Page 16 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

Wendy stood with a bat in her hands, elbows up, ready to swing at whatever Sebastien threw her way.

Her shirt was already sticking to her in the mid-day heat, but for once, she didn’t care if her appearance was less than pristine.

Her friend had seen her after games where her hair was matted to her head and her red uniform maroon from the dirt.

At least the trees in the orchard provided some shade.

Sebastien picked up a peach among the ones that had fallen to the ground.

He drew his hands to his chest, then threw the fruit right in her strike zone.

It broke apart like a firework and hung in the surrounding air before gravity took over and dragged it down.

A large piece of peach clung to the wood for dear life, but skimmed off the side and fell into the dirt.

“Home run!” she yelled.

“Ha! A double at most. Maybe a triple if the shortstop was fantasizing of a life with me.” Even after living in the States for a decade, the combination of a French-Italian accent was all it took for him to be charming and make most women swoon, but Wendy was immune.

He picked another peach up off the ground, ready to throw again.

“I still can’t believe you’re here. You’re such a sneak.

Must be that two years of military training,” she said.

Fruit pieces surrounded her feet and she tried not to step in the mess.

Sebastien was one of the few people she felt safe around, where she could be unguarded and relaxed.

Mostly because she had already lost him to Brandi, even though her cousin didn’t seem to have any clue.

She pointed her bat at the hulking guest who had followed them to the orchard. He stood soldier-straight next to a tree, out of the way but keeping his eyes everywhere. “Your bodyguards could have just told me they were here for you.”

“They had to check out you and the grounds before they’d let me stay. Apparently you passed muster.”

He pitched another one, and she skillfully hit it far enough over his head that he had to jump to field it. The peach hit the tree and dropped on his head to the shoulders of his white linen shirt. When he shot her an annoyed look, she flipped her bat in a three-sixty and caught the handle.

“Showoff.” He trotted over and encompassed her in a hug, rubbing her with his fruit-covered hair while she laughed and tried to fend him off. “I had to come, mon caneton . It pained me that I couldn’t make it for the funeral.” His arms tightened around her, but out of friendship, not revenge.

“I know you had family demands. The flowers were beautiful. You remembered peonies were her favorite.”

“And I was worried about you.”

“Me?” She stayed plastered to his broad chest, her eye jammed against a button. “I’m handling it.”

He stepped back and raised an eyebrow at her, then waved his man away with a regal flick of his wrist. “Go get some lunch, Lo?c.”

“Your Highness…”

Sebastien gave a polite cough accompanied by a glare that spoke more than any words.

It was hard to imagine someone so imposing looking disturbed, but Lo?c managed it well. “Sir, calling you by your given name is inappropriate. ”

“Then call me Leonardo. Or Claude. As long as you don’t call me you-know-what. Now skedaddle.”

The man bowed. “Very well, Mr. Leonardo.”

“Isn’t he supposed to, like, protect you or something? Because I certainly can’t, not even with this bat.” The man’s surprisingly limber body crested the hill to the house. “How can he do that if you’re not even occupying the same acre?”

“They’re here to do my bidding and to make sure I don’t break a nail. And I wanted you to be able to tell me the truth without additional ears.” He led Wendy to one of the stone benches scattered along the border of the orchard. “How are you, really?”

Wendy shrugged, keeping her eyes on the hand entwined with hers.

“I’m okay.” Truth was, if she gave voice to her loss and whatever was happening to her when Dr. Upshaw was around, everything she’d tucked neatly inside would leak like a hole in the Hoover Dam.

Sebastien couldn’t do anything about it anyway, so there was no point.

He tapped her nose with his finger. “Liar.”

Wendy fought the sting that pricked her eyes at his concern. It was a losing battle. A tear ran down her cheek and she scrubbed it away. “She left me Fountenoy Hall.”

“That can’t be too much of a surprise. Didn’t you live here in high school? And you were always dragging me back here during breaks.” He leaned back, taking in the rich earth and the overhang of trees. “Hell, even I have fond memories of spending Christmas here.”

“My grandma still has the sketch you did of her in the kitchen.” She heaved out a breath. “She left the Hall to me and Brandi.”

His eyebrows lifted into his ginger hair.

“Okay, that’s a little bit of a surprise.

I thought Brandilynn had grandiose ideas that didn’t include being a hotel proprietress.

” He kissed the top of Wendy’s head and put his arm around her.

