His face froze, as if he’d realized he’d said too much. “He…told you that, right?”
“He didn’t. No,” I whispered. “He made all the fake dating up?”
“Uh, I didn’t mean to say any of that. I thought you already knew that he liked you.”
“Julian…likes me?”
Campbell stood from his seat and adjusted his jacket. My brain was frozen though. The only thing functioning was the camera. I managed to keep shooting through all of it. But I couldn’t seem to process what he’d said. It didn’t fit in with anything that had happened. Well, other than the sex, and we’d both just gotten drunk.
“I mean, isn’t it obvious?” Campbell said.
No, it wasn’t obvious.
Then I replayed every interaction over the last several weeks. Every touch and smile and flirtation.
I lowered the camera this time. My mouth falling open as I rewrote all the things we’d done together, layered with this information. I felt kind of stupid. But I’d convinced myself that there was no way Julian really wanted to date me. Why would he when he could have better? But if he’d liked me all along, then every time we had been together was him getting closer and closer to me.
“He likes me,” I whispered.
“Yeah, dude, but don’t tell him I told you. I don’t think I was supposed to do that.”
I laughed softly. A smile hit my features. Julian liked me.
And we were going out tonight. I rewound to the time when he’d asked me. I was the one who had suggested it be a fake date. He hadn’t said anything like that. Jesus Christ, had I been self-sabotaging myself this whole time? Could I actually have Julian Wright?
“Forget I said anything. What should I do next?” Campbell asked with a sly smile. Like maybe he’d said it all on purpose. Little matchmaker.
21
Julian
Milli hummed almost noiselessly as I put her into park outside of the studio. I was a few minutes early to pick up Jennifer, but I wasn’t looking forward to this dinner and couldn’t help myself. I dicked around on my phone for a few minutes and then gave in to the inclination, getting out of the car and knocking on the door.
After a minute, I heard Jen yell, “Come in.”
I stepped inside and froze. Campbell was lying on the ground, shirtless, while Jennifer hovered over top of him. She had one knee against his hip, practically straddling him, and grounded herself with her elbow on the other knee. She was taking picture after picture, shifting here and there to get different angles. I had no idea what was going on, but I immediately didn’t like it.
“Hey,” I said, clearing my throat loudly.
Jennifer pulled back from her camera. Her smile was magnetic when she swiveled to face me. “Hey. Is it time already?”
“A few minutes early actually.”
She turned back to Campbell and laughed at something he’d muttered.
“We got all we need.” She hoisted herself to her feet and offered him a hand, which he declined.
He reached for his discarded white T-shirt and slung it back on. “Hey, man.”
He must have seen the scowl on my face because he chuckled softly. I suppressed the urge to be pissed at him. This was Jen’s job. Nothing about what had happened was inappropriate…probably. And anyway, I was clearly being a jealous dick.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“Really great,” Campbell said. “Jen’s a natural. I saw a few back-of-the-camera pics, and they’re crazy good.”
Jennifer flushed at the praise. “Thanks.” She smiled back at me. That same smile she’d given me when I first walked in. Something different than I’d seen from her before. I didn’t know what it meant. “I’m going to get changed, and then I’ll be ready.”
“Cool.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving me alone with Campbell. We shook hands, and then he reached for his perpetual leather jacket.
“Where are you two headed?” Campbell asked.
“Dinner.”
“A date?” He arched an eyebrow.
“With my dad.”
“Oh,” he said with a laugh. “Why? Uncle Owen’s a dickbag.”
“He is. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to see him.”
Campbell nodded. “Good luck with that. Parents are complicated.”
That was an understatement. I’d learned that the Abbeys’ mom had died when Campbell was a senior in high school. Hit-and-run. Their dad had stepped up and tried to make up for it, but it would never be the same. Hollin didn’t really talk about it. I assumed Campbell was the same way.
“Okay. All set,” Jennifer said, stepping out of the bathroom.
Campbell and I both froze at the sight of her in a little black dress. But she only had eyes for me. The smile on her face was perfection. No averted gaze. No pulling back. Just me and Jen. Seriously…what had changed?
We arrived at Funky Door right on time. Punctual as ever, Jordan and Annie were already waiting at the entrance. Our father was nowhere in sight. Shocker.
Jennifer ran right over to Annie and enveloped her in a hug. Jordan shook my hand, his gaze drifting to Jen in surprise even though I’d told him I was bringing her. I wasn’t the one who ambushed people.
“So, where is he?” I asked.
“He’s on his way,” Jordan said.
“And no one is surprised he’s late.”
“It’s five minutes, Julian,” Jordan said with a sigh. “His flight was delayed, or he would have been here hours ago. Can you cut him a break?”
I bit my cheek to keep from retorting. Because, no, I wasn’t giving my dad another undeserved break. He’d done enough. I didn’t believe that he was here just to see us. Not after everything.
“That’s probably him,” Annie said, pointing to a car that pulled into the parking lot.
Jordan put his arm around her and kissed her hair. A thank-you for backing him up.
Jennifer gently touched my arm. Just enough for me to break my attention and turn to her.
She smiled. “It’s going to be okay.”
I nodded and released the tension in my shoulders. She was right. I’d get through this dinner, and then I could go back to my life. It was one night.
Jennifer released me by the time my dad strode over to us. I hadn’t really paid attention the last time I’d seen him at the vineyard, but he looked different. The last few years had aged him. His typical dark hair had silver at the temples. There were lines on his forehead that I’d never seen before. As if us leaving had really changed him. Or maybe it was the loss of the company that he’d tried to steal.
He’d clearly been talking to Jordan more frequently because they shook warmly when he appeared. Then he turned to me, that same Wright smile on his face. “Son.”
“Dad.” I shook his hand, withdrawing quickly.
He seemed like that was good enough for him now. He and Jordan exchanged a look. I didn’t want to know what they’d talked about when it came to me.
Annie kept up a steady stream of conversation. She was good at that. Directing us so that we all went inside. Funky Door had a stunning interior with a large circular set of stairs at the heart of the building, which housed hundreds of bottles of wine. It was the best place in town for wine selection. And I was working on getting our bottles on that shelf.