While Sophia talked on the phone in another room, Connor stood in the kitchen, planning a surprise. He texted Tristan, suggesting he and Tristan’s fiancée, Victoria, join them for the afternoon. Then he made everyone lunch and snacks, which he slipped into a cooler he hid under a blanket in his car’s trunk. A few roses followed, plus plates, glasses, silverware, blankets, and everything else they’d need for a picnic. He finally called Kris to make additional arrangements and then escorted Sophia to his waiting convertible.
“Is it a good idea to leave the top down?” she asked, getting in.
“Sure. I love seeing you in the sun.”
Smiling, she said, “I mean that if we pass a certain someone on the road, it’ll be pretty easy to identify me.”
He grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it won’t take long to get there. The odds are small.”
“Okay.”
Not five minutes later, they pulled into the gravel parking lot of Comus Winery, where two dozen cars and a bus sat. On the lawn beneath Sugarloaf Mountain, visitors played games or sat at picnic tables with umbrellas, adults with a wine glass in hand, kids running around screaming like children do. The winery was a long rectangle of connected but separate rooms, one for tasting wines, another for bottling, a third for fermenting, and a fourth being where a tractor drove in from the vine-covered fields all around, delivering boxes of freshly picked grapes to the pressing room. Like every Kendall property, the building was white with a blue roof and trim. Connor and Sophia waited on the flagstone patio out front for Tristan and Victoria.
“So,” Sophia began, arms around him, “do I get to taste any wine? I’m underage, you know.”
Connor replied, “Well if you’re old enough for what we’ve been doing, I think you can handle it. But we probably shouldn’t let you be naughty in front of others. In the privacy of the inn was one thing.”
She kissed him. “I agree. You can make it up to me later.” Looking out at the fields of vines, she remarked, “How many acres is all of this?”
“Dozens. We own a lot of land and properties,” he admitted. A sudden desire to brag overcame him. “The winery is the biggest for fifty miles and we’ve won awards every year for wines, the tour, and the festivals we do here. We have the best view, too, though it’s nothing like gazing at you.”
Seeing him smirking, she playfully rolled her eyes. “You’re not so bad yourself, Mr. Kendall.”
“I’ve won awards, it’s true,” he joked.
“Most modest wasn’t among them?”
“Nope.”
“Which awards?”
“Well if you must know,” he teased, “best chef last year in Maryland, best B&B a couple years running, and the inn’s a favorite wedding spot every year. We always get featured in local wedding mags. A couple interviewed me.”
“Really? I didn’t know you were famous.” She feigned amazement.
Chuckling, he said, “Actually, I normally don’t talk about stuff like that, but I want you to know what you’re getting with me.”
Squeezing his ass, she remarked, “I think I know, but do tell.”
“A guy should put his best foot forward.”
“The best part of you isn’t your feet, Connor.” Sophia leaned up and kissed him. “What else?”
“The inn, winery, and stables offer some package deals that no one for a hundred miles can compete with. You can book a weekend stay with us and get a winery tour, or a horseback ride up the mountain, or both. And maybe a lesson from Kris.”
“That’s cool.”
“We’ve got a couple dozen horses, for a range of levels, at the stables and Kris is an excellent trainer and rider. She and my sister Chloe started a horse rescue operation, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes owners neglect their horses, or they just get hurt, and we nurse them back to health. It can take a year for the horses in the worst shape. We get some state funding for it now, and quite a few donations, as that’s a separate business, a non-profit.”
“Wow. That’s great, Connor. Is that new? I don’t remember it.”
“Yeah, it’s something Chloe helped start up with Kris after Chloe finished her training as a vet. I’m proud of them for that.”
“I can see why. You Kendalls are something else.”
He beamed at her, his heart soaring at her admiration. His need to impress her was an ache. Though they hadn’t known each other long, he was sure she was the one. He’d never clicked with someone like this. If he couldn’t make this work with her, then who? He had enough self-awareness to wonder if he was being overzealous, but he just felt it. They could run the inn together, Sophia becoming part of his family and their bevy of businesses. They could pass the inn down to their kids just like his parents had to him and his siblings, like his mother always wanted one of them to do. The idea of little Connors and Sophias running around made him feel flushed with desire and affection. He had to win Sophia’s heart for the long term. He just had to.
