So Good: A Ribbon Ridge Novel (Love on the Vine Book 1)

by Darcy Burke

  She made herself a salad for lunch and was just finishing up when her phone rang. Her immediate thought was that it could be Cam, and she perversely hoped it was so that she could ignore him. But no, it was her sister on FaceTime.

  Knowing full well that Rhonda wanted an accounting of what had happened last night, Brooke answered the phone anyway. She wanted to unload, and Rhonda would be a sympathetic ear.

  She propped the phone against her water bottle on the table. “Hey, Rhonda.”

  Her sister’s smile greeted her. She wore no makeup, but she’d never needed it, and her light brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail—her “mom do” as she called it. “Hey! I waited as long as I could. I’m not catching you at a bad time, am I?”

  Translation: Are you still shacked up with the hottie?

  “Would I have answered the phone if you were?” Brooke asked.

  Rhonda laughed. “I guess not, but you are out of practice.”

  So out of practice. “Yeah, I’m so rusty, I completely crashed and burned.”

  Rhonda’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?!”

  Brooke smiled, glad she didn’t have the phone next to her ear.

  “What happened?” Rhonda asked, clearly agitated. She sat down, and Brooke could tell she was on one of the stools at her kitchen counter.

  “He wanted to, but he decided to grow a conscience. He was afraid we’d damage our working relationship if we went down that path.”

  Rhonda held up her hand and set the phone down against something so that she was hands-free. “Wait a sec. You didn’t tell me you worked together.”

  Brooke hadn’t meant to leave that part out. She just hadn’t been thinking clearly. Damn him and his stupid sexy smile and his annoyingly seductive charm. “I picked up his winery as a client a couple of weeks ago.”

  Rhonda mashed her lips together. “Hmm. That’s no bueno, sis. I hate to say it, but that was probably a good move on his part.”

  Brooke scowled. “Wow, you are not making me feel better.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I’m sure he’s an asshole. Does that help?”

  “A little.” Brooke couldn’t argue with her sister’s logic, much as she wanted to. It had been a good move. And one she ought to have made, not him. “It just sucks. I finally put myself out there, and it was a total fail.”

  Rhonda cocked her head and nodded sympathetically. “It wasn’t a total fail. You said he wanted to sleep with you, right?”

  Yes, he’d said as much, even if his towering hard-on and admitted masturbation hadn’t been evidence enough. “It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? In the end, he passed.”

  “Ugh, don’t take it like that. I think it’s cool that he respected you enough to keep things professional.”

  God, did she have to regurgitate what he’d told her? Brooke tried to keep her expression impassive while silently cursing the jerk who’d invented FaceTime.

  But Rhonda knew her too well. She winced. “He said that, didn’t he?”

  Brooke sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Yep.”

  Rhonda blew her a kiss. “Sorry.”

  “I guess it bothers me that he’s slept with other women he’s worked with before. But somehow I fell short.”

  Rhonda’s forehead creased for a moment. “Or…he likes you more than he liked the others, and he really doesn’t want to mess up a good thing workwise.”

  “He did spout some nonsense about not wanting to screw up my job since he knows it’s important to me.”

  “Doesn’t sound like nonsense. It sounds like he made a tough call.” She set her elbow on her kitchen counter and leaned her chin on her palm. “One you probably would have made if your uninformed sister hadn’t pushed you toward him.”

  Brooke appreciated Rhonda trying to shoulder some of the blame, but Rhonda was right—Brooke should have been the one to call a halt. Instead, she’d ended up feeling as though she’d been dumped. Which was stupid. But the hurt of Darren’s betrayal had replayed at the back of her mind, like a bad song that pops into your head and stays there for a day. Or more. The old feelings had meshed with the new until she’d just felt like she ought to swear off men forever.

  “So…since you’re not going to be getting lucky with the hot coworker, Mom wants to set you up with someone.”

  Oh no. Brooke uncrossed her arms, instantly alert and tense. “I do not want Mom to set me up.”

