“Non. I never said my life with you wouldn’t be happy. But if that is how you have always felt, I could never allow you to bind our lives together. It would be a prison for you.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh, I know you do not mean to be callous.” And then a smile teased her lips. How could the woman beam like that right now? “It was different when we were two people choosing the same path together. But your heart has chosen differently. And, I think, mine has as well. At the very least, it wants to, for the first time in a long time.”
Whoa. Derek turned and slumped against the wall beside the window. “So where does that leave us?”
“I’m sorry to say I cannot marry you.”
“But what about the vineyards? Our businesses?” He glanced at her.
Claire’s small nose scrunched. “I do not know how my grandfather will react to this news about our broken engagement. He may choose to disinherit me because he cannot trust me. I pray that is not the case, but …”
“Blame it on me, then. It’s my fault, after all.”
“Non, this is my decision too. We will both face our futures with heads held high.” She lifted her hand to his cheek, thumb stroking his beard, clear affection written all over her face. “They may not hold what we thought they would, but maybe, with love, we can really conquer all.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Listen to you, sounding like a romance novel.”
She stuck out her tongue in a most un-Claire-like way. “I do not know what is happening to me. I feel like a fool, and yet, a happy one. Do you?”
His heart thumped harder at the question. Because, wait. What did this mean?
If he and Claire were no longer engaged, there was nothing stopping him from pursuing Ashley. True, he didn’t have a way to save the vineyard, but the only option he’d had was off the table. That was a problem for another day.
“A fool?” Shaking his head, he leaned in and gave Claire a soft kiss on the cheek. “That about sums it up.”
Yeah, he’d be a fool for love.
Pretty sure he’d do anything for Ashley Baker.
Chapter 14
Five more days and her agony would be over.
Ashley gripped the railing on the upper deck of the Iridescent Inn, raking her eyes across the waves as they crashed against the shore just beyond. A few guests lounged in the chairs to Ashley’s far right, chatting and sipping lemonade. An older couple walked the courtyard, their pace slow, their smiles visible even from her spot above them.
Any moment now, Derek and Claire would show up for a final walk-through of the venue—well, Claire’s first walk-through. Supposedly, she’d returned to town yesterday, though Ashley hadn’t heard a word from her. After a long day of travel, she’d probably been asleep the moment she climbed into bed.
As for Ashley, her sleep over the last week had only totaled twenty hours, maybe thirty.
Today the weather had the decency to agree with her emotions. Wind whipped her hair across her shoulders and dark clouds marred the blue on the horizon. A storm was brewing.
Maybe it would bypass Walker Beach altogether—but that was likely wishful thinking.
“Ben told me I could find you here.”
Briefly, Ashley closed her eyes, pinching her nose between her thumb and forefinger. She could do this. She’d simply pretend Derek was any other groom—not the only one she’d ever begged to leave the bride so she could have him instead.
“Don’t do this, Derek. Don’t walk away.” Her cheeks flamed at the memory.
She opened her eyes, inhaled, and turned with the same smile she’d wear at a funeral. “So glad you both could—”
Derek stood in front of her, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, his deep purple Campbell Wines polo shirt bringing out the chocolate in his eyes.
She squinted past him. “Where’s Claire?”
“She’s not coming.”
“Oh.” Why hadn’t they called Ashley beforehand? The whole point of this meeting was so Claire could approve their choices for the placement of decor, chairs, et cetera. “Did she tell you when she’d like to reschedule this appointment? I don’t feel comfortable making the final decisions without her here.”
“Ash.” He took a step forward.
Her back pressed against the wood, and just like that, they were back in her office, in those moments she couldn’t get out of her head no matter how hard she’d tried. Sleep only brought them out even more vividly in dreams. Working on Derek and Claire’s wedding details didn’t help. The only thing that would help was getting past this Saturday and then starting her new life as a business owner.
Ashley maneuvered around him, finally able to breathe again. She started walking the length of the decking so Derek hopefully wouldn’t notice the way her hands shook.
“Ashley Baker.”
Her feet halted and Ashley pivoted.
Derek hadn’t moved.
She sighed. “Yes?”
“Claire isn’t coming because I’m not marrying her.”
Ashley froze. Blinked. Slipped down onto the nearest padded chaise lounge. “What?”
“Are you okay?” In a flash, Derek was there, squatting in front of her, taking her hands in his, eyes roving her face as if worried she might faint.
“I …” Ashley shook her head. “I must have misheard you.”
“You didn’t.”
A light sprinkle started to fall from the sky.
“I don’t understand.” Her hands felt warm in his, and yet it was wrong. All wrong.
Wasn’t it?
“Claire called off the wedding yesterday. But I’m glad she did.”
That didn’t make any sense. “Why would you be glad? What about the vineyard?”
His half-hearted shrug, the slight tightening of his face, the way he squeezed her fingers—all of that told her more than words ever could. He hadn’t fully processed what this would mean for his family.
And it was all Ashley’s fault, because she was the worst wedding planner in the history of wedding planners. “I’m sorry.”
Everything—including the two of them—was