And it wasn’t desperation or loneliness talking. Those probably weren’t helping with his objectivity, but when had people in love ever been objective? And he was falling in love, he knew. The rush of it was both familiar and odd; he’d never had a serious relationship and didn’t really know what this was like, but he’d been fantasizing about something like this for as long as he could remember.
So this is what it feels like for real, he thought, unless I’m imagining things. But I don’t think I am. I just need to make her feel the same way if she doesn’t already.
He looked her in the eyes and continued his sales pitch, as it were. “We also offer motorcycle tours now.”
“Really? What led to that?
“Tristan gave up his sport-bike racing career to stay here with us and with Victoria, and he bought out the old owner of Clarksburg Motor Sports. We renamed it Kendall Motor Sports.”
“I remember that place. Saw a wet T-shirt contest there.”
He perked up at the image of her that way. “You weren’t in it?”
“Ah, no. Not my thing.”
“That’s a true shame.”
“Well, if you like, I can give you a private showing later.”
“Oh, God, yes.” He kissed her, then remarked, “I guess you haven’t been back long enough to catch one of Tristan’s commercials on TV.”
“So he’s the famous one,” she teased.
Connor felt warmth in his face. “Actually, he sort of is, from his racing, but that whole thing with him and Victoria being kidnapped is what really made the headlines.”
Sophia gasped. “Oh, wow. Now I remember reading about that! Are they okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. You’ll see for yourself in a minute. The two of them actually beat up their kidnappers and got the guns away from them.”
“Holy shit. I have to ask them about that. Or is that subject off-limits?”
“No, it’s okay.” Despite his words, he frowned, feeling like she was more impressed with Tristan than himself. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt jealous of his younger brother and the idea irritated him a lot more now than usual. Maybe this outing together hadn’t been a good idea, but it was too late to back out; Tristan was just turning into the parking lot in his yellow Mustang convertible with Victoria beside him, looking cozy from the way she leaned toward him affectionately. Feeling competitive, Connor pulled Sophia close for a deep kiss that soon made him forget all about his brother.
Or at least until he pulled back and found Tristan standing beside him, grinning. The younger Kendall cut a similar figure but had dazzling blue eyes to Connor’s warm brown. Longer hair had been allowed to reach his shoulders and dangle before those eyes as if he was shyly hiding behind them, and yet he wasn’t, for anyone who met the clear gaze peeking out from under there felt a small jolt from his directness. Tristan had a way of looking at a woman like no one else existed and Connor sensed more than saw Sophia react to those eyes.
The forme
r racer said, “I’m beginning to feel like we’re intruding.”
Connor frowned. “Maybe you are.”
Sophia poked him. “Be nice.”
Victoria laughed and introduced herself, a long, brown ponytail draping one shoulder of a flowery summer dress. The dress’s hem twirled around her legs when she stepped forward in her tan boots.
Sophia said to Victoria, “Love your dress.”
“Thanks. Not very practical for horseback riding, is it? But I’m wearing this under.” Victoria pulled up the skirt to show exercise shorts.
“I wish I’d thought of that,” remarked Sophia, gesturing at her tight jeans and t-shirt. “You two look great together,” she added, eyes on Tristan.
Connor grimaced. “We look better.” He meant to be kidding, but as soon as he said it, he realized he sounded like an asshole.
Tristan shot him a look, then smirked. “Well there’s little question I look better than you, anyway.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed. “People always mistook us for twins, you know.”
“Fraternal, not identical. You know what that means.”
“That you’ve got a bigger head? Literally?”
“Well, a bigger something, anyway.” All of them laughed, except Connor, who flushed.
“Goddamn it, Tristan.”
