by E. L. Todd
He nodded his head slowly.
Phew, were we out of the woods? Did I pull that off? I was a terrible liar and actor. Trinity could see through my lies so easily. I just wasn’t good at it. I was so honest all the time that lying was one of my shortcomings.
“Well, it’s nice to know they are happy.”
“They’re super happy,” I blurted.
Mike seemed to be satisfied with that response. “I’m heading out. Got to shower and get ready for dinner.”
“Me too. My lady gets grouchy when I’m not home.”
“Trinity,” he corrected.
“My lady—whatever.”
***
“Have fun boxing with my dad?” she asked when I walked inside.
“Yeah, I guess.”
She stepped away from the stove and gave me a sad look. “Went too hard on you?”
“No,” I snapped. “It was the other way around.”
She looked skeptical.
“Look, I may not be able to take him on purely in strength but my Krav Maga could rip him apart.”
She nodded in agreement. “True.”
I pinned her to the counter and kissed her. “How was your day?”
She rolled her eyes. “Adam wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.”
I was drawing a blank. “Who’s that?”
“The guy you threw the condoms at in the store.”
“Oh…” I smiled in guilt. “Whoops.”
She pushed me away gently. “I need to get back to dinner.”
I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back to me. “Why don’t we make something in the bedroom…?”
“The food is on the stove.”
“So?” I pulled her to me and immediately felt her melt into my arms. “Come on, I’m really horny right now.”
“Because you went boxing with my dad?” she asked with a worried expression.
“No. Because I walked in the door and saw you. I’m gonna need at least two rounds.”
“Whatever gets me pregnant.” She headed toward the bedroom.
I stripped my clothes off as I followed her. “That’s the spirit.”
Chapter Thirteen
Beatrice
The wine bar was a success, and the people came pouring in every night. I assumed we would have enough business to keep the wine bar going but I didn’t realize it would be such a popular hang out spot.
No complaints.
Working with Jared was easy because he understood the business side of running a restaurant better than I did. I was better with the wine and working face-to-face with the customers. Some had questions about the wine and where it was from, and some even asked about the fermentation process. That was definitely my area of expertise, not Jared’s.
The bar wasn’t exactly cheap so we got a lot of upscale people. They were from all over the world and had interesting stories to tell. I wasn’t necessarily a waitress but I walked around the tables and acted as an extra hand. I usually wore black and did my hair in a nice up do. The light music played in the background, and the noise level of conversations was low.
“Excuse me?”
I turned at the sound of the voice. It was a young man, probably a few years younger than me. He wore a black blazer on top of a gray collared shirt. His brown hair was a little long but he styled it just the right way. “Yes, sir. Did you need something?” He was sitting alone, or at least the person he came with had vacated the chair.
“Are you the owner of this establishment?” He was articulate, and pronounced every word like each one was important, but he didn’t do it in an aristocratic way.
“Yes, I am,” I said proudly. “I hope you’re having as much fun visiting it as I am running it.”
His lips stretched into a small smile. “I am, actually.” He indicated to the seat across from him. “Join me.”
“As much as I would love to, I’m working.”
“Come on, you have plenty of help.” He said it with a smile on his face and didn’t come off too pushy.
“Five minutes.” I sat down across from him.
His eyes were glued to me and he never looked away. “Did you open this place on your own? Or is there someone else behind the scenes?”
“I opened it with a friend.” I looked over my shoulder and eyed the register where Jared was standing. “Him.”
His eyes followed my look. “You’re both very young.”
“Well, he already owns a bar so this was a second project of his. I jumped on the bandwagon.”
He nodded like he was impressed. “My name is Jordan. What’s yours?”
“Beatrice.”
“Beautiful name.”
“Thanks. Your name reminds me of Michael Jordan, in a good way.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps that’s who my parents named me after.”
“He’s a great basketball player. And an even better actor. Space Jam all the way.”
He laughed harder this time. “I loved that movie as a kid.”
“That makes two of us.”
A smile still lingered on his lips as he stared at me. “You’re very charming. Now I understand why this place is so busy all the time.”
“I guess it wasn’t the wine or food…ouch.”
He chuckled. “Those are great too. But the one thing better than good food and wine is good company.” He continued to watch me without blinking or looking away.
His gaze was intense and full of confidence. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your dinner.” I started to move out of the seat.
“How do you know so much about wine?” He ignored everything I said right before that.
“My family owns a vineyard in Connecticut. It’s where I learned my trade.”
He nodded. “And which winery?”
“Satini Winery.”
He didn’t react to the name. “You have good wine.” He grabbed the bottle off his table. He shook it and no liquid moved around. “As you can see…”
“I like it. I try not to drink too much when I’m at work.”
“You still work there?”
