Page 24 of Let It Breathe (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #1)

“You always had the best legs,” Jed said, oblivious to the conversation going on around him. “Still do.”

June beamed at him and planted a kiss on his temple before returning her gaze to the paperwork.

Reese kept her eyes on the screen, unable to look away.

Her mom, barefoot in the grass, wore a ring of daisies in her hair and a white dress that barely concealed the fact that she was already three months pregnant with Reese.

God, they were young. So young, so in love.

On the sofa, her dad shifted the popcorn bowl so he could put his arm around her mom. Her mom snuggled into the embrace and kept reading.

“Hmm,” June said, still flipping through the folder of printouts. She tapped the edge of the newsletter and smiled up at Reese. “This looks great. Did you do this part?”

“Nope, that’s Larissa. Did I tell you she pitched some big producer about doing a documentary on women in the wine industry?”

“No kidding?” June beamed. “Would you get to be in the film?”

“That’s the idea.” Not that Reese had any delusions of movie stardom herself, but it would be great publicity for the vineyard. “We’ve got a call with the producer tomorrow. Kate Geary’s her name.”

“I’ve heard of her,” June said. “Your father and I watched a documentary she did on couples who spice up their marriages by building sex dungeons.”

“That was a great one.” Jed glanced away from the TV. “Gave us lots of ideas.”

Reese cringed and kept her focus on her mom. “Did you want to be part of the interview? It’s just preliminary, but obviously you’re a woman in the wine industry.”

“Why don’t you and Larissa take the first round.” June smiled. “I trust you girls to make us shine.”

“Thanks.” Reese prayed the trust wasn’t misplaced. “Gotta give Riss some big props. I thought she was nuts when she pitched the idea of reaching out to a Hollywood producer.”

“That girl has gumption.”

“She does.” Reese tipped her head to the newsletter printout in her mom’s hand. “And she’s turned into a pretty serious copywriter, too.”

“I’m so proud of her.” June said. “Speaking of getting serious, we hear you have a date.”

Reese sighed. “For crying out loud, did Larissa call you?”

“No, Axl. He ran into Eric in the winery barn.”

She shook her head, not sure whether to feel irritated or loved. Funny how often the two sentiments intertwined when it came to her family. “Did you already call it in to the newspaper, or should I do that in the morning?”

“We think it’s great, honey,” June said. “We just want you to be happy. Love is such a wonderful human experience.”

“I am happy,” Reese said, trying not to notice the on-screen image of her father scooping her mother into his arms and twirling her around so her wedding dress fluttered in the breeze. She looked away, hating the rawness in her throat. “Mom, are you worried about our meeting with the bank?”

Two frown lines appeared between her mother’s eyebrows. “A little. I think we’ve got our ducks in a row, but?—”

“It’s a lot of money,” Reese said softly. “And if they won’t lend it to us, I don’t know what we’ll do.”

Her father shook his head and looked away from the TV. “We could always delay the expansion. Maybe in a few years?—”

“No!” Reese snapped, panic rising in her chest. “We’ve already been shouting about it for months on our website and in the press. We’ll look like idiots if we cancel now. Like idiots who don’t know how to run a business.”

“She’s right, hon,” June said. “Besides that, we’ve already got a ton of special events booked for the new space. Most of them have already put down deposits.”

Reese shook her head. “God, can you even imagine having to give all those back?”

“Or call couples to tell them their dream-wedding venue won’t be ready in time,” June said, her gaze drifting back to the TV screen.

“Okay, okay,” Jed said, holding up his hands. “It was just a suggestion. I’m sure things will go fine tomorrow.”

He turned back to the TV and squeezed June’s knee. “We should make that chicken dish tonight. The one we served at the wedding?”

“Oooh, with the mushrooms and that little hint of?—”

“Rosemary, yes! You know, our ’24 Pinot Gris would be perfect with it. Do we have any?—”

“—artichoke hearts? Yes, I just grabbed some the other day.” June leaned forward and kissed him on the temple while Reese took a step back, then another.

“So, guys—I need to head out to the field to check the nitrate levels before I get ready for my date. Everything look okay with the communication pieces?”

“They look great, sweetie,” her mom said, closing the folder and setting it on the coffee table. “You’re doing such a nice job with everything. Oh, look—I love this part!”

Reese watched as the video cut to a scene of her parents slow dancing to “Unchained Melody.” She stared for a few beats, wondering if she’d ever stop feeling like she forgot to get in line when the universe handed out soulmates.

She turned away, letting the notes of the love song fade behind her as she crept down the hallway and out the front door.

It had started to drizzle, and she thought about heading back to the winery barn for rain gear but decided against it. Not like she wasn’t used to working in soggy conditions.

Out in the fields, she lost track of time as she gathered soil samples and snipped small pieces of the vines. She breathed in the heady smell of damp earth and crushed grass, aware that her hair and clothes were getting drenched but not minding much.

By the time she returned to the winery barn with the samples, her clothes were soaked through. The pale-pink T-shirt beneath her flannel overshirt had turned transparent.

