Chapter One
AURORA
"Seriously, Trey. I don't know why I let you talk me into coming to these things."
"Oh, come on. You can't find love sittin' on your bum whining."
"Why do I have to remind you how pointless love is? Mainly looking for it at a place like this, Trey. It screams desperate."
Trey talked me into doing this speed dating crap. Again. He's convinced his dream girl is out there somewhere, earning him the rightful description of being the total opposite of me. But I think that's why we've been best friends our whole life. Opposites attract.
"Come on, Aurora. Eventually, you'll be open to love again. There's no need for you to be so bitter about my desire to find it. Besides I've known you my whole life, I know there's nothing wrong with you. You've just had bad luck with men."
"Oh, just bad luck huh? That's the understatement of the century. Finding my fiancé on our couch banging some chick two days before our wedding doesn't classify as bad luck, Trey. More like all men are disgusting pigs!" I spit out at him.
"Oh, you can't leave out the douche bags before that..." I smack him on the arm before he even gets to finish his sentence.
"Exactly! Men can't remain faithful. They're always looking for the next piece of ass to get their dick wet in." Trey looks around and then gives me a bizarre look.
"Let's keep the unpleasant talk at bay. We don't need you chasing off future potential with that foul tongue of yours, Aurora. Anyone who knows you learns you do a pretty good job of that once your mouth opens." I smack him on the arm again for good measure.
"Remind me why I'm friends with you?! You do realize I could walk out that door and leave you to fend for yourself right? I'm only doing this because you begged and I felt sorry for you."
The buzzer goes off meaning it's time to get this show on the road so I quickly order a few drinks. I'm probably going to need ten more of these to get through tonight.
I'm going to kill Trey for making me do this!
"Alright, wish me luck and please don't kill anyone." My best friend advises me.
"Very funny. Good luck," I reply as Trey walks off to find his assigned seat.
Glancing around the bar at all these pathetic people hoping to find love, I feel as if I should warn them all now that's it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Love is a fucking whirlwind tornado. Once you think you've found it, it unexpectedly whips your ass around and you wind up in a bigger shit storm than before.
Grabbing my drink, I walk over to where my name card is sitting. There's a guy who looks like he's seen one too many Harry Potter movies sitting at the table. I'm sure he's just waiting to meet his true love.
Sorry, buddy it's not me!
"Hi! You must be Aurora? I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you!" His chirpy voice is startling as he extends his hand out.
"Congratulations you can read." I harshly reply sitting in the chair across from him.
"What do you do for work, Aurora? I love the name by the way. It's very beautiful."
"I own a wedding planning business."
"Oh, you own it? How old are you?"
"Old enough. Listen Steve, you seem like a nice guy but I'm not interested. I'm only here to help out a friend."
"Oh." Steve looks away and we sit there in the awkward silence for a few more minutes before the buzzer rings signaling it's time to move on.
"Well, it was nice meeting you." Steve offers me a half smile before getting out of his chair.
"See ya," I reply, taking a sip of my Vodka cranberry.
The night goes on one pathetic loser after another. 'Oh my God you're so gorgeous' or 'do you work out because that body is banging!' Yup, the last guy grated that one out of his sack of cheesy pickup lines. If anything this night has been good for a few laughs at least.
Finally, one more pathetic loser and I'm out of here.
"Hey", I hear a deep voice say, my vision is at the bottom of my now empty drink.
"Hi." My gaze meets his. At least this one is decent to look at. His black hair outlines the tip of him and bright blue eyes highlight his tanned skin. The way his black button-up hugs his chest leads me to believe that he takes good care of his body which is a plus.
"I overheard your conversation with that last guy. You must be here for the same reasons I am."
"That's rude of you to eavesdrop. Haven't you ever heard of minding your own business?"
"Ouch. I can see why the other guys warned me about you." He smirks and folds his hands on top of the table.
"Oh, did they? And what did they say about me?" I ask, laying my elbows on the table and following his same posture.
"To put it bluntly, they said you were a bitch."
Nearly spitting out my drink from his honesty, I let a little giggle fly from my mouth. "I've been called worse." I shrug my shoulders. Growing up as an only child with parents who split up when I was young has made my filter nonexistent. I constantly had to inform them of everything because they were so wrapped up in their own lives.
The man stares at me with this puzzling look on his face like he's trying to uncover something within me. His uncomfortable gaze irritating me further. "Would you like to take a picture? We could avoid this whole awkward staring thing."
He chuckles. "Damn, someone must have done a number on you."
"What makes you say that?" I ask him curiously.
