by J. Sterling
“Get in here. Tell me everything.”
So, I did.
I told her about our dinner date. When I asked her about the bet that everyone in town seemed to be in on, she claimed she had never heard of it before, and I believed her. I begrudgingly continued and told her about my bolting in the middle of dinner, to which she called me a chickenshit, but then she changed her tune after learning that it’d led to James showing up at my front door with food in hand and one unforgettable night in bed. She called me a genius then.
I moved onto her oversize couch as she continued to stand, clearly too wound up by everything I’d just told her to sit still. Her sofa was the kind of worn-in piece that hugged your body the second you sat down in it. Reaching for a blanket, I tucked my legs underneath my butt and covered myself up as she stood with her hands on her hips, listening to me talk. Her eyes filled with moisture when I told her what had happened with my dad. She’d been a fixture at our house, growing up, so it really hurt her to hear this part of the story, especially when she hadn’t known anything about the threats up until the other day when I confessed them to her. I’d done a spectacular job of keeping some familial things to myself.
“I didn’t believe you when you told me before. I mean, I believed you, but I figured that you were exaggerating. Does that make me a bad friend?” She pulled out one of her barstools and sat down.
“No, but I’m not really the exaggerating type,” I said, a little defensive.
“I know you’re not. It’s just that the idea of your dad kicking you out is hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s too insane. Too irrational. Not that your dad isn’t crazy, but actually making you leave your home is.”
“I know.”
“Where was your mom during all this?”
“I have no idea. I don’t even know if she was home or not.”
“She’s not going to just let your dad do this, Julia. Do you think?”
I honestly had no idea what my mom would do once she found out. “I never thought my dad would really kick me out in the first place, so I’m not sure. I mean, does she stand by her man, or does she tell him he’s being unreasonable?” I offered a noncommittal shrug. “I guess it could go either way.”
“This really is Romeo and Juliet come to life,” she said.
I couldn’t even disagree this time or joke back that it was nothing like that.
“I guess you’re not allowed to go to work?” Jeanine knew that the winery was my life. It was both of our livelihoods. “Wait, does this mean I’m out of a job, too?” Her face pinched with pain, and I realized that I didn’t have an answer for her. “Not that it matters. I just need to know if I’m supposed to show up tomorrow or not.”
“I honestly have no idea. But, yeah, you should definitely show up. If my dad wants you gone, make him say it to your face,” I said, my spirit feeling a little less weak and a little more fired up.
“Well, you know that you can stay here as long as you need. I already made up the guest room for you. And sharing a bathroom will be fun. Right?”
She pulled her hair back and tied it into a little knot that looked cute. I’d tried that once before and ended up looking like a balding rat.
“Yeah. It will be like we’re sisters. We can fight over makeup and counter space and stuff.” I offered up a smile for the first time.
Jeanine moved from the barstool over to the couch, and I watched it swallow her as she sat down.
“Do you think James knows what happened? Like, do you think he saw you leave?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well, are you going to tell him?”
“I wasn’t planning on talking to him ever again,” I said, and I meant it.
He was the whole reason I was in this mess in the first place. Because of him, I’d broken the only hard rule I’d ever been given in my life. And in doing so, I’d lost everything.
“Oh, so you’re just going to pretend like last night never happened?” she asked skeptically.
“I’ve done it before. It’s not that hard,” I reminded her, referring to the one-night stand I’d had six months back. After it was over, I’d wiped it from my mind and never thought about it again.
“It wasn’t with James before.”
“James doesn’t change anything,” I said, trying to convince myself that it was the truth.
“James changes everything.” She rolled her eyes at me and huffed out a long breath. “Can you at least be honest with yourself?”
Her tone was soft, and it sent me right over the emotional cliff that I’d been barely hanging on to.
“No.” I sat there, shaking my head back and forth. “I can’t be honest with myself. Because being with James isn’t an option for me. So, I have to lie to you, to me, to anyone who asks. I have to pretend like I don’t want him. I have to convince myself that he doesn’t matter.”
Her face scrunched together. “You already lost your job, Julia. You don’t have to lose the guy, too.”
Her statement rang with a certain air of truth that I didn’t want to accept. I couldn’t allow myself to believe that the winery was lost to me forever. It couldn’t be gone for good. I wanted to be able to go back home and run what I was entitled to.
“I’m not willing to give up the winery just yet.”
“I understand that. I just think you should be able to have both. There has to be a way. Don’t you think there’s got to be some sort of compromise?”
I looked around before pointing at my duffel bag on the ground, reminding her exactly why I was here in the first place. “It doesn’t look like it.”
“So, you’d really be okay with sacrificing your dream guy for your job?”
A guttural laugh escaped from my throat. “My dream guy? And it’s not just any job, Jeanine. It’s my family. It’s our legacy. It’s what I’ve worked for my whole life. I was raised on our winery and always knew it would be mine one day. If it doesn’t stay in the family, then where does it go?”
