Jennifer laughed. “Yes. You all make it sound so glamorous.”
“Don’t undersell yourself,” Annie said. “You’re still doing weddings with all of the rest of this going on.”
“Elopements,” she corrected. Power returned to her voice as she talked about her passion. She lit up when discussing her art. I didn’t know how anyone hadn’t seen it before. “I actually have an elopement next weekend. I’m flying into Cabo on Saturday for a sunset wedding.”
“Cabo.” My dad whistled. “Are all your elopements that fancy?”
She laughed. “Sometimes. I’ve gone all over for them. I actually accepted the position at Wright because I was gone most weekends.”
“Every weekend!” Annie corrected.
“It became taxing to always be gone.”
My dad nodded. “A girl with a vision and brains. No wonder my son is smitten.”
She flushed crimson at the compliment. It was my turn to squeeze her knee under the table. Her eyes met mine. I wondered if she could see that my dad had spoken the truth. I was smitten with her.
My dad flagged the waiter down then. “I’ll take the check. Just one.” Jordan protested, but my dad waved him off. “I can take care of my boys.”
Once he paid, we all headed out of the restaurant. The girls huddled together, gossiping. Well, it appeared that Annie was mostly rambling to Jen, and Jen was laughing at her. My dad shook Jordan’s hand and then mine.
“I’m glad we could do this. I look forward to hearing how that distribution meeting goes,” he told me.
I nodded, actually believing him. “Definitely. When is your flight back?”
“Sunday. I’m going to check in on your mom and see some old friends. I’d be happy to do this again if you’re free.”
Jordan arched an eyebrow and looked at me.
“You’re seeing Mom?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“Of course. Just because we’re not married anymore doesn’t mean that I no longer care for her. I hate to see that she’s suffering.”
I stood there in shock. Of any of the conversations I’d envisioned having with my dad, this was not one of them. I knew that Mom still loved him, but I hadn’t thought they were in contact. That she’d let the man who had hurt her back into her life…even as a friend. That he’d ever actually cared.
“I didn’t know that,” I said softly.
And just like that, something shifted. Like I could see my dad for who he really was. A broken man trying to make amends with the only family he had left.
“Well, I’d be up for a round of golf,” Jordan said with a shrug. “Maybe tomorrow afternoon?”
“Absolutely. I’d love to get out on Landon’s course. Heard it’s a doozy.”
Jordan laughed. “You have no idea.” He arched an eyebrow at me. “Julian?”
Despite everything, I nodded. “Actually, yeah. Golf sounds nice.”
My dad hid the look of surprise as quickly as it had come and then nodded. “I look forward to it.”
It was weird to realize that I was, too.
“Well, what do you think?” Jennifer asked as we drove away in Milli.
“I don’t know. It didn’t go at all how I’d thought.”
“Because he’s as charming as every other Wright?”
I flashed her a grin. “You find me charming?”
“Oh, don’t start,” she said with a laugh.
“I kept waiting for him to make a mistake, to show his hand. But he never did. I don’t know if that’s because he doesn’t have an ulterior motive or he’s just gotten sneakier.”
“I’d like to think the former.”
“Me too,” I said with a sigh. “I thought that in the past though, and then he fucked us all over.”
“He’s going to see your mom though. That doesn’t seem like a man with an ulterior motive. It sounds like someone doing penance.”
I sighed heavily. “I know. That’s what gets me, too. He’s going to see Mom. She never told me either. I’m going to have to talk to her about it.”
“Or you could let it go. Have a little faith.”
“That hasn’t worked so well for me.”
She nodded. “I get it. I have a difficult relationship with my parents, as you saw. But I can’t imagine cutting them out of my life forever either.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision.”
“And so, it won’t be an easy one to turn around, but if tonight is any indication, he’s trying to right the wrongs from his past.”
“Well, I was glad to have you there.”
“I didn’t do much,” she said.
I arched an eyebrow. “You grounded me. It was more than you know.”
We pulled into her neighborhood, and I headed toward her house. She looked focused and thoughtful. I didn’t dislike whatever was going on with her. But I wouldn’t mind knowing why.
I hadn’t planned to ask. “What are you thinking about?”
She hesitated a second before saying, “I’m not ready to go home.”
My head jerked over to her. “Really?”
“Yeah. Maybe…we could go somewhere else to talk?”
I blinked. I couldn’t believe she was suggesting this.
“Sure,” I said without pause and turned the car around, heading toward my place. I didn’t want to make it a big deal. Casual and fun were the words I’d used. I certainly wasn’t going to say no.
We drove the rest of the way to my house in companionable silence while the radio played Top 40. We pulled up to the driveway of the house I’d had built my first year in town. I’d lived with my mom in her remodeled ’70s-era home while she was sick and had this place built in the meantime.
I parked in the garage, and Jen followed me with wide eyes into the house. The space was a sprawling open-floor plan with vaulted ceilings and an industrial farmhouse kitchen. My mom had taught me to cook, and I enjoyed it. So, I’d put all my time and love into the kitchen design.
Jennifer’s mouth hung open slightly. “Wow. This is your place?”
“Yeah. Benefits of being a Wright.”
“Tell me about it. Geez,” she muttered as she wandered the room. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. Probably too big for me,” I admitted.
“Probably. And you’re here all alone?”
I nodded. “Yep. Just me. Hollin joked about moving in, but he likes living closer to the vineyard.”
“Annie always gushed about Jordan’s place. You know, she used to study there before moving in. I didn’t really get it.” She stopped with her hands on her hips, looking out the back windows to the pool beyond. “Now, I get it.”
My eyes remained on her the entire time. I’d always thought that Jennifer was shy and maybe a little insecure but generally just really shy. My teasing had always made her blush. She didn’t speak up much when in big crowds. I’d thought that was who she was. But now, I could see there was something else simmering there. Something I only saw when she had a camera in front of her face.