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10- Isabel
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FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 10.1
I climbed out and smoothed my polo shirt, smiling back. Pam had given me a new one in a size up. No customers would be in danger of a button attack today. Goodness, the man smelled good. The woodsy fragrance he always had on made my legs feel like butter. “Morning. I’m so excited!”Boston shut my car door and walked me in, his hand coming out to touch my elbow and then reversing course. He jammed his hands in his pants pockets, then withdrew them again to open the back door for me. He was acting weird. And that was saying something coming from me, the queen of acting weird.“Mom’s talking to the caterer right now.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the tiny office tucked in the back corner of the winery. “How about I get the new napkins that just arrived this morning and we can make sure the bar is stocked?”“Sounds good. I just have to send a quick text and then I’ll be good to go.” I pushed through the saloon doors to put my purse behind the bar. I peeked over
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 11- Boston
I wasn’t sure how it had happened, but somehow, I’d put my arms around El and pulled her close to me, both of us laughing hysterically at my mother’s ridiculous pig mascot costume.It had been as natural as rolling over in my sleep, to reach for her. Holding her as we shared a moment of laughter borne out of the intimacy we’d built over the last week together, and the last night especially, felt so right that everything inside me was pushing me to hold her there forever. Where she belonged—close to me.But Mom’s timing was good, because it wouldn’t have been the right thing for me to lean in and kiss El furiously right there behind the tasting counter, no matter how much I wanted to. My desire for her, my intense admiration for the strong, silly girl in my arms, didn’t change the fact I was still lying to her about something. And as long as I was misleading her, it was pretty clear I didn’t deserve her.I held her gaze a second longer, which turned out to be a mistake, because Mom saw
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 11.1
“You think your mom wants to put us together?” I couldn’t tell if the idea made her happy or horrified her.“Definitely,” I told her.A little smile flitted over El’s lips and my heart jumped. Did that mean she’d be interested? I knew she thought I was hot, but I also knew she thought I was evil. Or at least she had at one point.The conversation didn’t continue, thanks to the manic pace of the crowd still pouring in the doors, and there was little time to think about it because that first couple that had come in was like a raindrop that signaled an oncoming deluge. Whether it was Dalton on the corner in the pig costume, or Mom’s willingness to implement my brothers’ ideas about internet and email marketing in a way most traditional wineries were still not doing, the place was packed until the event came to an end at ten o’clock that night.El’s mom didn’t leave after her tasting. Instead, Mom poured her a big glass of the pinot gris, and she parked herself at the end of the counter l
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 12. Isabel
Don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t freak out.Ohhhh . . . he’s good at this.Boston tugged at my bottom lip, as if asking permission to keep going with the best kiss I’d ever participated in. I let my lips say yes and then I forgot everything else. The butterfly dragons in my stomach turned to a liquid warmth that permeated every square inch of my body. His hands tugged me closer and soon I had the full length of him pressed against me. A solid wall of muscle I wanted to see. Wanted to feel. Wanted to touch.One of his hands came up to cup my jaw, sliding across the nape of my neck and I full body shivered against him with the pleasure his touch brought. Then he was angling my head to take the kiss further and all I could do was hang on for the ride and hope I didn’t pass out from sensory overload.“Oh, sorry, dude.”I gasped against his lips, and Boston pulled back just enough to glance over his shoulder.“Ignore him,” he whispered, coming back to ghost across my lips.But the s
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 12.1
He closed the gap then, his lips already familiar, like they’d imprinted on my soul. He pulled back much quicker than I would have liked.“Get some sleep. You were magnificent in there today.”And then he was gone, walking to his car and leaving me feeling like I’d drunk a thousand of those brown sugar lattes I loved so much and would never sleep again. I got into my car and drove home, not even seeing the road around me. Not exactly safe, but I’d shifted into some kind of dream world where a man like Boston was crazy for me and nothing bad could touch me ever again. I pulled into my driveway and grinned like a mad woman when I saw Frank wasn’t out on his porch to greet me. See? Things had already changed for the better. Boston had magic lips.“Hey, wine princess.”The voice of my best friend, somewhere in the dark, had me jumping so high I almost twisted an ankle as I stepped out of the car.“Ash?” I hissed into the dark, gaze darting around until I found her sitting on my welcome ma
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 13. Boston
The high I was on as I walked El to her car, kissed her again, and then drove myself home to my condo lasted about twenty more minutes. Long enough to chat once more with my mother to agree that things had gone stunningly well, long enough to pour myself a beer to celebrate that I’d finally asked out the woman I wanted and that she seemed to potentially want me back, and long enough to be reminded in the most painful way possible that I’d been untruthful with her.She still wanted to go out with Chad.I sat in the wingback leather chair in my living room in the dark, facing the wall of windows that overlooked the river outside and stared at my phone as if it had betrayed me.In reality, I was the one doing all the betraying. The only way to fix this was to break it off, to make the Chad problem go away.The funny thing was that I hadn’t even talked to Chad since the festival. We saw each other once every couple months when we both had time, had a few drinks and reminisced about our ch
