Moonstruck at Midnight

Chapter 29 - Tech Support!

"HONEY! I'M HOME!" William shouted as he got out of the car, grabbing a few grocery bags from the backseat. You've got to be kidding me. I wanted to seem annoyed but couldn't help laughing at his greeting.

I stood up and drank what was left of my fourth glass of wine. "I'll be right back, okay? I said to Lily, tying my hair into a pulled-back pony. "I'm a mess."

Dizzy, I fled to the bathroom before William and Joel could get to us. I blew my nose and splashed some water on my face. Taking a deep breath, I stared at my reflection in the mirror one last time before coming out of the bathroom. William and Joel sat with Lily outside with beers in their hands.

"Guille." William stood up and kissed my cheeks. Lily laughed, which made me laugh. I was having trouble pretending to be annoyed by him. I blamed it on the wine.

"What?" he said, feigning innocence. "That's how she likes saying hi to people."

Shaking my head, I sat down and raised my glass to Lily. She poured more wine into it—a mistake.

"Hey, Joel." I glanced back at William and sipped my wine. "Didn't I tell you you weren't invited the other day?" I joked. "Yet here you are." He couldn't seem any less disturbed by my remark.

"Huh. I've never been uninvited to my own home. I'll say that's ... a first, don't you think?" He winked. I hated his winks.

But did I? I think I hated what they stirred up inside me. I didn't need anything else to be stirred. And now, I was stuck in Sagaponack with this—stirrer.

My phone startled me when it buzzed on the other side of the table. William passed it to me. It was Thomas, but I sent the call to voicemail.

Staring at the screen, I kept thinking if I should've answered the call or not. But I quickly dismissed the thought because tonight was about disconnecting. "Um, sorry about that." I placed my phone back on the table.

Lily and Joel were now plating snacks in the kitchen.

"Your eyes look a little ... irritated," William said, lifting an eyebrow and clicking his tongue.

"I—I know. It's just um—been a long day with the shoot," I stuttered. I wasn't planning on letting him know I'd been crying.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" He laughed.

"What? Psh. No!" I was. Maybe a little more than I was willing to admit to myself. But it was none of his business. I should've grabbed my phone and called Caleb to tell him I had changed my mind about spending the night. That would've been the smart thing to do. Apparently, wine makes me dumb. Very, very dumb.

"Stick out your tongue." He ordered playfully.

"No!"

"Oh, come on." He insisted. "I won't bite."

Remembering his tongue twisting around mine on Midsummer ignited a hot wave of desire in my core. The wine was turning against me. I wanted to be angry and sad about breaking up with Thomas, and William was ruining it for me. He was making me laugh and distracting me from my feelings with his perfect face and his playful banter. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Yielding, I stuck out my tongue, and he chuckled under his breath.

"Yup. Definitely drunk. Your tongue is purple."

Creating a diversion from exposing myself to the real reason I was overdrinking, I mentioned how the wine was delicious, and it was one of the best I've ever tried, which was the truth.

"I can tell you liked it." He rested his forearms on the table and leaned in closer to me. "You girls are drinking my best wine."

His best wine? My face shrank into thought. I was about to ask if those bottles belonged to him, but my phone buzzed again.