The Path to You, page 7
And I knew that even if she let me kiss her again, she would walk away no matter what.
She would leave.
She was a star. A celebrity. Everybody knew her name.
And I was just a Wilder.
Nobody.
Chapter Seven
Bethany
Somebody banged their fist on my door, and alarm shot through me until I remembered I was safe because I was on the Wilders’ property. I would be physically safe, at least.
Emotionally? I didn’t think safety would be an actual option.
I wasn’t going to think about that at all.
“Bethany! Open up. I’m tired and I need coffee. And I need to see you.”
I nearly fell off my chair as I ran towards the door, undid the locks, and threw the door open.
“Lark? What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming!” I threw my arms around her as she hugged me tight. I inhaled that sweet floral scent that was my best friend.
Not that she always smelled like that. She liked to keep everybody on her toes and change whatever perfume she wore—some natural, some funky, anything to keep her mind going in a thousand different directions so she could find inspiration.
At least, that was what some news article had said about her at one point, and her agent went with it.
For those who knew Lark, they knew that she just wore whatever she had on hand, as long as it smelled nice.
I stepped back, looked at my strawberry-blond haired friend, and pushed that massive mane of hair away from her face.
“I cannot believe you’re here.” I was grinning so hard I knew my cheeks would hurt later. I just stared at her and promptly burst into tears.
My best friend kept a smile on her face as she studied mine. “Okay, I should’ve expected this. Let’s get inside, and I will look for coffee.”
I quickly wiped my tears and stepped back, using all of my training as an apparently skilled actor to make sure my tears stayed away.
“I’m sorry. Of course, let’s get you coffee. I still cannot believe you’re here.”
Lark waved me off. “I can only be here for a day. Since it took nearly a day to travel to the states and will take another day to travel back. However, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is I am here for my best friend. And you have my favorite coffee.”
She moved to my espresso machine and began working all the gizmos as if she had done this a thousand times before. That was Lark. She was brilliant. She could pretty much figure out anything as long as she studied it for a minute.
Most of the time, I felt out of my depth with my best friend, just because she was so brilliant. I marveled that she had taken me in as her best friend, as I had done the same for her.
“Want me to make you something?” she asked, her hands moving with grace and experience.
“The answer is always yes when it comes to you and coffee,” I answered, leaning against the doorway.
“That’s what I like to hear. So…should we make a burn box or trashcan for a certain jerk? I don’t know if you have any printed photos of him here, but I’m sure we could figure out a way. There’s always a way when it comes to removing that memory from your brain. Because screw him.” She worked confidently as she spoke, and soon we each had a latte with feather foam art on top.
I frowned. “I didn’t even know that this espresso machine could foam things like that.”
“It’s just a setting. I can teach you.”
I scowled. “I don’t know if I want to learn now. I’m disgruntled.”
Lark snorted, shaking her head. “Sounds about right. Now, since you burst into tears as soon as I showed up, I guess me asking if you’re doing okay probably wouldn’t help anything.”
I took a sip of the delicious vanilla latte and sighed. “Honestly, the fact that my long-term boyfriend turned out to be cheating on me and most likely selling his side of the so-called story to the press is the least surprising thing to happen to me.”
Lark took a big sip of her coffee, then set the mug down. “What on earth do you mean? I’m going to need details.”
I sighed and leaned against the counter as I studied my singer-songwriter best friend. “Do you know why I’m here? Not running from the media as everybody is saying. Though perhaps that’s part of it.”
My best friend shook her head. “I don’t. I had wondered, but I didn’t want to bother you about it.”
I smiled and reached out, gripping her hand. “This is his place. The Wilder Retreat and Winery is his family’s. It’s his.”
Lark frowned for a moment before her eyes widened and she dropped my hand. “Oh my God. Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Yes. This is his place. Him and his brothers. Everett Wilder, my one-weekend stand, a man who somehow broke my heart, lives here. I saw him here when I was at that wedding that you couldn’t attend.”
“I should’ve found a way to get here to meet him, Bethany. I’m here now. I will be meeting this jerk who never called you back.”
I cringed. “There seems to have been an actual reason for that.” I explained why but I didn’t go into detail. It wasn’t my story to tell, and the details weren’t what mattered in this moment. No, it was the feeling that I hadn’t been left behind. Not the way that I thought.
Lark wiped tears from her face and finished the rest of her coffee. “I’m so sorry. So, he’s here, healing, with all of his brothers, and you came here as well. I assume to confront him at first, and now what are you going to do?”
I gave a hollow laugh. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Because I don’t know what I can do. My life is in no way ready for a relationship. Not that there would be a relationship. All he did was kiss me, and explain to me that he didn’t forget me completely on purpose. That doesn’t mean we have a fighting chance, or even something beyond attraction. He lives out here in Texas. I live in LA and travel all over the world all the time. And as is evidenced by my track record, being in a relationship doesn’t do well with my job. I should just be alone. Honestly, I would’ve been better alone before all of this, but I said yes to Dallas and then never quite said no again, though I should have.”