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 13.1
“Yep,” I said, walking her down the hallway and toward the supply closet at the end. She was wearing heels again, and they clicked along the tile, matching the beat of my heart. “Just right on in here, miss, uh, Watson.”El shot me a mischievous smile over her shoulder and stepped inside the large closet as I flicked on the light and pulled the door shut behind us.“Sir,” she said in a low voice. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a ploy to get me alone.”My entire body responded to the thought of having her alone, and I stepped closer, dropping my hands to her perfect waist. “I miss you,” I whispered as she pressed herself against me.“Oh,” she said, registering the firmness of my body against hers. “So the rulers really are kept in here,” she joked.“Sorry,” I said, stepping back so she couldn’t feel the ruler-like bulge in my trousers.She shook her head slowly, staring up into my eyes. “You do the same thing to me,” she whispered.That did it. I pulled her closer and too
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 14. Isabel
I wanted the high back, that glow I’d felt after the winery opening when Boston had kissed me and when I felt like nothing could ever penetrate my happy bubble. I’d texted Boston last night and it hadn’t gone through, giving birth to more dragons in my stomach. I’d gone back and forth with Ashley until she was ready to block my phone number. Did he give me the wrong number on purpose? And if so, what was that all about? Why was he so weird about his phone number? Something just wasn’t adding up.I’d had a sinking feeling in my stomach all day, which I chalked up to nerves about the date. Ever the glass-half-full kind of girl, I’d strapped on my best heels, layered on three kinds of deodorant, and escaped off to the date with only a single wolf whistle from Frank. I told myself over and over that the phone number thing was just a mistake. A simple error writing down the number. Boston had looked into my eyes outside the restaurant and I’d settled down. Everything was fine.And then Cha
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FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 72- Dalton
Me: Guys, we need your help. Rae is leasing the Chest R. Cheeses next month and I’m going to need some muscles to get it into shape for her studio. Can I count on you to help?Lincoln: Dude. I’m almost finished with Hannah’s cottage. I’m practically a general contractor by now.Dillon: Well, I would, but I don’t live here. Maybe I can squeeze in a weekend?Boston: Of course we’ll help. But first, I need to get everyone together for an announcement before Dillon flies out. Can you make it to the winery at seven tonight?Everyone agreed to meet, but I was more focused on the fact that they agreed to help Rae and me. Now that we were back together and better than ever, I wanted to get her set up in her new space as soon as possible. Her business was exploding, especially after someone posted a snippet of the flash mob on TikTok yesterday. Fans were going berserk about us being together in real life.My phone rang and I picked it up, even though I didn’t recognize the number. Quite frankl
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 71- Raeanne
For two days after the flash mob, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Every time I closed my eyes, Dalton was there, dancing and singing with half of Solano Creek. It was the perfect gesture, and I’d heard there was stiff competition between the Cunningham boys when it came to romantic gestures. And every time I wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing, my hand found the little gold key around my neck.We’d gone to dinner after the flash mob, along with Dalton’s family and mine, and the little Italian place we’d chosen had given us all free appetizers when they learned we were the ones who’d been dancing and singing out on the promenade.And after dinner? I’d gone home with Dalton after picking a few things up at my place. And so far, I hadn’t exactly left. We agreed it was too early to make big decisions, so no one was giving up an apartment or anything. Not yet. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to spend every second I could with the man I knew I was meant to find.“You look ha
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 70- Dalton
I didn’t know how Rae did it. Stepping up on stage for dance performances every few months growing up. I thought for sure I’d puke just getting everything set up for my make-or-break moment at the Promenade. If I thought about actually having to dance in front of everyone at the end of this ill-thought-out shindig, I just might lose my breakfast.“Don’t jack it up now, brother,” Dillon clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a shake. “Dude, you look a little green.”I didn’t like the way he was peering at me, like I’d grown a second head. “You try throwing it all on the line for a girl with everyone you know—and people you don’t know—watching you. You’d be a little green around the gills too.”Dillon flinched back. “Yeah, no. No way would I do that for a girl. Nope. The trend stops with you three.”He had a valid reason for concern. Us Cunningham brothers were notorious for putting on quite the spectacle to get the girl. When I’d hatched the original plan with Lincoln, it had grown leg
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 69- Raeanne
