Chapter 19
THAT’S WHAT YOU GET
Marlon.
I couldn’t even look at her anymore.
Not without our last conversation playing in my head. I haven’t been sleeping either and that wasn’t helping my mood.
The cup of coffee Lav had waiting for me when I walked in this morning was still warm and untouched. I couldn’t be bothered to drink it. I couldn’t be bothered to do anything with Aurora in the room.
So I kept my focus on the papers in front of me, pen tapping against the margin while she spoke.
“And if we stagger the vendor payments across two quarters, we won’t feel the full impact upfront,” she explained, standing at the head of the table. “That gives us room to expand the event series without cutting staff or lowering quality.”
Then she moved as she talked, flipping through her notes. I glimpsed her and —
“I might be in love with you.”
Shit.
I tightened my grip on the pen slightly, forcing my attention to stay on the page.
“Mr. Sinclair?” one of the board members prompted. “Do you agree with the projection?”
“I do,” I said without looking up. “As long as we stay within the revised budget—”
“We will,” Aurora cut in immediately. “I already accounted for that. If anything, we’re under.”
She always came prepared now. Like she wanted to engage in arguments with me. But I’ll let her have it.
I nodded once, still not looking at her. “Then proceed.”
There was a pause and shift in the room.
They noticed. They always noticed when something between us felt off.
“Any concerns?” another voice asked.
“No,” I said. “She covered it.”
Silence again, followed by the stiff movement of papers shifting and chairs adjusting. The meeting continued, but I stayed locked into my notes because the second I let myself look at her, I’d feel it.
That pull.
That quiet urge to acknowledge her the way I used to without thinking about it.
The access I had that I took for granted. It wasn't an option anymore. So I kept my eyes down and let her lead. A few papers shifted down the table as the presentation moved forward. The tension didn’t leave, but it settled just enough for everyone to pretend things were normal again.
Otis leaned back in his chair, flipping his pen between his fingers. “So… we still not naming this shed?”
A few quiet chuckles circled the table.
Rory didn’t miss a step. “I got bigger fish to fry, O-dawg. We all do. Revenue.”
Ugh.
That shut the mood down quick.
She turned back to the screen, tapping through her notes.
“I’m in discussions with my father about upping the cost per bottle with vendors but that may take time to see turn over.
We don’t want to lose anyone who’s been loyal to us.
In the meantime, I think we can make some adjustments to our top line with staffing.
If we’re expanding the event schedule, we need to tighten how we’re approving hours.
There’s too much inconsistency right now. ”
A couple of heads nodded along and I just zoned out, looking out the window at the fields… thinking of her laugh and how much I’d missed the sound of it.
When we’d ride together, she’d have the heaviest laughter that carried over the whole vineyard. We’d spend hours out there, a full work day. Talking about any and everything.
When the sun dipped too low, we’d hide in the vines together, scared Dillon would catch us. And I’d feel nostalgic for a life I wished I had.
Oh, Alice.
“When you get the chance, can you take a look at adjusting the approval hours for staff working, Marlon?”
It felt like I was being tortured with her daughter. Years of suppressing any memory of the woman who almost ruined me just to have her image taking up too much space in my life.
She walked like her. Talked like her. But wasn’t like her completely. Like something that Alice was missing was the root of what made Aurora so… interesting.
“Marlon? Did you hear me?”
I didn’t think before I responded.
“Why don’t you do it?”
The room went quiet again.
Every head turned from her to me.
I looked at her then, for a second. Rory stilled at the front of the table, her expression unreadable.
“You want…me…to look at…staff wages?” she asked slowly.
“You the boss too, right?”
More silence.
I could feel the discomfort now as her eyes stayed on me, searching.
“Marlon… are you feeling okay?”
I adjusted my glasses with my palm heel then sighed.
“No,” I answered honestly. I pushed my chair back and stood. “I need a moment. Go on without me.”
I didn’t wait for a response as I looked away.
“Lavender,” I added, already moving toward the door, “take notes and bring them to me after.”
“Yes, sir,” she said quickly.
I stepped out before anyone could say anything else.
The door barely closed behind me before I heard heels moving fast.
“You know you’re gonna have to talk to me eventually, right?”
I stopped, but I didn’t turn around right away. I kept my hands in my pockets, eyes fixed ahead so I wouldn’t have to look at her.
