Zeke was there to take me out of the hospital and bring me to whatever came next. Truth was, I had no idea what that was. It was raining when he stepped outside, and he covered me in a red umbrella so I wouldn’t get a drop on me.
“Where are we going?”
He stood close, both of us standing on that same street corner again. “You have a couple of choices.”
“Okay. What are they?” I leaned into him. I just liked to be close.
“I could take you to an apartment I rented. It’s not very comfortable. I never got any furniture because I was staying in the car.” I looked over. It was still there.
“What are my other choices? I don’t relish sleeping on the floor.”
“Well, I guess you have three others. We could get a hotel room and stay in it until I furnish that apartment.”
I didn’t know if he should do that. Were we staying in New York? I didn’t think Zeke particularly cared for New York. And I couldn’t see him here. He’d do it for me. He’d said as much. But I didn’t know if I saw us in New York.
A hotel would be fine, temporarily. “Or?”
“You could stay with Hope. She offered. So did Bridget, but I think Hope meant it more. Bridget strikes me as needing her space.”
That was one hundred percent true. “Yes, is that Michael Li over there?”
“It is. I’ve hired his new company to guard all of you. And Justin. If we can ever find him.”
I gave Michael a little wave, and he nodded at me. “I don’t want to stay with Hope.”
“Would you let me take you someplace else? On a plane? An idea I had. I know you just got out of the hospital. It’s probably a bad idea to put you through anything else right now, but I’d like to take you…elsewhere.”
Funny enough, I liked that idea best. “Let’s do it.”
“Princess, I love you so fucking much.”
“You might not love me on an airplane. I don’t like to fly, and please don’t drug me.”
He kissed my lips. “Always love you. Plane or not. And no one will ever drug you without your consent again. I’ll hold your hand. It’ll be fine.”
We’d no sooner sat down in his jet, with a security officer moving to the back, that I snuggled up against Zeke’s side and immediately fell asleep. I had no idea when we’d taken off, and only woke up when we landed because Zeke woke me by kissing me all over my face. I groggily opened my eyes.
“Are we…there?”
“We are. I’m so glad you’re resting. You need it. Sleep is really what will heal you right now.”
Exiting the plane to a waiting car, I still had no idea where we were. “Going to share sometime soon where you’ve taken us?”
“To an idea.” He winked at me. “In Washington state.”
My mouth fell open. “We’re in Washington state?”
“Yes.”
I scanned through what I knew about Washington state. “Do you want to move to Seattle?”
“No. I like that city, and it’ll be nice to have a big city within several hours of a drive, but no, where we’re going is elsewhere. Did you know that Washington has a great wine country?”
I absolutely did not. “No. Zeke…more info please?” He couldn’t possibly want to go wine tasting.
“I thought I might show you an option. It’s just one. And you can say no and hate it. Nothing will happen that you don’t want to. I thought I’d show you a maybe future. One we could make together. If it speaks to you.”
I was intrigued. So much so, I stayed awake the hours we drove until we got to the place he’d wanted me to see.
“Is this a winery?”
He got out of the car and came around to open my door. “It is. An old one. Owners died. Their kids were bad at this. But it used to grow really great Pinot noir. One you liked very much in my house one of our first evenings together. A winemaker I have hired tells me this place is ready to grow again.”
It looked run down, like no one had taken care of it. In the distance, as far as I could see, there were large plants growing here, there, and everywhere. The house was shuttered. Big but sad looking.
“What would we do here? Grow wine?” I put my hand on the old wood.
“The winemaker would grow it. I’d love to learn. Eventually maybe I can do it. If not, he can. But we’d make wine here. Our family would. Takes a lot of time to grow things that last. Wine changes as it ages. So do grapes. You have to cultivate them, get them to where they can be counted on to launch. Outside forces play a role. Weather does it what it does. People make mistakes. But we could build something solid here.” He knocked on the house. “We’d knock this down. I’d build you a house here that you could stay in, forever if you want to. It would be our house. You want to go to art school? There are several in Washington state, and two of them do virtual, distance learning.”
I stared at him, my mouth falling open. “When did you learn about all of this? About this spot?”
“Before you were taken from me.” He pulled me against him like saying the words required him to hold me. “About this place. The last week or so, I started to think it might work. I could still work at my other jobs. Selling finance to the very rich. But I’d do this too. Maybe eventually selling our wine could be all that I do. If it never is, that’s fine. If the vineyard doesn’t make it, we’d never have to leave the house.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “I love this idea. Yes, this is ours, but I have some stipulations.”
“Give them to me.”
I swallowed. “It has to have a gym. I miss running. And when the weather is bad here, we need a gym with side-by-side treadmills.”
“Done. What else?”
“I have to decorate it.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Count on it. I’m going to sell the house in France and all the furniture.”
I might let him do the bathroom. But I’d tell him that later.
“And?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“It might not be avoidable, but I want to be so secluded here so that no one takes my picture ever again without my permission. I’m not a commodity. I don’t owe the world my photo or evidence of my life. It gets to be ours.”
Zeke kissed the end of my nose. “Done.”
This was really happening. I was going to have this life with Zeke Scott. I squeezed him tighter.
I was putting on my makeup and doing my best to get it right when the package arrived. I almost smudged my mascara.
“Careful. We don’t want you looking like a racoon on your wedding day.” Hope kissed my cheek. “Put down the mascara before you take out your eye and open this gift.” Hope shook it. “From your fiancé.”
I stared down at my ring like I did every time someone uttered that word. It was exactly what I wanted. Square. Mid-sized. With sapphires all around it. He’d gotten it so right.
Sighing, I took the package. “I didn’t get him anything.”
“Yes, you did.” Bridget smiled. “You gave him everything. This whole life. I mean…I love this house.”
I did too. We’d spent the last year overseeing the building while professionals got the vines ready, too. There were so many details, and I loved all of them. So did Zeke. I hadn’t known I could have this kind of constant happy. Contentment was a new concept for both of us.