16. Bas
BAS
Every morning since the first time Gemma and I were together, after the night of the frost, I’d been up and out of the cottage before she opened her eyes.
This morning, I stuck around. I’d woken up with women before, but I’d never lain in bed, head propped up on my bent arm, and stared at somebody until it went numb.
I checked the time, knowing I had to wake her but wanting to let her sleep a little while longer.
Had it really only been a handful of months ago that I tried to get her to go out with me at Izzy and Kick’s wedding?
Then I’d coerced her into being my fake date for a full year.
Now that I thought about it, it made me feel like shit for doing it.
Today wasn’t the day to do it, but soon, I planned to tell her—or ask her if—we could agree to go legit.
The same paranoia I’d experienced yesterday before my siblings arrived landed square in my chest. What if this was temporary for her? What if she didn’t feel as strongly for me as I did for her? I mean, how could she? I’d literally forced her to pretend to be my girlfriend.
Shit, now, I couldn’t wait to get out of here so I could breathe. But I couldn’t let her oversleep.
“Gem,” I whispered.
She didn’t budge.
“Gemma, time to get up.”
She threw her arm over her eyes. “No.”
“You’re late.”
She moved her arm and opened one eye. “You’re serious, aren’t you? God, why didn’t my alarm go off?” she said as she rolled out of bed and raced into the bathroom. “The one day I oversleep, and I have half the valley coming to this property tonight.”
“More like all of it, and the keyword is tonight.” I stretched out on the bed and laced my fingers behind my head.
When she returned and leaned down to kiss me, she tasted of toothpaste. “You’re annoyingly relaxed.” Her eyes opened wide. “And you’re still here.”
“My state of relaxation probably has a lot to do with the fact that I haven’t left your bed.”
“At all?”
I got up and headed toward the kitchen. “Don’t worry, Gem. I did get the coffee on.”
“Wait, that’s not what I meant. It’s only that—”
My kiss quieted her since there was something important I had to pass on. “Zeke wanted me to tell you that he’s on standby in case he needs to let anyone in.”
“I guess the good news is that all three teams finished their setup last night. I still have a lot to do, but they don’t. I mean, they do, but not until later.”
“So what’s on your list?”
“A dry run of the presentation, a full staff briefing once they all arrive, another review of Kick’s slideshow, which by the way, looks amazing. I just hope his speech is equally so. Wait. I don’t need to hope. The one he gave at his own wedding was the best I’ve ever heard. What about the wine?”
“Everything is in the cellar, waiting to be brought up. I’d like to wait until four, at the earliest. We don’t have enough coolers to keep it all chilled.
Before the big event in November, I want to have a bank of temperature-controlled units installed.
Oh, and the tasting room staff will be here at two unless you need them earlier. ”
She bit her bottom lip. “And the sign?”
I leaned forward and licked her abused lip. “Relax, Gem. You’ve done an incredible job organizing everything. It’s gonna go off like clockwork.”
“I still don’t have any bachelors, and—”
“I predict that, by the end of the night, your list will be at least half full. Maybe even complete.”
She shook her head. “There’s no such thing. Ten is the minimum; there’s no maximum.”
“Rest assured, I’ve got someone lined up to kick it off.”
“Who?” she asked, hip cocked.
“You’ll see.”
She raised her head, and her eyes widened again. “Wait. Is it you?”
I hated to disappoint her, but I had to draw the line at going up on stage and having women bid on a date with me. “I’m already spoken for, remember?”
“Oh, that really isn’t the point. I mean, it is a date, but not a real one.” The way her expression immediately changed, I knew she realized what she’d said. “You know what I mean.”
“Hey.” I lifted her chin with my finger. “You know I would do almost anything for you, right?”
“What if I don’t have enough guys?”
“You will.”
She twisted out of my arms. “I have to get in the shower.”
Since she closed the door behind her, I took that as a sign that I wasn’t invited to join her. Which reminded me I’d never answered her question about when my father’s sign would be up. Given she was miffed at me, she’d have to wait and see.
I was almost out the door when I heard her call my name. I stopped and shut it. “Yeah?”
When she raced out without as much as a towel around her, wet from the shower, I figured she was trying to kill me. Death by blue balls. Even my brother the doctor couldn’t treat that.
“I’m sorry.” She kissed me. “I’m nervous, and that isn’t on you. You’ve been great. Really great. You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you so far.”
“Except be one of your bachelors.”