"For starters, you're hostile towards men. You're dressed in leggings and a loose shirt, which does nothing for them killer curves that are hiding under there. Your hair is a mess and you don't look like you're wearing half the makeup most of these women here tonight are. Which tells me you didn't try to look your best. I'm guessing you've had your heart stomped on pretty badly to come here looking the way you do."
Damn, this guy is pretty good.
"That's pretty presumptuous of you to say to someone who's a complete stranger and not to mention rude."
"But pretty spot on right?"
"You could say that if I cared at all what you think. Which I don't just so we're clear. What's your story then mister know it all? What's your name again, Mickey?"
He laughs. I can clearly read his name tag but something about this guy irks me. I think I'll mess with him a little more.
"It's Myles and I don't have a story. I'm only here to help out a friend. Truth be told I hate these things."
"Consider me intrigued. Why do you hate these things?"
"Believe it or not that description I gave you of yourself, I might have some personal experience in the matter."
"Oh? Had your poor little heart broken a few times have you? I'm not surprised."
"Why are you not surprised? You don't even know me. Isn't that a little presumptuous of you?"
Damn, this guy is really getting under my skin. The buzzer goes off and it's finally the end of this torturous night.
"Finally! I mean I've truly enjoyed this pointless conversation don't get me wrong. But I have better places to be. Nice to meet you Aurora." Myles winks at me and walks out of the bar.
"God, what a jerk!"
"Who's a jerk?" Trey asks as he nears my table.
"The last guy that was here.. Mickey or whatever his name was."
"Oh, did someone get under that thick skin of yours?"
"Not a chance. Are we done here? I have a client to meet bright and early in the morning."
"Yeah, about that..." I cross my arms and roll my eyes as I wait for his explanation of what girl he's going out with tonight.
"Let me guess you've met someone special in the fifteen minutes we're allowed to get to know someone?"
"Maybe? Her name is Crysta and she asked me out for drinks. I couldn't say no. She seems great. Can't you be happy for me?"
"Whatever, I'll talk to you tomorrow, Trey."
"Love you, Rory!" Trey mumbles walking off towards I'm assuming Crysta.
Shaking my head, I gather my things and walk out to my car. I fire up the engine as my mind travels back to that Mickey guy. Man, it's been a while since I've met someone who could get under my skin as he did.
Oh well, it's not like I'll ever see him again. Thank God!
_______________________
Waking up the next morning I shower and get dressed for the day. I like to think my style is business casual. I may be a bitch personally but professionally I'm much more lighter. I throw on a pair of skinny black jeans with a white tank top and a gray blazer. A white floral necklace completes my look as I slip on some black ballet style flats also.
I have a big client meeting down at Stonehill Vineyards this morming. Here in California, everyone wants to get married at a vineyard. There are only a million and one to pick from.
I was born and raised in Napa Valley, California. The biggest wine city in the country, which means prime time wedding location. Everywhere you look, it's wine, this wine that, grapes this grape that. Drives me insane but this is home.
I make my usual morning coffee. The blacker the better. Don't get me wrong I love what I do. I feel like I'm making my grandma proud by fulfilling her wish for me. She was my best friend and, frankly, the only person in this world who seemed to get me. She passed away from a stroke four years ago.
My mother and I aren't very close. She's extremely uptight and always thinks I can do better on everything. I was relieved when she decided to retire and leave me the business.
Taking a sip of my scorching coffee, I hear my work phone vibrating on the counter. I check the caller ID and see that it's my morning client.
"Good morning, Shelby! How are you?"
"I'm doing well, Aurora. Thank you!"
"Wonderful! What can I do for you?"
"Something has come up at work and I can't make our meeting this morning. But, I was hoping my fiancé could come and look at the venues with you, if that's alright? I'm going to try and make it for at least one if I can finish up fast enough."
"Oh, sure that would be just fine. Just have him meet me in front of Stonehill vineyard at 7 AM sharp and we'll go from there."
"Oh, you're just a peach! Thank you so much!"
"No problem. We'll talk soon, Shelby."
"Great. Ta-
ta."
Ugh! I'm so tired of dealing with these rich snobby girls. This account is huge for us though so I have to play nice. Shelby's family is well known around the community, so giving her the wedding of her dreams would be a big business booster. It's rare that I ever have to meet with the groom. Hopefully, he's educated enough to make some decisions and not completely waste my time.
Heading out the door I make it to the vineyard at 6:50 AM. I walk over to the entrance and anticipate the groom's arrival.
Seeing a white Lincoln pull into the parking lot, I walk towards it. It must be the groom. No one else would be here at this hour.
