by Jae
“So,” Drew asked when Annie set down her empty glass, “which one did you like best?”
“The last one,” Annie said without hesitation.
“You’ve got great taste. That was a thirty-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon.”
“Your father’s favorite.”
Drew smiled, pleased that Annie remembered. Dad would have liked her. The thought was bittersweet.
“May I ask where he ...?” Annie looked around as if searching for Drew’s father.
The smile faded. “He died this spring. Probably missed my mother too much. She died last winter.”
Annie squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, the color of her eyes had darkened to a mossy green. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right.” Drew picked up the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and two glasses. “Come on. Let’s go get the cheese from the fridge and sit on the patio. You ordered the vegetarian lasagna in the restaurant, so I assume you eat dairy products, just not meat, right?”
Annie stared at her for a moment as if she was surprised that Drew remembered what she had ordered, then she nodded and followed Drew to the kitchen.
* * *
Twilight had settled over the lake. The rows of vines threw long shadows down the hills. A cool breeze ruffled Annie’s hair and Cab’s fur. The dog had settled down across Drew’s feet after licking up crumbs of bread and cheese that fell off the table. The waterfall gurgled on the other side of the lake. Below the stone patio, water splashed whenever fish broke through the surface to see if there were more of the bread crumbs Drew had tossed into the water.
Annie settled back in her chair, a glass of Cabernet in her hand, and enjoyed the peaceful feeling. Her mind was pleasantly buzzed, and her thoughts drifted lazily like the leaves drifting on the lake.
As darkness fell, the temperatures dropped and Annie shivered in her thin blouse.
“Are you cold?” Drew asked. She seemed comfortable, even with her sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms. “Want to go inside?”
“No, it’s nice out here. I’m fine.” Annie realized she had to focus to pronounce her words clearly. I’d better lay off the wine.
After studying Annie for a few moments, Drew shook her head. “I’ll get you a jacket.” She stood and disappeared into the house. A minute later, she returned. As Annie leaned forward to set her glass on a small table, Drew settled a jacket across Annie’s shoulders.
“Thank you.” Annie slid her arms into the jacket sleeves. The jacket was a bit short, and she drew the fabric more tightly around herself. The movements made the world around her spin. She grabbed the armrests of the chair until the spinning stopped. The scent of Drew’s perfume drifted up from the jacket’s collar, mingling with the aroma of the wine.
Drew settled back into her chair and poured the rest of the red wine into her glass. “Want me to open another bottle?”
“Oh God, no, are you trying to get me drunk? I’m already a little tipsy.” In fact, she was more tipsy than she could ever remember being. She took another piece of French bread, hoping it would help to soak up the alcohol.
Drew’s teeth glinted as she smiled. “Don’t worry.” Her voice rumbled through Annie. “I won’t take advantage of it.” She picked up a piece of goat cheese from the tray, leaned back, and chewed while her gaze swept over the small lake and the surrounding hills.
Annie turned to look in the same direction.
The sun had disappeared now; just a stripe of orange remained on the horizon. A light wind blew a layer of clouds eastward and revealed the crescent-shaped moon. The surrounding hills were just dark shapes, but Annie imagined that Drew could still point to each of them and tell her exactly what kind of grapes grew on top.
She turned and regarded Drew across the small table.
Drew was more lying than sitting in her chair, her legs sprawled, her face relaxed. In the light from the tasting room, Annie thought she saw a glow of contentment in Drew’s eyes.
“You have a beautiful home,” Annie said, lowering her voice so she wouldn’t interrupt the peaceful silence. “I can tell how much you love it.”
Drew looked up. “I do.” She picked up her glass and studied Annie while she swished around the wine. “Do you have a place that makes you feel like that?”
Annie fought the urge to squirm under that intense gaze. It took her longer than normal to think about her answer. Her apartment? No. It was cozy, but she was barely home anyway. And her parents’ house had stopped being her home the moment she had moved out. Not even three days later, her father had made her old room into an office. She shook her head. “Not really.”
“Then maybe a person who makes you happy?”
How often had Annie warded off questions like that—from Jake, her parents, her colleagues. Even mere acquaintances felt entitled to ask personal questions and judge her for the answer. She shook her head again, hoping Drew would back off.
Drew didn’t say anything, but the regret—or even pity—in her eyes cut deep.
To Annie, it seemed like a criticism of the way she lived her life, as if she couldn’t possibly be happy with what she had. Heat shot up from the pit of Annie’s stomach, where the red wine warmed her, until she felt words bubble out of her mouth. “Why does everyone keep thinking that I need someone to make me happy? That I can’t be happy with my life just because I’m single? Life isn’t Noah’s ark, where everyone needs to line up in pairs or drown, you know?”
Drew’s eyebrows hiked up, but she said nothing.
“I like my life just fine.”
Cab lifted his head off Drew’s feet and whined.
Annie snapped her mouth shut and sank against the back of her chair. Oh, Jesus, I drank too much. Normally, she had much better control.
“I didn’t mean to imply anything else,” Drew said. “I’m just trying to understand why nobody has snatched up a woman like you.”