“Part-time. My brother does all the heavy lifting now but I like to help out.”
“Your parents retired?” he asked.
“No, they passed away.” Knowing both of them were gone was painful, but it got easier with every passing day.
“I’m sorry.” The emotion was in his eyes and he seemed sincere. A lot of people just said that because they didn’t know what else to say. For the first time he lowered his gaze and didn’t watch me.
“Anyway…I should get back to work.” I rose from the seat and pushed the chair in.
He didn’t object this time. He raised his glass as if he was giving me a toast. “Congratulations, Beatrice Satini. Your wine bar is a success.”
“Thank you, Jordan.”
He nodded in acknowledgment.
I walked away and felt his gaze drill into my back. I reached the counter where Jared stood. He rang up someone before he turned to me.
“Did he give you any trouble?” The protective side of Jared had come out to play.
“No.” I flipped through the reservation book to make sure everything was on schedule.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
Jared continued to watch me. “Did he ask you out?”
Why was he asking me a million questions? “No.” My feelings for Jared hadn’t changed, and I didn’t like it when he showed this side of him. It gave me false hope that he might be jealous. Sometimes he gave me mixed signals and I didn’t know what to make of it.
Jared finally dropped the subject. “A few people called for a reservation but we’re booked.”
“Wow…maybe we should have rented out a bigger place.”
“I think small places are more quaint. That’s my experience, anyway.” He turned his full attention on me. “The people love you here.”
“Just because I know so much about wine.” I chuckled to myself.
“This place wouldn’t be nearly as successful if I did it on my own.” A look of gratitude was in his eyes. “After a few paychecks we need to go somewhere nice.”
“Like we could afford to take time off work.”
“Hey, the place will live on without us. I’m thinking Italy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I’m not. We could really do it.”
“I have family there but I’ve never met them.”
“And I don’t know anyone there. We’ll get lost together.”
I turned away before the conversation could continue. “I have work to do.”
***
“The wine bar is a success?” Jeremy asked.
“Yep. I can’t believe it either.”
“I can,” he said. “You and Jared are both keen business people.”
“Wait…did you just give me a compliment?” I looked up from my clipboard and regarded him with surprise.
He patted my shoulder. “Treasure it. It may never happen again.” He moved to the barrels and started to label them for the shipment.
I shook my head but there was a smile on my face.
“So…anything new with Jared?”
I knew what he was really asking. He was trying to be a protective father but also a gossiping mother. “No. We’re just friends, Jeremy.”
He turned back to me. “Why is that?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re terrible at this. Just give it a rest.”
He laughed. “That’s not why I’m asking. I’m genuinely interested.”
I shrugged. “We’re too good of friends for something more.”
“I don’t buy that,” he said. “There’s something more going on.”
Was I seriously going to have girl talk with my brother? “I…told him how I felt but he didn’t feel the same way.”
“Oh…” His eyebrows fell in disappointment. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. We’re still friends.” Thankfully.
“He really said that?” He had a hard time believing it.
“Yes.”
“It just seems like…nevermind.”
I knew what he meant. Sometimes it seemed like I was more than just a best friend. But I guess I’d been reading him wrong and so had my brother. “There are other fish in the sea, Jeremy.”
“Well, you better throw your line in the water before you’re too old to have children.”
I kicked him playfully.
He laughed. “I’m half teasing, half being serious.”
“I know.” I kicked him again.
He finished labeling the barrels then set them at the end of the loading dock for the truck. “That shipment is done. Do you need anymore for your wine bar?”
“Actually, a lot more. We’re almost sold out.”
“I’m going to have to start charging you,” he teased.
“Hey, I’m working for free now. So, I earned it.”
We headed back to the storage unit passed the lobby.
“Jeremy?” Vanessa asked from the front desk.
“Yes?” he asked.
“You have a customer here to see you. He’s interested in ordering a large supply. He asked for Beatrice but I assumed you’d both want to be involved.”
“Sure,” Jeremy said. “Where is he?”
“He’s waiting in your office,” Vanessa explained.
“Thank you.” Jeremy and I walked down the hall.
“If people keep buying our wine like this we aren’t going to have any left,” I said with a chuckle.
“I wouldn’t mind closing down until the next harvest. I get to spend more time with Raisin.”
“And I can be a slave at the wine bar.”
We entered his office, and I almost gasped when I saw Jordan sitting in the armchair in front of the desk.
Jeremy caught my reaction but didn’t question me in front of him. “Hello, I’m Jeremy.” He extended his hand to shake Jordan’s.
Jordan stood up then took it. “Pleasure.” He wore dark jeans that fit him snugly with a black t-shirt with a brown leather jacket on top. Aviators hung from the front pocket. Then he turned to me, and there was no surprise on his face. “Beatrice, we meet again.” He extended his hand.
