Romancing the Wine: A Boxed Set of 9 Newest Novellas from Award-Winning Authors

by Jan Moran

  "No. It's not." He smirked and reached for me and took my hand. I watched our hands swing between us..

  "And if I remember the sequence of events correctly, you offered to invest in my business. I didn't ask. What was your motive? This wasn't all me."

  "Okay, maybe I thought it was a good excuse to get to know you. You didn't seem to want to get to know me otherwise."

  "You didn't ask."

  His eyes grew wide.

  "You're the one who snuck out of my room in the middle of the night." He held his hands up. "What was I supposed to think?"

  "Jesus, Donovan. I know sleeping with you is like the Holy Grail for some women, but it wasn’t my finest moment." I hugged myself.

  "Damn, you really know how to flatter a guy." Donovan placed his hands on my hips.

  "I didn't mean it like that." I shook my head and lowered it. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like a cash register ... with an amazing chest." I squeezed his pecks, and he flexed in my hand.

  "Well, I'm sorry I turned you into a slut ... with a great ass."

  We both cracked up. I wrapped my arms around his waist. He held me close as he rubbed my back.

  "Holy Grail, huh?" he asked.

  I slapped him on his perfect ass.

  "Oh, and by the way, my ass is priceless, sir," I said. He smacked mine back. We held each other for a minute.

  "Wow, we sure do act like we’re together. That was our first fight," I said and

  rested my head on his chest.

  "I guess so. Well, you know what proper couples do after a fight?" he asked.

  I shrugged.

  "Make-up sex." He rubbed my head. "How's your head?"

  "Better."

  He leaned in, but I ducked out of the way.

  "Gross, no. Don't kiss me. My mouth feels disgusting."

  "Well, get that five hundred thousand dollar ass upstairs and brush them. I'll give you a head start, but when I catch you, you're mine."

  "That's not exactly fair. You run the forty in what, under six seconds." I patted his chest.

  "Five seconds, but who's counting?" He shrugged his shoulders.

  I pushed off and ran up the stairs, and he followed seconds later.

  He stripped as I brushed my teeth. I watched him in the mirror as he turned on my shower and let the water wash over him. I joined him under the spray, and we proceeded to do what proper couples do.

  Chapter 9

  Donovan

  We fooled around in the shower until the water had pruned our skin and our stomachs growled. We stepped out of the shower.

  She pulled on a white tank top that hugged her body and some pajama pants. I wrapped a towel around my waist.

  "Hold on a second." She disappeared down the hall. She returned with a pair of baggy basketball shorts and a black t-shirt with the Darielle logo in white embossed on the front. She held the shorts up to my waist. "These will fit."

  "These leftovers from the last guy who broke your heart?" I grabbed the shorts out of her hand.

  "What makes you think I would let anyone break my heart?" She looked away.

  "Some things we can't control," I said.

  She ignored me and headed downstairs.

  I slipped the shorts on and followed her downstairs. She peered in the refrigerator, and I pulled the shirt on over my head then jumped up on the counter. She shut the refrigerator and picked up her phone instead.

  "Pizza?"

  "Fine." I nodded.

  "What do you want on it?" She stood next to me, her hand resting on my thigh.

  "Pepperoni and any vegetables." I leaned in and kissed her neck. She pushed off me and dialed.

  I studied her as she ordered the pizza. The guy who answered obviously knew her. She laughed easily. She lived her whole life in this town and knew everyone within a ten-mile radius. Maybe that was what drew her to me. Maybe she was ready to broaden her horizons.

  When she hung up, she walked back over and stood between my legs.

  "Why does your brother want to sell the place?" I asked.

  She ran her hands over my thighs. I stopped their progress and tilted my head.

  "I don't know." She frowned. "He doesn't love the business like I do."

  "You can't run it by yourself?" I rubbed her cheek, trying to make the frown disappear.

  She turned away, but I pulled her back in my arms.

