“Where your ex’s winery happens to be.”
“He’s not my ex. Not officially. We were never really a couple.”
“Details, details.” She brushed off my correction with a wave of her hand. “The important thing is, the universe is throwing you two together again. I’d call that destiny.”
“I’d call it an inconvenient professional coincidence.”
“Oh, come on! You’re not even a little excited about the possibility of seeing him again? Maybe finishing that interrupted conversation?”
“It’s just work, Annie,” I said finally, trying to convince myself as much as her. “Nothing more.”
But as we cleaned up the empty boxes and glasses, one question kept echoing in my mind: if it was just work, why did my heart race at the thought of going back to Highridge Valley? Why did the idea of seeing Christian again leave me both anxious and hopeful?
Maybe Annabelle was right. Maybe I hadn’t closed that chapter after all.
The smell of barbecue hit me the moment I opened my parents’ gate. The Bennett family’s Sunday lunch was an unshakable tradition-my dad at the grill and my mom complaining that he was cooking too much meat.
Matthew shouted from the backyard:
“Finally! I thought I was going to miss out on the picanha!”
My mom appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron. “You’re so skinny! Haven’t you been eating properly in that tiny apartment?”
“Good to see you too, Mom,” I replied, dropping my bag on the couch.
Out in the yard, Annabelle was already pouring beer for Dad. I kissed his cheek, breathing in the familiar smoky scent.
“Impossible to be too busy for your barbecue, Dad.”
“And you know how to value the good things in life,” Matthew said. “Unlike certain rich guys who don’t know how to appreciate a good rack of ribs.”
The meaningful look Annabelle shot me didn’t go unnoticed. Any mention of Christian made my stomach flip completely.
Lunch went on with laughter and family stories. Over dessert, my mom asked about work.
“I’m leading an important event next week. In Highridge Valley.”
“Highridge Valley?” My dad looked up from his bowl of ice cream. “Isn’t that where Christian’s winery is?”
A brief silence fell over the table.
“It’s the region, Dad. There are hundreds of wineries there.”
“Are you going to see him?” Matthew asked bluntly.
“It’s a professional event. If he’s there, it’ll just be coincidence.”
“Maybe it’s fate, sweetheart,” my mom said with that dreamy look in her eyes. “You two met so quickly, and everything happened like a whirlwind. Maybe you just needed this time apart.”
“Mom, please…”
“Your mother’s right,” my dad chimed in. “You young people are too hasty, Relationships need time to mature.”
Thankfully, Annabelle steered the conversation toward my parents’ wedding anniversary, and Christian was momentarily forgotten.
Later, while helping my dad wash the dishes, I took advantage of the moment alone.
“Dad, what exactly did Christian say when he came to talk to you?”
His hands froze for a moment, the sponge hovering over a plate.
“Why are you asking that now?”
“Curiosity. You never told me the details.”
He kept washing, thoughtful.
“He came by on a Tuesday. I was home alone.” My dad rinsed a plate. “Very polite, as always. He asked to talk about why you two had decided to break up.”
“And what did he say?”
“That you had both decided to end the relationship. That it was a mutual decision.”
“Just that?”
“No.” My dad handed me the last plate. “He said you deserved someone who could give you a normal life. That his world was… too complicated, full of power games and appearances. That you were too genuine for that environment.”
My heart sped up. Authentic. The same word Joseph had once used to describe me.
“Did he say anything else?”
“He said he was sorry. That it was never his intention to hurt you.” My dad paused, carefully choosing his words. ” And that, even from afar, he’d always look out for you.”
My stomach flipped. Always look out for me?
“And the strangest part,” my dad went on, “was when he asked if we were okay financially, if there was anything he could help with. As if he wanted to make sure that even after the breakup, the family of the woman he loved would be alright. Of course I told him everything was fine. I have my pride.”
I swallowed hard, remembering the story we had invented about an administrative error in the process and documents that “proved” the debt’s deadline had expired. All to protect my father’s pride, so he’d never know his daughter’s ex-fiancé had paid it off.
“You know what I think?” my dad said, studying my face. “I think that young man is still in love with you.”
“Dad, please…”
“I saw the way he talked about you.” He folded his arms. “That wasn’t the speech of a man who simply chose another path. It was the speech of someone giving up something he wanted badly, because he thought it was best for you.”
“We barely knew each other. It all happened so fast…”
“Time doesn’t determine depth, Zoey. Your mother and I took years, but some people find in weeks what others search for their whole lives.”
“You really think it was real for him?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
“No doubt in my mind.” My dad gently touched my chin. “Listen, sweetheart, a man doesn’t get teary-eyed talking about a woman unless he truly feels something for her.”
That caught me off guard. Christian, with teary eyes? The always-controlled, always-composed Christian Kensington?
“You must’ve misread it,” I muttered, more to myself than to him.
“Maybe.” My dad shrugged. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in forty years of fixing cars, it’s knowing when a machine is running smoothly and when it’s forcing the engine to hide a problem. And that young man was forcing it hard to hide something.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.