Time After Time (Sweetbriar Cove #14) - Melody Grace Page 0,81
and he was sticking to it.
The alternative was just too heartbreaking to bear.
19
Stella gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were turning white as she drove out of town. It was a good thing she knew these roads like the back of her hand, because all she could see was Aidan’s handsome face, so smooth and detached as he told her he was going back to New York.
The news hit her like an anvil straight to the chest, even though she shouldn’t have been surprised. Why hadn’t she seen it coming? She’d felt it in her bones since the moment he’d told her about the job offer. He was a man who’d spent the fall with his bags half-packed, ready to leave, but for some reason, it hadn’t become real until Aidan was standing there in front of her, casually explaining he was about to disappear from her life for good.
Of course he was going. This was what she’d been afraid of, all along.
Stella drove on, trying to tell herself it was for the best. He’d proven her right, after all: His heart wasn’t there with her, and at least this way, it would be a clean break. Out of sight, out of mind. She was so determined to look on the bright side that she didn’t even realize she’d been crying, until she pulled up in the rain-soaked dirt parking lot at the vineyard and scared one of the workers half to death.
“Are you, um, OK?” the kid blinked, his arms full of boxes.
Stella wiped furiously at her face. She was probably dripping with mascara by now. “Fine!” she announced brightly. “Just, allergies.”
She pulled out her compact and cleaned herself up. The last thing she wanted to do was bring everybody down today. They were surprising Alice with lunch and wine tasting, at the old Hastings Family Vineyard just outside of town, and she’d arranged to get there early to help set everything up. Stella grabbed the bakery bag and her supplies, and remembered to plaster on a bright smile before hurrying through the rain to the lodge-style building. There was nobody in the main entrance, but she could hear music coming from down the hall, so she followed the sound until she reached the Great Room: a large, warm space with knotty pine beams, oversized couches, and a fire roaring in the hearth.
“Isn’t this cozy?” Lila greeted her with a smile. She was fastening balloons to a sideboard, while Jenny set out bouquets of flowers. “I know the place is a little dated, but it’s so quiet on the off-season, they were happy to have us.”
“Dated?” Jenny asked, teasing. “These couches are straight out of my grandparents living room, circa 1975!”
Stella managed a smile. “I’ve never been here before, but everything looks great. And on a day like this, I’d take cozy over super-stylish. A fireplace is all we need.”
“A fireplace, enough sweet treats to feed and army, and an unlimited supply of wine,” Lila corrected her with a smile. “I’ve finally got Pearl on the bottle, so mama’s going to have some chardonnay!”
Stella smiled again, for real this time. An afternoon with her friends was exactly what she needed to forget all about Aidan – and if they didn’t help, the wine certainly would. So, she pitched in, setting up balloons and scented candles, and laying out a spread of snacks. By the time Alice and the others arrived, the tired furnishings had been transformed.
“Oh my gosh!” Alice clapped her hands together happily as she took in the scene. “This day just keeps on getting better.”
“Thank you for planning all of this! But it’s Summer’s celebration, too,” Alice said quickly.
“Yes, but I’m not turning thirty again for another week.” Summer said with a smile.
“You decided to pick a number and stay there?” Jenny asked. “I wish I’d known that was an option. I’d be… twenty-seven forever,” she decided. “For some reason, my hair was really good that year.”
“I like getting older,” Mackenzie mused, reaching for the cheeseboard. “I give less of a damn every year. I’m going to be one of those outrageous old ladies who wear brightly patterned scarves and drink whiskey at ten a.m.”
“And how does Jake feel about that?” Summer asked.
Mackenzie grinned. “He doesn’t get a say, he just gets to keep loving me regardless.”
They all laughed. “What about you, Stella?” Alice asked. “What age would you stay?”