by Hoff, Stacy
“Why, yes, I do have an idea. Be sure to talk to them for no more than five minutes a day. I hear that works wonders.”
“I get it, now we’re talking about you. I told you already, I’ll be done next week.”
“You wanted the secret, I’m simply supplying the formula.”
“I was going to tell you this after my project’s done, but considering how snippy you’re acting, I’d better tell you now. I’m taking you out for your birthday.”
“For a whole hour? Or do I get two? If we’re going out to dinner, I can eat fast to minimize your lost time.”
“Very funny. You’ll love what I’ve got planned, I promise.”
I calm down a minute to let his words sink in. “All right. I’m sorry. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but don’t you want to know what’s in store?”
“If you say it’s going to be great, then I trust you.”
“I want to give you something to look forward to. We’re going wine tasting in Litchfield County next Saturday. It will be last year’s bouquets due to the time of year, but it should be fun.”
“I’m sure it will be.” I grin widely. “Suppose I’m snippy in Litchfield?” I tease.
“I’m sure you will be. That’s why I’m taking you to a place where there will be plenty of wine. It will either soften you up or make you pass out. I’m good either way.”
“Optimist.”
He laughs. “I’ll miss you until then. ‘Night, beautiful.”
CHAPTER 29
It’s an uncharacteristically warm day. Overcast, but not threatening. The drive through Litchfield County to the vineyards is beautiful. The wine tour’s samples from the prior season are delicious. The tour, though muddy, a lot of fun. It’s all ending much too soon.
We make our way back to his car. “Thank you for such a great time.”
He takes my hand to give it a kiss.
I can feel myself blush. “Are we going back to Hartford now?”
“Not yet. Taking you out for your birthday should include dinner, don’t you think?”
“Sure. I just didn’t know how much time you had.”
“I’ve got a handle on my work, sort of. Now that the hearing’s over, I still have everything else that needs to be done. But I’m not dealing with any of that at this minute. I’m with you now, and it’s your birthday.”
“It’s not the seventh yet,” I tease.
He shoots me a grin. “I say it’s your birthday. Don’t argue with me.”
“Hmmm. We should argue about something. How about where we’ll eat?”
“Already taken care of,” he says as we drive off.
It’s a short ride to wherever it is we’re going. “Here we are,” he says cheerily. We’ve arrived at an antique colonial cottage. The painted sign has grape vines stenciled around the words Vineyards’ Inn.
“Come on,” he says, getting out of the car. We head to the front of the cottage where the restaurant is.
“Grant,” he says to the hostess. A gray haired woman walks us to the back of the restaurant to a table with a little sign that says: “Reserved.” It’s directly in front of an old, ornately carved stone fireplace that has a fire burning. The fire’s heat feels good and I hold out my hands to it. The temperature outside has dropped, and I’m trying to stave off shivering. The fireplace gives our table more light than any other in the candlelit dining room. The shadows thrown around us create a very pretty picture.
“Were you ever here before?” I ask as we take our seats.
He laughs. “No. I don’t recycle restaurants. Why?”
“You might have known to request this table. It’s perfect.”
“I got the table referral from Andrew.”
Mentally flipping through the firm’s employee directory yields nothing. “Andrew who?”
He grinned broadly. “Andrew Jackson. I had this place charge an additional twenty dollars to my credit card so they’d hold the best table.”
Wow. “That was very sweet of both you and Mr. Jackson.”
“Trust me when I tell you it’s my pleasure. Especially when you’re being nice.”
“Then I’ll be nice.”
“No, you won’t. But, fortunately, I’m so attracted to you, I’m immune to your less accommodating moods.”
“Immunity can be temporary.”
“I’m pretty confident in my inoculation. I could irritate you to test my theory, but today is your birthday.”
“It’s not today. My birthday is the—”
He shoots me a look. Smiling broadly, I shut up.
The waitress walks over and Jordan asks for a bottle of wine I’ve never heard of. I’m not able to read a thing on the French menu but he orders dinner for both of us. He’s refused to translate what he’s getting for me. I enjoy the novelty of someone trying to figure out what I like.
The steak and fish dishes we’re served are a welcomed sight. The plates are so artfully arranged they should be in a museum. He lets me choose the one I want but it’s more fun to share so we can taste everything.
Eventually the restaurant empties out. He and I could stay here forever as far as I’m concerned, but it does occur to me that being locked inside a closed restaurant might have its drawbacks. “Thank you so much for dinner. It was wonderful. But we should probably get going.”