  She’d tried a couple of times to put Brooke “back on the horse again,” as she put it. Only Brooke hadn’t been ready, and she still wasn’t completely sure that she was. She’d told Cam last night that she might be interested in casual dating. But she’d been flirting with him. Anyway, she’d said “might.” After last night’s debacle, she was ready to revise that to “no way in hell.”

  Rhonda dropped her hand from her chin. “I know you’re skeptical, but this doesn’t sound like a bad deal, especially since you’re ready to move on. Finally.”

  Brooke bristled at that but said nothing.

  “You know Mom’s pal Joyce?” At Brooke’s nod she continued. “She has a nephew who’s been living in McMinnville the past couple of years. He works in admissions at the college. I saw a picture, and he’s cute.”

  Brooke remained skeptical. Her opinion of cute differed from Rhonda’s. Her sister liked tall, lean guys with glasses, whose wardrobes contained funny T-shirts and a lot of button-downs—including flannel—to throw over them. In her own words, she dug nerds. Brooke preferred men who were well put together and more traditionally handsome. She supposed you could call them movie-star variety like Ryan Gosling or Chris Pine. Or Ribbon Ridge-winery-owner variety. Like Cameron Westcott.

  “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” That would buy her time to come up with an excuse.

  Rhonda blinked. “You will?”

  “I said I’d think about it, not that I’d go out with him.”

  “I heard you. It’s just more than you’ve committed to in…well, ever.”

  “I committed to nothing. Do not get Mom’s hopes up.” Brooke suddenly felt claustrophobic. It was a beautiful day, and she needed some exercise. “I’m going for a jog. Thanks for the pep talk.”

  “Sorry, I kind of sucked at that. I’m proud of you for taking the next step, even if it wasn’t successful.” She leaned forward, her brows arching. “And no, that’s not the same as calling it a failure.”

  Brooke rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. You sound like such a middle school counselor.”

  Rhonda laughed as she picked up her phone. “Because I am a middle school counselor.”

  She was also a younger-sister counselor. How many times had Brooke and their little sister Tracy commiserated over Rhonda’s bossiness, aka “help”? Too many to count.

  “I’m going now,” Brooke said. “Really, thanks. I appreciate your support.”

  Rhonda smiled at her and blew another kiss. “I love you, sis.”

  “Love you too.” Brooke sent a kiss back and disconnected.

  Brooke took her dishes to the sink and went to put on her running shoes. After strapping her phone to her bicep and tucking in earbuds, she took the elevator down to the garage so she could exit the building away from Cam’s townhouse.

  She hoped he wasn’t out and about on foot today. Ugh, why’d she have to move to such a small town? No, the real question was why did she have to have a crush on a player she would most certainly run into on a regular basis?

  Yuck. She didn’t want to have a crush on him. So she wouldn’t. She turned up the music and clenched her teeth as she ran near the park. It was a beautiful afternoon, and there were several families enjoying picnics. An impromptu soccer game was going on and the playground was clogged with children. She turned her attention away and kept her gaze focused straight ahead.

  Crossing the street, she breathed easier as she left the scene of familial bliss behind. She jogged by City Hall and the police station, nodding at an officer as she passed. A sandwich board sign a
t the edge of the sidewalk read, “Library Now Open!”

  Brooke turned her head to where a small piece of the City Hall building had been carved out to form the new community library. She’d heard that it was going to open soon, but didn’t know it already had. The door was open, and she couldn’t resist the scent of books.

  She pulled her headphones from her ears and draped the cord around her neck as she walked inside. A rush of cool air-conditioning turned the sweat dappling her forehead and neck to ice, causing her to shiver.

  To her right was a small checkout counter, and next to that, a couple of self-checkout machines. To her left was a reading area, clearly designed for children, with small chairs and short tables with stubby legs. A mother sat in one of the chairs, her knees hitting her chest as she read to her daughter, who sat beside her. She was around three years old, and she was utterly focused on the pages of the picture book lying open on the table. The mother stroked the girl’s dark hair—a small, instinctive gesture, one that she was probably unaware of but that cut straight to Brooke’s heart.