His brother threw up both hands. “Hey, I was kidding. C’mon. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
A jumble of emotions soured Connor’s mood, from embarrassment, humiliation, anger, and acute worry that he was acting like an ass—the likelihood of that one making his cheeks burn. He felt foolish and was suddenly irritated with himself.
“Well, boys,” began Victoria, hooking an arm with Sophia, “we’re going to go powder our noses, by which I mean we’re going to talk about both of you behind your backs.”
“Oh, this will be fun,” said Sophia, grinning.
“Why do I have a feeling I’m going to need the wine?” Connor asked, shrugging off his mood.
“Because you’re wise beyond your years,” Tristan answered. As Victoria and Sophia disappeared inside together, Tristan turned to Connor. “So, seriously, what’s going on with you? I was kidding and you were totally serious.”
“It’s nothing.”
“C’mon. We’ve joked about that kind of stuff a million times.”
“Not in front of them we haven’t.”
“Ah. You mean not in front of her.”
Connor frowned. “I don’t want images of another guy naked in her head, okay?”
Tristan laughed. “Okay, well then I guess I won’t sext her my cock pic like I was planning to. You know, to welcome her to—”
Connor leapt forward and put him in a playful headlock, adding a noogie while he was at it. This sort of thing had always led to wrestling but they’d grown up enough to want to avoid dirtying their clothes. A few visitors to the winery watched with raised eyebrows as the brothers horsed around, no one saying anything. The brothers never noticed, lost in several minutes of the good old times that went a long way toward bringing Connor’s mood out of the funk it had gone into.
After they disengaged, all tension gone, Tristan said, “So Kris told me you had it bad for Sophia and I see she wasn’t kidding.”
A smiling Connor said, “Don’t tease me. I’m serious. I don’t want to screw this up. Getting keyed up will make me lose my head.”
“Honestly, I think you already did, but okay. Tell me about her.” Tristan gestured at a seat on the patio and they sat. “Why are you so smitten?”
Connor shrugged. “You know how it is with you and Victoria. You just know.”
“I remember Sophia from high school. She was pretty cute even then.”
A stab of jealousy struck Connor, that maybe his brother and Sophia known each other, even flirted, or cast hot eyes on each other. He asked with a tight voice, “Did you know her?”
“Just saw her around. I think one of her friends had a crush on me. Lots of girls did, though. Can’t say I really paid attention, you know, with my mind on Victoria all the time.”
“Right.” The heat seemed to leave Connor’s face as quickly as it had appeared. He felt foolish and hoped Tristan hadn’t noticed.
“What’s she up to now?”
“She’s back for the summer from college in New York.”
Tristan grunted. “What are you gonna do when she goes back?”
A pang struck Connor. “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I guess you could do one of those long-distance relationships. That could be tough, though.”
Another pang, this one bigger. “Yeah, that’s a lot of time apart.”
“That’s one of the reasons I gave up the sport bike racing, to be here with Victoria, the baby, and you guys. You can’t really go up there to be with Sophia, not with the inn to run.”
Connor was starting to feel like Tristan was twisting a knife in his heart. “Well, sometimes I could. You guys could help.” Even as he said it, he knew that wouldn’t be as easy now that Victoria was expecting a baby soon. The heart went out of him. He had to find a way to keep Sophia here. Not against her will, of course, like that creep Seth, but to convince her she could have a better life here with him than anywhere else, with anyone else. The thought of Victoria, Tristan, and their coming baby in his inn even for a weekend or two while he was in New York made him long for that expectant couple to be him and Sophia.
Tristan interrupted his thoughts. “Maybe Kris could manage. She’s a pretty good cook.”
“Yeah. She could manage.” Both had adopted a tone that meant they knew this wasn’t going to happen, despite what they were saying. Sounding like the wind had gone out of his sails, Connor said, “Maybe Sophia can transfer to another school down here.”
Tristan glanced sideways at him and sounded more enthusiastic as he said, “Yeah, that could work. What’s her degree going to be in?”
“Photography.”
“There have to be closer schools for that. Why is she at Syracuse?”
“I don’t know.”