  "Doesn't make for much of a family business if I'm the only one still there." She shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, I don't really enjoy the business part of it. You need to be unemotional in business, and I don't have the stomach for it."

  I pulled her close. My fingers slid through her hair.

  "Do you know why I asked you that question at the conference?" I asked.

  She shook her head and leaned back against me.

  "Because you had your facts straight, but you needed to show a little bit about why it's important to you. You needed to give the investment a human connection. People are craving that right now. I know I am." I hand traveled down her side, over the curves of her hips. I reached around and squeezed her ass.

  She giggled.

  "What?" She peered up through her eyelashes. "You mean the famous player, Donovan Bryant, is looking to connect with someone? Where's my phone? I need to notify ESPN."

  "Stop making fun of me.” I slapped her on the ass, and she yelped.

  "Hey." She pouted but grinned.

  "I like you like this." I kissed her neck.

  "Like what?" She tilted her head to give me better access.

  "Playful and sweet." I spoke between assaulting her neck with small wet kisses.

  "You say that like normally I'm a hardass bitch."

  "Hardass. No." I ran my tongue down her neck. "Bitchy, yes."

  "You don't know me, Donovan," she said.

  I leaned back and stared into her eyes. They were the coolest light brown color.

  "I'd like to." I caressed her cheek. "I'd like to get to know you outside of this world."

  "Why?" She narrowed her eyes.

  "When's the last time you've been out of this town?" I asked.

  "I went to Europe last year." Her eyes brightened.

  I laughed.

  "On a wine trip." I raised an eyebrow.

  She lowered her head. I raised it back up and kissed her.

  "So I have a proposition for you?" I whispered against her lips.

  She pulled back and narrowed her eyes.

  "You ever been to a Super Bowl?" I raised my eyebrows.

  "No, why?" she asked gripping my arm.

  "I'm leaving tomorrow for New Orleans. Come with me. I want to show you my world. We'll hang out. Go to a few parties. You can watch me do my Donovan Bryant thing." I used air quotes around my name, and it made her smile.

  "I don't know." A soft knock drew her attention, and she went to open the door.

  "Hey, Jack."

  "Chai. How are you?"

  "I'm good." I watched her open the door only wide enough so the pizza would fit through.

  "So?"

  "So what?"

  "You and Donovan Bryant, huh?" Jack asked; his voice went up an octave when he said my name.

  "How'd you find out?" She didn't hide the annoyance in her voice.

  "It all anyone's talking about in town. Is he still here?"

  "No, he's not here." Chai tapped the doorframe.

  "Aw, man. Well, can you get his autograph for me."

  I covered my mouth. She peeked behind her and then back out the door.

  "Goodbye, Jack." She shut the door, walking back into the kitchen shaking her head.

  "So I'm your dirty little secret, now?" I smirked.

  "We have famous people in and out of town all the time." She set the pizza box on the couch. "Why are they so enamored with you?"

  "Because I'm sleeping with one of their own." I faked gasped.

  She blushed. Her cheeks took on a sexy shade of pink.

  "There’s a Shiraz on the top shel
f." She pointed at a small stack of bottles on a rack next to the refrigerator. "Can you grab it?"

  "Cork remover?" I asked.

  She smiled approvingly.

  "Drawer next to it." I retrieved it and followed her to the dark brown leather couch. It was the darkest thing in the room. The coffee table, and entertainment center was the color of honey and red wine accents were all over the place.

  She watched as I opened the bottle with minimal effort.

  "Very good," she said as she held a tilted glass. "Try to pour along the side. It will aerate the wine quicker."

  I poured us both a glass.

  "Cheers." The glasses clinked, and she took a sip. I watched her eyes register the taste and approve. I took a small sip. The taste was nice. Different from the bottles we drank last night.

  "Now"—she opened the box of pizza and pulled out a slice—"take a bite of the pizza and then take a sip."

