by J. H. Croix
A few minutes later, I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when he reappeared from the bathroom, blessedly dressed with damp hair. My body couldn’t decide if it was disappointed he wasn’t shirtless or relieved he was fully clothed so I didn’t do anything stupid like last night.
I had a bagel in the toaster. Looking over, I asked, “Would you like a bagel?”
“I’d love one,” he replied.
“Coffee is ready,” I added as I turned and reached out to get a mug from the cabinet.
Jasper was quiet until I handed him the bagel with a small bowl of cream cheese. “Let me guess, you made this cream cheese and seasoned it with fresh herbs.” His lips were quirking with a smile when I looked over, and I felt a flash of heat flood my cheeks.
“Yes to both.”
After he spread some cream cheese on a bagel, he took a bite and let out a moan. My belly spun in flips. I certainly hoped I could get a handle on my body in the next few days. Because I had a month ahead of me with Jasper here, and I didn’t want to be feeling this crazy inside the whole time.
“You’re going to spoil me,” he said after he finished chewing.
“I doubt that,” I replied.
We ate quietly at the table together. After I stood and carried our plates to the sink, he spoke. “I looked at the accounting spreadsheets. The recession did hit your grandmother hard. She had a solid business, so it’s just a matter of getting back on even footing.”
Turning, I leaned my hips against the counter, curling my hands around the edge. “That’s what I thought. Since she died, it’s just taking a little while for me to get up to speed. I’m sure I can figure it out.”
I wanted to ask him questions, but the most pressing one was whether he was going to push me to agree to let him sell his half. I didn’t really want to have that conversation just yet.
“I, um, need to get to work. I have to feed the chickens and check on the goats,” I muttered. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
He watched me as I pushed away from the counter, then surprised me when he stood from the table. “Why don’t I help?”
Startled, I swung back toward him. He shrugged lightly. “I have to be here for a month. I’m not one who enjoys being idle.”
I stared at him, actually biting my bottom lip to keep from blurting out a refusal. Because that was rude. He was offering to help, and I could always use help, but I also needed to be nice. Being nice might increase the chances that he would just go back to England in his suit and be a silent partner like his grandfather.
“Sure,” I finally bit out.
Chapter Nine
Jasper
Anna was tense. “Right there,” she said, pointing at a stack of hay bales. “It’s alfalfa. It’s their favorite.”
“How much?”
“Two sections. You’ll see as soon as you cut the ties. It’ll fall off in sections.”
She turned away, opening a bin against the wall and scooping out some kind of grain. We were in the barn where the chickens and goats were. This was apparently the feed room, as she’d explained when we walked in. Hay was stacked against one wall with bins mounted on the other.
“What do you feed the chickens?” I asked, determined to be friendly despite her frosty demeanor.
“Leftover vegetables and the regular feed along with some cracked corn. That’s kind of a treat for them,” she explained.
I followed her out. “You can just toss the alfalfa into their stall.” She pointed over her shoulder, not even looking back at me.
It was all fine and well for her to ignore me because I was having enough trouble keeping my reaction to her in check. She was back in her overalls, but this time, she wore a V-neck T-shirt underneath.
Unfortunately for me, Anna yanked on my chain big time. With zero effort, she had my entire body humming. It was a constant low vibration of electricity. Her strawberry blond curls were pulled up into a messy ponytail. Her T-shirt didn’t do a damn thing to hide the lush curves of her breasts and only drew attention to the shadowed valley between.
I stopped by the goats’ stall. Jasper poked his nose through the wooden slats and nipped at my knee. “Hey, easy there,” I said. “I’ve got your breakfast. You’ll be surprised to know it’s not my jeans.”
I tossed the hay into the stall and watched as they quickly began happily jumping on it. Jasper was a little guy with black spots on his white rump and a big black splotch on his chest. Tinker Bell was all white and a little zippy as she moved around the stall and tried to beat Jasper with her speed of chewing.
Curious about the chickens, I walked over to find Anna had stepped outside and opened the gate. She scattered the cracked corn on the ground and filled the feeder with the other food.
“How’s the water doing?” she asked the chickens, I supposed.
When she bent over, I had an unfortunately awesome view of her round bottom. Although her overalls were loose, they couldn’t hide all her curves. She straightened and turned, her eyes widening when she saw me there. “Oh. I didn’t realize you wanted to help with the chickens. I’m getting the eggs now.”
She picked up a set of gloves on the shelf just inside the chicken coop. “Mandy is broody,” she explained.
I had no idea what she was talking about, so I just followed her into the small fenced area. The chicken I presumed to be Mandy was copper colored and was sitting in one of the boxes filled with hay. The moment Anna attempted to reach out to her, Mandy pecked at her hand.
Anna spoke in a soothing voice. “Easy, girl. I’m just getting your eggs. You can lay some more for tomorrow.”
After Anna slipped out four eggs, Mandy hopped onto the ground and hurried out to eat with the rest of the chickens. The only rooster eyed me from where he stood on top of an overturned plastic bucket. He let out a call, and I could’ve sworn he gave me a defensive look, almost as if to say, “See, I’m in charge here.”
