by T. A. Foster
Beau leaned against the counter. “I didn’t know Nina was coming up.”
“Me either. It just kind of happened.” I walked toward him and reached around him for a cookie, making sure my arm grazed his body in the process. I tore off a gooey bite and deliberately held the morsel in front of my lips.
Beau’s gaze was hungry. “Didn’t you want to take me on a tour too?” He cast his eyes to the floor.
“Aren’t you in the middle of a movie?” I savored the chocolate and the moment in my mouth.
“I’ve seen it before. Never been to a winery, though.”
I smiled. These chocolate chip cookies were amazing. “Ok, I could probably show you around. Let’s go.”
***
There were so many different parts that made the winery function: the vines and grapes, the distillery, the tasting room, and the main office. My mother spent all of her spare time in the office—we would keep the tour away from the number crunching expo.
It was late afternoon—my favorite time of the day to walk through the vineyard.
“How many acres do your parents have?” Beau was walking next to me down a gravel path, his hands stuck in his front pockets.
“It’s almost a hundred. Ninety-six to be exact.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of grapes.”
“Yes, but it’s not all grapes. It includes the house and the office and all of the other buildings used to make the wine.” We had wandered close to the creek that ran along the edge of the property.
“It’s like its own little city. I never thought about wine like this before.” He glanced at the vines running near our path. “To think it starts here on that nubby branch and ends up all the way in a big barrel on tap at the wine bar.”
I stopped at the edge of the water. The stream bubbled over the rocks and flowed into the woods. I pulled my backpack off my shoulder and sat on the cool ground.
“Since we didn’t get to have our wine tasting last night, I brought a few samples.” I pulled out our glasses and the bottles I had opened last night.
Beau took a glass from me and began pouring from the Pinot Noir bottle.
“So, my father always instructs the tasting seminars, and his wine mantra is ‘swirl, sip, savor.’”
Beau repeated, “Swirl, sip, savor. I think I can do that.”
I watched as he rotated the glass in a circle and the red wine sloshed around the sides. He took a sip. “Mmm. Pretty good. Not that I know anything at all about wine. But it’s good.”
I smiled. “My father would take the compliment.” I swirled my glass before sipping. I felt the warmth spread through my limbs. I edged closer to Beau.
“Ok, so you have to tell me. I know my roommates gave you a hard time about your name, but seriously, why are all of the James kids named after cities?”
I blushed. “It’s kind of embarrassing. Really embarrassing.”
“What is it?”
“Before my parents were upstanding members of the community, they used to travel a lot. They weren’t very conventional—at all. I would say they were kind of like hippies or something.”
“So they liked unique names?”
“I guess that’s part of it. They said they wanted our names to be special. So, they named each of us after the city where we were conceived.”
Beau choked on his sip of wine. “Uh. That is not what I thought you were going to say.” He started to laugh.
“I don’t tell too many people, but since you’ve obviously been initiated into the James family pack, you can probably handle it.”
He grinned. “Yeah, your brothers are awesome. It sort of makes me wish my parents had wanted to have more kids. A brother would have been fun. I’m having a great time with them.”
“I’m glad. They obviously love you. You have managed to experience every competitive sport offered at the winery.”
“So what changed?”
“What do you mean?”
“With your parents. Why did they go from gypsy-hippies to strict, iron fist ruling dictators?”
Beau had asked a question my brothers and I had asked repeatedly. Austin was the only one who could remember all of the trips they used to take and the life that was so different from the one I grew up experiencing.
“I don’t know. They aren’t really dictators.” I thought back to the conversation with my father in the kitchen this morning. He was always genuine and warm—just cautious. I was their only daughter and that wasn’t an easy post to hold among my brothers. They were all protective of me. “I guess they grew up and had responsibilities with five children. They started the winery as a dare almost, but it turned into their entire life. I think they thought it would be more fun and less business. Turns out running a winery is a full-time business.”
“Isn’t that what everyone worries about? Life might stop being fun?” Beau watched the water rippling over the rocks.
“Are you worried about law school in the fall? I’ve heard it’s not much fun. All those vicious one L horror stories.”
“Me? Worried? No.” He slammed back the remaining drops in his glass. “What’s the next wine on the tasting?”
I reached into the bag to pull out our next sample. I let the crimson liquid flow into his glass.
“This one is good too.” He smiled. “Are you worried about L.A.?”
