Page 50 of A Vineyard for Two
‘I never thought I’d come back. Not for this long.’
‘Do you hate it here that much?’
She stopped walking and stared out into the creek. The moonlight shone onto the long grass.
‘I never hated it.’
‘Then why did you leave so suddenly?’ Brookes asked.
That was the question she’d been avoiding for so long. She never told him, never told anyone. It seemed so petty now thinking about it. ‘I wanted a different life. There’s so much of the world out there that we don’t know. We’re so insignificant here.’
‘Thousands of people pay to come here every month. This is a special place, Harper.’
‘Yeah, they do. But I didn’t want to be one of those people who was born in a small town and never left. Haven’t you ever wanted to leave?’
‘Leave? No, no, I haven’t. Travel, see the world, yes. But this is the place I’ve always wanted to come back to.’
‘You never talked about travelling. You always talked about owning a vineyard, working the land, dreaming of a cellar door and a happily ever after.’
‘And that scared you?’
She shrugged. ‘Maybe a little. I guess we wanted different things.’
‘And now?’
‘I’ve built a life in the city. I have a career that’s going well.’ It was mostly true. Her career was strong, and it challenged her, but it no longer fulfilled her the way it had at first. More often than not, it felt like something was missing.
‘Are you happy?’ Brookes asked.
‘Is anyone ever really happy?’
‘Of course. I see happy people all the time. Just look at Georgia. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her unhappy.’
‘Or she just doesn’t share how she truly feels. She’s been alone her entire life. Everything she does is for the family estate and for this town.’
‘You don’t really believe that?’
‘Sometimes happiness is a choice, sometimes it’s a by-product, sometimes it’s a bit of both.’
‘You haven’t convinced me, Harper. It sounds like you’re trying hard to convince yourself that you are happy in the city. It’s okay to change your mind.’
‘Yeah, maybe. But we have to take responsibility for our actions, our lives. It’s not as simple as we get older.’
‘It’s as simple or as complicated as we want it to be.’
‘Maybe,’ she said. They were nearing the path that led back to the street. ‘So you said you were interested in travel. Did you ever go anywhere?’
‘Yeah, I spent three months in Europe about two years ago. Went to Vegas with a mate for a buck’s party last year — that was wild.’
‘Three months in Europe? That would have been amazing.’
‘It was, and I’d do it again, but I still wanted to come back here. Wherever I travelled, I enjoyed being there, but after a while this place just always called me back. I loved Italy and France. The vineyards were incredible, as were the people, and for a moment I thought, yeah, I could stay there, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t home. There was a lot to learn, and it gave me a few ideas that I wanted to implement here. There’s so much opportunity here to grow this place, to attract a younger generation and build an incredible industry that will compete with the rest of Australia. The wine industry here still has so much untapped opportunity for growth, especially here in the Granite Belt. The winemakers are really creating incredible wines, and in a few years we’re going to be a much bigger spot on the map.’
‘It sounds like you really know what you want.’
‘Yeah, I do.’
He reached for her arm and pulled her towards him until they were standing face to face. She was going to pull away, but the gleam in his eye stopped her. There was a yearning there, a passion and desire, that reflected her own. He moved a strand of hair from her face and leaned in until his lips touched hers, sending ripples of desire through her once again, and in that moment, nothing else mattered.