Drunk on Love(48)

That would have been good information for her to know—or for Elliot to keep in mind—before they’d bought all of this.

She wiped her face with the bottom of her shirt.

“Then why didn’t you have me take my car so we would have more space?”

He just shrugged and picked up a pile of wood.

“Wouldn’t want you to get your car all dirty. Don’t worry about this, it’s not your kind of thing anyway. I’ll figure it out.”

Damn it, why did he always have to say things like that? Things that made her feel like she was the interloper who had taken over his winery? She wanted to yell at him, say her car wasn’t even particularly nice, that she didn’t care if it got dirty, that it got dusty all the time driving the roads around here and did he see her stressed about it? And why did he say it like that, that he would figure it out, not that they would, together?

Elliot had asked her to come with him just the day before, and she’d said yes, even though she had so much to do to plan for the party. They rarely spent time together anymore outside of the winery; she’d thought it would be fun, a bonding experience even, a time when they could relax in the car together and work together and feel like they were part of a team. Why had she thought that?

Tears sparked in her eyes, which just made her angrier.

“You know, I’m capable of—”

A car pulled up right next to them.

“Need some help?” Luke asked from the driver’s side window.

“Luke.” Elliot looked relieved. “Just the person we need, if you can spare the time.”

Part of her—the part of her that was frustrated and hot and sweaty and mad and didn’t want Luke seeing her looking as terrible as she was sure she looked—was pissed that Elliot seemed so pleased that Luke was there, like she hadn’t been any help to him at all. But mostly she just hoped that maybe Luke could actually solve this problem, and she could get home at some point, and get in the shower, and be done with today.

Luke jumped out of the car.

“No problem. I just finished helping out my mom and Pete, so I’m all warmed up.”

Margot smiled at him and tried to forget how bad she looked.

“I would say you don’t have to do this on your day off, but I’m too grateful for the help to even pretend.”

And that was true, even though she was also mortified for him to see her so disheveled and sweaty. Her hair was up in a bun, not like, a pulled-together topknot or a sexy, intentionally messy bun, but just a quick double loop with a ponytail holder she’d found in her bag to get her hair out of her face. Her jeans were dirty, her T-shirt was sticking to her body, and she was almost certain her eyeliner was smudged all over her face. Oh well, at this point she was too frustrated to care. Almost.

The three of them managed to load all of the stuff into the truck, and Margot grinned at Elliot and Luke.

“We did it!” she said. That was until she took a step back, and saw the big stack of wood sitting on the far side of the truck.

“Shit,” she said, pointing to the wood.

Elliot sighed.

“Damn. It would all fit in the passenger seat. If only I hadn’t brought you along with me.”

She turned away, but Elliot must have chosen that moment to look at her.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. Sure he hadn’t. “I just meant I wish you had another way back to . . .” He looked from her to Luke. “Luke. Can you drive Margot home so we can put the rest of this in my truck and be done with it?”

Oh no.

“Sure,” Luke said, “but we can also just put them in my car, you know.”

Elliot shook his head.

“I don’t want to get your nice car all dirty, and then you’d have to unload at the winery. You’ve already done enough work on your day off. But it’ll all fit in the truck.” He picked up all of the wood and set it inside while Margot and Luke just stood there. “See? So you can drive Margot?”

Margot wanted to say no, there must be another solution, but to protest now would seem churlish. Especially after how exhausted she and Elliot both were. And, at this point, the last thing she wanted was an hour-long car ride with her brother.

Luke looked at her, a question in his eyes.

“As long as that’s okay with Margot,” he said.

She shrugged.

“Sure. Thanks, Luke. We both really appreciate it.”

He shook his head.

“It’s no problem. You’re just right—” He stopped for a second. “I’m sure it’s not too out of my way to take you home,” he finished.

Good save, Luke.

Margot rescued her tote bag from the passenger seat of the truck and turned to Luke’s car.

“Ready?” Luke asked.

She nodded.

“Yep, I’ve got everything. Drive carefully, Elliot.”

He ignored her, like she knew he would.

She and Luke got in his car and pulled away.





Twelve


MARGOT DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING as they drove out of the parking lot. Neither did Luke. When they pulled onto the main road, as if that was some sort of signal, they both started talking at once.

“I’m sorry if I—”

“I hope it’s okay to—”