by Bella Andre
Please come join us out in the vineyards when you’re done eating.
See you soon,
HOTSTUFF
P.S. Almost forgot. There’s fresh squeezed o.j. in the fridge. Gotta make sure you get your vitamin C.
Surprised laughter rang out in the empty kitchen.
Chloe couldn’t believe he’d signed his note with the nickname she’d given him. In her experience, men didn’t have funny bones. Especially not when the joke was at their expense.
Looking in the fridge, she found the juice and poured herself a tall glass. Settling on one of the bar stools, she picked up the note and read it again, a smile still playing on her face.
Us meant Chase and his brother, right? She fought back a prickle of unease that she might have to meet more people than that. Frankly, she didn’t even want to meet his brother. But since she’d availed herself of his hospitality last night—right now, too—she wouldn’t feel right if she didn’t at least thank him for letting her crash in his guest house for a night. As soon as she was settled again, she’d get to work on a new quilt as a proper thank-you gift.
The croissant was down to little crumbles on the granite counter top and she was picking each one up with a wet fingertip before she admitted to herself that she was stalling again, hiding out in the guest house so she wouldn’t have to face Chase.
It was a beautiful day outside. She should go and enjoy it while she was here.
Chloe stepped out onto the wide covered porch. Shading her eyes with one hand, without thinking, she carefully scanned the area in front of her to secure her surroundings.
Even though she felt safer than she had in a while, she suddenly felt like trouble could come from anywhere, just when she least expected it. Just like it had last night.
Every time she thought about what had happened, she felt so stupidly naïve. How had she missed the signs that her ex had been on the edge? Thinking about it made her stomach feel like a tight fist was wrapped around it, clenching tighter and tighter.
Normal. She’d been planning to pretend everything was normal.
She took one deep breath and then another as she fought to repress her swirling emotions, her fears. Finally, when she felt steadier, she looked around her with a surprised gasp.
After the rain the previous night, the vineyard sparkled in the sunlight. The leaves on the vines were bright green, almost as if a child had painted the scene in primary colors with fresh crayons.
The vineyard was blissfully quiet, except, she noticed as she walked down between a tall row of vines, for the birds that were calling playfully back and forth to each other. As their cheerful songs filtered into her, she took a deep breath of the fresh air, the clean scent of dirt and growing plants and nature.
Unfortunately, a few moments later, her idyll was interrupted by the fast sound of footsteps and what sounded like a teenage girl sobbing. Chloe barely backed into one of the vines in time to avoid being trampled by a tall, thin girl.
Chloe’s heart thumped hard as she waited—and watched—for someone to come running after the girl. But when the coast was clear a few moments later and she stepped back into the middle of the dirt path, she found the elaborate ties on the girl’s dress had caught on a set of thick vines.
Chloe quickly made her way over to her. “Hold on a second and I’ll get you unstuck.”
The girl’s eyes were wide and still full of tears as Chloe worked on one of the silky threads.
Even though she was wondering what on earth the girl was doing wearing a dress like this—one Chloe knew first-hand must have cost a fortune—in the middle of a vineyard on a weekday morning, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“He’s so mean!”
Chloe’s heartbeat, which had barely slowed, kicked back into overdrive. Feeling incredibly protective, she asked, “Who’s mean? Your boyfriend?”
The girl shook her head, strikingly beautiful even with tear-streaked cheeks and tangled hair. “I wish. He’s so gorgeous,” she finally said, fresh tears falling down her cheeks, “and so mean!”
Why did they all do this to themselves? Chloe wondered. What was the allure of falling for guys who treated them like dirt? Was it some secret part of the kindergarten curriculum for girls?
Chloe had finished untangling the silk threads from the vine, but the girl was still crying—big, wracking, dramatic sobs.
“Thank God, you found her.”
Chase? When had he come upon them? And how could the warm voice that had threaded through all of her dreams last night have her body heating up this quickly?
The girl wrapped her long, slim fingers around Chloe’s wrist and held on tight. Tight enough that any greeting Chloe might have uttered was swallowed up in a gasp of pain as long, perfectly manicured nails dug in between the veins in her wrist.
Chase’s eyes were warm as he scanned Chloe’s face. “How’d you sleep?”
One look into his eyes was all it took for her to immediately forget the sting in her wrist. He looked so concerned. And so ridiculously beautiful that it actually stole her breath away.
Somehow, she managed a way-too-breathy, “Good.”
He smiled, a big, heartfelt smile that immediately turned Chloe’s insides to liquid goo. “Good.
I’m glad.”
The girl dug her nails in harder. “It’s him,” she hissed, frowning at the gentle interplay between the two adults.
Chloe tried to shift her wrist from beneath the girl’s talons. “What?”
“He’s the one who made me cry!”
Chloe turned from the girl to Chase. Trying to get everything straight, Chloe said, “You made her cry?”
Rather than answer her question, he addressed the girl directly. “Amanda, we’re losing the proper light. I need you back in place. Now.”
