“If you’re feeling like crap, I don’t want to bug you.” I jerked my thumb toward the door. “I can go.”
“No, you’re fine. Actually, I’m bored as fuck, but I’m too exhausted to do anything, and Roland won’t be home for at least another hour. I’m glad you came over. We hardly ever hang out anymore.”
I sat down in an armchair next to the couch. “Yeah, I guess it’s kind of hard with, you know… everything.”
“Yep. This.” She held up her hand to show her wedding ring. “And this.” Pointed to her belly.
“And the fact that Cooper won’t speak to me because I’m dating his sister.”
“That too.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “She’s actually why I need to talk to you.”
“Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“Please tell me you’re not about to ask me how to break up with her. I can’t go there, Chase.”
I leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. “I’m not the fuck-up everyone seems to think I am, Zoe.”
“What? I never said that.”
“I know, but the first thing everyone assumes is that I’m going to screw her over. That’s why Cooper’s so pissed. If he knew…” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I know I wasn’t much of a relationship guy before. But I never wanted one before Brynn. And now that I have her, I don’t ever want to break up with her.”
“Wait, Chase, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’m going to marry that girl.”
Zoe stared at me. “Is the baby giving me hallucinations now, or did you just use the words marry that girl in a sentence referring to Brynn Miles?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Her eyes were wide. “Are you engaged? Did you ask her already?”
“Not exactly. I kind of did, but I didn’t get the reaction I was hoping for.”
“Oh god, did she turn you down? There’s no way Brynn said no to you. You must have screwed it up somehow because that’s not possible.”
I scowled at her. “Great, I’m glad you have so much confidence in me.”
“I’m just saying, Brynn is insanely in love with you. If it wasn’t obvious that you’re insanely in love with her too, I’d be worried about her. But you have it just as bad as she does.”
Leaning forward, I put my elbows on my knees. “I don’t know. I said I wanted to marry her, and she acted… confused.”
“How did you say it?”
“Just… pretty much like that. That I want to marry her.”
“Where were you? I’m guessing it wasn’t planned, but was it a good moment?”
“Um, we were kind of in the middle of having sex.”
“Okay… when you say in the middle, what exactly does that mean?”
“Jesus, Zoe, you want a play-by-play?”
“Do you want my help or not? Come on, it’s me.”
I got up and started pacing around the living room. “I guess… I was coming when I said it. I said I love you, and then I said I want to marry you. It just kind of came out, you know? It felt right to tell her.”
“And then what happened?”
“We finished—it was her second orgasm, by the way—and then… well, I needed a minute. You know guys can’t think right after we come. There’s no blood in our brain. So she started asking me questions, and I told her yeah, I said it on purpose. And then she said, you didn’t just propose while you were coming in me, did you? And I got a little flustered, because I actually had, but it seemed like she didn’t want me to. I wasn’t sure what to say to that.”
“And have you talked to her about it since?”
“No.”
She rolled her eyes. “What is with men and not talking?”
“Are we going to male-bash, or can you help me?”
“Help you what, exactly?” she asked. “If you want to propose to Brynn, propose. Just do it right.”
“But I did, and—”
“No, you didn’t. You were in the middle of blowing your load. Do you think any girl trusts a thing a man says while he’s coming in her?”
I sank back down into the armchair. “Okay, that’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about it like that. So… you mean I could still ask her and she’d say yes?”
“Yeah, I do, but can we back up for a second? You’re sure about this? I mean, this is marriage, buddy. That’s some deep stuff.”
“I know. I’m serious as fuck, Zoe. I love her. I blurted it out, but that’s because I keep thinking about it. I keep thinking how stupid I’d be to screw this up. How I can’t ever let her go. I keep thinking about forever, and what that means. She’s it for me. I’m done. I get it, marriage is huge. But anything less would be a mistake I’d never get over. I’m telling you, I want it all with her. A house and a dog and a bunch of kids. I can’t imagine anything better than getting to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“Holy shit,” Zoe said. “Yeah, you definitely need to marry her.”
“See?”
She laughed. “Okay, so now you need a ring. And a plan.”
Eighteen
Brynn
I got home from class around four and dropped my backpack by the door. This semester was kicking my ass. Usually I had one class that was easier than the others, giving me a bit of a break. Not so much this semester. I was stuck with heavy workloads and more tests than I wanted to think about.
However, it was Friday, and I’d already decided to give myself the night off. I had to work in the tasting room tomorrow, but I’d have time to study afterward.
Hopefully Chase would be around this weekend. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of days. He had a big job with a client a few towns over, so he’d been leaving early and getting home late. I missed him like crazy. I’d made him promise he’d text me when he got back into town tonight, no matter what time it was. I wanted him to come over, even if it was just to sleep. Being away from him this long felt like going through withdrawal.
