Page 36 of Give Me a Reason

“I’m a lightweight.” Bethany poured hers out into the wine spittoon. “And it’s a bit too dry for me.”

“It is?” he said absently. He and his soon-to-be friend Anne thought it was the perfect level of dryness. He cleared his throat and pointed to the spittoon. “Wise move either way.”

“Yeah, Anne said we’re going to eight wineries today.” She shrugged shyly. “I’m a goner if I don’t pace myself.”

By the time he tasted the seventh and final wine, Frederick had decided that Tombstone Winery was awesome, and their server, Mitch, was the most excellent human being in the world. He also decided that starting from the next winery, he would use the wine spittoon liberally.

“How was that for you?” The excellent human being smiled and gestured toward Frederick’s empty glass.

“You can’t go wrong with a good cab,” he answered. “But I think I’ll take a bottle of the Viognier we started with.”

“We liked that one, didn’t we?” Their server clapped his hands. “It’s the perfect summertime wine.”

“I highly doubt it’ll last till summer.” Frederick gave him an exaggerated wink.

Mitch raised his finger in the universal sign for hang on a sec . He returned with a bottle of the Viognier and poured Frederick a generous glass. “Why don’t you work on this while I grab your bottle?”

“Good man.” Frederick saluted him with his glass raised high. He stopped mid-gulp when he heard a quiet cough next to him.

“Don’t forget,” Bethany said with a hint of a grimace. “We have seven wineries left to go.”

“Leave the man be. He’s among friends,” Tessa said with a shit-eating grin. Frederick narrowed his eyes at her. Maybe he should slow down. “Go ahead and let loose, Captain Nam. We’ll take care of you.”

“Yeah, Frederick.” Aiden reached around Tessa and Bethany, clearly intending to clap him on the back, but he only managed to nudge his shoulder with the tips of his fingers.

“You don’t let yourself relax enough. You’re not even the highest-ranking officer here.

Pete could play the grown-up on this trip. ”

“Did I just hear my husband’s name and the word grown-up in the same sentence?” Katie poked her head forward from a few seats down.

“Pete isn’t here,” Pete yelled.

“I don’t know what I was thinking.” Aiden palmed his forehead. “I meant Katie can be the grown-up. She can boss us around all weekend long. I misspoke in my excitement to get Frederick drunk.”

“The captain drunk ? That’s more like it. Now this is a bachelor party.” Joe saluted Aiden from the other end of the bar. “Thanks, little brother.”

“I’m not your best man for nothing.” Aiden puffed out his chest.

Frederick drank his Viognier in silence, scowling at his friends.

But he blushed when Anne leaned forward to glance at him.

God, he hoped she didn’t think he partied like he used to in college.

As a matter of fact, he’d stopped partying like that after he’d met her, because getting sloppy drunk got in the way of fully appreciating his time with her.

Even when he’d thought they had forever, every minute with Anne had felt precious to him.

He took another sip of his wine for something to do. But when she offered him a small smile, her eyes dancing with amusement, he smiled back at her, relaxing again. Of course she wouldn’t judge him. Anne wasn’t like that.

Anne was perfect. She was the most beautiful woman Frederick had ever met, but she was so much more than her beauty.

She was kind, generous, smart, and loyal.

And she was courageous. She didn’t assert herself often, but when she believed in something, Anne spoke her mind with blunt honesty, while always remaining respectful toward others.

She was like a serene river that ran deeper than you would ever know.

At the next winery, Frederick made no effort not to stare at Anne.

He trailed behind their group and walked up to the bar last and positioned himself at the optimum vantage point.

He saw no reason to fight the natural order of law.

If Anne Lee was near, Frederick Nam gravitated toward her.

Staring at her was inevitable. He just had to do it in a friendly way.

He eavesdropped shamelessly so he could choose the same tasting menu as Anne, then he paced himself so he could taste the wine at the same time she did. He loved watching her reactions—he could still read her face like an open book—then pondering what he thought about the wine.

They mostly agreed on the whites, but she tended to like the full-bodied reds, while he appreciated the subtlety of a lighter red. It was almost as though they were enjoying the beautiful wine country and its plentiful wines together. Just the two of them. As friends.

Anne used the wine spittoon after a couple of sips, but when she really liked the wine, she finished her pour with slow, savoring sips.