  I did as instructed. The flavor exploded on my tongue. I groaned without realizing it.

  "Good, huh?" She grinned and nodded.

  I chuckled as she fed me more pizza, and I took another sip.

  "See, Donovan, I could teach you a few things." She winked.

  "Come to the Super Bowl with me and we can teach each other a lot of things."

  "I don't know." She handed me the slice and picked up one for herself. "There's so much going on here."

  "Nothing that can't wait. You said it yourself that you could use a break. Let me distract you for a few days. When we get back, Calvin will have an answer for me, and we'll see about saving your family business. What do you say?"

  She wanted to say yes. I could see it in her eyes.

  "Okay, I'll go," she said.

  "Good." I nodded.

  "It will be fun." She set down her glass. "I'm kind of curious to see Donovan Bryant in action."

  I laughed as she mimicked my air quotes.

  Chapter 10

  Chai

  Donovan ended up getting a car to take him home.

  What would that Uber charge be?

  I avoided speaking to anyone as I retrieved my car from the parking lot down the street. It was a twenty-minute drive to my parents’ house on the south side of the vineyard. After yesterday, I needed the opportunity to explain Donovan. In those twenty minutes, I couldn't think of how to tell them I was going away with him.

  I found my parents on the side porch. My dad read a book while my mom napped in a lounge chair with an open book on her lap.

  "Hey, mi bella," Dad said, his booming voice filled the room. My mother gripped her book and sat up.

  "Hi, Dad." I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He pulled me back to kiss me on the other cheek, which caused my mother to roll her eyes. I crawled on the lounge chair next to her and laid my head on her shoulder. She ran her hands through my hair.

  "What's wrong?" she asked, her tone matter-of-fact.

  "Nothing. Why does something have to be wrong?" I leaned into her.

  "Because you're crawling in my lap like you did when you were a little girl."

  I sat straight up.

  "Okay. Out with it." She laid her book on the table. She grabbed a glass of wine and held it in front of me. I shook my head. She took a sip and settled back down.

  "Did Dad tell you about Donovan?" I asked, staring down at the ground.

  "Yes, he told me he came into the winery yesterday and said he wanted to invest in the vineyard. I think that's wonderful. I’ve always liked him. He seems like he has passion." She shook her fist at Dad.

  "Claire, this morning you didn't even know who he was." She shook his head.

  "Well, that's precisely what the Internet is for." Mom slid her glasses off her nose and rubbed the spot between her eyes.

  My dad rolled his eyes at her and turned toward me.

  "Are you dating this fellow?" Dad asked.

  "We are seeing each other. Sort of," I said slowly. "We met in San Diego."

  "So he's not here to invest in the businesses?" he asked.

  "Oh, no. He is, but that's not how we ended up together," I explained. "He wants to take me to the Super Bowl. We're leaving tomorrow."

  "Are you asking for permission?" Dad asked.

  I was twenty-six years old; I didn't need permission. "Maybe."

  What my parents thought meant everything to me. My behavior reflected on them, and lately, I had crossed the line. Not that going away with a guy I met two weeks ago would bring it back to center.

  "Why are you going with him?" Mom asked. "Do you think you need to in order to get his help to save the business?"

  So much for my parents not thinking I'm a slut. If she thought I slept with him to get money, then technically, that made me a whore.

  "No." I stood up. "God, no."

  She waved her hands. The look on my father's face confirmed I hadn't misunderstood her.

  "Darling," he said to my mother and frowned. "Mr. Bryant is a very nice man. He's rich, successful, and our daughter could do worse, I tell you. She needs someone who can take care of her. Provide for her. "

  Now, my dad was ready to marry me off to him?

  I'd settle for something between whore and wife.

  "Listen, both of you." I sat back down. "Whether Donovan invests in Darielle is not the point. I like him, and he likes me, and he asked me and I want to go."

  "Then what are you telling us for?"

  "Oh, I don't know. I thought you'd be curious if you don't see me around for the next six days."

