Chapter 27

27

DEREK

R unning into Jack was certainly not what I wanted to start the day out with, but I was so glad we did.

Jodi was beside herself to have her brother there and not be a part of the problem. Seeing them sit with each other, it was easy to see the family resemblance. Their smiles, for one, were very similar, as were their noses. Clearly, Jodi was softer, much more feminine, but Jack had many of the same symmetrical qualities that Jodi had. They both also had the same lilt in their voice when they were excited, something that was immediately noticeable when they began to talk.

Jodi kept wrapping her arms around me and reaching for me, which was nice too. Being open and honest about our relationship in front of everyone was a huge load off my mind, but it was also endearing. Her constant desire to touch me, to hold me in some way, matched my own, and now that we were able to give in to that impulse, it was indulgent.

We had sat down at one of the tables as the restaurant opened for lunch. Ally was back in the kitchen, taking care of the opening stuff, and had motioned for me to stay on the floor and enjoy the moment with Jodi. Usually, I would have fought her on that, but this time I let it go. I wanted to be there for Jodi, and that meant being a part of the conversation with Jack.

Charlotte came up to ask if we needed anything, and I ordered a basket of fries and a bottle of wine. I saw her wince and looked around in confusion. Then it hit me. I turned to Jodi and smiled. She shrugged.

“Also, a glass of orange juice, please,” I said.

“Or just water. Water is good,” she said, laughing.

“Water,” I said, looking back to Charlotte, who was already laughing and walking away.

“So,” Jack said, “I just want to say again, as I am sure I will say a million more times, how sorry I am about everything.”

“What happened with that?” I asked. “I’m still a little confused.”

“I swear, I am not here to look for you, nor will I tell Mom and Dad you are here,” Jack said, his hands going up in defense. “I was here to do business with the vineyard as part of my normal duties for our own family business.”

“Why here?” Jodi asked. “Why now?”

I could see she was also still holding a little bit of skepticism. It was awfully convenient for her brother to just show up, but at the same time our vineyard was constantly seeking out new opportunities and business partners as an aggressive campaign to reestablish it after years of disrepair. It wasn’t far-fetched that our companies would find each other, just convenient timing.

“Honestly, I have had King Vineyards on the list of places I needed to make a visit to for six months,” Jack said. “You guys have been making a little bit of noise. I wanted to get out here before you jacked up your prices and priced us out of the market.”

“That sounds reasonable enough,” I said. “But why did you come down here? You could have easily done most of the business remotely, and I know Cam is willing to travel anywhere else.”

“To be honest? I wanted to get away from Mom and Dad,” Jack said. “They have been absolutely on fire recently, and as soon as I came home from one business trip, I hopped on a plane for another. I don’t like sticking around.”

“He has always been the traveler,” Jodi said. “I liked staying at home, he liked getting as far from it as possible.”

Jack nodded, smiling at his sister. He was clearly glad to be seeing her again.

“It’s true,” he said. “I have always had a bit of wanderlust, you know?”

“I can understand that,” I said. “In my earlier days, back when I was still trying to earn the title of chef, I traveled a lot. It can be an alluring lifestyle. Just not for me anymore.” I pulled Jodi closer to me, and she cuddled in my arms.

Jack smiled. “You know, in a way the reason I am here is because of you, but not the way you think.”

“Excuse me?” Jodi said, alarm starting in her voice.

“Seriously,” Jack said. “Before you left, Mom and Dad called me while I was on the plane. They left this big, long ridiculous message about you. Said they couldn’t believe you wouldn’t do what they needed of you. They said you refused to do the, and I quote here, barest minimum you could do for the family business.”

“Barest minimum?” Jodi asked. “Allowing myself to basically be prostituted for business is the barest minimum?”

Jack held his hands up again, shaking his head.

“I know now,” he said. “They didn’t elaborate. So, when I talked to you that day, I was crabby from jet lag, the deal I had just gone to fell through, and they were being righteous assholes about everything. They didn’t elaborate on what it was you were doing or not doing, and frankly I didn’t want to ask. I should have though. That’s my fault.”

“Oh,” Jodi said.

Jack nodded. “When I found out, I was so pissed off.”

“You were?” Jodi asked, shocked.

“Of course I was,” he said. “You are my sister and a grown-ass adult. There is no reason they should be ordering you around at all, much less trying to get you to marry someone for their own purposes. It is ridiculous on its face. I went toe-to-toe with Dad about it.”

