Wright Rival (Wright)

He nodded, a yearning smile touching his lips. “Good. Good. I was worried that you might not go because of the winery situation.”

“No, I’m not giving up,” I said, repeating the words Abuelita had ingrained in me. “That wine was my hard work. I won’t give up just because of what my dad did.”

“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling about it, but I’m glad that you’re still going.”

“That doesn’t mean that I’ll see you there,” I warned him.

He held his hands up. “Right. I just…wanted to see you. I know I can’t make this all go away, but I’m not going to walk away from this, Piper. I fucked up. I get it. And I see every step where I went wrong. But you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m going to try to fix this.”

I swallowed hard at those words. I wanted all of that, too. But something had broken between us. I didn’t trust him anymore. I didn’t know if I could believe his words. As much as I wanted to. And now, the fragile, cracked heart inside my still-beating chest recoiled from more damage. He’d done that, and I didn’t think he could undo it.

I reached for the handle. “I wish you’d thought about all of this before Tori happened.”

“Me too.”

He took another step toward me as I entered my house. His hands came to either side of the door, taking up the entire expanse with his incredible bulk. He looked like a sad puppy but a determined one.

“Hollin, I can’t do this,” I whispered as tears came to my eyes again.

He brushed the tear from my cheek with his thumb. “You’re my good girl, but I didn’t realize that you’d changed this bad boy until it was too late.”

38

Piper

“So, you just sent him home?” Blaire asked. She leaned on her elbows and looked at me with wide eyes.

“I did.”

Jennifer sat similarly on my bed as I packed my bag for my trip to Austin. “Good for you, Piper. He has a problem, and he’s working to fix it, but it doesn’t change the damage he did.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay,” Blaire said with an eye roll at Jennifer. “As much as I hate what Hollin did, he feels real remorse.”

“I think so, too,” I admitted.

“But…” Jennifer added for me.

“But I’m still mad.”

“Understandable,” Blaire said. “Are you going to see him when you’re in Austin?”

“Not if I can help it.” I held up a black dress for my friends, and they both put two thumbs down. I returned to the closet to find something else acceptable to wear to the ceremony. “I’m going to try to have a good time. Mingle with other people at the event. Hopefully come home with an award and decide what to do from there.”

“Wait,” Blaire said, and then she dashed into her room.

Blaire and I could fit into the same size, but she was significantly shorter than me. So, we didn’t share clothes much. It wasn’t often she went rummaging through her walk-in closet to find something for me.

“It’s smart to wait it out. Maybe it’ll work out with Hollin, but you shouldn’t give in because he apologized. Sometimes, I’m sorry isn’t enough,” Jennifer said.

“Speaking from experience?”

Her cheeks heated, and she laughed. “I guess so.”

“This!” Blaire passed a maroon dress into my hand. “It’s too long on me, but I’ve been meaning to have it hemmed and not gotten around to it. Plus, where am I going to wear it anyway? It was meant for you.”

I tried to give it back to her. “Blaire, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” Blaire handed the dress back to me. “Have a spectacular time. Don’t worry about Hollin at all. We love you and want you to do your best. You’ll be the highlight of the evening in that.”

“Thank you,” I told her as I gently packed it into the bag.

I had no idea what I was in for this weekend, but at least I’d look smoking hot while I did it.

The drive to Austin was boring and desolate. Six hours to a separate destination in Texas, and I’d barely seen another inhabited town. I couldn’t help thinking that the drive would have been much better with Hollin. He would have played music and told ridiculous jokes and made outlandish sexual innuendos. I would have laughed a lot.

I cleared my head. It didn’t matter. Because I wasn’t talking to Hollin, and I didn’t want to see him when I got there. It was pretty much guaranteed that we’d run into each other at the ceremony, but I hoped it wouldn’t happen before then.

The IWAA Texas Wine Award Competition was held annually at the Austin Convention Center downtown. They’d booked out three of the largest nearby hotels, and I’d gotten a place at the Four Seasons downtown off the Colorado River. I was glad I hadn’t canceled my room when Hollin invited me to go with him. Otherwise, I’d be screwed right about now.