  "We will survive," Mom said as she sipped her wine, set it back on the table, and picked up her book. She opened it to a random page.

  When I didn't walk away, she looked up.

  "Sweetie, please go. Have a good time. Enjoy yourself for once in your life. Stop taking on the problems of the world. It's going to make you old before your time. Go and be young."

  "What about the vineyard?" I turned to Dad.

  "We'll survive," Dad said. He and Mom laughed.

  "Okay. I'll see you both later." My hand rubbed my tummy in an attempt to smooth down the grapefruit sized pit in my stomach.

  "Have a good time," they said in unison.

  I eyed them both before I turned and left.

  "Oh, dear?" I turned toward my mother. Finally, she might have something tangible to say about this whole thing. "If you remember, can you get me some of that hurricane mix from Pat O’Briens. I just love that drink."

  And with that, she went back to her book.

  I left without saying another word ... until I ran into my brother.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked as he got out of his little two-door red sports car. I told him when he bought the car it made him look like an asshole. He told me it was better than actually being an asshole. CJ's logic.

  "Just telling Mom and Dad goodbye." I opened my car door.

  "What? You running off with the famous football player." He chuckled.

  My eyes grew wide.

  "Oh, shit. You are?"

  I crossed my arms over my chest.

  "No, I'm just going to the Super Bowl with him."

  "Really." He leaned back on the hood of his car and crossed his legs at the ankles and his arms over his chest.

  "What?" I glared, tired of playing these games with the people in my life.

  "I don't know. It’s strange that's all. You say you two have been dating, but we never heard you talk about him," he said while cleaning his nails with his keys. "In a matter of two days, you're screwing him in the barrel room and flying off together."

  "Why are you so suspicious?" I asked as I yanked open my car door.

  "Why are you so paranoid?"

  I sighed, flexing my fingers over the open car door.

  "I have a right to be, don't you think."

  "What do you mean?" CJ asked as he peered off toward the vineyard.

  I took an exhausted breath. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid with the vineyard until I get back."

 
; "That's all you need." He placed his hands on the hood of my car. "A weekend at the Super Bowl to convince him to invest in our fledgling family business that no one except you seems to want to hold on to."

  "Why do you want to get rid of it so bad?" I stomped my foot.

  He blinked and took off toward the house without another word.

  I went after him.

  "CJ. Answer me. Why do you hate it so much?" I asked.

  He turned on me fast, and I skidded to a stop in front of him.

  "Because it's a trap. This place, this city, this house, the land. It's a trap that has been sucking the life out the men in our family for years." His nostrils flared, and his cheeks turned red. "I don't want it to happen to me. I don't want to end up like him."

  He pointed at the house.

  "Our father is an amazing man," I whispered and hugged myself.

  "You're right, Chai. He's an amazing man, but he's a selfish father if he wants to leave his kids with the same burden his father left him." CJ blinked back tears and dropped his head. "Whether your friend invests or not, I'm out of here, Chai. If you know what’s good for you, you'll leave, too."

  CJ turned and walked away. I walked back to my car, rested my chin on the roof of the car, and took in my surroundings. The house sat on a hill. The front yard overlooked the south side of the vineyards. Harvest was nine months away, and the vines were bare, but the mustard plants were in full bloom and gave off a unique aroma. In a few months, the place would be teeming with people preparing for the harvest. The migrant workers who would make their way up to Sonoma and Napa Valley from Mexico and LA knew and cared as much about our wine as I did.

  The parents worked alongside the kids, teaching them about the grapes and the wine. Even though they didn't own it, they took pride in creating it. They cared more about the land than my brother did. It was a precious circle, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like if Darielle weren't around anymore to be a part of it.

  I, for one, didn't want to miss it.

  If I had to run this place alone, I'd do it. I had to.

  I wasn't ready to give up on it, but I had a sinking feeling Donovan was right.

  Some things we couldn't control.