"Good morning, you must be Shelby's fiancé?" He steps out of the car and turns to face me.
"Oh my God! You?! You've gotta be kidding me!" The look of shock on my face made him look at me strangely.
"Hi. Do I know you?"
"You don't recognize me?"
"Can't say that I do?"
"Last we spoke I'm pretty sure you insulted my outfit choice. Or is that too presumptuous of me?"
Myles’s eyes widen. I think he knows exactly who I am. "Wow! I hardly recognized you without your leggings."
"I hardly recognized you with your fiancé!" I can't believe this guy! Seriously, he was flirting with me last night! This proves my theory even more on all men. None of them can remain faithful. They're all such a waste!
"Yeah, about that. I would like to remain incognito on the subject. I thought it would be fun to pretend I was someone else for a change."
Oh please, what a lame excuse! But, I'm a professional.
"Right. Well, let's begin with the tour."
"I'm Myles, by the way. I work in advertising and I'm engaged to Shelby Vanhuesen." He extends his hand.
"Great! Now that we've settled that meaningless conversation. Let's get back to the task at hand."
Myles lets out a chuckle. "You really are something you know that. And, you look much better today, just throwing it out there."
"I'm sorry? Was that your poor attempt at a compliment?"
"I was being polite. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot."
"Listen, Myles. I have a job to do here. One that I'm very good at. So if you wouldn't mind let's keep the small talk to a minimum and we shall never speak of the events of last night. Kapeesh?"
"Yes, ma'am." Myles agrees and we begin our walk towards the vineyard.
"This is where the ceremony would take place. I'm thinking something with a lot of greenery some soft pink peonies; Shelby said those were a must. There's plenty of room here for about 300 people comfortably. Possibly a few dozen more if need be. I know she said she wasn't quite sure on the headcount."
"Yeah, that's all her area of expertise. I'm just here doing what I'm told."
Ugh, great, so this is all completely pointless. Just shoot me now.
"Okay, so what do you think? Can you picture it?"
"I think so, yeah. The view is great!" Myles glances past the trees and into the valley. "I love those Roman statues."
"Yes, those are always crowd pleasers. Very romantic. I know Shelby also wanted some ice sculptures placed over here." I walk further into the space. "There's plenty of shade to keep them from not melting during the ceremony. Then we can move them inside to be kept cool. There would also be a big white tent over here with twinkly lights all around. I think it's a pretty good contender for her vision."
I can feel Myles' stare taking me in and not listening to a damn word I'm saying.
Spinning around to glance at him, our eyes meet briefly and I notice how beautiful they are. Almost iridescent with the sunlight against them. There's something about a stunning pair of blue eyes that pull you in so deeply. Like a fog drifting across a morning lake that you can't help but stop and appreciate.
"Uhm..." I clear my throat to sway myself from these thoughts. "Shall we move on to the next venue? It's just a few miles down the road. You can follow me there."
"Great. Lead the way."
Driving down to the next vineyard, a smile warms my face. It's one of my personal favorites.
Stepping out of the car to greet Myles once again. "This is Aurora Vineyards, it has a much bigger space than you're needing but in my experience, the extra room isn't always a bad thing. This one has the most spectacular view in all of Napa Valley."
"Aurora huh? This wouldn't have anything to do with your name, would it?"
"It does. My grandparents owned this vineyard and built it from nothing. My mother named me after it."
"Well, that was sweet of her. She sounds like she cares for you."
"Not really. It's more about her trying to promote the vineyard and our business. I like to think my grandmother had the majority of the say in naming me. She always encouraged me to follow my dreams. She believed in me. My grandmother is the sole reason I do this job despite my views on men and love."
Myles gazes into my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I feel a surprising swarm of butterflies fluttering throughout me. "It's nice to have someone who believes in you." Myles says in a saddened tone.
"I'm sure you have someone like that too?"
"Not exactly. I didn't have the best upbringing. Nevertheless, I am who I am today because of me and I take pride in that."
"Were your parents the not around type or what?" I implored curiously.
"More like nonexistent. I grew up in a foster home or several actually. My mother gave me up at birth."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry..."
"No, it's ok. I don't know why I just told you all that. It usually takes a bit for me to open up. I don't like for others to see vulnerability. It shows weakness. But that was so easy to say to you." Myles gazes into my eyes and I feel his face drifting towards mine.
"Myles..." I begin to say before we're abruptly interrupted by a familiar woman's voice.
"Hey, baby!" Shelby forces us to back up and plants a kiss on Myles' cheek. "Sorry, I'm late. What did I miss?”