Her eyes narrowed. “He’s around town with her, you know. Your nemesis.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “My nemesis? Is that what we’re calling her?”
“It’s either that or we use names that I don’t like to call women. But she sure likes to believe she is ‘all that.’ I’m sorry. I shouldn’t bring it up, but that is why I’m here. Since we’re not going to burn his picture in effigy or curse her with a thousand spiders, I guess you should show me around the resort. I could use some relaxation time.”
Guilt filled me. “You shouldn’t have to travel all the way out here in what I think is your only free time right now. I’m so proud of this tour and everything that comes with it, but you must be exhausted. You shouldn’t have come.”
Lark narrowed her eyes before waving me off. “When I broke my leg on stage, and nobody was around me except for my former team, who flew to me? You. Who held my hand when I cried and had to get back on stage and pretend that I didn’t have pins in my leg? You. Who held my hand when my former producer decided that he liked it better when I was on my knees instead of singing? You. Who has been with me through every up and down of my career? You. We are best friends for a reason. Because we are always there for each other. So yes, I might sleep on the plane and be exhausted later, but who cares? We only get one life, Bethany. I’m living it. So don’t forget that.”
Tears filled my eyes again, and I looked at my best friend. “It has been a weird few months. And I hate that everything that you’ve gone through seems never-ending.”
“I would say ditto, but I think you understand that.”
I knew Lark was far more tired than she let on, for more reasons than just travel, but we each had our own demons, so I let her pretend that all was well.
“I have a few scripts to go over later, but why don’t we go get lunch at the restaurant at the main building, and maybe I can introduce you around.” At the gleam in her eyes, I shook my head. “I meant meet the girls and team here. Maybe a Wilder, but not on purpose.”
I laughed at the look on her face and knew that this was probably a bad idea. Because Everett wasn’t mine, he had never truly been. I’d had a crush, a moment of weakness. But I shouldn’t rely on those feelings. I knew better than anyone that they could lie. That acting was one way to make things work.
I acted every day. I didn’t need to act in life as well.
I quickly cleaned myself up so I looked presentable. Lark did the same, considering she just got off a long plane ride. And then, arm in arm, we laughed and skipped our way towards the restaurant. We wore hats and sunglasses, even though they didn’t really hide who we were. Nobody paid us much attention, and I was grateful for that. Most people were here for an upcoming wedding and relaxation.
And while my heart was a bruise, my pride shaken, I was finding time to breathe, something I wasn’t good at these days. But I was doing what my manager and agent both said, finding a way to relax.
So here I was, finding that way.
“Bethany!” Alexis said as she opened the door to the restaurant. “I was just coming to steal you.”
The other woman’s eyes widened as she looked over at my companion before she schooled her features, doing her best not to reveal she had recognized Lark.
“Hi, Alexis. Meet my friend Lark. She’s here for just a day, sadly, but she wanted to visit.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. You should have let us know you were coming! We would’ve made sure you had your own cabin welcome basket. Or anything that you need. Seriously, just let us know if you want us to make that happen now.”
“Bethany said you all were amazing over here. I guess I should say ‘y’all.’”
“We are very good with the ‘y’all’s here. Seriously though, the girls and I were going to do a wine and dine lunch over at the winery. Would you like to join us?” she asked, and I looked over at Lark, who nodded.
“You said wine and dine. I’m excited about that.” Then she looked at her closely. She was wearing soft linen pants and a cropped top, her hair flowing out from underneath the hat. “Am I dressed okay for it?”
Alexis grinned. “You look amazing. And this is just a private event in the employees’ lounge area at the winery. It’ll just be myself, Maddie, our wine club manager, and Kendall, our chef. Although she’s pregnant and won’t be drinking the wine, she will be providing food. But we have to make sure she doesn’t eat soft cheeses. She keeps trying to sneak them, and I think Evan will ground us all if I let her eat brie.”
“I think we can stop her. Maybe. She does seem kinda strong,” I said with a laugh.
“It’s true. She could take any of us. Joy is also coming, Elijah’s girlfriend.” Alexis let out a soft laugh. “And I just realized I’m naming a bunch of people you might have met, but most likely not. Elijah is my brother-in-law. Joy is our friend. Naomi will be in and out since she’s on duty today, but we wanted to ensure she could enjoy herself a bit today.” She looked between us. “She’s our innkeeper. You met her when Eli first got you signed in.”
I nodded. “Oh yes, I remember her. She was growling at that big, bearded man.”
Alexis threw her head back and laughed. “That would be Amos. Our winery manager. If they’re not growling at each other, then I’d be worried.”
That made me snort. “Wine and lunch sound amazing. Thank you for thinking of us.”
“Of course. I should mention that we do have a wedding later this afternoon, and there will be photographers around. I want you guys to feel safe, and that you can go everywhere around our property, but that is the reality of what happens when you have a wedding. I will be in and out for that because they didn’t use me as the wedding planner.” She rolled her eyes, and my own eyes widened.
