to serve a life sentence at Graham Equestrian. And that’s never how her grandfather would have wanted things to be.
“No, I haven’t. But after being away this past year, he clearly doesn’t miss me.”
“But how do you know?” she asked after polishing off her glass.
Francine shook her head admittedly. “Your father has made his choices. And you have too—do you plan to throw yourself into this little photo hobby and work your life away like him?”
“Her career is far from being a little hobby. She’s out there making a name for herself. Successfully.” Riley’s voice delivered his words with a calm confidence, and just enough edge to make it clear he wouldn’t have Francine saying these things.
Jules’s jaw dropped. Her mother, however, remained unsurprised by Riley’s interjection. She tilted her head to study him, then smiled tightly—as if deciding something.
The vibration of a phone call sounded at the table. But he continued.
“Everyone wants to be a photographer these days. Most do it as a side job. But Jules…” he turned to her, admiration and heat sw irling in his gaze. “Jules books out a year in advance because she’s that in demand. And it’s international work.”
The phone vibration started up again. But her focus was on Riley. Jules’s heart felt like it was going to leap up her throat as she watched him boast about her to her own mother.
“Have you seen her accomplishments? The magazines that hire her? Their big names? Have you seen how she immerses herself in what she does?”
A third round of vibrating began.
“My goodness. Please just answer that,” Francine huffed.
Riley reached into his pants pocket and withdrew his phone just as the call stopped. He held the screen up for Jules to see as a text message came in. Two missed calls from Brett. One missed call from Grey. And the text was from Grey.
Grey
Need you at the ranch. Now.
Then another came in before Riley could lower his phone. From the team lead once again.
Grey
Grab Jules on your way.
He raised his eyebrows at her, silently asking her if she wanted to run. And she did. She wanted to run away with Riley.
“Mom, I’m sorry. But we have to go. Something has come up,” she offered, unable to hide the smile spreading across her face. “We can continue this another time,” she added. “But I think you should say all of this to Dad.”
Rising from his seat, Riley reached out for her hand and laced their fingers together. She allowed him to pull her up, tucking her into his side.
He turned to her mother and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, thank you for tonight. And if you’d like to continue our conversation another time, I’d be more than happy.” He flashed a disarming smile, one of those megawatt ones. Then with a squeeze of her hand, they made a run for it.