I jumped up and ran around the table toward her, yelling, “Stop!” just in time. The girl took notice of the log and came to a halt. Unfortunately, I did not. Just like that, having tripped on nothing special, I was sprawled out on the grass, my friends and Clark all circled around me.
In an effort to dispel their looks of horror, I outstretched my legs and arms and began to make snow angels. Or grass angels, as it were.
“I’m fine,” I told them. “Nothing to see here.”
Everyone began to laugh.
Except him.
Clark Kent, clearly disgusted, turned and walked away. Sayonara, sourpuss. I had no headspace for anyone who tried to bring down my mood on this trip. We were here to have fun, and that was exactly what I planned to do, despite our very cranky wine tasting associate.
CHAPTERFIVE
brooke
“Hey there.”The door squeaked open behind me. It was Tina with a coffee mug in her hand. She sat next to me in a chair on the front porch of our rental house, as she’d done each morning.
I’d just been enjoying it as well. Although there was a street in front of us, it was fairly quiet. And beyond it, a grassy hill leading down to train tracks and the lake. A clear view with nothing to obstruct it.
“How much do you think a house like this costs?” I asked.
“No idea. I’ll have to look it up.”
“Too much,” I said. Though I’d had a great job and was given a severance package, this rental house was way out of my price range. “How you feeling?”
“Surprisingly good. Thank God we thought to bring actual water too.”
“And not just vodka-filled bottles?” I smiled. “I’m feeling pretty good. Slight headache. But it could be from the four texts I got last night.”
“Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately.”
“What the hell was he thinking?”
“He wasn’t. Pretty sure he was drunk texting. Said he’s really, really sorry and misses me.”
“Good.” She gave me a sideways look. “You aren’t falling for his bullshit, are you?”
I let the warm goodness run down my throat. Coffee in the morning on the lake. It really didn’t get any better than this. Maybe an ocean view. But this was a damn close second. “Are you kidding me? He got me laid off from a job I loved. Evan is more done than burnt toast.”
“And you hate burnt anything.”
“I do.”
Tina sipped her coffee next to me.
“But I don’t hate this view. Or this place. We have to get back to the little town too.” On the day I’d arrived, only Jen and Amy were here yet, and we went into town for lunch, just the three of us. “It’s adorable. Like stepping back in time. They even have a general store.”
“Sounds like an absolute blast.”
Tina was a city girl through and through, so I was one hundred percent sure she was being sarcastic.
“There’s something to be said for a small town. I wouldn’t expect that here since everything is so spread out. But I guess most of it is vineyards.”
She was looking at me as if I had three heads. “You seriously love it here.”
I’d been raving about this place since the minute we arrived. I really did love it. The stillness of it. The vibe. The vineyards. Everything about it was, well, me. Or at least I guessed it was me. I wasn’t completely sure who “me” was anymore.