We parked behind Sutton’s Range Rover and migrated inside. The Wrights were in full swing. Austin and Patrick stood with Julia. She was arguing with them about some old fight they’d had. Apparently, she’d left him at the top of the canyon after he made a move. I cracked up as I passed and found Jensen with baby Logan swaddled across his six-pack. My heart melted. Jensen Wright, baby, six-pack. Dear God.
“Thank you so much for having us,” I told him with a smile.
“Of course. I like that the parties are growing,” he said.
Blaire handed him a bottle of gin. “I brought the goods.”
“Oh, gin,” Morgan said with a smile. “The good stuff.”
Jensen laughed at his sister. “Well, Morgan is thrilled. But you didn’t have to bring anything. The wet bar is fully stocked.”
“It’s nice of them,” Morgan said. “You get Tanqueray. Not Bombay.”
“Forgive me,” he said with an eye roll as he bounced the baby. “Maybe go offer that to Emery and Heidi. They look like they could use a break from the constant, ‘Mom. Mom. Mom. Mommy. Mommmm.’ ”
I chuckled at the impression of all the kids out on the lawn that led to the dock and lake.
“On it,” Blaire said, snagging a few limes.
I grabbed Solo cups, and Morgan headed outside with us. We found Emery, Heidi, and Sutton sitting on lawn chairs, supervising the brood of Wright children. Emery’s one-year-old, Robin, was toddling along after Heidi’s oldest, Holden, and Sutton’s youngest, Madison. David was on his feet, running interference on the youngest ones to make sure no one fell into the lake. Colton, Jensen’s oldest, who was now a teenager, held court with Emery’s nieces, Lilyanne, who was closest to his age, and Bethany; Sutton’s oldest, Jason; and Isaac’s daughter, Aly. Aly and Bethany were best friends, and Isaac and Peyton had agreed to let her spend the day at the lake with Bethany while they were still on their honeymoon.
“We brought drinks!” Morgan cried, flopping down next to them.
“Please, dear God,” Emery said. “Anything.”
Heidi held out her hand. “Gimme.”
Sutton held hers up with a sleepy smile. “I’m good. I’m nursing this one.”
“Lame,” Heidi said.
“Madison kept me up all night for no reason at all. The twos are absolutely terrible.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Heidi said.
Emery sighed. “Robin is only one and so good.”
“That’s how they get you,” Sutton said. “Have one, and they’re a perfect angel. The second is a hellion, I swear. It’s like they trick you on purpose.”
Emery made a face that said, Save me.
“Speaking of, where are the twins?” I asked Heidi.
She pointed up the hill and back toward the house. Landon stood with both of the boys in a stroller, rocking them back and forth and doing some kind of silly bedtime dance. All the girls laughed but also simultaneously turned into a puddle of goo.
“That’s adorable,” Blaire gushed.
Jennifer skipped down the hill and grabbed another one of the chairs. “Hey, y’all. What a perfect day.” She brought her camera up to her eye and took pictures of us as we poured out heaping amounts of gin to survive the mass of children sprawled across the lawn.
“Did you come with Julian and Jordan?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah. They’re still talking to Jensen inside. Annie is attached to Jordan’s hip but should be down here soon, too,” Jennifer said.
“That’s that engagement excitement,” Heidi said.
Morgan coughed. “Well, I’m not attached to Patrick.”
Emery cracked up. “That’s because you’re not like other girls. You’re a cool girl.”
Morgan threw a pretzel at her face. “Shut up.”
Blaire passed me a drink, and I leaned back against my chair. I wasn’t feeling chatty, but it was nice to be among the Wrights. They took up so much space that I didn’t have to take up any. A nice contrast to being around my family.
The day passed by in a haze of booze, snacking, and laughter. I was half-involved with everything going on. The kids bustling around. The parents rushing to help boo-boos and watching as they made silly jumps into the lake. At some point, half the girls got up to go out on the water with the older set of kids. I reapplied lotion and rolled over. Blaire made more drinks.
The day was exactly what I needed.
Tomorrow, I had a decision to make. The one I’d never, ever planned to make. I’d gone into business at Tech because all I’d ever wanted to do was run my winery. Now, I was leaving it all behind. I was cast adrift, and I’d have to find somewhere else to work. Maybe for another vineyard. I didn’t have to figure it out today. In fact, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t think about it at all. Yet here I was, thinking about it.
I downed the contents of another drink, rolled back over, and closed my eyes. I needed to stop obsessing. Things would work out eventually. All I wanted to do today was sit here under the bright rays and do nothing but get a tan.
I was nearly asleep when everyone around me fell silent. The kids still yelled and cheered and ran around, but the girls stopped all their talking entirely.
My eyes popped open.
Then, I saw exactly what had forced them to quiet.
Hollin Abbey.
41
Piper
I jerked upright. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Piper. Can I borrow you a minute?”
Hollin wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d gotten the hotel for the entire weekend. There were still private events and such in Austin in the morning. This made no sense.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in Austin?”
He grinned down at me, and something stirred deep in my belly. He looked…fucking gorgeous. He was in jeans despite the heat and a white T-shirt that clung to all of his muscles and revealed all the glorious lines of his tattoos. He’d always been tall, but him hovering over me made it feel like he was massive. And I was in nothing but a teeny bikini.
His eyes crawled my body, appreciating the naked lines of me. Before he met my gaze again. “I was. I came back early.”
“Why?” I stammered out. “You won.”
“I did.”
“Congratulations,” Blaire blurted out.
“Yeah! We’re so proud of you,” Jennifer threw out.
“Thanks.” He shot them both a meaningful smile and returned to me. “So, can I steal you?”
“Uh…sure.”
I was too curious to say no. And this was coming one way or another anyway. I just hadn’t expected to see him today. In fact, I’d planned the day around not seeing him and dealing with it all after I quit tomorrow.
I snatched up my jean shorts and a crop top, drawing them on over the bikini. I stuffed my phone into the back pocket of my jeans as we walked to the lake house. Instead of heading inside, Hollin took the long way around the house. I followed him until we reached the front of the property and found his motorcycle sitting in the driveway.
“You drove your motorcycle in the canyon instead of the truck?”