Stepping out of the car into the fresh, late afternoon air, she breathed in the scent of grapes. Something about that smell took her back to her childhood. Happy times and a smile snuck up on her lips.

“Ready?” Reese asked breaking her out of her distant thoughts.

She looked at the man beside her and questioned her sanity once again. Her previous date with him had been a work thing. This was something else. “Sure,” she sighed.

“Thank you for coming with me today. I really appreciate it,” he said looping his arm through hers.

“Don’t mention it,” she mumbled as they made their way toward the massive building ahead of them.

The Porter winery was a beautiful place, she had to admit. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all. She just had to relax and lose her attitude. Enjoy herself. Following the trail of wedding paraphernalia, they made their way to the rear of the property where they found a crowd gathered. Several faces she recognised as they approached. It seemed they had arrived in time for the ceremony to start, leaving little time for pleasantries. August didn’t mind, she was uncomfortable with small talk anyway.

As the music rang through the air, the bride made her way down the makeshift aisle. She looked beautiful. August couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before she was filing for divorce.

When the ceremony was over, the crowd began to mingle, and it wasn’t long before people began approaching them.

“Reese, how lovely to see you again,” an older woman gushed, making August cringe. She hated fake people.

“Hi Gloria, how are you?” he asked in response, leaning forward and placing a kiss on the woman’s cheek. “This is my friend, August.”

“It’s so lovely to meet you, August.” The woman smiled at her before returning her attention back to Reese. “It’s good to see you moving on. I know it must be hard, but you deserve to find some happiness.”

“Thank you, Gloria,” he said humbly, before tossing August an uncomfortable glance.

“Well, you take care. It was lovely to meet you,” she addressed her.

“You too,” August nodded.

“I used to work with Gloria, years ago,” Reese explained as the woman retreated back to her partner. “I haven’t seen her in ages.”

Before she had a chance to speak, they were swept up in a crowd of people and had little choice than to move with the throng. They were seated in a formal dining area that was adorned with an amazing display of flowers and even more tulle.

She vowed to herself if she ever were to marry, even though it seemed highly unlikely, that her wedding would look nothing like a fairy had run off and eloped with a unicorn. Her wedding would be something simple, plain. Maybe in a garden with a barbeque in the backyard or even on the beach. Not that she needed to worry too much about the possibility.

Men dressed in tuxedos tended the tables and were soon filling up her champagne glass. At least she wasn’t driving. She could sit back and enjoy an evening of fine dining on someone else’s coin. Perhaps this wedding gig wasn’t so bad after all.

Sitting through the speeches was tedious. It was bad enough when she knew the couple, but being an extra, she had no idea who the people were. The jokes held no significance to her. Clearly, the new Mr. and Mrs. were well loved by their guests, as cheers rang out at every opportunity. It only made August long for the evening to be over.

Reese leaned toward her, almost knocking her champagne glass over. She quickly reached out and saved the glass from tipping. Glad she had been paying attention.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concern etching across his face.

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind getting a bit of fresh air,” she said, fanning her face with her hand. Maybe she’d had a glass too many already.

“Sure,” he nodded rising to his feet and pulling her chair away from the table. “There is a courtyard out this way, I’m pretty sure.” He reached for her hand and led her toward the double glass doors to the left of the function room.

Night had crept in while they had been inside. The air felt crisp, but refreshing, particularly after being cooped up in a stuffy room full of people. August couldn’t think of many things she hated more.

Finding a park bench, she flopped down and dropped her head back to stare at the stars. Living in the city, she rarely got to see stars. It had its advantages, but also its drawbacks. She guessed that was like everything in life.

“Do you think you would ever get married?” Reese asked, coming to rest beside her.

August shook her head. “I doubt it. All men are cheating, lying assholes. That’s why I’m still single and why I plan to stay that way.”

“I know that’s not true and I don’t think you believe it is, either.”

August turned to him and stared hard into his dark eyes. “No, no you’re probably right. I don’t think my Dad would have ever cheated on my Mum. But there again, who knows,” she shrugged. “It’s human nature to set people we love up on a pedestal and idolise them. Maybe if he had been around long enough, I would have learned differently. Maybe he was just as much of a douchebag as the rest of them.”

Something passed over Reese’s face, she wasn’t sure if it were amusement or understanding. Either way, the edges of his lips lifted ever so slightly.

“I never cheated on my wife.”

“Again, maybe if she had stayed around long enough, you would have.”

“I think that’s an unfair comment,” he argued, resting his head into the palm of his hand.

“Fair or not. Life’s not fair, Constable Fucker. I would think you would already know that.”

“You’re quite unlike most people, you know that?”

Again, she lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t care much for most people anyway. Most people go around trying to destroy each other. It’s best to not be involved.”

“You spend your whole life digging around in other people’s business, looking for dirt on them. Do you think maybe you just see the bad side of people?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think I uncover people’s lies. You’re a cop. You must see some pretty shit things that people do.”

“Yeah, I do. You’re right. I see people at their worst. But I can recognise that. It’s at their worst. It’s not always about who they are. I see a lot of good in people too,” Reese explained.

“Oh, yeah. Do you see good in me?”

“Yes.”

