Page 22 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER NINETEEN

RETT

Rett slammed an easel into the ground and ripped open the tape on a package. Penny pounced on it.

His phone beeped, and he checked the message.

Cindy: I can’t tell you that. HIPAA, dummy. Ask her yourself.

The audacity . What kind of person was so afraid to accept help that she stole camping equipment, walked miles in the rain, and fell out of a damn tree while hiding a bag that no one would have taken in the first place?

His heart had plummeted when he saw the state of her. Scratches, bruises, hollow eyes presumably from staying up all night. He had meant to wish her luck on her first day, maybe show her off a little to the town. Instead, he had been forced to introduce her to Cindy before he was ready.

He was going to have words with Jade when he picked her up later.

A cart laden with painting supplies bumped over the grass. He arranged them around the easel with more force than was necessary. Crack . A plastic rinse cup lay in two pieces.

He took a step back and inhaled deeply. There was no use in being mad at her. She hadn’t had anyone to rely on in years. Why would she want to live in a stranger’s house?

But they weren’t really strangers. What about him was so untrustworthy?

An image of that smug motherfucker Nate looking at Jade on the porch appeared in his mind. Cheated on her before the grass was even growing on her parents graves. No wonder she had trouble trusting people.

These one night stands weren’t serving her anymore.

Loneliness radiated from her. She was clearly a monogamy girl, a believer in true love.

She wouldn’t truly be her authentic self until she opened her mind to the possibility of partnership again.

Friends with benefits wasn’t going to cut it.

She needed the full girlfriend experience to remind her.

He added it to his running mental list before turning back to the task at hand.

The easel was set up on the winery’s most beautiful vista—the spot where he had planned to propose to Alexa, in fact.

If the view could unblock Jade, maybe she wouldn’t have to consider a new career.

But he was prepared for the alternative.

Especially if she had just done permanent damage to her painting hand.

And that didn’t even cover the host of other issues—budget revamp, networking, and of course, getting a driver’s license.

The stone wall of the winery caught his eye. How was he supposed to focus on business when mentoring Jade was a whole business itself?

All the anger fell out of his sails when he opened the café door. Jade, still scratched to hell and looking even more frazzled than that morning, was seated at a table in the corner. She stared at a blank sketch pad in front of her, eyebrows drawn together.

He put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she jumped.

“Is it two o'clock already?” she asked.

He nodded. “How’s the wrist?”

“Not broken. You didn’t have to come get me.”

“With your luck, you probably would have gotten run over on your way to the winery.”

She cracked a small smile. “You’re not wrong.”

He picked up her sunflowers and offered his hand. She took it and stood.

“I would like to revisit our discussion on your living arrangements,” he said.

Nailed it. He hadn’t shouted even once.

“There’s no need. Margie kind of bullied me into staying at her guest house.”

He instantly deflated. “Oh. Good.”

He had almost been looking forward to convincing her to stay with him. But it was better this way. It was only two weeks. Having her under his roof could have made things complicated.

“Was Penny okay today?”

She had peed on the welcome mat and knocked over a display of wine-themed oven mitts in the gift shop, but it could have been worse.

“Of course. But I’m sure she’s eager to see you. Shall we?”

He offered his arm, and she took it.

“See you later, sweetheart. I’ll leave the keys under the mat,” Margie called as they left.

“Are you okay?” Rett asked when they reached the sidewalk.

“I’m fine,” she said, but her expression told a different tale.

He pulled her around in front of him. He brushed a thumb over the cut on her cheek.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

She turned to look at the café. “What if I can’t do it?”

“Do what? The mural?”

She nodded. “Margie wants me to ‘encapsulate a feeling’ about the town. How am I supposed to do that?”

He held on to her arms. Her skin was so soft. And what was that smell? Vanilla?

She shivered under his grip.

“You can do this. But I don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for by staring at a blank sketchpad for six hours. You need to go outside and explore. Sit in the gazebo. Attend a festival. Do some Gilmore Girls shit.”

She laughed, and the sound was like music. The light was back in her eyes. A bit of color had rushed into her cheeks.

Before he could stop himself, he dipped his mouth to hers.

She froze for a second, then pressed herself close to him.

Her arms snaked around him, and her heat washed over him.

When he opened his mouth, she mirrored the movement.

She tasted even better than she looked. His finger slipped beneath the hem of her T-shirt.

There weren’t words to describe the feel of her wrapped around him. It was like the first sunrise after weeks of overcast skies. The smell of a fresh harvest.

Crash . They sprang apart and Rett put himself between her and the sudden sound.

A mail carrier was sprawled on the asphalt, bike with a bent-rimmed tire lying next to him. Damn it, Tom.

Jade gasped and sprinted across the street to him without bothering to look both ways.

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” She dropped onto her knees beside Tom.

He sat up and looked at them. “Well fuck me dead,” he said, his Australian accent even stronger than normal. “Never in my wildest daydreams did I think I’d come upon Everett Rhodes pashing in the square. I’m Tom.” He extended a hand to Jade.

