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Wyatt punched Jace’s shoulder. “Fucker.”
Jace stuck out his hand. “No, but seriously, man. This is . . . Well, just thank you. Really. It means more than you know.”
Wyatt took Jace’s hand in a firm shake, then pulled him in for a gruff hug. “Happy to help. Now get your ass out of here before Dad catches your scent like a dog on the hunt.”
Jace stepped back. “I’ll find a way to repay you. Not just the money but the favor.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I already have something in mind.” Jace turned and headed out the door, hiding a smile. Once everything settled down, Mr. Workaholic was getting a first-class ticket to a nice big ranch outside the city limits.
Because Jace wouldn’t need his own membership anymore.
Being there without Evan was a form of torture he refused to sign up for.
TWENTY-NINE
Evan leaned against the trunk of an ancient oak tree as she scanned through the photos she’d taken of the vineyards. The little digital camera wouldn’t have been her equipment of choice, but she hadn’t thought to pack one of her own cameras when she’d left the house.
Grant had asked her to take some pictures for a new brochure he was developing for the official winery side of his property. Apparently, in his free time he offered tours and tastings for the public. He’d given her his camera to use even though she’d protested that she’d never get good enough shots with it.
He’d told her to take some test photos to give him an idea of what she could do. Evan suspected he was just being kind and giving her something to focus on while she was holed up at his place. But she’d done the work nonetheless. And it had distracted her. For a while.
But she knew she’d have to head back to town soon. She’d read the Internet stories over the weekend. The cheating scandal had broken and the press was not being kind to her. It didn’t help that Daniel was playing the role of the poor, wronged fiancé a little too convincingly. The media had heaped praise and sympathy on top him like he was some sort of self-help sundae.
He’d called her a number of times, but she couldn’t tolerate talking to him yet. She’d texted him that she was somewhere safe and she’d be home soon. Maybe once her medication kicked in more she could walk back into his house and play fiancée without wanting to either sob or punch someone in the face. Right now, she was still too raw.
She hit the delete button on a few shots that had captured too much of the late-afternoon sun and had thrown off the lighting. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she accidentally deleted a photo she’d wanted to keep.
“Dammit.” She set the camera down and pulled her phone from the pocket of her jeans, expecting it to be Daniel calling yet again. But instead, Andre’s name lit up the screen. Her chest contracted. How could she talk to him without losing it? She could barely think of his or Jace’s name without wanting to do tequila shots with a Xanax chaser.
But she’d walked out on the both of them like a yellow-bellied coward. Hadn’t even told Andre good-bye. She knew he deserved better than that. By the third ring, she’d built up enough nerve to hit the button. “Hello?”
A breath. Then: “Hey, bella.”
She bit her lip, just the sound of his voice, the way he said her pet name, making her bones ache. “Hey Andre.”Author: Roni Loren
“You doing okay?”
“Been better,” she admitted. “Andre, I’m so—”
“Shh, bella. Listen. I want to talk to you, but I’m calling because of Jace.”
Her breath caught. “Is everything all right?”
He sighed. “A lot’s happened. Where are you?”
She looked out at the peaceful rows of grapevine stretching out in the distance, the scene in direct contrast to the riot of emotions beating her raw on the inside. “I’m at The Ranch.”
A long pause.
She cringed, realizing too late how bad that sounded. “Grant gave me a place to stay. I’m just . . .” Avoiding. Hiding. Wallowing. Hating my life. “Resting.”
“You need to come back to town and talk to Jace. He knows about the baby,” he said, his voice so quiet, she almost thought she’d imagined what he said.
She gasped, the words like a fist to the sternum. Jace knew. “Wh—How?”
“His ex-wife hired a private investigator to get dirt on you so she could use it against him. Apparently, the PI has been posing as your friend Callie’s new boyfriend so he could get close to you.”