“Well, maybe you’re even more delusional than I thought,” she laughed. “Come on, we better get back in there before people start thinking we’ve run off together.”

“August,” Reese said, grabbing her hand as she turned away. “I don’t think you’re a bad person at all, and I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for that.”

“Whatever,” she huffed, abruptly pulling her hand away. She knew she wasn’t a bad person. But she wasn’t soft and romancey either. She refused to live in a fantasy world where everyone liked each other because she knew that just wasn’t the truth. There was too much hurt in the world to think a knight in shining armour was waiting around the next bend. It was easier to keep up the walls than to let someone in to hurt her.

“And where have you two been?” asked one of Reese’s friends as they walked through the door. August recalled meeting the woman at the Christmas party, but her name had escaped her.

“We’re just getting ready to leave,” August explained, hoping Reese would hear her and take the hint.

“Not before the dance, you don’t.”

August’s heart sank to her stomach. She hadn’t signed up for dancing. “No, I don’t think so. Anyway, I have two left feet.”

“That’s nonsense,” the friend scoffed. “C’mon.”

Within seconds, she had found herself shoved out onto the dance floor with a dozen other couples, waltzing. She had lied about her inability to dance. There was a massive gap between being capable and wanting to. She had learned to dance as a youngster. Her mother had been big on ballroom dancing and had insisted her children learn. She’d had many informal dancing lessons; it was instilled in her. It was like learning to ride a bike, something she would never forget.

To her surprise, Reese was a decent dance partner. They moved together with ease and before long, he had her waltzing across the polished dance floor. It was almost impossible not to be happy as she moved to the melodic sounds that the band played, and being in Reese’s strong, capable arms gave her a sensation of peace that she had long forgotten.

When the music tempered to a slower pace, he drew her closer and placed his cheek against hers, his hands moved to rest on her hips offering her a feeling of safety. Closing her eyes, she allowed all her worries to slip away. It had been many years since she had danced like this, and she had forgotten its power and beauty. Lost somewhere between reality and fantasy, swept along in the moment.

Pulling back, she looked up into his face. He smiled, and his dark eyes softened, allowing for the small creases at the edges to show. She wanted to smile back, but something inside of her clicked and reminded her of where she was and what she was doing.

Dropping her hands, she quickly moved away. Reese reached for her, and she felt his fingers graze her bare shoulder, but she didn’t stop. What had she been thinking? She had let her defences down. It wouldn’t happen again.

“What’s the matter?” he asked when he caught up with her at their table.

“I’m ready to go home,” she announced. “I’m sorry. I’ve had enough. I can catch a cab if you’d like to stay a little longer.”

“No, of course not. You’re my date. I brought you here, I’ll take you home. Just give me a moment to say goodbye.”

“Thank you,” she nodded.

Within minutes, he met her by the door. With his keys in his hand, he led her down the dimly lit path back to his car. They walked in silence, the only sounds were those of her heels on the footpath and the continuing party in the distance.

Once seated in the car, Reese turned to her. “I thought you were having fun back there.”

“It was okay,” she shrugged. “I’m just tired. It’s getting late.”

“Okay,” he responded curtly, before turning the key in the ignition and peeling out of the parking lot.

The remainder of the ride back to the city was met with silence. While it was a little uncomfortable, August preferred that to awkward conversation. Reese had picked her up at the front of her building, and it wasn’t long before he was dropping her back there.

“Thank you for accompanying me. It made an otherwise boring evening quite enjoyable.”

August turned to him with disbelief. Did he just say he had enjoyed her company? Even after she had given him a stern talking to and asked to leave early? She wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“I, ah… I’m glad I could make it better for you.”

“Would you like me to walk you up to your apartment?” he asked nodding toward her building.

“No, I’m a big girl, and I left a light on. I think I should be able to manage it on my own,” she struggled to keep the sarcasm from her words.

Reese chuckled quietly to himself before turning back to her. “I like you, August.”

“You don’t know me,” she deadpanned.

“I think I know you more than you realise.”

“What, because I shared a moment with you in the lift? Now you think we are soul mates or something?”

“No, not because of that and I don’t think we are soul mates.” The same sarcasm she had used dripped from his tongue, and if she were honest, it actually made her like him more. “I think we both see the world differently to most people. I think we’ve both been hurt by people and that makes us guarded.”

“Maybe, but you allow people to pity you. You use the hurtful things that have happened to you, to feel better about yourself.”

“No, I think you’re wrong. People pity me… because bad things have happened to me. But do you know what? I don’t think they actually care at the end of the day. They go home to their own lives and don’t give me or anyone else a second thought. Everyone is consumed by their own lives, and that’s okay. That’s the way it should be. When they show me pity, I think they are just comparing their own lives to mine and thinking how much better off they are.”

August stared at the street light out the window as his words sunk in. She had never thought about it in that way.

“You’re probably right,” she said after a while. “But I don’t pity you.”

“That’s good because I don’t want your pity, and maybe that’s one of the things I like about you.”

Turning to face him, she watched as the shadows from the street light danced across his handsome face. She wanted to hate him, but with every interaction, she found it harder. She didn’t need his kind of complication in her life.

“Good night, Reese.” She reached over and placed a kiss on his cheek, then opened the car door and climbed out before she made the stupid decision to invite him in.