Anna glanced over to him and laughed. “He’s a man, Randy, but he doesn’t want your girls.”
“Oh, so I’m not crazy?” I asked as we walked out.
“Well, I wouldn’t know the answer to that,” she said when she stopped and looked up at me, holding the eggs carefully in her hands.
“I thought he was giving me a look. Your rooster, that is.”
“Oh, for sure. He’s very protective of his girls, and you’re a man. He knows it.”
I followed her back into the winery kitchen. “Would you like another omelet?” she asked as she rinsed the eggs in the sink and set them in a bowl.
“You can be rest assured I won’t refuse any food you offer me. I’ve discovered you’re an incredible cook.”
Anna’s cheeks went pink, and she turned away quickly. “Omelet, it is.” She strode over to the refrigerator and peered inside. “How do fresh red peppers with feta and mushrooms sound for it?”
“Excellent.”
She got to cooking, and I wondered how to busy myself. She clearly didn’t like being alone with me. I was going to stick this month out because I planned to sell, and I had to persuade her to go along with it.
The door to the back opened, and Eloise came through the door. “Good morning. So nice to see you again, Jasper. I understand from Anna that we’ll get the pleasure of your company all month.” Eloise had a twang to her voice, and I guessed it to be Southern.
“Good morning as well. I’ll try to be of service while I’m here,” I replied.
Smoothing her hand over her gray curls, Eloise smiled as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on a hook by the door. “There’s always more than enough to do. Shall I show you the winery process today?”
Anna turned, and I could tell she was about to open her mouth to say something, but she bit her bottom lip. The moment I saw her white teeth dent the smooth pink surface, electricity sizzled down my spine. I was beginning to regret turning her down for that kiss last night.
Chapter Ten
Anna
“Relax,”
Eloise said at my side.
With my hands in the gardening sink, I was rinsing off my tools. Restless to escape the pressure of being around Jasper, I’d gone out to the greenhouse to plant some fresh seedlings for flowers. I didn’t really need to do this, but gardening always soothed me. Except now. It didn’t seem much of anything could soothe my rattled state.
“I can’t,” I said as I rinsed a spade and hung it on the rack mounted on the wall beside me. “He owns half this place. And frankly, if his grandfather hadn’t chosen to invest, we wouldn’t be here now. There’s no way Gram could’ve kept it afloat. I’ve seen the numbers myself. She lost so much money during the recession.”
“I know, but he can’t sell without your written permission,” Eloise pointed out.
I leaned my hips against the stainless-steel sink and crossed my arms. “I know he can’t, but he can tell me what to do. He owns half the business. He can make this pretty uncomfortable for me if I refuse to agree. Plus, I know he wants to sell. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.”
Eloise gave me a reassuring smile. “True, but I don’t think he’s evil. Just a little out of his element and grumpy.”
“He’s used to being in charge,” I muttered with a sigh.
“So what if he is?” She shrugged. “I personally think he’s quite handsome,” she offered with a wink.
“I’d have to be blind not to notice that.” I didn’t dare mention my tipsy attempt to kiss him last night. Lord knows, I’d never hear the end of it from Eloise. She was always on me to be more social and telling me I shouldn’t work so hard.
I didn’t have time for fun. All I ever wanted in my life was stability. My parents, God bless them, were happy-go-lucky souls who floated between a few communes when I was a little girl. Eventually, they decided I should stay full-time with my grandparents because I was falling behind in school due to the disruptions. From when I was eleven onward, I stayed with my grandmother. My grandfather passed away only a year after I moved in with them, so it was me and Gram from then on.
My parents were still around, which surprised me. They popped by occasionally, offering their haphazard love. They had a habit of asking Gram for money, which definitely hadn’t helped her financial situation.
When Gram died, I’d been devastated because she was the only beacon of stability in my life. It broke my heart a little to be scrambling to straighten things out with the vineyard and flower farm she’d left me. I thought if I could just get us back on solid financial footing, I could breathe. Jasper’s presence threw all of that into question.
“Hon, stop worrying so much. He’s here for the month, so let him learn about the business and just see what happens. And remember, you do not have to sign that agreement for him to sell,” Eloise said firmly.
Pushing my hips away from the sink, I let my arms drop. “I’ll try. I just don’t want it to be a tense situation.”
“I doubt he’s going to stay in California. I looked him up last night. He inherited that whole investment operation from his grandfather,” Eloise said, waving her hand vaguely in the air. “He’s got plenty to keep him busy back in London. I would imagine he’ll just leave you in peace once he realizes you won’t agree to the sale.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Later on, Eloise graciously took Jasper all over the place with her. I wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted, but she was hard to resist. She was her own force of nature, like a harsh wind where if you didn’t tuck your head down, it might blow the hair off your head.
Meanwhile, I snuck upstairs to look at the accounts again. I wished I could figure out how to make the numbers work so I could just buy Jasper out. That would solve all my problems.