Of course I was worried. I was terrified to move across the country, but I couldn’t tell Beau that. “That’s silly. L.A. is going to be amazing. I know I’ll probably just get commercial spots or be a movie extra for awhile, but it’s still going to be amazing.” I thought about all of the casting calls I had tossed in the trash. I hadn’t even applied for the first spot.
Beau sighed. “I thought you might say that.” He stood up. “It’s getting dark. We should probably get back to the house before your dad gets hungry.”
“But we didn’t try all the wines.”
I was frantically trying to think of how I could drag out our time away from the house and my brothers. Beau held out his hand. From my position on the ground, I looked up at his brown eyes covered in sadness. I placed my palm in his, allowing him to ease me off the ground.
“Another time, movie star.” His hand still held mine. I didn’t want to let go or break contact with him. I reached down with my free hand and slung my backpack over my left shoulder. His fingers entwined in mine. We walked back to the house, not talking, but somehow I felt Beau was saying something much more important with his hand pressed into mine.
***
“I feel like you’ve been holding out on me, London.” Nina was busy tucking in the sheets to my trundle bed that we had just erected from under my bed.
“Nina, I love you, but I cannot hear you talk about my brothers. It’s just gross. Nothing. Not one detail. Ok?”
“Awww…but who am I supposed to tell that Austin is such a great kisser?” She giggled as I hit her with one of my throw pillows.
“Ick. That is exactly what I don’t want to hear. You already kissed my brother?” I tried to erase the image burning a hole in my brain of my older brother lip-locked with my best friend.
“Hey. I came here to do you a favor.” She picked up a pillow and pretended to hit me with it.
“You’re right. Thank you. The cookie dough was the perfect magic to break them up.”
“So? What happened? I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since dinner. I can’t believe we played in a card championship all night. They are relentless.”
“Yeah, my brothers are extremely competitive. They play any game they can, any chance they get.”
“And? What about Beau? What happened when you got him alone?” Nina positioned herself on the edge of the single bed.
I smiled. “He held my hand. It was nice.”
“What? Held hands? Why didn’t you jump him in one of those big wine barns and rip his clothes off. That’s what I would have done.”
“He initiated it. It was perfect, actually.” Twenty minutes
of hand-holding might be regarded as taking it ultra slow, but considering we were broken up and Beau had put up every roadblock to my other advances, I considered it a true victory.
“You only have one date left, London. Then it’s the end of classes and graduation.” Nina looked stressed.
“Don’t remind me.” I slid between the covers. Beau was only a few feet away, sleeping in the guestroom at the end of the hall. I probably wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.
***
I awoke to the smell of bacon. Mmm…bacon. I quickly darted in the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth and hair, and changed out of my pjs before racing downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
They were all there. As if cooks in an assembly line, my brothers were manning the breakfast stations, along with my favorite houseguest, Beau.
“Wow. What’s gotten into all of you?” I scanned their faces for an answer. My zombie movie-watching experience told me an apocalypse had probably occurred while I was sleeping.
“There she is.” My dad was at the table reading the morning paper. “Isn’t this a treat? Your brothers were possessed in their sleep last night and we get the benefit of them making us breakfast. Sit. Sit.”
I wandered over to the table, still not sure if I was awake. Who knew Roman could scramble eggs or that Nash was any good with toast? Austin handed me a cup of tea.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I took the tea and swirled in a teaspoon of sugar. I glanced around the kitchen. This was utterly amazing. All of my family, my best friend, and the boy I was crazy about were in the same room.
Beau walked over with a tray of bacon. “Don’t you look happy this morning.”
“I am. I really am.”
***
The parking lot was crowded. It looked like everyone in Beau’s apartment complex had returned from their weekend excursions. I steered into an empty spot far from Beau’s building.
I shifted the car into park and turned to face Beau. “Thanks for going on the hometown with me.” After the rocky start, the weekend had gone better than I ever could have imagined.
“It was awesome. I loved meeting your family. Your brothers are cool to hang out with. I don’t think I’ve ever played that much basketball and corn hole in one weekend.” My brothers had cornered Beau into every competition they could create. I was surprised they didn’t get into competitive eating.
“So, you’ll go easy on them in your blog?”
The smile that had spread across his face faded. “You’re worried about what I’m going to write for my post?”
Shit. “No, that’s not what I meant. They are overwhelming sometimes. There was so much that happened this weekend.” My joke was a fail. I should have said something about the way he washed dishes and won my mom’s respect, or how he impressed my dad at dinner with his newly learned wine technique, or how my world suddenly felt so complete with his hand in mine. But no, I had to mention the blog.