I took it and retained my cool composure. “We do.” His hand was much larger than mine, and it was distinctly warm. I dropped it then clung to my clipboard. This wasn’t a coincidence. He came out here because I told him I worked here. Was that creepy? Or was it not creepy because he was so handsome?
“So, you’re looking for wine?” Jeremy asked.
“Yes.” Jordan turned his attention to my brother. “A lot of it. I own a few venues across the state that are rented out for weddings and social events. The wine needs to keep flowing.”
It didn’t surprise me he was wealthy.
“Then you came to the right place,” Jordan said. “I’ll show you around.”
“Actually, I was hoping Beatrice would.” He turned to me. “She’s an expert in wine, as she proved last night.”
Jeremy regarded him coldly, and the protective older brother started to emerge.
“We met at the wine bar,” I explained. “He’s a customer.”
“And a loyal one,” Jordan said.
“I’ll be fine, Jeremy.” I answered his unspoken question.
Jordan and I walked out together and headed to the vineyard.
“This is where all the magic happens.”
He looked across the fields and the small hills. The sun was shining bright, and the grape leaves moved through the small breeze. “It’s beautiful.”
“I have a view from my office. It’s a little distracting.”
“I can imagine.” He stood close to me but didn’t touch me.
I escorted him down the aisle and showed him the different types of grapes we had. Then I showed him the storage room where all the barrels were kept. He took everything in with an awestruck look. “It’s impressive.”
“How much were you looking to order?”
“While the barrels are beautiful I think bottles would be more practical for my business.”
“Probably.” I took him to a separate room where we kept our storage of bottled wine.
He examined the rows and cases. “That’s a lot of wine.”
“I come here on my break and usually have a glass.”
“Talk about living the dream,” he teased.
I grabbed a few bottles along with some glasses. Then I set everything up on a table along with some Brie. He sat across from me and wouldn’t take his eyes off me. I poured the first glass and pushed it toward him. “This is a nice red wine. It’s a little bitter but it’s especially good with the right meal.”
He smelled the wine before he took a drink. He savored the taste before he nodded. “That is good.”
I poured another bottle then pressed the wine to him. “This is white wine. It’s a little sweet for a non-dessert wine. But it’s still good. The fermentation process is longer so there’s more sugar.”
He took a sip. “I really like that one. I can picture that at my venues.”
“We’ll keep that one in mind then.” I continued to pour the different glasses and let him sample them.
“I didn’t just come here for the wine.” He said it without preamble and there was confidence in his look. “But I do intend to buy what you’re selling.”
“So, you came to hit on me and not waste my time?” I said it in a playful way so he didn’t think I was being rude. It took a lot of courage to strike up a conversation with a stranger then ask them out.
He smiled slightly. “Exactly.”
“Well, let’s pick out the wine first before we get to the other part.”
He chuckled. “Sure.” He ordered a few hundred bottles of the different wines. He didn’t need them right away, so that gave us time to manufacture more.
“How did you get into the business?”
“Inheritance,”
he answered. “It’s a busy job but I love it. People make their memories on my property. It’s pretty satisfying.”
At least he was humble about it. “That’s very cool.”
“So.” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. He turned aggressive like he was ready to claim what he came here for. “I was smitten with you last night. You’re beautiful, elegant, and as I already said, charming. Let me take you out to dinner.”
My cheeks filled with color. “That’s very sweet.”
“And I’ve never done this before.”
“What? Asked out a girl?”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Drove all the way to their office just for another conversation.”
“Oh…” My cheeks blushed further. “I’m flattered.”
“How about dinner tomorrow night?”
While I had feelings for Jared, I knew that wasn’t going anywhere. Fireworks that could set the world on fire went off behind my eyes when we kissed. But he said he didn’t see me that way and I wasn’t going to wait around for him to change his mind. “I would love to. But…there’s something you should know.”
“I’m all ears.”
“That guy I work with at the bar…I kind of have a thing for him. I told him how I felt but he turned me down.”
Instead of looking jealous or disappointed, his eyes fell. “Is he gay?” He kept a straight face as he asked it.
“No. He just doesn’t feel the same way. Anyway, you should know that. It would be unfair for me to go out with you without telling you that. And I also understand if you don’t want to go out with me at all.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t bother me in the least.”
“Oh…” I wasn’t expecting him to say that.
“I’ll make you forget about him.” He took another drink of his wine. He said it in a confident way, not arrogant. He had a good balance. “And I think he’s gay.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“And he turned you down?”
Why was it so hard to understand? “Yes.”
“There’s no other explanation. There’s no way in hell a guy would say no to you.”
“I’m flattered by the compliment but I’m nothing special.”