  She turned abruptly and nearly crashed into a young woman. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you. My bad.”

  The woman smiled, her pale blue eyes crinkling at the edges. “It’s no problem. Can I help you find anything?”

  Brooke surveyed the books the woman clutched to her chest—she clearly worked here. “No, thank you. I was just running by and wanted to stop in for a quick look. It’s so great to have a library.”

  The woman nodded. “Isn’t it? It’s been a long time coming. Ribbon Ridge has needed one for years. Well, I guess they had one once around the turn of the century. It was more of a traveling situation with a small collection of books that circulated around the area.”

  “You know your history,” Brooke said. The brick at West Arch and what Hayden had told her about it popped into her head. “Do you know anything about a proposed Ribbon Ridge museum?”

  The librarian tucked a dark curl behind her ear. “You’ve heard about that?”

  “Only that it’s in development. I work with Hayden Archer, and he mentioned it. I know you’re not Alaina Pierce—he said she was working on it with her best friend. Is that you?”

  She shook her head, chuckling. “Goodness, no. I only know Alaina a little, mostly from when she comes in to The Arch and Vine. I work there part-time as a server. Used to be full-time until I was hired here as the librarian, which is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

  Brooke knew The Arch and Vine was owned by the Archers, so it made sense that this woman was familiar with them, at least as an employee. “I’m Brooke Ellis, by the way.” She offered her hand.

  The librarian shook her hand. “Kelsey McDade. Nice to meet you.”

  “You too. I’m pretty new to town, so I don’t really know many people.”

  Kelsey flashed a smile. “Well, you know the Archers, and if you have their stamp of approval, you’re good to go in Ribbon Ridge.”

  Brooke chuckled. “I know one Archer—Hayden. And his wife. And I don’t know them well. I’m distributing his wine, so our relationship is both new and strictly professional.” She couldn’t help but think of Cameron and how their relationship was exactly the same. Then she couldn’t help but think about how that sucked.

  “I know several of them since I’ve worked at the pub for a couple of years. They’re good people. I like Hayden and Bex a lot. She makes great beer.”

  “So I hear,” Brooke said. “I’ll have to try it sometime. Maybe you can join me.”

  Kelsey nodded, smiling. “That would be fun.”

  Brooke tugged her phone from her armband. “What’s your cell, and I’ll send you my number.”

  Kelsey rattled off the number. “Have you been up to The Alex? That’s where Bex is the brewer—at The Arch and Fox, to be exact.”

  “Just once. I went to a wine dinner several months ago.” She thought back and tried to recall if Cam had been there. He had to have been, but she didn’t remember him. It was odd, but she had a hard time believing she could be in the same room with him and not be aware of his presence. Which was really stupid.

  Time to get back to that run that was supposed to be clearing her head.

  “Hey, about that museum,” Kelsey started, sounding a bit hesitant. “What else did Hayden say? I’ve been thinking it would be great to open a Ribbon Ridge history exhibit upstairs.”

  Brooke grinned. “What a terrific idea—goes right along with the library. I think people would love it. Hayden didn’t say much, just that Alaina and her best friend were working on it or something. You should ask him.”

  “I will, thanks.” Kelsey moved the books to her other arm. “I should’ve thought to talk to the Archers. They’re the reason this library even happened. They gave a grant to the county to expand the library system here.”

  “Wow.” Brooke didn’t even want to consider how much money that might have been. But even she, who was new to town, knew that the Archers were one of the wealthiest families in the state. “I bet they’d be thrilled to work with you on it.” Brooke’s mind turned to the brick again. “I was up at the winery—Hayden’s winery—last week, and they showed me this cool brick that looks like it had to have been from around the founding of the town. Actually, I have no idea when Ribbon Ridge was founded. The brick was from 1879.”

  “That’s pretty close,” Kelsey said. “Benjamin Archer settled here in 1856 after a friend of his—a fur trader—wrote to him about the beauty of the area.”