“Right. I better go. Thanks for the weekend.” Beau opened the door, retrieved his overnight bag from the backseat, and jogged toward his building.
Dammit. Two steps forward and three hundred steps back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Nina shoved her phone between the pillows on the couch as I walked into the living room, ready to start Love Match.
“Who was that?” I eyed the bumpy cushion. She seemed especially jumpy.
“You won’t be mad if I tell you, will you?” Nina was biting her lip.
“No.” I lied.
“It was Austin. He was just calling to say ‘hey.’”
“My brother is calling you now? Austin is calling you?” This was unbelievable.
“You said you wouldn’t get mad.” Nina was pleading with me. “It was just a simple phone call, but if you don’t want me to talk to him anymore, I won’t. He is your brother. I guess things could get weird.”
I laughed as I folded my legs beneath me on the couch. “Who am I to stand in the way of true love? Austin obviously likes you. And even though he might be an annoying big brother to me, I know he’s a good guy. He’s a hundred times better than Derek. At least he better be.”
I didn’t realize when I invited Nina to the hometown date over the weekend that I might be stirring the pot for another romance. My brothers constantly surprised me.
Nina squealed. “Oh yeah! I was hoping you would say that. I didn’t know what I’d do if you said no.”
I hugged her. “Probably sneak around.” We both smiled. “My brother is smarter than I thought, but just be careful. He is a lot older.” I reached for the remote.
“Yes, ma’am. Besides, if things don’t work out with Austin, Nash is next in line. He’s single right?”
“Nina! My brothers are not the next Love Match bachelors.”
She laughed hysterically on the couch. “I’m just kidding. Calm down. The only one I’m interested in is Austin. We’re taking it super slow. We’re just going to get together next weekend to see how it goes.”
That didn’t seem slow to me, but Nina looked happy, and for the most part, I trusted Austin. He wouldn’t hurt her like Derek. “Ok, so give me the lowdown on this episode. You said something about an overnight date?”
“Best episode of the season! You aren’t going to believe these dates.”
“Why? What happens?”
“It’s unreal. Ok. So, they’ll have whatever date for the day, then they’ll go to dinner and on the table is an envelope from Mitch Henderson. He leaves them some kind of note enclosed with a room key for a dream suite.”
“Dream suite? That sounds a little strange.”
“Oh my God, London. It’s amazing. They always have champagne and roses and there is usually a hot tub. It’s so magical.”
“So does Victoria choose which one of the guys she has the overnight date with?”
Nina laughed. “No, she doesn’t have to pick one—it’s all of them. Three dates, three overnights.”
I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle my one overnight date with Beau, if I could even get him to agree to it, much less how I would manage three of them. “This is crazy!”
“No, it’s called romance, London. Shhh, it’s starting.”
The rose petals fluttered across the screen. “Good evening, I’m Mitch Henderson. On tonight’s episode of Love Match, Victoria will face the most challenging decision yet on her journey to find love. Our bachelorette will have three different dates with three special men who have all professed their love for her. Who will she choose? Who will she let walk away? Will she be in love by the time these nights are over?”
I looked at Nina, who was glued to the TV. This was the last Love Match episode Beau and I had to reference for our date project. The final was due next week and we were going to have to complete our research before the finale aired. Granted, neither one of us was aware of the hometowns or the overnights when we planned the project in January, but it seemed unavoidable at this point in the semester. One last date. One final overnight before the end of the project.
I watched as Victoria spent one lavish night after another with the bachelors. I wondered if Beau was watching too. I pulled out my phone.
You watching LM?
I waited for him to respond for what seemed like ten minutes, but commercial breaks are excruciatingly long when you watch TV in real time.
Yep
Ok. He was back to one-word responses. Every time we were apart, it felt like I had to start all over again. I worried I wasn’t going to succeed in my agreement with Professor Garcia. Beau and I weren’t so far apart, we were still connecting, and I just needed Beau to remember that. I needed to erase all of the excuses that kept surfacing that he used to distance himself from me. Excuses that were interfering with us. I could remember how we felt together. He had to, too.
Where do you want to go for the overnight?
I typed the question into my phone and hit send.
Are you serious?
Very
This was my last chance. If Beau didn’t go on this date, everything I had done was for nothing. I didn’t need to channel any of my leading lady roles—this was all me—this was London James.
Finally, he texted.
Last date, right?
I let out a deep breath.