“Why?”
“The wait staff has already started to clean up. In a minute they’ll break out the vacuum. We’ll have to scream over the whirring noise to hear each other.”
“No loud noises yet.”
“Yet,” I emphasize.
“The night is still young.”
“I’d say it’s more middle-aged, turning into geriatric.”
“Leaving now would be a bad choice.”
“You drank too much to drive? I didn’t think you had that much wine.” I try to gage how I’m feeling. Hmmm. Light-headed. Giggly. Feel no pain. Uh-oh. Not a good idea for me to take the wheel. I frown.
“No need to worry about getting back home. I booked a room here at the Inn,” he says nonchalantly.
“You what?”
“Now you don’t want to spend time with me?” He mocks impishly. “After all that whining you did over the past two months?”
“Stop smiling, I can’t tell if you’re serious.”
He pulls a room key out of his pocket. “I booked this place weeks ago. I checked us in when you went to the bathroom, right after the appetizers.”
The key chain is embellished with grape-designed scrollwork. It sure looks authentic. I guess he’s serious.
The first thought that filters through my shocked mind is silly. I have no toothbrush. Ooh, not good. The first time I wake from a night of passion will be with no way to combat stinky morning breath. Shake off the nervousness, Sue. Who cares about a toothbrush? It’s time to be honest with him and say how I really feel. “I’m really touched by all this, Jordan,” I manage through my tight throat.
“Then my effort was worth it.” He pauses. “But what else are you thinking?” he asks, head cocked to one side.
“I’d like to stop by a Walmart.”
“Let me guess, you’re worried about toiletries and whatnot?”
I nod, feeling foolish. But he just laughs.
“Ah, yes, Ms. Logistics. If I had told you to pack, you would have known the surprise.”
“Florida was a surprise. I still had a suitcase,” I point out.
“You have a suitcase now. What difference does it make who packed it?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I packed for you. That’s your second surprise. Let’s go up to the room. You can survey the contents I concocted for your overnight bag, and then
tell me how bad I am at thinking like a woman.”
I grin. “I’m excited and afraid.”
We go to our room, which is in a separate annex of the Inn. It’s small but cozy. The fireplace is obviously in working order, it has a log inside and matches on the end table. There’s an olive green fringed rug in front of the hearth, covering a good portion of the old pinewood floorboards.
He hands me a tanned leather overnight bag with gold hardware. A ribbon ties its handles together.
“The bag is gorgeous, I love it.”
“The intent is for you—us—to use it a lot. Open it up.”
I untie the ribbon and peak in. It’s too dark in the bag to tell what’s in there. I pull out the items one by one. Toothbrush, toothpaste. See? I didn’t even need to worry about morning breath. Women’s trouser socks in blue, brown, and black. Red cashmere V-neck sweater. Panties.
“Want explanations?” He’s grinning, too.
“It looks like you did pretty good,” I admit.
“I bought socks in three colors because I had no idea what shoes you would be wearing. For the sweater, I picked red because you look even more stunning when you wear it. I didn’t pack you a hairbrush because you always carry one in your purse. Pants would be too tricky for me to guess, so I didn’t try. As for the panties—”
“This I have to hear.”
“I selected what you want to wear, not what I want you to wear. So, bikini briefs. Cotton. I paid attention in Florida.”
“I am sorry I wasn’t at the store while you picked my underwear. That would have been very amusing to watch.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t my most comfortable moment. I got lucky with sales help, and that eased the tension somewhat. You left an item in the bag.”
I delve back in. The last item is wrapped in tissue paper. Taking it out, I rip open the gold seal holding it closed. Two night garments are inside. One is a knee length cotton nightgown with a floral pattern. The other is a red negligee. The negligee isn’t too mortifying. It’s built like a one-piece bathing suit, only it’s made of lace.
He winks at me. “I didn’t know what kind of mood you’d be in, so I thought it best to give you options.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s a first. Just say you like them.”
“I love all of it, everything you bought me. I love the effort you put in.” I feel my eyes get teary. “I am truly amazed by your thoughtfulness.”
“That works.”
“You don’t need to try so hard, you know. I’m just happy to spend some time together. It means a lot that you cleared your calendar to be with me.”
“It’s not a matter of my clearing my calendar. Don’t get mad, but it’s actually easier not to see you when I’m busy with work. Because if I do see you, I know I won’t be able to stop. Then none of my work gets done and chaos ensues.”