“What was that like?” Jodi asked. “I’ve never seen someone argue with him where it didn’t just end with him being louder and the other person giving up.”

“Well, it was sort of like that,” Jack said. “He got louder, and I told him he was being stupid and archaic and that it was extremely manipulative of them to hatch that plan and execute it while I was away. Then to call me and try to get me to make you go home without telling me what they did was a million times worse.”

Things were falling into place now. It made so much more sense that her brother simply didn’t know the story. I had often wondered why he didn’t stand up for her or step in, and what would make him side with her parents’ archaic view of marriage. The fact that they executed their plan while he was away only showed how close Jack and Jodi were, and how deep their bond was. It also gave me an idea of how terrified she must have been without her brother or anyone else to help her.

“I can only imagine how he blew up,” Jodi said. “It must have been something.”

“It was,” Jack said. “He flailed and screamed and cursed and said that he had disobedient children who didn’t know the first thing about sacrifice. I told him that I had sacrificed my own goals for our family business, and now you were sacrificing your entire family to keep a stupid decision from happening.”

“You didn’t tell them, did you?” Jodi asked.

“I didn’t have to,” Jack said. “An hour or so before, Linc had a meeting with his own folks and told them he was gay and introduced them to his partner. They were shockingly chill about it. I mean, they didn’t like it, but they didn’t disown him or anything. I know he was worried about that.”

“He came out?” Jodi asked. “Wow. That’s incredible.”

“It is,” Jack said. “Took a lot of chutzpah to do that. Of course, word travels fast, so Mom and Dad knew that before I opened the door. I found out when Mom yelled at Dad that it was over anyway. I asked what was over, and she told me. I swear, I haven’t laughed so hard in all my life. At least until Dad said he was so confused. He said Linc was so manly. He had all those muscles.”

Jodi and Jack broke into heavy laughter, and I smiled. It was so good to see her laugh, but even better that she was doing it with her brother.

“Dad thinks all gay men are the stereotypes from the fifties,” she said to me. “He has no clue one of his best business partners is gay either. He just thinks he has a really close friendship with his old college roommate.”

I laughed.

“So, yeah,” Jack said. “I am just beyond thrilled right now. Not only did I find you, but you found someone in the meantime, and now you are pregnant? I’m going to be an uncle! When did you find out?”

“Today,” she said.

“No shit!” Jack said, alarming several of the early lunch customers.

“I took the test this morning,” Jodi said. “I’m still processing it myself, to be honest.”

“Wow,” Jack said. “That’s amazing. Seriously. I am freaking thrilled. I can’t wait to tell all our friends.”

“About that,” Jodi said. “You might have to tell them yourself. I’m not going back.”

Suddenly, I felt my heart get a million times lighter. Just hearing her say that, especially to her brother, meant everything to me. It meant she was serious about what we talked about before. She could easily go home and likely live in luxury or try to do something where we would split time together. But apparently, she was in this for the long haul, which was great, because so was I.

“Oh,” Jack said, seeming like he was mulling over how he felt about it. “Well, I guess that makes sense. What’s for you back home anyway? Mom and Dad? Pfft.”

“It’s less what I have for me there than it is what I have for me here,” she said, looking over to me. Jack rolled his eyes dramatically, but the smile only got wider on his face.

“You two are too cute,” he said. “Seriously, adorable. It makes me ill, but I love it. I am so damn happy for you, Jodi. So damn happy.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You will always be my brother, but I want to stay here and try to do the family thing. You can see me whenever you want to, but I need somewhere stable, and preferably not near our crazy parents, to raise my baby.”

“I get it,” Jack said. “No need to convince me. You are one hundred percent right. Besides, I have business here now. I can always come up with a reason that I need to go to King Vineyards for something.”

“Good,” she said. “I want you here and in my kid’s life. I just also want to be here.” She looked up at me and grinned. “All this was sort of an accident, but it’s the best one I’ve ever made.”

I held her tighter and sat back to listen as the twins continued to catch up, munching on fries and enjoying the occasional looks out of the kitchen window by Ally, who just grinned, shook her head, and motioned for me to stay where I was. What was going on at that table was far more important. Frankly, any excuse to hold Jodi was more important than anything else I could think of.