Chasing After My-Ex

Chapter 4

Meeting Derek Langston had certainly not been a part of Emily's plan tonight.

She had not wanted to be at the wine party at all in the first place. It wasn’t the wine or the elegant venue that made her not want to come—it was everything about it.

It was the idea of pretending to be someone she wasn’t. To be surrounded by people with perfect smiles and perfect lives, while she was still piecing together her broken heart. Yet here she was, standing on the edge of a Napa Valley vineyard, staring at the wide open spaces and feeling more out of place than ever.

It was Claire's fault that she was here. “You need this, Em,” she had said. “Just one night. Trust me. Get out of that damn apartment and do something for yourself.”

“Can’t I just do something for myself on the couch with a bottle of wine and a Netflix series?” Emily had protested as she stared at her screen with aching eyes. She had been working for hours already.

“No,” Claire declared. “Look at yourself! You are killing yourself already. I know you want to build…I know you want to start afresh but do not forget that you are still very young and you need to have a life once in a while.”

And so with those words said, that was how she ended up here—drinking wine she didn’t care for and listening to conversations about tech startups and investment portfolios that made her feel like she was on a different planet. She swirled her glass idly and pretended to care even though her mind kept drifting back to the man she was still trying to forget. At the same time, she had counted the hours to when she would go back home to her sanctuary.

She hadn’t meant to notice Derek. Not at all. At first, he was just another face in the crowd—a man in his thirties with a quiet charisma that didn’t demand attention.

But the moment their eyes met across the room, something sparked. Something that made her heart skip a beat and sent a shiver down her spine. She didn’t want to admit it but Emily couldn't help but to know the truth: Derek was the kind of man who made people look twice but not in that annoying, egotistical way. He was the kind of man who made her feel something she hadn’t felt in ages—alive.

Before she could stop herself, her feet were already carrying her across the room.

“You look lost.” Derek’s voice, rich and intoxicating just like the glass of wine in her hand, pulled her from her thoughts before she had a chance to second-guess her decision.

“Maybe I am,” Emily replied with a smirk. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this forward but something about him made it easy for him to do so

Derek smiled slow and genuine like he was amused by her response. “Well, don’t stay lost for too long. Napa’s got a way of making people forget where they’re headed.”

His eyes studied her with a depth that felt too personal, as if he was waiting for her to say something.

“I think I’m already lost,” she said as she leaned casually against the bar while she was still holding her glass of wine that she raised slightly. “Not really into the whole pretentious wine scene. But here I am.”

He chuckled. It wasn’t loud or showy like that of Matt…it was just a quiet, knowing laugh that seemed to echo inside her something she couldn’t put into words. “Yeah, I get that. It’s a bit much sometimes. But hey, wine’s just fermented grapes. It doesn’t need to be all that serious, does it?”

She smiled widely at him. His relaxed attitude was a refreshing change from the stuffy conversations she’d been overhearing all evening. And, unlike every other man she’d met in the past few months, Derek didn’t seem like he was trying to impress her with fake charm or high status. Somehow, they all reminded her of that bastard, Matt, and she ran from them immediately without looking back.

But this guy in front of her? He made her want to…stay.

“So what exactly is your thing?” she asked him. “Wine? Or the whole vineyard-owner mystique?”

Derek’s smile grew wider like he’d been waiting for this question. “Both, actually. My family started this vineyard a while back. But it’s not about the money or the title. It’s about something real. You know, something that lasts.”

Emily studied him as she tried to read between the lines of his words. He wasn’t like anyone she’d met. There was no arrogance in his voice, no sense of entitlement. He just spoke the truth. And she liked it.

“And you’re okay with that?” she asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Living up to the family legacy, I mean. Not all people are.”

He shrugged casually as if the idea of living up to an expectation didn’t faze him at all. “I’m not worried about the legacy. I’m just doing what I love. Running the place. Making something beautiful. People get too wrapped up in what they’re supposed to do. I just want to enjoy the ride.”

His words hit her like a brick. Emily had spent so much time trying to live up to someone else’s expectations and trying to force herself into a mold that wasn’t her own. She realized, in that moment, she didn’t even know who she was anymore.

“You make it sound so simple,” she said softly as if she was talking to herself.

Derek leaned in a bit and his eyes scanned hers with a quiet intensity. “It is simple, Emily. People complicate things with their hands. It’s about being honest with yourself. It is about finding your path, even if it’s not where you expected it to be.”

Emily swallowed even as she felt the weight of his words in her chest. She didn’t want to think about Matt. She didn’t want to compare Derek to the man who had broken her. And yet, here she was not able to help it. She found herself wondering if, maybe, just maybe, if she had met Derek before she had met Matt, if things would have been so different for her.

Take it easy, her inner voice chided her. You can never trust these men completely. Take it easy.

As those words alarmed in her head, she took a step back. Derek raised an eyebrow but before he could say anything, Claire appeared at her side and nudged her with a playful grin. “Come on, Em. Let’s go take some photos of this place. Or at least, pretend we know what we’re doing.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Emily said even though her eyes were still on the man in front of her.

Derek’s smile didn’t fade as he watched her walk away but there was something in his gaze that made her feel like he understood. Like he could see her. She wasn’t sure what it was yet, but whatever it was, she didn't want to let it go completely.

At least, not yet.