She nodded and kissed me again. “I’m going to let that go for now.”
“So what did you mean by ‘so far’?”
“Whatever happens tonight, I need you to look happy to be there.”
I guess I deserved that since at each of the meetings, lunches, tastings, and dinners she’d attended with me so far, I scowled through most of it. I rested my forehead against hers. “I promise I will look happy. You wanna know why?”
“Yes.”
“Because I am.” I unwound her arms from my waist. “Go get back in the shower that’s still running, and I’ll catch up with you later.” As she walked away, I couldn’t resist giving her perfect peach-shaped ass a little smack.
“Hey, what’s that for?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Wasting water.”
On my way to the house, I stopped and talked to Zeke.
“What time are we hanging it?” he asked.
“Does one work for you?”
“Sure does, and, Bas?”
I’d started to leave, but turned around. “Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.” I walked away before he could see the tears that filled my eyes. I knew Zeke wouldn’t give me shit for being emotional, given there’d probably be several times today when I got more choked up than I was now.
He and I had worked on it on and off over the course of the last five weeks. Most of that time was spent laying the letters out with a pencil and a straightedge because Zeke wouldn’t hear of a stencil. I’d ruined two slabs when we got started, which he said he’d set aside for practice anyway.
Even when I got frustrated and suggested he be the one to do it, Zeke refused. He handed me the router and stood beside me for every letter.
Now that it was finished, I was glad he’d pushed me to do it myself. It was the last gift I could give my father.
I walked in the house, straight past the clock that hadn’t been wound since December, and into the kitchen.
I was about to pour some coffee, but set the empty cup on the counter and retraced my steps.
I had to take several deep breaths before I opened the little drawer at the base, which held the key, then more before I put it in and counted the number of turns.
When the tension increased to the point that the key stopped, I returned it to the drawer, moved the hands on the face to the right time, and started the pendulum with my finger.
I couldn’t say how long I watched it before I turned around and saw Brylee sitting on the stairs, crying.
She had a sketchpad on her lap, which she closed when I approached.
“Hey,” I said, sitting beside her. “I’d ask what’s wrong, but I guess we all have our moments missing him.”
“And Mom.”
“Yes, definitely Mom.”
She wiped her face with her arm. “I’ve been in this house a day and a half, listening to the silence of that clock not ticking.”
“You could’ve wound it.”
She shook her head. “We all agreed it should be you.”
I nudged her with my shoulder. “Have the four of you always left me out of the decision-making conversations?”
“Pretty much. It was the only way we could take care of you. If you realized we were doing it, you wouldn’t have let us.”
I leaned over and put my head on her shoulder. “Have I always been a pain in the ass?”
“Pretty much,” she repeated.
“What were you working on that you didn’t want me to see?” I asked, raising my head and pointing to the sketchpad.
“Your bedroom.”
“My bedroom? And you don’t think I should see it?”
“Come with me.” She stood and tugged me to my feet. When we got to the top of the stairs, she went in the opposite direction of my room.
“Wait, Bry,” I said when I realized where we were headed. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
“Yeah, you are. Trust me.”
I gasped when we stepped inside the bedroom that was now completely empty. “Wow. You guys were busy.”
“It really didn’t take that long. Oh, and don’t worry. Ev kept an inventory of every single thing we boxed up. Before he’ll allow us to donate any of it, he wants to make sure there isn’t anything you want to keep.”
“I already have what I wanted,” I confessed. “I hope you guys don’t mind.”
Brylee rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself. Do you think we didn’t take what we wanted too? None of that made Ev’s spreadsheet.”
I laughed, then stopped when I noticed the necklace she was wearing. It was an oval piece of carved jade that our father had given our mother when Brylee was born. “She’d be glad you have that. So would he.”
She clutched it. “I’m never taking it off.” She took a deep breath, dropped her hand and her shoulders, then sat on the floor and opened the sketchpad.
“What is that?” I asked, sitting beside her.
“Your new room.”
I glanced around the space, then at the drawing again. “I think you may have the measurements off by a few feet.”
“That’s the biggest problem with it. It’s too small.”
“It’s the biggest bedroom in the house.”
“Yeah, but designed in a day and age when closets were minuscule and there was no such thing as an en suite bath.”
“It’s right next door.”
“For now, it is.” She pointed to her drawing. “We’ll knock out that wall, extend the room so you have a sitting area, then add a walk-in closet—two if I can make it work—then put in a whole new bathroom.”