She didn’t hide her disapproval. “Maybe your dad should have thought about that before kicking you out and making this ridiculous demand.”
I could tell she was holding something else back. I could see it written all over her face, so I prompted her. “Just say it.”
She raised her eyebrows and gave me a look.
“I know there’s more spinning in that head of yours. Spit it out already.”
Her lips pursed as she admitted, “Just hear me out first before you interrupt, okay?” she asked, and I nodded. “I think you could have both. I think you could have James and still work at a winery. You’re insanely talented, and any number of companies would be thrilled to have you on their team. Hell, they’d probably start World War Three, trying to compete over you. You have to stop acting like your family’s is the only gig in town. If you love making wine and doing what you do so much, you can realistically do it somewhere else. You’re just being stubborn and scared.”
I started to speak up, and she held five fingers in the air to stop me.
“Eh. You promised.” I closed my mouth, and she continued, “You need to really ask yourself what you’re fighting for and why you’re fighting so hard for it. I understand that you feel an obligation toward your family, and I get it. But, if it costs you your personal life, that doesn’t seem fair.” Her head was shaking as her eyebrows pulled together. “You’re willing to walk away from James because you’ve fallen into alignment with your dad’s demands. He’s ingrained it in your bones that it’s either one or the other. But that’s not true. And, even if it were, you’d really be okay with giving up James forever and pretending like he isn’t the one person in the world who is meant for you?”
“Can I talk yet?” I whispered.
She cast me a harsh glare. “You’ve been scared to disappoint your dad your whole life. I see that so clearly now more than ever. But what about the fact that he’s been disappointing you? If you continue to live your life for everyone else, then you�
��re not living for yourself. I’m afraid you’re going to look back at everything and hate yourself for it one day. Or at least have a huge ball of James Russo–sized regrets. At some point, you have to stop being worried about who you’re letting down and realize that every time you go against your heart, you’re letting yourself down. And that’s way worse.”
Silence hung in the air between us as I waited for more words to spill from her lips, so I could add them to the cyclone of thoughts currently spinning inside my mind.
When no more words came, she said, “Okay, you can talk now.”
“I’ve never even thought about working for someone else before,” I said, feeling a little stupid because it seemed like such a simple solution, if I were looking for one. I knew that almost any winery would hire me on the spot, but I’d never even considered that an option. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. It was a big ask—to give up my legacy and what was supposed to be rightfully mine without a second thought.
“So, what are you thinking?” Jeanine’s voice sounded hopeful for the first time since I’d arrived, but I knew that my response would change all that.
I sucked in an audible breath. “Honestly? I’m thinking that I don’t know how to walk away from my family and still be okay with that. But I do know how to walk away from James. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
THE FIXER
James
My phone rang with a number that rarely ever called during my lifetime, but I had saved it nonetheless.
“Jeanine,” I said into the speaker, wondering what exactly she was calling for.
“I need to talk to you, lover boy,” she said.
I knew instantly that she was aware of what had gone down between me and Julia. I wasn’t surprised or upset in the least, considering that she was Julia’s best friend.
“I didn’t do anything,” I defended myself without any idea as to why, but once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop. “I didn’t hurt her, Jeanine. If anything, it’s the other way around, so I’m not sure what exactly she told you, but ask her yourself.”
“Jesus, Russo, shut up for one second and just meet me outside,” she snipped and hung up.
I looked down at my phone just to make sure. Yep, she’d ended the call. Peering out one of the windows in the barn, I watched her impatiently pace back and forth, wondering why she was alone and where Julia was. Part of me wanted to see how long she’d wait before throwing a fit, but the other part was dying to know what she wanted to talk about.
I pulled open the heavy wooden door and walked into the season-changing air. It would grow colder soon, and we’d all be planning for next year’s crops, myself included. Maybe this would be the year that I could actually give Julia a run for her money. Hell, maybe she’d even help me create a blend that was as good as hers. A guy could dream.
Jeanine’s head whipped from side to side as she searched for me, clearly unaware of which direction I’d be coming from. Once she finally spotted me, she pushed off her car and stormed in my direction, stopping me dead in my tracks. I looked past her, for Julia’s car, but didn’t see it. Jeanine’s blonde hair blew around her face as she reached me, pushing a well-manicured fingernail against my chest.
“James”—her tone was instantly serious as she glanced around, clearly checking for someone or something—“can we go somewhere more private to talk?”
She looked nervous, and I started to grow nervous in response.
“Sure. Follow me.” I led us back toward the barn, which was as empty as I’d just left it. “Do you want to sit?” I asked, feeling more and more uneasy by the second.
“No, I’m good.” She looked around the barn before spotting my paintings and heading toward them, her head tilted appreciatively. “These are really good. Who painted them?”
“One of our staff,” I lied. The last thing I wanted to talk about right now was my paintings. I wanted to know what she needed. “What’s going on?”