“I’m not avoiding talking to you, Aurora.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Right,” I heard the heels clicking closer. “So why haven’t I heard from you in three days.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“With?”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” I said. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
She stepped in front of me anyway, forcing me to look at her.
“You can’t even look me in the eyes anymore,” she said.
I sighed. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” she pushed. “You been weird for days, and now you snapping in meetings?”
“I didn’t even snap!”
She raised a brow.
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over my face then adjusted my glasses again. “I’m just tired, Aurora.”
She studied me.
“Tired,” she repeated.
“Yes.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Her lips pressed together like she didn’t believe me. I held her gaze like she wanted but gave her nothing else to work with. After a second, her shoulders dropped just a little.
“Okay,” she said, even though it didn’t sound like just okay. “Then get your rest.”
“I will.”
She nodded once, then stepped around me, heading back toward the conference room. Right before she pushed the door open, she paused and glanced back at me like she wanted to say something else but didn’t.
Then she disappeared inside.
I closed my eyes.
“I love you, lone wolf.”
I can’t do this shit again. I can’t go back.
When I got to my office, I walked straight past my desk and out the side door that led toward the stables. Spades lifted his head the second I stepped in, ears flicking forward because he knew it was me.
“Yeah,” I muttered, walking over and resting a hand against his neck. “I know.”
He shifted closer, grounding me in a way nothing else had been all morning. I wanted to take him and escape this field. Just ride until I fall off the face of the earth. It’ll be a million times easier than having to look Aurora in the face and tell her the truth.
I leaned against the stall, forearms resting on the rail, letting the silence sit.
Letting everything I didn’t say back there catch up to me.
Her face when I spoke and the way she looked at me just now in the hall. I could only imagine how she’d react to my secret.
I shook my head, exhaling hard.
Spades huffed softly, nudging my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I added, rubbing a hand down his neck. “I wish we could go too.”
A part of me even wondered if I should tell her the truth. I swore I’d take a secret like this to the grave. Maybe I still can if I end it with her. It was never supposed to get this far anyway.
She thinks she loves me?
How the fuck did I let this happen? Why did I get back in bed with her in the first place? What was it about me that always made situations messier than it should be?
I breathed deeply.
Summer’s almost over and her time here was almost up. The smart play was to end it but I knew Rory. She wasn’t gonna just let this die without an explanation.
Her dad maybe?
Do I even care if he finds out?
Probably not.
Fuck.
I was already in deeper than I should be. And I was getting too old for this shit. There’s no graceful exit and someone was gonna get hurt because I didn’t know how to fix this without breaking something in the process.
For a second, I just stood there, hand resting against Spades, breathing slow, trying to clear my head.
It didn’t work.
Because the second everything went quiet, she showed up again. I spent an eternity trying to forget her and one word was enough to trigger her memory in me.
Her smile came first. Rory had that same smile. I didn’t notice it at first. Or maybe I did and ignored it. But now I couldn’t unsee it.
Then her voice.
She knew how to talk to people, how to settle a room without raising it. Rory didn’t have that same softness, but when she slowed down… when she wasn’t performing… it was there. Hiding underneath all that attitude.
Aurora.
Sweet Aurora.
Slowly, I realized the voice I missed…was my Bunny-rabbit. An hour talking to her was worth more than a hundred days in the vineyard. But I couldn’t let myself enjoy it because I was haunted by a ghost with her face.
I was at my desk trying to get work done when the door opened without knocking.
I didn’t look up right away because I could tell who it was by the scent of that perfume. I kept typing, hoping she would take the hint and leave but no.
“Can I help you with something, Ms. Rodriguez?”
“I got your notes.”
I leaned back slightly, finally looking up at her but avoiding her eyes. She stood just inside the door, holding a folder.
“Where is Lavender?”
“I told her I’d drop it off.”
I nodded once. “Of course. Why am I not surprised.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
She shut the door behind her, deliberately cornering me here and making sure we weren’t getting interrupted.
“You cured yet?” She asked, walking closer.
“No,” I said, already turning back to my screen. “And I have a headache so if you could please—”
She walked around the desk, moved the ashtray out of the way and sat right on top of it before I could finish. Then she picked up the half lit cigar, taking a small puff, then immediately choked.