I hung up my coat, but something caught my eye on the couch. There was a small white envelope with my name on the back sitting in the center of the cushion. It gave me a momentary chill, a little coil of fear making my heart beat faster. I made a quick check of the bedroom and bathroom, but no one was here—not even Chase behind a door, ready to jump out and scare me.
The envelope beckoned, with its crisp white paper and my name in blue ink. Inside, I found a folded half-sheet of paper with a typed message. No name or any indication who had left it for me.
Just a taste of you was all it took.
A taste will help you find the next clue.
This had to be from Chase. What was he up to? I glanced around again, still half-wondering if he was going to pop out at me. What did he mean by a taste will help you find the next clue? Was this a scavenger hunt?
A taste. He’d had a taste of me when he’d kissed me the first time, but that had been right here. But a taste could mean something else. Maybe the tasting room?
Intrigued, I put my coat back on and walked over to the Big House. It was quiet this time of year, even on a Friday. There was a couple at a table, but no one sitting at the bar. I said hi to Lindsey, who was working tonight, and went behind the bar to look around. I found another white envelope tucked beneath a bottle of chardonnay.
A message in a bottle might not reach you.
But a bottle will lead you to the next clue.
A bottle. We had bottles of wine everywhere. Here, in the kitchen, in the cellars. My mom had her own private wine cellar. But that didn’t seem right.
But what about the bottling room? Chase often worked on the machinery in there. I glanced around, wondering if I was being secretly filmed. Or followed. But I didn’t see anyone. If Chase was watching, he was doing a good job of staying hidden.
I walked out to the bottling facility. The machinery wasn’t running today, leaving the cavernous room oddly quiet. Ben was on the far side, working on a piece of
equipment.
“Hey Ben. Have you seen an envelope in here anywhere?”
He put his tool down and wiped his hands on a rag. “An envelope? Did you lose something?”
There was a hint of amusement in his voice, making me wonder if he was in on this.
“Not exactly. But I think it might be in here.”
“Hmm. I don’t know, Sprout. I haven’t seen anything.”
Ben was literally the only person in the world who didn’t make me feel like a child when he used one of my old nicknames. He’d been calling me Sprout since I was a baby. I actually liked it, coming from him. It was sweet.
I also didn’t believe him. He knew exactly where it was. “Fine, don’t help. I’ll find it myself. But am I in the right place?”
“You might be.” He winked.
He definitely knew where it was. I wandered around, checking in and around the bottling machine. As I moved farther toward one side of the room, Ben cleared his throat. I glanced at him and changed direction, and he gave me a subtle nod.
I finally found it on the conveyor belt, half-hidden by a cardboard box. It looked just like the others—plain white with my name on the outside. I slipped out the paper and read the note.
It takes you where you need to go.
The next clue can be found with the turn of a key.
Where you need to go and turn of a key. I wondered if that meant my car.
Ben came up next to me, a soft smile on his face. He put an arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. “Find what you were looking for?”
“Yep. But I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re not going to give anything up, are you?”
“Not likely,” he said. “But you have a nice time tonight.”
“Thanks. What about you? Have a hot date?”
He shook his head. “None of that for me these days.”
“Why not?” I was pretty sure Ben had a bit of a crush on my mom. I saw the way he looked at her. And now that she was getting divorced… “A woman would be lucky to have you in her life.”
He started wiping his hands on the towel again, looking at them as if it was critical he get them clean. “Thanks, Sprout. That’s nice of you to say.”
It hit me, in that moment, how much I wished Ben and my mom would get together. Some kids dream about their parents reconciling after they split. I wanted my mom to get divorced already so she could be free—maybe even free to find love again. And if she found it with Ben… that would be pretty amazing. But it wasn’t my business, and I didn’t want to put him on the spot.
“I guess I should see if I can find the next clue. Have a good weekend.”
“You too,” he said.
I walked back to the cottage and looked in and around my car, but I couldn’t find an envelope. Maybe I’d misunderstood the clue. I thought back to that day Chase had kissed me. He’d been out here, working on my car. I’d found him underneath it.
Crouching down, I looked under the car. Still no envelope. I was about to get the last note out to check it again when I got an idea. I popped the hood and lifted it.
Sure enough, there was the envelope. Wasting no time, I opened it to read the next clue.
Grapevines in long rows.
Into the clearing you go.
I knew exactly what that meant. The south vineyard.
The sun was going down and with it, the temperature. I ran inside to get my keys, then drove out to the vineyard. My car bumped along the dirt road and butterflies fluttered their way around my tummy. I had a feeling I knew what this was about, and I couldn’t quite believe it was happening. Why else would he plan something so elaborate?
I drove up the hill and Chase’s truck came into view. Forget butterflies. My tummy was full of bursting fireworks. I parked behind him and got out. He wasn’t here, but there was a note taped to his truck with an arrow pointing the way.