“Find out. If one school’s as good as another, she could transfer down.”
Connor perked up. “True.”
“The only problem there is that transferring takes a while, I think. You know, she’d probably still be up there a semester, but you could survive one season of long-distance dating.”
“Maybe.”
Teasing him, Tristan said, “Or maybe it’ll kill you.”
“Quit.”
“You could sext each other in the meantime.”
Connor glanced at him, the idea of nude pictures of Sophia on his phone turning him on. “Okay now you’re making me horny.”
Tristan looked startled but amused. “You’re creeping me out. Brothers aren’t supposed to say that kind of thing to each other.”
They laughed and watched the girls reappear from inside, heads together as they talked, smiling, laughing, and casting affectionate glances at their men as they approached. Tristan said, “Well, you obviously want her to stay. Now you’ll need to find out what she wants to do.”
“Yeah.” The idea of her not wanting the same thing as he did killed Connor. Maybe it really was too soon. What if she didn’t feel the same way?
Tristan said, “That’s kind of a big deal, actually, to switch colleges like that. She might not be able to.”
Connor shot him a look and whispered, “Shh! I don’t want her to overhear.”
But the girls were close enough for Victoria to ask, “Overhear what? Keeping secrets already?”
“Yeah, Connor,” said Sophia, sitting down on his lap and putting an arm around his neck. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, her perfume intoxicating him. Then she breathed in his ear, “Are you keeping things from me?”
“Only my lips.” He squeezed her close.
“Mmm. I thought I laid claim to those earlier.” She planted one on him and Connor felt a tingle al
l the way down to his growing erection. Stopping that from getting any more noticeable took an effort. He stood up, sliding her to her feet on the ground, and cleared his throat.
“Why don’t we start this tour?”
“Okay.”
The four spent the next hour with Quinn, who was not only the oldest sibling and head of family, but the winemaker who ran the winery. He showed them how everything worked, from crushing grapes and fermentation, to bottling wine and designing labels. Comus Winery was rare in that it allowed guests to not only design their own wine labels right on site, but create their own wine, too. Sophia gazed at Quinn with new respect that Connor irritably noticed. He was losing his head over Sophia and bit his lip more than once, just like he’d chided her about, to keep from saying something stupid.
They finally exited the winery showroom to find Kris standing beside a hitching post, holding her black stallion, Sabre, and four other horses, by their reins. She sometimes gave rides directly from here for people who’d signed up for it, as a network of trails, both private and public, led between here, the inn, their house and Sugarloaf Stables, and all around Sugarloaf Mountain and other properties.
Kris greeted them with a smile and tossed a tennis ball into the grass. The copper-and-white Australian Shepherd dog, Piper, at her feet ran off after it, his ears flapping playfully.
“Where are we headed?” Sophia asked, as Connor helped her in the saddle of a chestnut mare. “Up the mountain?”
“No. To Sunrise Meadow.”
“Sounds romantic.”
Mounting, Victoria answered, “It is. Tristan proposed to me there.”
A little annoyed that she’d made her relationship seem the reason the place was special, Connor said, “Well, that’s not why I wanted to take you there. We played there a lot as kids and had parties and other events in the meadow, so it’s become a special place for the family. I wanted to share that with you.”
She squeezed his hand from atop her horse. “Well, now I’m really glad we’re going.”
“Me, too.” He mounted.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Kris interjected with a smirk, “let’s try to be careful on the ride.” She mounted Sabre and led them along at a walk or trot through gently rolling pastures separated by a sparse lines of trees, Piper running along the length of the line, tongue lolling out in a happy pant. The trail wound over two streams and a covered bridge, with Sugarloaf Mountain growing larger before them, though it was only twelve hundred feet. From this side, the tree-covered top offered a peek at one of the few sheer rock faces visible from a distance. For a moment, Connor thought he saw smoke rising from there, but maybe it was nothing. As they rode, Victoria wanted to canter but Tristan refused on account of the baby, even though she was in the first trimester and not even showing.
Connor (The Kendall Family Series Book 2) Page 9