Unfortunately, if there was one thing I’d learned about math, it was that staring at the numbers didn’t change them. Another hour later, I closed my laptop in frustration and practically stomped down the stairs. I needed to plan the menu for the wine tasting we had this week.
Eloise poked her head into where I was working downstairs with my feet hooked on the rungs of a stool at the bar with a notebook in front of me. “I’m gone for the evening,” she called. “Jasper is on the loose.”
For a second, I thought she meant my goat. “Oh, did he get out again?”
“No,” Jasper’s crisp reply came as he walked in behind Eloise through the swinging door.
“This Jasper,” she said with a grin in his direction.
“Good night,” she called, and I lifted my hand in a wave.
I wanted to invite her to stay and help me, but I didn’t have the money to pay her extra. Also, I would only be asking so I wasn’t stuck alone with Jasper. That would involve asking Eloise to move in, which was ridiculous.
After she left, Jasper approached, resting his palms flat on the bar across from me as he glanced down at the notebooks before bringing his gaze back to me.
Meanwhile, I was staring at his hands. He had really great hands. His hands were strong with long, almost elegant fingers. I’d discovered he was no pansy when it came to actual labor. He’d rebuilt the rickety gate into the chicken coop in the middle of the day. I hadn’t even asked him, but Eloise had.
A little shiver raced through me at the thought of having him touch me. I swung my eyes up to find him watching, always watching. I instantly felt hot, heat racing over my skin and flooding my cheeks.
“How was your day?” I asked, my voice coming out squeaky.
“It was lovely.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Lovely?”
His lips twitched. “Perhaps that was overdoing it a bit. It was nice. Eloise showed me all about the wine-making process and the schedule. She also asked me to fix the gate to the chicken coop.”
“I saw that. Thank you. I haven’t had time to get to it,” I said stiffly, hating the defensiveness that started to rise inside.
“You’re handling a lot,” he said, his gaze assessing me. “You could hire more help.”
“I can’t—” I paused, giving my head a little shake. “We can’t afford it.”
He was quiet for a moment before his eyes flicked down to my notebook. “What are you working on?”
“Oh, a menu for the wine tasting tomorrow. I think better when I write by hand.”
“Can I see?”
“Sure.” I didn’t really want to show him, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice. It wasn’t that I had an issue with him seeing the menu, but more that I just felt plain uncomfortable about this entire situation. I turned my notebook around and slid it across the counter to him.
He lifted it, resting a hip against the bar as he turned to the side. While he was perusing it, I took the moment to absorb him. He lifted his hand, running it through his dark hair. My eyes tracked the flex of his shoulder and forearm. This man made a plain navy T-shirt look incredible. As I trailed my gaze over the corded muscles in his back, my mouth actually watered as an unsettling heat suffused me.
Why, oh why, did I have to be so attracted to this man? Of all men.
He set my notebook down, his intent eyes shifting back to me. “Of course, it all looks amazing. The crackers with goat cheese and orange honey sound dangerously good.”
“I work with what we have here. We have bees here.”
He arched a brow. “Of course, you have bees.”
I felt suddenly defensive. “What do you mean, ‘of course’?”
Chapter Eleven
Jasper
“I simply mean everything you make is from here. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, Anna. I wish you wouldn’t take every comment I make as a prelude to a criticism.”
Anna let out a huff and pushed away from the bar, standing and curling her arms around her waist as she crossed over to the windows. Over the vineyard was an absolutely stunning sunset, casting the hillside with its rows of grapes in a pink and lavender wash.
For a beat, I felt a twinge of guilt about my comment, but for fuck’s sake she needed to stop assuming I was judging ev
erything she did.
Although, my critical voice picked up in my thoughts. You are here to persuade her to agree to you selling. Of course, she sees you as the enemy.
I rounded the bar, crossing over to the windows to stand beside her. “We don’t have to argue for the entire month,” I commented.
Anna dropped her arms, turning to face me. “You just show up in my world, telling me what to do. I’m just trying to straighten this out. Why can’t you—” She let out some kind of growly sound.
“Did you just growl?”
She narrowed her eyes. “So what if I did?” As we stood there, staring at each other as if we were ready to debate, it felt as if the air filled with sparks, gathering a charge.
I wasn’t even thinking when she threw her hand in the air. “You’re so—” She actually growled again.
“So what?” I asked as I curled my hand around hers and stepped closer.
Okay, touching Anna was like touching a live wire. The moment we made contact, an electrical charge zigzagged through my entire body. Her cheeks went pink, and her lips parted with a startled gasp.
We stood there with our hands twined together. My thumb had landed just over her pulse on the inside of her wrist, and I could feel it humming along at a wild pace.
When Anna took a breath, I felt her breasts brush against my chest and the tight points of her nipples. Some curls had fallen loose from her ponytail and were dangling around her cheeks and neck. Her scent—earthy, sensual, and sweet— swirled around me, and it was intoxicating.
My capacity for thought had taken off like a burglar after a robbery. I wasn’t thinking, not even a little, when I stepped a fraction closer and stared into her eyes. “I forgot something,” I murmured.
Her mouth parted, her question coming out in a frayed whisper. “What?”