Chapter 20
Justin
I had never felt like a bigger piece of shit.
Willa's phone just kept ringing and my texts went unanswered.
I couldn't even explain myself.
I should have never gone outside with Veronica. I should have known better.
Even though Veronica apologized, saying it was in the heat of the moment, it didn't make up for the fact that Willa saw it. The girl that I loved more than anything ran off and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
When there was a knock at my door, I thought it was Willa. I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, only to open the door to see Luke standing there.
"Dude, put some clothes on," he said, walking past me.
I was still in my boxers and didn't even bother to listen to him as I shut the door.
"Hey, you're the one that came to my place. You can't expect me to be dressed."
He nodded toward my loft. "Is Willa up there? I didn't hear any crazy sex down in the kitchen so I figured she'd still be sleeping."
I shook my head, leaning on the kitchen island. "No. She never came home last night. I'm not sure she's ever going to come back."
Luke stared at me wide-eyed. "What the hell happened, man?"
I raked my fingers through my hair. "Veronica showed up last night."
"Veronica? The crazy girl from North Fork with the fake tits?"
I smirked. "The very one."
"What did she want?"
I licked my lips. "She said she just wanted to talk and apologized and said she'd had this crush on me for years but was over it now that she knew I was with Willa. Stupidly I believed her and went outside with her while she smoked and then she kissed me. Willa saw the kiss."
Luke blew out a big breath of air and shook his head. "Dude, that's rough."
"I know. It sucks. I pushed Veronica off and went after Willa, but she was gone. I've tried calling, texting, and nothing. She's going to be pissed at me forever."
"I don't think forever."
"You didn't see her face. I feel sick. Like I'm the biggest scum on the planet."
Luke shook his head. "No, dude. You aren't. You made a mistake. I mean not a big one, really. She came at you and kissed you. If you kissed her back or entertained the idea of something, then, yeah, you kind of are scum."
"No. No way, do I want anything with Veronica. I love Willa. I pushed her off as soon as I could."
"Then if you love Willa, you have to find a way to make this right."
"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?"
A knock came at the door and my heart did a somersault.
Luke laughed. "Maybe that's her now and you don't have to go groveling."
I opened the door and my face fell when I saw Natacha from the bakery, standing there with Willa's keys in her hand.
"Give me my girl's stuff, now."
"Natacha! Where's Willa?" I asked, shutting the door behind her.
"Willa's not here, and you're lucky it's just me and not my husband, because he would beat your scrawny ass right out of those boxer briefs.
I didn't know what part I was more upset about. The fact that Willa wasn't there or that Natacha called me scrawny. I may have been lean but I worked hard on my abs. Those took me years to get.
"Where is she?" I asked.
Natacha crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. "What's it to you, cheater?"
"Whoa, whoa. Let's back it up here." Luke stepped in between us, holding his hands up. "Justin didn't cheat on Willa. It was just all a big misunderstanding."
"Mmmhmm, I've heard that one before. Just point me to her stuff and I'll be on my way." Natacha's face didn't falter and just stayed stone-cold angry.
"Natacha, can you just listen to me for a moment, or tell Willa to call me and I'll explain," I pleaded.
Natacha sighed. "Look, Justin, I like you and I'm sure you have an explanation for whatever you did wrong, but I'm not the one you need to explain yourself to and I don't want to get into the middle of things between you two. I'm just here to get my friend's stuff. If you want to talk to her, she's staying back at her old apartment."
I nodded. There was so much more I wanted to ask. So much more I wanted to say but it felt like all the words had left me and my chest was slowly caving in. "Okay. Thank you for that."
Natacha nodded. "Okay, now point me to her things."
"Right this way."
***
Willa still hadn't returned my calls or texts. I'd gone by the bakery at least a dozen times and she was never there, or at least the people behind the counter would tell me she wasn't.
I was starting to give up hope.
I was becoming some depressed, emo cliché, and I wasn't sure what to do about it.
So I did what I usually did when I needed to think; I took the Benz out for a drive.
I didn't realize where I was going until I saw the sign for North Fork and knew where I needed to go.
The area was bustling with tourists covering every square inch of the downtown area and along the winery trail. Even the parking lot at the Foster Family winery was full. I decided to go there before heading toward the house and hoped my parents were there.
As expected, both of my parents were standing near different tables, laughing with some clients who were sipping bubbly pink drinks from their glasses.
"Justin!" Mom's eyes lit up when she saw me from across the room. "Excuse me. My son, the other winery owner, is here."
My dad said something similar to his table and they both walked over, each giving me a hug. I kept my face stern and let out a deep breath. "Mom, Dad. I need to talk to both of you. Can I have a minute?"
"Sure, Justin, we can get a table," Dad said, his perma-grin on his face.
I shook my head and raked my fingers through my hair. "Not here. Maybe somewhere a little more private."
Mom raised her eyebrows. "Is everything okay?"
"Physically, yes. I'm not sick or anything and the winery is fine, but I need to talk to both of you. Please."
Dad nodded and put his hand on my shoulders, walking with me out to the vineyards.
Just the smell of them brought me back to that moment with Willa where I first told her that I loved her and we made love.
It made it even more pertinent what I had to tell my parents.
"Okay, Justin, what seems to be the problem?" Mom asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Look, I know you guys had grand plans for me. You probably expected me to move back here after a few years, marry a North Fork girl, and have babies that followed in my footsteps. But none of that is going to happen. I'm going to stay in Brooklyn with the winery, maybe even expand into some more locations in New York. And I'm not going to marry a North Fork girl. If she doesn't end up hating me, I hope to someday marry Willa."