“Your Grandma loved you so much. I saw it every time I visited. She was an amazing woman. ”

Wendy snuggled into his chest, so thankful for the day they met her first year of college.

“I hope my being here and taking over your life isn’t going to mess up your carefully planned day,” Sebastien said. “I know how much fluctuations in your schedule piss you off.”

“You’re worth it.” But that didn’t mean she wanted to examine her life, so she latched on to a subject sure to divert him.

“Are you going to stop wasting time and ask Brandi out now?” Ah, fiddlesticks.

She’d have to find out if her cousin’s late nights and missed shifts were because of a guy before encouraging Sebastien any further.

“I’ll have to see if she’s ready for me.” His voice remained cheerful. Wendy didn’t call him on the underlying hurt. He was allowed to have his secrets, too. “Blow off this thing you call a job tomorrow and let’s find a party. When was the last time you took a night for yourself?”

She pulled away from Sebastien and tugged on her hair, making her voice remain even. “I have to drive my mom to the airport. And I’m on call the next day. You and Brandi go.”

“Something tells me you need more fun than your cousin. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Wendy hopped off the bench and picked up the bat. “Do you want to hit or take your chances with a peach shower again?”

Sebastien did neither. He wrapped his arms around Wendy and finished coating her with the remnants of the juice on his shirt.

It was hard not to laugh, and he finally put her down. “You’re so doing my laundry,” she said.

“But not until Laundry Day.”

“I hate you.”

A man approached over the hill, his attention glued to the tablet in his hands. Wendy could tell by the way his hair shone with auburn highlights and his lanky gait that it was Rob Upshaw. He must be following Grandma’s layout of the tour .

He stopped about twenty feet from them and his head snapped up as if he felt her looking.

His gaze flickered between her and Sebastien before an insincere smile planted itself on his mouth as he continued his approach. Wendy shifted away from her friend, feeling like she was caught snacking between meals.

Sebastien, the bastard, ran a hand down her back, a gleam of curiosity brightening his face. “And who is this tall, dark, and glowering man?” he murmured.

She ignored him and called out to Rob. “Taking a stroll?” She kept her voice light, but the resigned look on his face cut her in a way she didn’t understand.

“Just practicing for the tour.” He approached and held out his hand to Sebastien, who took it. “Doctor Robert Upshaw. You must be Ms. Marsh’s boyfriend.”

“Sebastien Casagnes.” He turned to Wendy. “Am I your boyfriend?”

“No.”

Rob’s dark lashes swept closed at her answer. When he opened them again, his expression became hard to read. Satisfied, surprised, hungry… she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

But she knew it was about her.

She couldn’t afford to indulge in the pleasure his attention brought her. Ignoring her pounding heart, she walked over to the nearest tree and tugged a fat piece of fruit. “When was the last time you had a peach this newly picked?” She tossed it to Sebastien.

“Last time I was here.” He took a bite. “This is good, but nothing compared to the peach dessert with a warmed caramel glaze my dad’s chef made last week.”

“You are such a snob.” She accepted his rudeness with nothing more than a flick of her ponytail.

He took another bite, then stretched his arms and gave a huge yawn.

“And this snob needs to get to his room for a shower and a mid-morning nap. I don’t need a reminder on my phone to tell me.

” He winked at Wendy when she stuck out her tongue.

“I’ll catch you later, mon caneton .” He headed back to the Hall.

Leaving her alone with Rob.

“Your turn.” She held up another peach, expecting him to take it.

Instead, he gently grasped her wrist and brought her hand up to his mouth. His gaze seized hers, and she had to control the shiver of desire that shot through her. His lips opened to take a bite of the sweet fruit. “Incredible,” he said, his voice husky.

Juice dripped down his chin, and her brain occupied itself by fighting with her feet on the benefits of rising on her toes to lick it off. She wet her lips. “Uh-huh.”

He moved her wrist out of his way, clearing the path between their breaths. But he did nothing, only waited while a bird called out and a squirrel darted up a tree.

It would be so easy to give in to the rush making her stomach squirm, to finally know what his lips would feel like on hers and explore the tingling in her body. Instead, she firmly shoved the fruit in his mouth and let go, forcing him to grab it before it fell.

“Keep your mouth to yourself, mister,” she said.

“I will if you will.”

She narrowed her eyes at the challenge. “Oh, I will.”