As their wine tasting progressed, her cheeks grew rosy, and she laughed more easily, which made him happy.

He wasn’t sure if she noticed his blatant shadowing, but when he watched her long enough, she often ducked her head to hide a smile.

Jolie Vineyard and Winery, the penultimate winery on their tour, was situated on the most scenic fifty acres of land in Bosque Verde.

The modern Craftsman tasting room stood amid a verdant vineyard, and rolling hills undulated in the distance.

And stately, mature trees provided shade for the picturesque seating areas dotting the property.

It was rustic yet sophisticated, and Frederick didn’t even have to look at Anne to know she loved it. But he looked anyway, because… why not? She was there. She was beautiful. And they were going to be friends. He followed close behind her as they walked into the tasting room.

The host led them through the wine store and then out to the covered balcony where a long, rectangular table awaited them.

Their group oohed and aahed profusely enough to make heads turn.

And they made an even bigger ruckus over the gorgeous view of the property while they took their seats at the table.

Everyone had eschewed the spittoon and imbibed every drop of wine offered to them somewhere between the fourth and fifth wineries.

The sober part of his mind cringed with embarrassment at their rowdy group, but every server, and even their fellow wine tasters at smaller tables around them, were indulgent of their tipsy folly.

“Thanks for understanding,” Katie said to the other visitors, entirely too sober. “They don’t get out much.”

Frederick narrowed his eyes in suspicion at his clearheaded friend, but his contracted vision made it difficult to keep an eye on Anne.

Why was he squinting in the first place?

He couldn’t remember. He rushed to shoulder Pete out of the way to claim a seat next to Anne, and his friend happily stumbled into the chair next to it without so much as a frown at him. Wine, the peacemaker.

But now that Frederick was at Anne’s side, he had no idea what to say to her.

His sluggish brain snort-laughed at him.

Wine, the idiot-maker. She didn’t seem to notice he was sitting next to her, too absorbed in the beautiful view beyond the railing.

Even so, he felt as though he should say something coherent to her.

“Anne,” he said in a deep and gravelly voice. He wasn’t sure if uttering her name constituted a coherent comment, but he loved how her name melted on his tongue.

“Frederick.” She glanced at him with wide eyes, her cheeks glowing a lovely pink. She hiccupped and pressed the tips of her fingers against her mouth. She was so adorable he nearly died. “Uh, hello.”

“Uh, hello,” he repeated like a parrot. The thought struck him as funny, and his face split into a loopy grin.

“Oh.” Her eyes roamed his face, then dropped to his lips. “Oh.”

“Keep saying that…” Suddenly, he was ridiculously turned on and soberer than he wanted to be. “Keep looking at me like that… and I’ll do something both of us will regret.”

She arched a delicately curved brow in blatant challenge. “Oh?”

All thoughts of friendship fled his mind as a low, feral growl rumbled in his chest. Frederick leaned toward Anne in minute increments, struggling to remember why this was a bad idea. When their faces were a mere hand’s width apart, a voice jolted him out of his trance.

“We’re offering an extensive tasting menu today.

” A tall, middle-aged woman with gleaming silver hair came over and placed large jars of long, crunchy breadsticks on both ends of the table.

“It has whites, rosés, reds, and even a fortified wine at the end. Here are some breadsticks for you. You’re going to need the carbs to absorb all the alcohol I’m about to offer you. ”

“Woo-hoo,” Aiden shouted at the far end of the table, grabbing two breadsticks. Rather than eat them, he proceeded to drum the tabletop with them. Bethany dissolved into giggles beside the enthusiastic drummer.

Joe hooted across from Frederick and reached for his own breadsticks. Coraline slapped his hand away, then kissed her fiancé’s knuckles. “No playing with your food, babe.”

Frederick barely noticed. His attention was reserved for one person and one person only.

“Oh,” Anne huffed in a small, resigned voice. But the sly curve of her lips told him she wasn’t done torturing him with her sexy, breathy oh s.

This was new. Anne had never been coy when it came to the physical aspects of their relationship. She’d been—just as he’d been—guilelessly open and artlessly passionate in their lovemaking. But this teasing, seductive Anne was going to be the death of him.

Frederick couldn’t think of a better way to die.