Jeanine sucked in a long breath, her lips pressing tightly together as she stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time. “Julia’s dad kicked her out yesterday,” she explained with a slight wince.
I felt like the wind had been knocked from my lungs.
“He kicked her out?” I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I’d heard him threaten her. But to actually follow through? And for what? What had she even done? “Why did he do it? Because of me?”
“Yeah,” she answered.
I reached for a lone barstool and pulled it under me as I practically fell on top of it.
“Where is she?” I wanted to race through the door, get into my car, and go find her. I could only imagine how upset she was, and I needed to be there for her even if she thought she didn’t need me back.
“At my place.”
“Is she okay? How is she?” I asked before feeling immensely stupid.
Of course she wasn’t okay. How could she be?
“She’s upset, James. Confused. Angry. Sad,” Jeanine explained.
My heart fucking ached with every beat. I wanted to fix this for her, for her family, and for us.
“Is she mad at me? Why didn’t she call me and tell me? Does she know you’re telling me?”
Her head shook quickly. “She doesn’t know I’m telling you. I tried to get her to call you last night, but she wouldn’t do it. She’s pretending like she doesn’t have feelings for you so that this all hurts less.”
“Yeah”—I cracked a slight smile—“she’s good at that.”
Jeanine turned overly defensive of her best friend, her back straightening as she cast me a glare. “Good at what exactly?” she questioned.
“Pretending like she doesn’t like me,” I said innocently.
Jeanine relaxed. “Well, you’re not wrong about that.”
“I know.”
“Look, Julia didn’t want to tell you, but I thought you should know. I thought you would want to know what was going on with her, especially after what happened between the two of you.”
She offered me a sympathetic look, and I got up from the barstool and stood in front of her, my frame towering over hers.
“Thank you.” I placed my hands on her shoulders before pulling her in for a hug. “I really appreciate you giving me a heads-up. I would have had no idea, and when I eventually found out, it would have killed me.”
She pulled out of my grasp and squeezed my face. “I know. I figured as much. Now, do me a solid and fix this mess,” she said before walking away and leaving me alone with my thoughts.
My mind had already been spinning with ways on how to make this right between Julia and her dad, but now that Jeanine had put the responsibility squarely on my shoulders, it almost felt too heavy to bear.
How could I possibly repair the damage when I was the one to cause it in the first place?
Shaking my head, I found myself growing angry. I wasn’t the reason her dad had kicked her out. Sure, I might have been the scapegoat for it, but it really had nothing to do with me, and I refused to sit here any longer and take the blame. The feud between our families had gone on long enough, and I, for one, no longer wanted to participate in it. There couldn’t be a war between two sides if one side wasn’t fighting.
I knew what I needed to do. I just had no idea if I’d actually survive it.
* * *
I considered talking to my parents first before heading into battle, but I pussed out. There was still a large part of me that had been so ingrained to stay away from the La Bellas that any pushback from my dad would have had me reconsidering my actions. I needed to do this while I still believed it was my only option.
Knocking hard on the La Bellas’ front door, which I somehow knew had been handcrafted and flown in from Italy over a hundred years ago, I held my breath and waited. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. I probably should have told Dane that I was coming over here. That way, if my body went missing, they’d at least know where to start looking.
The door slowly pulled open—for d
ramatics or because of the sheer weight of it, I couldn’t be sure. Behind it stood Mr. La Bella. His expression always looked like he’d bitten into a sour grape, and it turned even more sour upon seeing my face.
“What the hell do you want, boy? Your daddy send you over here to steal something?”
I was shocked into silence before I found my resolve. I would no longer be intimidated by this terrifying man. “I wanted to talk to you, sir.”
He spat out a disgusted laugh. “I don’t talk to Russos.”
He moved to close the door, but I pressed my hand against it, stopping it cold.
“Mr. La Bella, please. I want to talk about Julia.”
The door flew wide open as he stepped out, forcing me to take two awkward steps back. “Stay the hell away from my daughter!”
“With all due respect, sir, you did kick her out. I don’t have to stay away from her now.” I knew I was pushing the envelope, but it seemed like the only way to get through to the man or at least get him to see the reality of what he was doing.
“I kicked her out to teach her a lesson,” he growled, closing the space between us.
I met his glaring, hard eyes with my own, refusing to back down. Not even when I heard Julia’s mom gasp in shock so loud that it almost made me want to stop fighting. Clearly, she hadn’t known what her husband had done to their only daughter, but putting an end to this feud mattered too much to me to stop now.
“What lesson is that exactly? That you don’t care about her or what she’s done for your winery? She’s amazing, you know. The blends she creates and the passion she has for the science behind it. She’s so fucking incredible, and you don’t even see it. You take her for granted, and that’s something I’d never do if I was lucky enough to have her,” I promised as adrenaline took over my entire body, fueling the words to spill out without refrain. I would fight for her. Even if it meant going up against the man who had helped make her.