The girl’s pout rivaled that of a three-year-old. “It’s not fair.”
“I don’t have time for your tantrums, Amanda.”
What in heck were they talking about? This pretty young girl couldn’t be his girlfriend, could it?
And what did he mean by “getting back in place”?
Still protective of the girl, she moved to put herself between the two of them. “Look, Chase,”
she began, “she is really upset about something.”
The girl elbowed her out of the way and Chloe had a strange feeling that she’d just made the mistake of standing in Amanda’s limelight.
“I want to be in the front!” The girl’s big eyes were calculating. “Promise me I’ll be the lead for the rest of the day and I’ll go back.”
Chase’s expression didn’t change. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t laughing. He was simply focused. Determined. Chloe had the distinct sense that he rarely, if ever, didn’t get exactly what he wanted.
A slight shiver came over her as she remembered the way he’d looked at her with such intense desire the previous night. What would have happened if he’d thrown in this focus? This determination?
Would she have ended the night alone in that big, delicious bed?
Or would she have had company?
She barely managed to pull herself down to earth in time to hear him say, “Here’s the deal, Amanda. Either you get back over there and do your job or I call a cab and let your agent know that this is the last time you and I will have the privilege of working together.”
“But Chase,” the girl whined, “it’s not fair!”
He shrugged, and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Napa Valley. I need the phone number of a cab company.”
The girl all but leapt across the field to grab the phone from his hand, her sharp nails raking even harder across Chloe’s skin as she abruptly let go. Of course Chase was faster than the girl, raising his hand high above his head and stepping to the side so that she had to catch a vine to keep from falling.
Chase put the phone back to his ear. “Yes, I need an airport pickup at the Sullivan winery.”
“No!” The girl shrieked so loud Chloe�
��s ears rang. “I’ll go back and do whatever you want.”
Chase didn’t shift the phone away from his ear as he simply told Amanda, “You won’t question me again.” It wasn’t an inquiry. It was a statement.
The girl agreed, nodding her head. Hard. “It’s just that I found out that my boyfriend is sleeping with my roommate and I hate them both and I’m so upset.”
At that point, the girl changed tactics, clearly doing her best to blink her huge eyes at him and look equally pathetic and beautiful. Chloe knew if she ever tried to pull that off, she’d just look like she had a nasty cold.
“I’m really sorry I’m messing up the shoot.”
Surprisingly, a hint of a smile played on his lips. Was Amanda being forgiven that easily? In Chloe’s experience, men weren’t so forgiving. “Apology accepted. Now why don’t you head on back and get your makeup cleaned up.”
The girl turned and trotted back on her mile-long legs, leaving Chloe and Chase alone.
“Teenage girls.” He mock-shivered. “After dealing with my sisters for so long, I should have known better than to work in a field that depends on them.”
“What’s going on here?” Chloe realized, too late, that she sounded like a bad fifties movie come to life, the matron walking in on a scene she couldn’t comprehend.
“I’m a photographer. We’re shooting a magazine spread here for the next few days.”
Oh. Now things were starting to make sense. Feeling suddenly awkward, she said, “I was just coming out for a walk. It’s so beautiful.”
“Lovely,” he murmured, and she was instantly reminded of the way he’d said, “My God, you’re lovely, ” the previous night.
Feeling her cheeks go hot again, she dropped her gaze to the dirt. “Thanks for setting out breakfast.”
She watched his feet move closer, until he was standing close enough that she had no choice but to lift her head to face him. “I’m glad you liked it,” he said softly, and then he was brushing his fingertips across her cheek to the corner of her mouth. “You’ve just got a little bit of chocolate right here.”
There was nothing for it but to stop breathing entirely while he was touching her. She couldn’t remember a man ever being this gentle with her before.
And then he moved his finger the slightest bit, so that it was in front of her lips, and some previously latent devil inside of her—the same one that had convinced her that masturbating in the tub last night would be a good thing—had her opening up her mouth and licking the chocolate off.
She heard a groan come from way down deep in his chest. “Chloe.”
Oh God, she was this close to kissing him, a man who was still a stranger despite the fact that he’d seen her naked and provided her a warm, safe place to spend the night.
No!
Stumbling back, the branches from a tall grapevine lancing her between the shoulders, she said,
“You should get back to work. They’re probably waiting for you.”
But he didn’t move, didn’t so much as shift his weight. Instead, he simply smiled at her, that intense heat still in his eyes. Along with something that truly had her shivering in her shoes.
Determination.
Focus.
“I’m sure they’re still working on Amanda’s makeup,” he told her, but she heard what he was really saying loud and clear. I’m not going anywhere. So why don’t you stop trying to run and just give in to what we both want? It’ll be good. I promise.
Wanting desperately to negate the hot, pulsating desire between them, she said, “All caps is a bit much, don’t you think?”
He frowned for a split second before he caught on and grinned again. “I figure if I’m going to have a nickname like Hotstuff, I might as well own it.”
How could she do anything but grin back at him? He was just so darn likeable. It wasn’t his fault that he was sexier than sin. She shouldn’t keep holding that against him.
