Page 6 of Crossing the Line

Not that I was thinking about Damien. Not at all.

Something bitter pulsed through my veins, and I knew that I was kidding myself. It was going to take more than a couple of hours to get over this.

“Kelsie, come take a seat,” Leanne called out, and I saw that the other women were all sitting around a table that looked like it was made of driftwood. Several crystal glasses sat in front of each seat, and there was a charcuterie board in the middle of the table with cured meats, cheeses, olives, nuts, and dried fruit.

Conversation flowed easily as the tasting started. The sommelier started us with a white wine, putting a small amount in each glass that he called a tasting portion. I took a sip, not expecting to have much of an opinion on the wine either way, but my eyebrows popped up in surprise.

I expected the same puckering old grape taste that I usually associated with wine, but this was more nuanced. The wine was smooth on my tongue, and the taste reminded me of yellow peaches. It was light, as if the winery had somehow bottled summer itself.

I liked it.

The next wine was red and completely different from the first. It was thick, and the moment it hit my tongue, I felt like all the moisture had been removed from my mouth. The taste itself wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t necessarily good either. It was… woody.

I swallowed it but left the rest of the small portion in my glass, not wanting to finish it. So far, my vote was the first wine option.

The tasting went on with three other wines offered. The sommelier gave a brief description of each one as he poured it into our glasses.

“A dry rosé with subtle notes of strawberry and rose petals.”

“An oaked Chardonnay with a smooth and heavy texture.”

“This last one is a dessert wine, which you’ll find to be sweet and syrupy.”

I tried them all while chatting with the others about the wedding, but the first wine remained my personal favorite. This whole experience was more fun than I expected it to be, and I felt a light buzzing in my head by the time we sampled the last wine and the charcuterie board was empty.

The majority of the group favored the Chardonnay, so that was Leanne’s choice of wine for the wedding. She was led into another room to place her order for bottles to be delivered to the resort on Saturday morning.

Aunt Cathy went with her while the rest of us stayed at the table. Without her sister to talk to, my mom’s attention turned to me.

“You know, Kelsie, I heard that one of Ryan’s groomsmen is a single doctor.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t even think about it, Mom.”

“What? I’m not thinking anything,” she said, her eyes going a little too wide as she tried to look completely innocent. “I just didn’t know if you had a chance to meet the man at the bonfire. He’s quite handsome, don’t you think?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re interested in him? I didn’t know you were a cougar.”

Her cheeks immediately turned rosy red. “N-No! I just thought that maybe you and he…”

I chuckled. I knew she’d get flustered if I turned this around on her. “Ah. So, you’re trying to play matchmaker. Just forget about it. I’m not interested in the guy just because he’s a successful doctor.”

“Are you talking about Ford?” Leanne chimed in as she returned to the room and settled into the chair beside me. “He’s a good guy, Kels.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. Leanne was the only person I’d ever told about my feelings for Damien, and there was a teasing glint in her eyes that told me she was messing with me by suggesting that I pursue Ford.

“I’m sure he’s a prince among men,” I said. “But I’m still not interested.”

Mom frowned. “It’s been a while since you dated anyone.”

“Over a year,” Leanne said.

Now, I was glaring at her. It had actually been almost two years, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

The same pain that I felt this morning came back around as I thought about the reason that I’d been single for so long. It wasn’t because I didn’t have offers. There were men that had asked me out in that time, but I never accepted because I was holding onto hope that something would happen with Damien, that our friendship would grow into more.

All this time, I thought we were laying a foundation to build on. I was a fool.

“I worry about you being lonely,” Mom said, and I wanted to dismiss that as nonsense, but I knew that she was coming from a place of experience. She’d been alone since my dad passed away from a car accident ten years ago. I was a senior in high school then, and it was hard on both of us, but I went to college a year later, giving me a chance to move past the heartache of loss as I moved out of my childhood home. Living in a dorm room and having new experiences helped me get through that difficult time.