“Jade.” She took his hand and shook it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He shrugged. “Eh, she’ll be apples. This why you didn’t want to slap the bag last night?” He eyed Rett while pointing his chin at Jade.

Rett shook his head. “As a winery owner, drinking boxed wine would be equivalent to committing treason.”

Tom scoffed. “Fine. We’ll crack a couple coldies at poker, then. Cheers.”

He hefted his bike onto the grass of the town square and set off with his mail pouch on foot.

“He’s just going to leave his bike there?” Jade asked.

“Yeah. That’s Cindy’s husband, by the way.”

She shook her head thoughtfully as if it had just answered a question. “If we were in the city, that bike would already be in a different borough.”

“This isn’t the city. Which is why you don’t need to hide your bag in a tree. That’s our first stop, by the way.”

The flush on her cheeks had grown stronger. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“In here.”

Two hours later, bag rescued from the tree, he led Jade through a set of doors at the back of the tasting room. Nerves rippled in his stomach. Apart from his contractor and employees, no one had seen this room yet. It was another attempt at bringing them back out of obscurity.

They emerged into a room that felt like it came straight from the 1920s. A crystal chandelier dangled overhead, casting a soft glow on the dramatic, dimpled leather sofa that sat before the front windows. A long oak bar stood to their right, barstools nestled beneath.

Leather armchairs flanked a small table in the corner, built-in bookshelves laden with antique-looking bottles lining the window behind them. A long, peacock-blue velvet booth stretched nearly the full length of the longest wall, paired with small cocktail tables and upholstered chairs.

She gripped Rett’s arm. “Is this a speakeasy?”

He nodded. “It’s a new addition. I designed it myself. I thought it might draw more people in during the winter. It’s something else I’m hoping to reveal during the anniversary party.”

“I love it here.” Jade sank onto the brown leather sofa. Penny jumped up next to her. “This is heaven.”

Warmth sprouted inside him. With any luck, the renovation of an old storage room wouldn’t have been a complete waste of time.

“Let me grab the tasting supplies. I’ll be right back.”

When he returned with an art déco-themed bar cart minutes later, Jade was staring into the crackling fire.

“Where would you like me?” she asked.

His gaze moved to the bear-skin rug on the floor. An image of Jade completely naked and staring into his eyes while the fire crackled sprang into his mind.

“Where would you be most comfortable?” He took a step closer to her. His eyes dipped down to the red sundress she had put on after they’d retrieved her bag. It would take nothing for him to trail his hand up her thigh, find out what she was wearing underneath.

A laugh rang out in the tasting room, and he blinked. There were a dozen customers on the other side of the wall. This was supposed to be business—step one in empowering Jade. That was what was important. If her muse came back, she could be leading a paint and sip by the weekend.

As if she could read his mind, Jade slunk off to the least sexy corner of the room. She sat in an armchair and looked at him expectantly.

“I’m ready. Gimme the spiel.”

He cracked a smile and launched into a story of how the vines of this particular grape came to be grown in the fertile soils of Keuka Lake.

She nodded along and raised the glass to her nose. The wine sloshed in the glass as she swirled it around.

Rett watched as she raised it to her lips. She moaned, and a warm, invigorating tension flooded his body.

“I’m not going to be able to concentrate if you keep responding like that,” he said before he could think better of it.

Her eyes snapped open. “Sorry. I’ll keep it PG.”

He shoved the plate towards her, eyes glued to her. “Try it with the smoked sausage.”

She obliged.

“This reserve Blaufr?nkisch was aged for about twenty-four months in old French oak.”

“Forgive my ignorance,” she said after swallowing. “But I thought it was hard to grow red grapes in this climate.”

“It’s doable. If you know what you’re doing.” He took a sip of wine and chased it with a slice of sausage.

“Then you must really know what you’re doing,” she said after another sip.

“You have no idea.”

She shifted in her armchair, causing a small farting noise.

“That was the chair,” she clarified.

“Sure.” He winked.

The dog ambled up and laid her snoot on Jade’s leg, then whined.

Jade sighed. “Penny would like some cheese.”

“Oh.” Rett stood up. “I almost forgot. The best part of the VIP tasting is that there’s a separate one for dogs.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he said, striding over to the cart, “that Penny gets to sample the finest local organic dog treats while we have wine.”

“That’s a really nice idea.”

He tapped a knuckle on his temple. “Told you I know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I admire your confidence. With any luck, maybe some will rub off on me.”

He certainly wanted to rub something on her.

The rest of the tasting passed uneventfully. Rett guided her through a series of reds and whites, cheeses and chocolates.

“That was incredible. Oops. I appear to be a bit tipsy,” she said as she stood and staggered into the table.

Shit. He had pulled out their best lineup in the hopes that one of them would be the key to unlocking her for good. Maybe he had overdone it. But they wouldn’t know until they tried.

“Maybe it’s time for a walk. I can give you that tour we talked about.”

“Let’s go.” She found the nearest door handle and pulled.

“That’s an emergency exit,” he said with a chuckle.

“You’re an emergency exit,” she muttered as she crossed to the other side of the room.