RISKY PLAY (RED CARD #1) BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN Page 0,1
long shot. When you’re okay you don’t chug champagne and hold tears back in first class.
It wasn’t just that I missed us.
I missed him.
My best friend.
We’d been inseparable since birth.
Our first baths had been side by side, as awkward and weird as that sounds, and our moms had been best friends.
We belonged to the same country club.
We attended the same high school, where as a cheerleader, I cheered for him. Alton Davis, star quarterback and the hottest guy to ever hit West Valley High. God, I could still see my dad’s face after Alton proposed, it was like the son he’d always wanted was finally going to become part of our family. I’d been so proud to flash that ring to anyone who asked. I’d finally succeeded in having it all, right? I was finally worthy of my parents’ dynasty.
I had said yes to the man I’d been glued to since I could talk.
The man who took me to prom every year.
The man who waited to sleep with me out of respect.
The man who had it all.
The man who was supposed to take over my father’s empire at my side.
So why had I felt empty on my wedding day even before he turned his back on me? I swiped a tear from my cheek.
“Honey.” Mom’s voice softened. “I’m worried about you. You rarely come to family dinners, I haven’t seen you at the club since—” She didn’t have to say it. Since I was left at the altar.
Since my marriage bust had become national news.
After all, it wasn’t every day an heiress to one of the largest and most sought-after wine brands was left at the altar. “Used Wine Back on the Market.”
Yeah, that had been a fun one.
With lots of memes.
Involving, you guessed it, fruit.
“One Cherry Less Popped.” That had been a personal favorite, since my dad also owned enough cherry farms to put any farmer in the nation to shame.
“I know.” I didn’t let her finish. I shuddered a bit as the captain came over the loudspeaker. I normally had Alton with me on every business trip. I wasn’t necessarily scared to fly, I was just . . . alone. So damn alone. “I promise I’ll call you when I land. I need this, though, I just need—” To breathe. I needed air. I needed to find out who I was without him. And if that woman even existed, since I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t by his side.
Thirty years I’d been part of a duo.
And now, now I was just . . . me.
It was depressing.
And six months ago when he’d walked out of my life.
I’d cut him out of mine.
It hurt too much, even if he was right in doing what he did.
Alton was always stronger than me.
I was a total people pleaser and he was the schmoozer who always had people eating out of the palm of his hand. He took charge, and oftentimes when I tried he told me he’d handle the situation. And he did. I frowned. Was that right? Was my future really that of a trophy wife with no thoughts of her own? No. No, that wouldn’t . . . I always thought he was similar to me, just wanting to please his parents, until finally, he didn’t. In the end he pleased himself and told everyone else to go to hell.
I hung up the phone to my mom’s murmured “I love you.”
And stared straight ahead as more champagne was poured into my glass. I tilted it back without a second thought, gulping the entire contents and then wiping the liquid from my lips with the back of my hand.
“Scared of flying?” came a cultured Spanish accent from next to me. It was barely noticeable, but I traveled enough to catch it. I slowly turned my attention to the guy who’d just sat down in the aisle seat.
Black Bose headphones hung around his neck, and he wore a tight Under Armour hoodie and a denim jacket, which indicated he was a guy who knew how to make comfortable look fashionable. He had this cool personal style that made me look. My eyes took in his burgundy skinny jeans and gray high-tops. I almost gave him a nod of approval for doing his own thing, when he turned a golden-eyed gaze to me and winked.
Caught. So embarrassingly caught checking him out.