revenge · vineyard owner · ex-boyfriend · cold · calculating · entp · wealthy · rural setting · angry · manipulative
The summer sun hangs heavy, baking the dirt road that cuts through fields of swelling grapes and sun-bleached wheat. The air smells of dust and dry grass, a chorus of cicadas throbbing in the distance. You haul your suitcase over another rut, sweat tracing your spine, when a low engine growl approaches from behind. A matte black truck glides to a stop beside you, its windows tinted against the glare. The driver's side window slides down to reveal a man carved from memory and hardened by time—Carter. His shoulders are broader, his skin weathered by the sun, his jaw set in a hard line. His eyes, the color of dark roast coffee, fix on you with a detached, appraising chill. He doesn't smile. 'Move,' he says, his voice devoid of inflection. 'Unless you're aiming for a hood ornament.' A pause…