Mom gasped, putting her hand to her chest. "Is she pregnant?"
I raised my eyebrow and tilted my head slightly. "What? No! Why would you say that?"
Mom put her hand down and swallowed. "Oh, well you said that she hated you, but you wanted to get married and that's where my mind went."
I licked my lips. "Veronica showed up at the winery the other night. She said she'd talk to you and had this crush on me for years and all this other stuff."
Mom's eyes flitted to the ground. "Yes, I did hear about that," she muttered.
So she already knew...Great. Just freaking great.
I turned and focused on Dad. "Veronica and Mom had been talking and I guess Mom was upset that I haven't been around. It's because I'm pretty sure she doesn't agree with anything about the winery and thinks my too-young-girlfriend isn't right for me. I don't want to be somewhere where people don't respect my dreams. Dreams that have turned into very successful realities."
Dad shook his head. "Son, we've always supported the winery. We might not have acted like it, but I do believe you've become a great success."
"And I'm going to continue to. When Veronica showed up the other night, she kissed me, and scared Willa off. It hurt like hell to watch the girl I love run away because of a mistake. Something that should have never happened and I don't want that to happen again."
"So, pardon me for not understanding, but why are you telling us all of this?" Dad asked.
I put my hands on my hips and took a deep breath. "I just want it to be made clear to both of you. I'm staying in Brooklyn. I'm going to continue making the FO Winery into a success. If Willa will ever take me back, someday I'm going to marry that girl and I don't want the stink eye or anything said that makes her feel uncomfortable if you want me to come visit. Okay?"
Mom and Dad looked at each other and then back at me. It was Mom who spoke first, twisting her necklace around her neck. "Okay, Justin. I think we can do that."
"You think?" I asked.
She smiled. "Okay. I know we can. Just don't be a stranger, okay? Call me sometime. And if you want Willa back, you'd better find a way to show her you love her and if you do love her that much, fight until you get her back."
I nodded. "I will, Mom. Thank you."
Dad smiled. "The things we do for love, eh?"
***
After saying goodbye to my parents, there was one more stop I had to make.
I wasn't sure if she'd be at the restaurant, but at least someone there would know where she was.
I walked into the bustling restaurant that sat at the water's edge, with beautiful views of the shoreline and blue that stretched as far as the eye could see.
A waitress in all black approached the podium. "Welcome, how can I help you today?"
"Yes, I'm actually looking for Veronica. The owner's daughter. Would she happen to be here today?"
The woman swallowed hard. "Um. She's actually having lunch right now with the owners. Can I ask who is asking for her?"
"Thank you," I muttered, pushing past the hostess. I wasn't going to bother telling her who I was, I just needed to know that she was there.
"Sir? Sir? Can you come back here?"
I pushed past the full tables, ignoring the hostess, until I got to the outside seating area where Veronica sat with her back to me, her parents on the other side, laughing.
"Justin Foster!" Veronica's mother's booming voice proclaimed.
I forced a smile and hugged the socialite in all white and shook the hand of her balding husband in his matching white linen suit.
"Will you be joining us for lunch?" Veronica's mother asked.
My eyes flitted to Veronica who kept her head down. "Actually, I just came to say 'hi' to Veronica."
Veronica's mom shook her head, pointing at the seat across from her. "Please! I insist that you join us."
"I'd love to, ma'am, but I do have to get back to the city. I'll have a pretty upset girlfriend at home if I didn't take her to lunch at your restaurant."
Veronica's mom clasped her hands. "Oh, yes! Your mother was telling me about her. She makes that fabulous jam!"
I smiled. I couldn't help it and couldn't believe my mom actually had something positive to say about her. "Yeah. That's Willa."
"Well, next time you're here, please bring her in. We'd love to meet her." Veronica's mom replied.
I nodded. "I will, ma'am. Thanks. I hope you guys have a great lunch."
I turned to go back to the front and then felt Veronica's hand on my arm. "I'll walk you out."
I pulled my arm away and kept walking. It wasn't until I was at my car that I spun around to face her. "What do you want now, Veronica? To try and give me another little soliloquy only to try and kiss me when you know damn well I have a girlfriend?"
Veronica blinked hard. "I-I-I'm sorry, Justin. I didn't mean for her to see that."
"Well, it should have never happened. You know I have a girlfriend and that I'm not interested in you that way. Right now I'm not even sure I'm interested in a friendship with you."
Her eyes fluttered and she nodded. "Yeah. I guess I can understand that."
"No. You don't seem to understand boundaries. Look, Veronica, you have your good points. They may be hidden and I may never see them, but I'm sure you do. You need to realize that I'm in love with someone else. I'm sorry that it probably hurts like hell for me to say that, but now you know how I feel. Ever since Willa ran out of the winery when you kissed me, my chest has felt like it's been caving in. I love her with every fiber in my being, and I'm hoping that I don't lose her because of this."
Veronica sighed. "You really do love her?"
"Didn't you just hear me? Yes. I love her. I would shout it from the rooftops if I could."
She nodded slowly. "Then go shout it, Justin. Willa is a very lucky girl to have you and I hope she knows that."
I raked my fingers through my hair. "I hope she does too, and if she doesn't, then I need to figure out how to show it."