The days felt like they were dragging by. Like the kind of dragging weighed down by heartbreak and disappointment, by uncertainty and a little bit of self-loathing thrown in for good measure. The glass on the front of the studio hadn’t been fixed. I’d spoken to three glass shops and the landlord of the building, and evidently there was some kind of glass shortage in Solano Creek.“All those wine bottles we make here,” the landlord surmised.“I doubt that’s it,” I told him, pacing my apartment again. I could see a faint track worn into the brown rug where I’d been pacing regularly for days. Soon I’d probably go right through the floor. I needed to dance. I needed my life back.And I didn’t know if I needed him, but I really wanted Dalton. But my pride was still up and every time I picked up the phone I ended up talking myself back into anger. He didn’t understand me. And if this had been bad, it would only get worse if we dragged this thing out.Or that’s what I’d been telling myself r
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 68- Dalton
Twinkle Toes: I think so.I shut the screen off and tossed the phone on my nightstand. I couldn’t look at it any longer. I’d stared at our last text exchange so many times over the last few days I had the whole conversation memorized. Staring at it didn’t make the pain go away, nor did it provide answers as to what had gone so epically wrong. I mean, that had to be some kind of relationship crash and burn record right there. From I love you’s to broken up in twenty-four hours. Maybe Rae was right. I should probably stick to the light and funny stuff. Leave the grown up, complicated adult things for everybody else who could clearly handle them better.I was late for work, but who would really care? Boston was still on his honeymoon and Leslie was probably organizing his tackle box for the inevitable fishing trip right after his retirement party. My phone vibrated and my heart decided to gallop out of my chest, thinking it was Rae. But it wasn’t. Probably would never be again.Dillon Th
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 67- Raeanne
Inside my apartment I sank heavily onto the little couch I’d inherited from my grandmother. The cheery floral pattern was completely at odds with my mood. I leaned back into the dusty embrace of the yellow roses, my spine releasing some of the indignant tension I’d been holding there.What had Dalton been thinking? Was my studio a complete joke to him? How could he expect me to just pick up the whole thing and drop it down into the center of a Chest R. Cheeses? The place had been a total circus. I could still hear the shrieks of kids screaming over the maniacal music they’d piped in to float above the roar of the arcade machines.I was a classically trained ballerina. And while I didn’t expect Dalton to understand all the various implications of that and what it meant to me—about me—I did think he had respect for what I did. For the fact that I was running an actual business, and doing it increasingly well.But maybe I’d been wrong. Both Dalton and my dad had decided I couldn’t contin
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 66- Dalton
The rollercoaster of emotions over the last twenty-four hours had me up at dawn, energy crackling in my veins when I should have been sleeping in and enjoying my weekend. After we got Rae’s studio cleaned up last night, she’d gone home to her place, stating she was incredibly tired and needed rest. She’d been so busy with teaching and hiring, and now the added stress of a break-in, I didn’t push her to stay at my place. Plus, her parents were standing right there and I didn’t think that would make the best first impression. But her parents were on my mind now.I’d had an epiphany somewhere around three in the morning as I lay in bed trying to sleep. I’d gotten Rae into this mess by choosing her videos to duet to win my bet. I needed to get her out of this mess. The guilt of being the impetus for all of this would eat me alive if I didn’t make things right. I couldn’t undo what had been done. I couldn’t make her suddenly less TikTok famous. The only thing I could do was protect her goi
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 65- Raeanne
I’d never been the sappy type, not really. Sure, I could get a little choked up listening to music or when the corner bakery got the devil’s food exactly right. But this was different. As the Cunningham brothers proceeded down the center aisle with El’s bridesmaids on their arms, a little knot of emotion formed in my throat.Lincoln and Hannah went first, then Dillon and El’s friend Ashley. Dalton appeared next at the end of that long aisle, and my heart expanded inside my chest. He walked El’s friend Gigi down the aisle, but his eyes found mine in the crowd, and held fast nearly the entire time. When he took his place at the front, near the arch of white flowers, I realized I’d been holding my breath, and I let it go just in time to turn back to see El stepping out from the back and to the head of the aisle, her mother Robin at her side. El looked gorgeous—glowing and bright, her hair curled and shiny, and her dress was a satin sheath clearly made just for her. She gazed around, but
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 64 - Dalton
I adjusted the fancy tie around my neck for maybe the hundredth time that morning, unsure if my nerves were for Boston and El, the best man’s speech I’d need to give at the reception, or because I intended to man up and tell Rae exactly how I felt about her today. So many times over the last week, it had been right there on the tip of my tongue. The three little words that seemed so inadequate for what was going on inside my chest whenever I was around her, or thought of her, or caught a sweet jasmine scent that reminded me of her body lotion I was obsessed with. I hadn’t been looking for her, but she’d danced her way into my heart nonetheless.Was it too early to tell her I loved her? I mean, we’d only been dating for just shy of a month, but it wasn’t so much the time, it was the depth of what we’d shared. We were working on a shared goal, each of us supporting the other. To her, I wasn’t just the funny guy. Everything about us together was just plain nice. Maybe the word nice wasn’