I blink hard, taken aback. “Think of how that affects me though.”
“I know. I’ve spent some time trying to figure out solutions. A part of me thinks it’s fine to casually date you. A bigger part of me says I need to find a more permanent way for us to spend time together. I don’t want to push you into anything, but I don’t want to get hurt either.”
“You’re afraid I may wind up hurting you?” I say, picking my jaw up off the floor.
“I’m already sure I’d be badly hurt if you ended this. Not to mention that my jugular’s exposed, professionally speaking. The cold facts are not great. Even beyond the sexual harassment aspect.”
“Really? What could be worse than that?”
“Older boss arranges for young associate’s raise, achievement award, and bountiful year-end bonus. Immediately thereafter, older boss seduces young associate. Then he transfers her to another division of the firm in an attempt to hide their relationship.” He pauses, giving a bitter laugh. “It’s actually worse than Larry’s proposed scenario.”
“That’s a harsh read, don’t you think?” I say gently.
“You earned the business rewards, so I’m guiltless there. But your transfer to Bill, not to mention the older boss—young associate seduction thing, is true enough.”
“I had input in the situation, too. Don’t beat yourself up about pursuing me. If you did, it would be ironic.”
“Ironic? How?”
“Because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
His mouth drops open, his eyes wide. I leave him to let my words sink in, gathering up my new belongings and taking them into the bathroom with me.
CHAPTER 30
I shower, change, and put on one of the large white terrycloth guest robes. Opening the bathroom door, I see Jordan by the fireplace wearing only pajama pants. He’s kneeling on the rug, stoking the fire. The room’s light and shadows are dancing from the flames.
Jordan gets up to pull a blanket off the bed. “Join me,” he says, spreading the blanket out on the floor in front of the fireplace. When I sit down on it, he sits beside me. We watch the fire while he holds me in his arms. Eventually I notice the sound of rain. “How long has it been raining?”
“About ten minutes.”
It’s banging down in loud, hard pings. We can hear it pummeling the roof like a million little golf balls.
“Scary storm,” he says, nuzzling my neck. “Glad I have you here to protect me.” The sound of the rain fades out and I hear only his quickened breathing. “Wait,” he says, getting up to get a pillow, then tossing it next to me.
I’m not interested in waiting. But instead of lying down with me, Jordan pulls me up until I’m standing next to him.
“This is where we left off when your mother stopped us,” he says softly. “I’ve been fighting this image for about two months. I think that’s long enough.”
“Don’t worry, she doesn’t know where we are.”
“Perfect.”
He unties my robe, but leaves it closed. Taking half a step away from me, he slowly slides the collar off my shoulders until the robe fully opens and falls down onto the floor.
“The red one looks quite good on you.”
“You wanted me to choose based on my mood.”
He pushes the strap of my negligee off my right shoulder and runs the tips of his fingers down my arm.
I tremble.
He takes another half-step back to better look at me.
“Like what you see?” I tease.
“I wish you could see yourself, what your skin looks like against the red lace. Beautiful isn’t even the word.”
Reaching for my hand, he slowly pulls me down to the floor until my back is flat on the blanket. He lifts my head to put the pillow underneath. Lying sideways next to me, he puts his leg over mine. The touch of his skin electrifies me everywhere, making it impossible to pick out isolated sensations. His kisses run the whole length of my neck.
He unzips my negligee, gently pulling the lace down from my shoulders until my breasts are exposed. Instinctively I start to cross my arms to cover myself. He catches my wrists and holds them down. He kisses my breasts in the firelight. Then he shifts his body back up until his face is next to mine. He kisses the tip of my nose. Then he kisses my lips, hard and demanding until I part them and feel his tongue touch my own.
Jordan slips my negligee off and wraps his arms around me. I’m naked and trembling. Burying his face in my hair and neck, I hear him whisper, “You don’t know how I’ve longed to touch you like this. I’ve ached to feel your body against mine.”
Hearing these words only makes the trembling worse.
He rubs my closed lips with his index finger.
I look at him questioningly.
“Open your mouth,” he commands softly, and I do. He rubs his finger against the tip of my tongue. Both bec
ome equally wet. He draws a line down the front of my body with his wet finger, until he traces down and around the inside my innermost thigh. My body is shaking hard. Wrapping my arms tightly around myself may stop it. I hope.