Dripping as she went, she moved into the tiny kitchen where she kept her test kit. The barn was silent, except for the distant tinny sound of NPR on the radio Eric must’ve forgotten to switch off when he left.

Reese was straddling a puddle of muddy rainwater bent low over her test tubes when she heard a voice behind her.

“You’re still here.”

She whirled to see Clay in the doorway. For the briefest instant, his gaze fell to where the wet T-shirt hugged her breasts. It returned quickly to her face.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t know anyone was here.”

“I just came back to finish some testing,” she said, blaming her shortness of breath on the startle instead of the magnificent, muscular sight of him. “I thought you were gone already.”

“I left some paperwork on the counter there. Can I sneak by you and grab it?”

Reese nodded and stepped to one side. Clay seemed to hesitate. Then he edged past, his bare forearm brushing the damp front of her T-shirt. Reese felt her nipples contract.

The papers fluttered to the floor.

“Oh, shit,” Reese said, kneeling down. “The ground’s all wet. I hope these aren’t your only copies.”

“It’s okay, really, you don’t have to?—”

“No, let me get them.”

He crouched down beside her, scrambling to grab the mud-speckled sheets of paper. Reese’s hand trembled as she grabbed one piece, then another. They both reached for a page at the same time, and Clay’s hand closed over hers.

A surge of heat pulsed up her arm and her heart slammed hard against her rib cage. Reese stared at his hand, transfixed by the sight of those long fingers engulfing hers. Then she looked at his face. He was watching her, pupils dilated in those root-beer-brown depths. He didn’t blink.

Clay looked down at her hand. “God, you’re freezing.”

“My hands are always cold.”

“I remember.”

He didn’t let go of her hand. Reese swallowed as her stomach clenched in a tight, fizzy ball.

They stayed frozen like that for what seemed like minutes, Clay’s huge palm warm against the ridges of her knuckles.

The smell of rainwater and wine and damp earth hung heavy in the air between them, along with something else Reese couldn’t name.

His breath ruffled the damp hair pasted to her cheek.

Outside, the rain drummed the roof in a slow, heavy beat.

“You’re getting wet,” he murmured.

Reese blinked. “What?”

“The floor. You’re kneeling in a puddle.”

She looked down, her face warming. “Right. I was already wet. I mean, I was out there in the rain and?—”

She stopped talking, her cheeks flaming despite the chill in the room. She looked up in time to see Clay close his eyes for just an instant. When he reopened them, they locked on hers. He moved his hand and Reese felt a pang of disappointment at the loss of his warmth.

Then he reached up and grazed her cheek with his fingertips. He pushed a few strands of damp hair from her face, his gaze holding hers. Reese held her breath as her pulse pounded in her ears.

Before she could register what was happening, Clay leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers, tentative at first, testing.

Reese clutched the front of his shirt and pulled him to her. He kissed her harder then, his palms cupping her face as his mouth explored hers. He tasted cool, like he’d been nibbling the rain-soaked mint leaves beside the barn.

The heavy spatter of droplets on the roof and the soft rush of their breath filled Reese’s ears, fighting for space with the pounding of blood in her head.

Clay deepened the kiss, his lips warm and soft and so very, very good at what they were doing. Reese gasped at the delicious scrape of his stubbled cheek against her chilled one.

She wanted to devour him, to explore every inch of his mouth, of his body.

Clay kissed her harder, responding to her need or maybe his own.

His hand cupped her face, holding her against him while his other hand slid up her side.

She felt his fingertips graze the side of her breast and she pressed into him, craving more.

He slid his thumb over her nipple as the rest of the fingers cupped her breast, testing the weight.

His lips moved from hers and down her jaw, planting a trail of kisses in the hollow of her throat.

His thumb stroked her nipple again and Reese cried out, wanting all of him at once.

At the sound of her whimper, Clay drew back. His eyes flashed from desire to alarm, like she’d bitten him.

He dropped his hands to his sides and pulled away. “Reese, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

She blinked at him, her breath still coming fast. “It’s okay. Really?—”

“No, it’s not okay. God, my best friend’s wife?—”

“ Ex -wife.”

“And my employer?—”

“I haven’t actually paid you.”

“And right before you’re going out on a date?—”

“Date?” Reese sat back on her heels, breathless, as reality slithered into her consciousness like a drizzle of rainwater down her neck. “Right. A date.”

She dropped her hands from Clay’s chest and looked down at her watch. It was almost five. She took a breath. “Dammit.”

He jumped to his feet and reached down to help her up. Reese took his hand, dizzy for reasons that had nothing to do with standing up too fast.

Clay wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Here, let me find you a towel or something. You must be freezing.”

“Clay, really—it’s fine.” She took another breath. “These things happen. Lord knows we’ve both learned that.”

He nodded and stepped back, still holding her hand. He took a breath and let go. “Have a good date, okay?”

He stood there for two more pulse beats. Then he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there with a puddle of rainwater at her feet and her heart lodged firmly in her throat.