Serves Me Wright (Wright #9) - K.A. Linde Page 0,75
own little microcosm, and I wanted to document it all. Be here for it all. Live through it all.
For so long, I’d thought that I didn’t belong. Now, with Julian finding my gaze, my family standing nearby, and my best friends at my back, I felt like I did belong here with them. With him.
I shivered at the realization and the fear that it immediately elicited. Because if I had it all, that meant I had so much more to lose. And I hadn’t been joking when I said worst-case scenarios were what I was best at. Anxiety had taught me that hard lesson.
“Hey, come sit by us,” Julian said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“Definitely.”
“Do you still have that shoot?”
I grinned. “I do.”
He arched an eyebrow. “It’s getting late. The sun is about to set.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Keeping secrets.”
And then the sun dipped a little bit lower. An in-between time. A time of renewal. A perfect time for photography, and I was ready.
“Now,” I whispered to Julian.
“What?”
Then Patrick was on his feet, holding his hand out to Morgan, who had taken a seat on the ground before him. She laughed and let him stand her up.
“What’s this about?” she asked.
But as if the tension in the area had been pulled taut, everyone gravitated toward them as I started photographing.
Patrick dropped to one knee. Morgan’s jaw fell open. Her hands didn’t fly to her face, and she didn’t start crying. She wasn’t like most of my other brides. But her eyes were wide, and she was staring down at him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
Patrick retrieved a small blue box from his pocket and popped it open to reveal the glittering diamond inside. “Morgan Wright, will you marry me?”
She stood frozen in time, looking down at her boyfriend, the man she loved. I could practically feel her shaken world at the words out of his mouth. Everyone held a breath, waited. Morgan wasn’t the lovey-dovey type. But Patrick was her person. She’d always liked him, and now, they were inseparably in love.
“Yes!”
The word broke the tension and the dam on her tears. She cried happy tears as he stood and slid the ring onto her finger, pulling her lips to his. The crowd around them all cheered, applause coming from the entire Fourth of July event.
Julian wrapped an arm around my waist. “Your final shoot, huh?”
I laughed and swiped at my own tears. “It was beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.”
Then he kissed me. Right then and there in front of everyone. I came alive in Julian’s arms. In this place where I finally fit. With these people, where my skill was valued. I was finally right where I belonged.
Part V
Belonging
32
Julian
After Fourth of July, time passed both more slowly and also at hyper-speed. Waiting to hear from Jordan’s PI felt like it was taking a lifetime. And the delay with the distributor as they got the paperwork together only made me want to rage at the snail’s pace. I’d followed up twice already and kept getting the run around about when we’d finalize everything. But otherwise, day-to-day business at the winery flew by.
Without knowing how, we were halfway through July and coming up on the Wright party. Nora had been working nonstop to make it everything it could be. She’d even called Campbell to see if he could come in for it. That was still up in the air as well since the record label was apparently on his ass about a new album. It wasn’t enough to be a successful rockstar. He had to repeat the ability time and time again. I didn’t envy him.
I finished off the memo I’d been working on and pushed away from my desk. I hadn’t moved in hours. I needed a break.
Running a hand down my face, I shucked off my blazer and rolled my sleeves up as I exited into the cellars. The idea to purchase West Texas Winery and make it our own Wright Vineyard had truly been Hollin’s idea. And as I watched him lean over a barrel, explaining the process to a tour that had stopped in front of him, I could see why he’d wanted it so badly. He loved this place. He’d loved it for a decade. And I was coming to realize that it was entirely my sanctuary as well.
A flash of red hair, and then Tamara was standing in front of him. “Oh, this is a treat, ladies and gentlemen, both owners in one day.”