It was a short walk to the clearing. My brothers used to build fires here when they wanted to hang out with their friends—or girlfriends—away from the house. Chase not only had a fire going, but two big propane heaters stood on either side. He’d set up a little table, complete with a tablecloth and candles.
He stood next to the fire, looking adorable in his black coat and knit hat. He looked me up and down as I walked toward him, a sweet grin on his face. “Hey.”
“Hi.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep them from shaking. Oh my god, this was really happening. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“You got here faster than I thought you would, actually,” he said. “I almost didn’t have time to finish getting ready.”
I stepped closer to the fire and the warmth of the propane heaters seeped into me. It was almost warm enough to take off my coat. “Getting ready for what?”
“Our date,” he said, gesturing to the table and chairs.
He said it with such nonchalance, I thought I might have misread the situation. Maybe this was just a date. Maybe he wasn’t going to—
“And I got you a little something.”
As he reached into his inside pocket, my heart hammered in my chest. I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay. But the box that he pulled out wasn’t small or square. It was long and rectangular. Maybe jewelry, but certainly not a ring.
The last thing I wanted was seem disappointed or ungrateful. He’d blurted out something about wanting to marry me in the middle of sex. I couldn’t expect to hold him to that, no matter what he’d said afterward. He hadn’t been serious. And now he’d brought me a present, which was so sweet.
With a slow breath to calm my frayed nerves, I took the box. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
He looked so excited—like an eager little boy. I slowly opened it. Sure enough, it was a necklace. A gold chain with my initials. Except my initials were BM, and this said BR.
I stared at the letters on the necklace, as if I’d been frozen by a spell. I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. BR? R was Chase’s initial. Chase Reilly. Did this mean…
I tore my eyes away in time to see Chase lowering himself to one knee.
“Oh my god.”
It was the smile on his face that did it. He beamed at me like he’d never been happier in his entire life. Like no Christmas morning, no birthday party, no crazy stunt with my brother could ever compare with this moment. And he was giving that smile to me. I started sobbing before he could get a word out.
Gently, he set aside the box with the necklace and took my hands in his. “I have a confession.”
“What?”
“Do you remember that day I helped you move some of your stuff into storage?”
“Um…” I didn’t understand why he was bringing this up while he was down on one knee in front of me. “I guess so, yeah.”
“Your old diary was in a box. It fell out and I peeked inside. Don’t be mad, I didn’t read the entries. But I did see something you wrote that I’ll never forget.”
“What’s that?”
“Brynn Reilly.”
I bit my lip and sniffed. “That’s… kind of embarrassing.”
“No,” he said with a smile. “It was amazing. I think that was the moment I knew I loved you. It hit me like a ton of bricks that you were always meant to be mine. I know we haven’t been together for a long time. But I don’t need more time. You’re all I want, and I’ve known it almost from the start. I love you. I want to build a life with you, have a family, be a family for each other.”
“Oh, Chase.”
He squeezed my hands, then let go to reach into his pocket again. This time he pulled out a box that was small and square. He opened it and took out the ring. My eyes were almost too cloudy with tears to see straight.
Taking my hand again, he held the ring just in front of my finger. “Brynn Miles, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I said, barely managing to get the word out through my tears. I was sobbing again, b
ut I didn’t care. This was the single most incredible moment of my entire life. “Yes, oh my god, yes.”
He slid the ring on my finger and before he could even stand, I threw my arms around his neck. He held me tight while I cried happy tears into his shoulder.
“Holy shit, I love you so much,” he said.
“I love you, too,” I sobbed.
He laughed a little as he stood and brushed the hair back from my face. “Did you just say you’ll marry me?”
I nodded.
Cupping my cheeks, he kissed me. Or tried to. He couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Although, neither could I. I was going to marry Chase Reilly.
Nineteen
Brynn
I’d never been so nervous. Not for my SATs, or my first day of college. Not for my first date, or the first time I had sex. I couldn’t think of anything that had left me as riddled with anxiety as the prospect of telling my family I was engaged.
Last night I’d been tempted to text everyone to give them the news. Once I’d stopped crying, and Chase had stopped kissing me, we’d calmed down enough to enjoy the dinner he’d brought. Between the fire and the heaters, we’d been cozy and warm, and the food had been delicious. I was excited to tell my family, but I’d decided to wait until I could see them in person.
But it wasn’t supposed to be now.
Chase and I had come up with a plan. Zoe already knew—she’d helped Chase with the scavenger hunt—so we’d tell my mom first. I didn’t anticipate my mom having a problem with it. She’d be surprised, but I was confident she wouldn’t be against our engagement. Roland and Leo would probably do the big brother thing and be too practical for their own good. That was fine. I’d assure them we’d thought this through and that I knew exactly what I was doing.
Cooper? I wasn’t sure what he would say. The only dark spot on our engagement night had been the unspoken knowledge that Cooper hadn’t been in on it. He hadn’t been the one to help Chase plan for one of the most important moments of his life.
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