“Is that not your job? I’m sorry, that was too forward.”
“No, it’s fine. They scheduled with the Wilders the first year they were open, and then had to postpone for a couple of years for various reasons. I don’t know the full of it, but they refused to work with the plan. They wanted to do things their way and their own package. Which is fine, because that’s the contract that they signed, but it’s making my other brother-in-law want to pull out his hair.” She let out a breath. “And that would be Elliot, the baby brother. But don’t tell him I said that. And that was way too much information for you.”
Lark blinked. “Wait, how many brothers-in-law do you have? Do they all begin with the letter E?”
Alexis grinned. “I am married to a lovely man named Eli Wilder. And he has five brothers and a sister, all with the letter E. I do not know what their parents were thinking. I’ve yet to get all of their names right throughout the day. I’m pretty sure they even get their own names wrong.”
We giggled and followed her through the employee entrance towards a golf cart.
“Now, I will get you over to the winery in my fancy golf cart, if you don’t mind. We could walk, but I’d rather get started sooner than later.” She winked as she said it, and Lark and I jumped into the cart and made our way over to the winery.
The area was gorgeous, the sun overhead but not too hot. The sky was blue, not a cloud in it. I thought it would be lovely for a wedding, though I did find it weird that they didn’t want an actual wedding planner with them. But what did I know, I was used to other people planning things for me. And I had no clue how to plan a wedding at all.
Not that I was ever going to get married.
The media and paparazzi were enough as it was with just the break up. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen with a divorce. Not that I thought all marriages led to divorce, but I wasn’t quite sure I believed in marriage anymore.
Lark elbowed me in the side, and I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. It wasn’t that she could read my mind, but I was pretty sure my best friend knew where my thoughts had gone.
We pulled up to the winery, and I inhaled the sweet scent of the Texas air, then promptly sneezed, my best friend laughing at me.
“You know you have allergies. You should know better than to go around just sniffing the air with all the cedar out there.”
Alexis winced and held back a laugh, leading us towards the back employee area. “Believe me, I’m on three kinds of allergy medications, because I’m allergic to the state I’ve lived in for most of my life. You can take off your hat and glasses, by the way. It’ll just be us back here. Unless you like them. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to hide.”
I did as she said, grateful. “Doesn’t keep our identity secret or anything, but it does help a little. People don’t automatically recognize us, as long as we aren’t making too big of a commotion. We can usually get from place to place without constant attention.”
“We are doing our best to keep you under the radar here, but other guests have phones.”
“You have a wonderful place here. And I was grateful that I had called your husband ahead of time so that way I could make it through security.” She winked as she said it, and I nearly tripped over my own feet along with Alexis.
“Eli knew you would be here, and he didn’t tell me?” she gasped.
“Don’t get him in trouble. I wanted to be a surprise. And I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to screw up security.”
Alexis nodded. “He normally keeps me up to date with what’s going on, and I appreciate that. But I am going to have to go growl at my husband. Mostly, because he likes it when I do.”
She blushed, and I smiled, thinking of the two of them. They were perfectly in love. I saw the way that they smiled at each other and how neither one of them backed down for the other. But they did bend when needed.
I wanted that. Or, at least, I thought I did. I wasn’t sure what I wanted anymore.
We made our way to the back room where food, wine, and people were already about. Kendall stood beside the cheese board, her hands on her belly, as a woman with long hair pulled away from her face scowled and pushed her back.
“Oh, no you don’t. You should be sitting down with your feet up. I will bring food to you, but no cheese.”
Kendall scowled and stomped her way to her chair. As she sat down, another woman came and put her feet up, and Kendall sighed.
“Why am I so moody? My friends are taking care of me, I shouldn’t be growly. But all I want is soft cheese. And I don’t even like soft cheese. What is wrong with me?” She looked up as she finished speaking and blushed.
“Oh. Hi, Bethany. And oh my God, you’re Lark Thornbird.” Kendall put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
Lark waved it off. “You must be Kendall. The famous chef I’ve heard so much about.”
“I am going to write that on my business card now. I can’t believe the Lark Thornbird is going to eat my food.” She looked at me. “Not that having Bethany Cole eat my food wasn’t an amazing thing, but now there’s both of you. I think my heart is racing.”
I laughed, then went to squeeze Kendall’s hand. “I’ve eaten your food before. You had an entire wedding filled to the brim with A-list stars. You should be used to it. Your food is some of the best we’ve had.”
“And now I’m going to cry.”
Alexis moved forward and handed her a tissue. “You’re fine. Be good for the babies.”
“Babies? Twins?” Lark’s eyes widened.
“Yes! Why am I nervous?” Kendall asked with a laugh, as others joined in on her laughter.
“I am so freaking nervous because two of my favorite people are about to taste our wine,” another woman said as she went forward and held out her hand. “Hi! I’m Maddie.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Lark said.
“You have written some of my favorite songs. I just want to put that out there before I act normal,” the final woman in the room said as she came forward. “I’m Joy.”