“Come with me.” He held his hand out. “I’ll introduce you to the crew.”
She looked down at his hand. She badly, so badly, wanted to take it. But she couldn’t.
Telling herself he’d understand if he knew her reasons—and that he probably already understood due to the bruise on her cheek—she simply stepped beside him and started walking. She didn’t have to look at him to sense his disappointment that she hadn’t reached out for him, too. But he didn’t say anything as he fell into step beside her.
“This is such an incredible part of the country,” she said. “How long has your brother owned the winery?”
“Nearly a decade. We all thought he was crazy, at first, taking all those farming classes at UC
Davis. Now we’re all wishing we’d thought of it first.”
She turned to him in surprise. “Don’t you love what you do?”
That moment when his eyes connected with hers shocked her every single time. He should be the one in front of the camera, knocking down female hearts like dominoes with that incredibly potent gaze.
“I do,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes think about cutting down on the traveling and settling down with a pretty wife and a backyard full of cute kids.”
“Are there cameras following us?” she joked, making a show of looking over her shoulder.
“No, why?”
“Because you just said pretty much what every single, thirty-year-old woman on the planet wants to hear. And actually sounded like you meant it.”
“What about you?” When she frowned, he said, “Is that what you want to hear?”
Refusing to acknowledge the pang of longing, she shrugged. “Just thinking about making it through the next day, right about now,” she said in as offhand a manner as she could manage.
She could see the models and crew waiting for him, but instead of hurrying over, he stopped walking and turned his back to everyone else. She had no choice but to stop, too.
“I took care of your car.” He gave her a small smile. “It's been towed off to a better place.”
Working to fight down the panic at being completely without a vehicle she said, “It didn't have many miles left on it anyway.” She tried to smile back. “Thank you for dealing with it. I'll pay you b
—”
He cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Stay, Chloe. Stay here at the winery while we’re shooting for the next few days.”
She licked her lips, shook her head. “You’re busy. And I need to…” She paused, knowing all she had ahead of her were problems, at least for a while.
“Stay,” he said again, more softly this time, but with that determination, that focus she was so afraid of threading through every letter in the word.
And, ultimately, that was the main reason she needed to leave. Because she had no intention of getting involved with another man. She was still learning how to be alone, how to rely on herself, how to trust again. It hadn’t even been one year since filing for divorce. She wasn’t ready for another relationship.
And she definitely wasn’t ready for determination. For focus.
Or for a man whom she could so easily—too easily—lose herself in completely.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I c—”
“Please.”
He hadn’t come any nearer, hadn’t gotten in her face and demanded her agreement, but the gentle entreaty in his voice was like warm arms wrapping around her, pulling her close.
“Don’t agree to the whole week. Just take it one day at a time.”
And one night at a time, too.
She heard the words even though he hadn’t said them. And that was when Chloe knew just how weak she really was, because she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Okay.”
She could feel Chase studying her, knew he didn’t like her answer even though she’d just given him exactly what he wanted. But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a skinny young man with big, thick-framed purple glasses.
“Chase,” the man said, “eve
ryone’s ready for you.”
His gaze continuing to hold hers for another long moment, Chase slowly turned to the person she assumed was his assistant.
“Jeremy, this is Chloe. She’s my special guest. Be sure to show her a good time today, would you?”
Jeremy’s eyes flashed over the bruise on her cheek before quickly flitting away. “Oooh, someone to share all the gossip with.”
The young man reached for her hand and grasped it before she could pull away and then he was walking away with her and chattering in her ear.
Chloe threw a desperate glance at Chase over her shoulder, only to find him grinning at her.
How did he always manage to be three steps ahead of her?
And—just as she’d asked herself last night—why the heck didn’t she mind a whole lot more?
Fifteen minutes later, Jeremy had her settled into a comfortable chair where she could watch the action. Chase was photographing three young women in absolutely gorgeous ballgowns.
Amanda had been positively stunning. But all three together? She couldn’t stop herself from turning to Jeremy and remarking, “That’s a whole lot of beautiful up there, isn’t it?”
Jeremy sighed and looked at Chase in clear admiration. “And can you believe he doesn’t even know it?”
There was no holding back her laughter, loud enough that everyone—including Chase—turned to look at her.
“I was talking about the models,” she clarified.
Jeremy shrugged. “They’re all right.”
Of course, the truth was, she agreed with his assessment: Chase was better looking than all of the models combined.
Nonetheless, the young women were all shockingly attractive. Rather than being jealous, Chloe told herself she was glad they were there to remind her that she had nothing to worry about when it came to Chase. How could she have actually let herself get caught up in thinking, Oh no, he wants me so much, and What am I going to do if he’s determined to have me?
She chuckled again, realizing how ridiculous it seemed now that she’d seen the models he was practically close enough to kiss as he got into position for another shot. It might be a whole lot of beautiful out there in the vineyard, but it was definitely a whole lot of delusional where she was sitting.