Wright Rival (Wright)

She gaped at me. Speechless from my outburst.

“I’m going to prove you wrong, Piper. I’m not the guy you think I am.”

21

Piper

I’d made a mistake.

Somewhere in all of my righteous anger, I’d screwed up. I’d made an assumption based off of past behavior and my own personal experience with Hollin that he was treating me like this to get back in my pants. He’d always been that guy. I hadn’t thought he’d be any different with me. And after that text from Quinn, I’d been mad all over again for what he’d done to my friends and how it had impacted my own life.

But now that he was walking away, furious for my assumption and promising to prove me wrong, I realized it was all in error.

He didn’t know me like I’d accused. But he’d hit the nail on the head. The fields, the winery, the people—that was my life. That was who I was and what I lived for. And he’d seen that without ever dating me.

Now, I didn’t know how to backpedal. There wasn’t a way to do it with my family leaving the service and Hollin returning to his family and the Wrights in disarray about Emery giving birth. This wasn’t the time. It wasn’t the place.

And Easter was a celebration for my family. Abuelita had said, in Mexico, the people would flood the streets, eat all the delicious foods that they hadn’t had during Lent, and revel in a day of rest. The next week, they always drove down to the coast to eat fresh-caught seafood and relax now that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.

We weren’t going to the coast, and there was no feast outside of the service. But we were all returning to Abuelita’s house for lunch. She’d made fish tacos, empanadas, shrimp patties with pipián, and heaps of ice cream in all of our favorite flavors. It was the way that it was always supposed to be.

I couldn’t let my mistake hold.

“Hollin!” I called before he disappeared.

He stopped and faced me.

“Do you…have plans?”

He jerked his chin to the side. “What? Right now?”

I jogged back up to him despite people watching us. “We’re going to Abuelita’s for lunch. It’s kind of a big deal in my family. Do you want to join us?”

He opened his mouth, still very confused, and then closed it. His head began to nod before he said, “Yes. Yes, I want to join you.”

“Okay. Um…good. I’ll text you the address.”

“Do I need to bring something?”

“Oh, no. Abuelita will be glad to have another mouth to feed.”

“What made you change your mind?”

I texted him the address. “You.” Our eyes met again. “You were right.”

He grinned, and it was the same wide, arrogant look I’d gotten from him for years. “Sorry, didn’t hear you. Can you say that again?”

I swatted at him. “Don’t push your luck, Abbey.”

He laughed. “All right. I’ll be there.”

I watched him walk away with the weight lifted off of my shoulders. I had no idea what I was doing exactly. This could all crash and burn. But at least, I was giving it a chance. I didn’t know what the future held. I didn’t know where we’d end up even a month from now, but I wanted to see it through. I’d been trying to convince myself that I wasn’t interested since long before that tour bus. I’d let Quinn scare me into pushing him away. Today, it would be different. And I’d take it one day at a time.

I parked my Jeep outside of the home Abuelita had owned since she’d arrived in Lubbock in the ’70s. It wasn’t much, but it had seen my mother grow up and all three of us kids as well. It held memories through pictures and food and dance. It was home as much as the winery.

As I hopped out of the car, I heard a rumbling coming down the road. And then I saw Hollin…on a fucking Harley.

I had known he had one. I’d seen him drive, but it had been a while. I always made fun of his obsession with his motorcycle, but, well, looking at him on it now, it was hot. Like really fucking hot. Especially because he was still in his suit from church. A suit and tattoos and a Harley…dear God.

He parked the bike behind my Jeep and jerked his helmet off. He caught me staring at him and grinned devilishly. “Want a ride, Medina?”

I gulped. “I’ve never been on one before.”

“Oh, I could show you a good time.”

I had zero doubts of that.

“You’re making me consider skipping lunch.”

He chuckled and strode over to me. “Well, we can’t do that now, can we?”

“And why not?”

“Because I just got you to agree to go out with me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my chin. “Did you? I asked you out.”