  “The brick had the initials BNR on it.”

  “Where’d they find this brick?” Kelsey asked.

  “Near the foundation of a house they tore down on the winery property. They think it had to have come from an earlier structure.” Brooke frowned. “They’re planning to install it in the fire pit outside, but I think it needs to be somewhere protected.”

  Kelsey smiled, her brow arching. “Like a museum?”

  “Bingo.” Brooke smiled in return. “You should definitely talk to them. Soon.”

  “I will. And hey, if you’re at the winery, try to put that brick somewhere safe!”

  And just like that, Brooke’s mood took a turn down Disappointment Street. Yes, she’d be at the winery, but probably not soon, if she could help it. “Sure, I’ll do that. But you’ll probably beat me to it.”

  “Well, with both of us after it, we’ll get it handled.”

  Someone came from the back of the library and approached the front desk. Kelsey nodded at them. “Guess I should help this person check out a book. I’ll text you about getting together. It was really nice to meet you.”

  Brooke pulled her headphones from around her neck. “You too. See you later.” She waved as she turned and left the library.

  As she started up her run, she pushed herself hard so that her mind couldn’t stray to Cam. By the time she got back to the loft, she was hot and tired. But her plan had worked because she hadn’t thought to alter her path to avoid passing in front of his townhouse. And that made her smile.

  For what seemed the hundredth time that morning, Cam caught himself staring off into space, rehashing what had happened on Saturday night. He’d spent most of yesterday on a friend’s boat, which had served to distract his mind from thoughts of Brooke and what he’d missed out on.

  Had he really turned her away?

  Yep, and his conscience kept reiterating that it had been the right thing to do. But that didn’t mean other parts of him agreed. He liked her. A lot. He wanted her. A lot.

  But he also respected her, and he knew how much she loved her job. Still, she’d been the one to offer…

  Thankfully his brothers took that moment to interrupt his pointless musings.

  “What’s up?” Jamie asked as he sprawled in one of the chairs in front of Cam’s desk.

  “Just working,” Cam said. He eyed both of them as Luke took the other chair. “What do you guys need?”

  Jamie clasped the arms of the chair. “We wanted to touch bas
e about the wine dinner. We’re about a month out, so things are going to start amping up.”

  Cam leaned back in his chair and twirled his pen between his fingers. “I talked to Sara this morning, and she’s got logistics pretty well covered.”

  “How’s the food coming?” Luke asked. “Shouldn’t we have a menu to advertise yet?” He shook his head. “What do I know? I leave the marketing and whatnot up to you.”

  Cam snorted. “Thanks. We’re close. Kyle’s just finalizing the dessert.” As the executive chef at The Arch and Fox, Kyle was working on just the right recipes to pair with their wine.

  “He better hurry. Isn’t Maggie going to pop any day?” Jamie asked.

  They were expecting their first child in a couple of weeks. “Not quite yet, but yeah, the timing’s not ideal.” Cam chuckled. “He’s well aware. I’ll follow up with him this afternoon.”

  Jamie slapped his hands on the arm of the chair as he sat forward. “Remind him of our budget. Kyle likes to splurge.”

  “You know I won’t be able to stop him, and he’ll just insist on paying the difference.”

  Jamie grinned. “He can afford it. Before I go, what’s the scoop on the guest list? I met a woman the other night that I’d like to invite.”

  Cam exchanged an interested look with Luke before they both turned their attention to their little brother. “Not Madison?”

  Jamie laughed. “No, not Madison. Leah’s the new CFO at Seven Wonders. She’s a business contact.” That was one of the largest wineries in the area.

  Cam tossed his pen onto the desk. “We aren’t inviting a lot of winemakers. We’re focused on people who are going to buy or promote our wine.”

  “I know, but her brother writes for Wine Spectator so…”

  Cam leaned forward. “Say no more. She’s in. And great get. Any chance he’ll come?”

  “I said we’d love to have him. We’ll see what happens.”