Wright with Benefits (Wright Series #8) - K.A. Linde Page 0,92

against him, avoided him, and done everything in my power to not think about his too-handsome face or those broad shoulders or the way he’d made me feel inexplicably complete. And it hadn’t worked. It just hadn’t worked. I’d fallen for him even harder and faster than the last time, and I didn’t want it to fucking end.

Sometimes, relationships needed work. I couldn’t run away every time it got hard. I couldn’t assume he was a bad person off of one interaction. Not after the last couple months of perfection. Didn’t he deserve a chance to prove me wrong?

So, I took a deep breath and yanked on the door, prepared to hear him out.

I gasped softly at the interior of the barn. I’d seen it all done up for the event last weekend, but it was nothing compared to what it looked like now. Jordan must have had Nora stage the place. There was no other explanation. Soft white drapery made the twinkle lights appear to be constellations across a night sky. Flowers bloomed in bouquets around the room, interspersed with every size candle imaginable. The room glowed with flickering candlelight, and at its center was Jordan Wright.

My breath caught at the sight of him in a sharp suit and tie, standing with his hands in his pockets, waiting for me.

“Hey,” I said as I came to stand before him. My eyes continued to scan the room, unsure if I should settle entirely on him. “This is elaborate.”

He smiled. Such a Jordan smile. Soft on the edges with his eyes lighting up. “I thought you might need elaborate.”

“You could have started with I’m sorry.”

He finished the last step between us. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re right. Probably not enough.”

“Probably not,” he agreed with a small laugh. “Worth a try though.”

“Suppose so.”

I fiddled with my fingers, distinctly feeling the absence of my ring. I was so used to twirling it when I was nervous.

“Do you know why I bought the winery?” he finally asked.

I blinked at the change in subject. It wasn’t what I’d expected. “Because Hollin and Julian cajoled you into it.”

“Well, that’s the reason I got involved, but not the reason I eventually said yes.”

I shrugged. “No, you never mentioned.”

He held his arms out, gesturing to the barn around him. “When I looked at this barn, I saw a dirt-filled piece of junk that we’d sink way too much money into to ever make it profitable. It was a bad investment, and I didn’t want to do it. But when we came over to look at the place, something hit me at the sight of it.” He sighed. “This was our first date. You brought me to this ridiculous bar and tried to get me to line dance. I hadn’t laughed that much in years. I was smitten. And I wasn’t ready to let those memories be demolished. I wanted to keep them. So, every time I walked inside, I saw you in cowboy boots with that effervescent smile on your face.”

I swallowed hard at his words. “What do you see now?”

“You throwing this ring at me,” he said, holding the claddagh ring up to the light. “And how much I completely fucked it up.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“There’s not an excuse for how I reacted last week. I cut you out of my life while I tried to deal with my mom’s news. Then I overreacted to everything and treated you horribly. I’m so sorry for all of that. I was worried about my mom and her dealing with cancer again that I couldn’t process anything. I thought I was making the right decision by letting you go. I couldn’t even see that I was making the decision for you and not with you.”

I swallowed. “Yeah, I thought we were a team.”

“I know. I’m sorry about that. I had a long talk with my mom about it. She was actually the one who suggested the groveling.”

I chuckled. “She’s a smart woman.”

“She is. She really is. For so long, I’ve thought that I was a mirror image of my father. That I hurt the people closest to me, and I had no control over the fury that burned through me. But my mom made me realize that I’m not just like my dad. That I get to choose who I am. And I choose to never be that person ever again.”

“Sounds like a good start.”

“And I want you to know that Seattle…” He shook his head, taking a step forward and reaching for my