A woman as awkward as me? As boring as me? She pressed her feet to the ground as the world started to spin again. As drunk as me?
But the warm look in Drew’s eyes said that she had a more positive description in mind.
Annie’s cheeks burned. “Maybe I don’t want to be snatched up.”
“Really? But you let Jake set you up on a blind date.”
“Just to get him off my back.” Annie tried to button the borrowed jacket, but the buttons refused to cooperate.
Drew said nothing; she just looked at Annie, her gaze skeptical.
Is she right? Did part of her still hope that the next date would be different? That she wouldn’t feel so awkward that she wanted to go home? Annie wasn’t sure anymore. Thinking was becoming harder and harder by the second.
“Is it really that you don’t want a relationship?” Drew asked. “Or have you given up looking for the ideal mate?”
“Ideal mate?” Annie shook her head and then stopped when the sudden movement made her stomach lurch. “I don’t think there’s such a thing for me. Every time I try dating, it turns into a disaster.”
A grin brought out Drew’s dimples. “You mean like your date turning out to be a woman?”
Annie forced down her anger and returned Drew’s smile with one of her own. “More like my date turning out to be a jerk. Or me turning out to be too boring.” She clutched the borrowed jacket more tightly around her middle. Why did she keep telling Drew personal things like that?
“You know what?” Drew twirled the wineglass between strong fingers and looked into the depths of the red wine as if the answer could be found at the bottom of the glass. “I think you’re setting yourself up to fail.”
“Oh?” This is our second date. Annie shook her head to clear it. The second time we meet and already she thinks she’s an expert when it comes to me? Still, she couldn’t help being curious, so she nodded to indicate she would listen.
“Not only are you dating the wrong guys, but you’re also going in with negative assumptions, mostly about yourself,” Drew said.
<
br /> Annie folded her arms across her chest. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve made up your mind that the date will be a disaster before you even say hello. You think you’re not interesting or engaging enough, and that makes you even more self-conscious, so you clam up and try to make it through the evening on polite conversation instead of relaxing and just being yourself.” Drew put her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “You don’t need to do that, you know? You’re interesting enough just the way you are.”
Silence spread between them as Annie stared at Drew. Thoughts and emotions swirled through her mind. Part of it was anger. After all, Drew had only recently met her, so what made her such an expert, especially since she was single too?
“Now I said too much.” Drew glanced down and rubbed the rim of her glass. “Sorry. I had no right to say that.”
Annie stared at the dark waters below the patio. The wind rippled the surface, just as Drew had disturbed her equilibrium. “I think I better head home now. It’s getting late.” She jumped up.
The ground tilted beneath her, and Annie clutched the edge of the table to keep her balance.
Drew stood and circled the table. “Are you okay?”
Annie blew out a breath and let go of the table. “I’m fine. Just got up too quickly.” Her words sounded slow and slurred in her own ears.
“Why do I get the feeling you’d say that even if I had to carry you out of here?” Drew laid her hand on the small of Annie’s back. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
“Are you okay to drive?”
“I should be fine. I didn’t even finish my second glass of wine.”
And I drank the rest of the bottle? No wonder my head is spinning. “Okay,” Annie said. “If it’s not too much of a bother. Your red wine really did me in.”
“No problem.” Drew kept her hand on the small of Annie’s back all the way to the car.
Annie’s legs felt unsteady, and she had to focus not to stumble over her own feet. She breathed a sigh of relief when they reached Drew’s car. “What about my car?”
“If you give me your keys, I’ll have one of my people help me drop it off tomorrow morning.”
With fingers that didn’t want to obey her, Annie reached into her pocket. When she wanted to hand Drew the keys, she dropped them. “Shit.” She dug her teeth into her bottom lip to rein in her loose tongue. Cursing normally wasn’t her style.
Drew caught the keys before they could hit the ground. “Don’t worry. I got them.” She unlocked the passenger side of her SUV and held it open for Annie. “Careful. Don’t hit your head.”
When Annie settled into the passenger seat, Drew closed the door and walked around the car to get in on the driver’s side.
Annie reached for the seat belt and fumbled with the fastener.
“Let me.” Drew’s fingers covered Annie’s, and moments later, the seat belt clicked shut.
God, this is so embarrassing. Annie rubbed her head, trying to clear it.
“Relax,” Drew said. “It’s fine.”
Annie stared at her, wondering if she had said her thoughts out loud.
Smiling, Drew started the car. “You better give me directions to your place before you nod off.”
“I won’t.” She had never been one to fall asleep in the presence of a person she barely knew.
“Okay,” Drew said. “But give me directions anyway, just in case.”
Forming words was becoming difficult, so Annie didn’t argue.
* * *
“Annie? Annie?”
Who was calling her name at such an ungodly hour? Annie grunted but didn’t open her eyes. Just five more minutes, then I’ll get up.
“Annie, hey, wake up. We’re here.” A warm hand settled on her shoulder.
Here? Where? Annie opened one eye—and sat up so fast that the world blurred before her eyes. When she could make out shapes again, she realized she was in Drew’s car, which was parked in front of her apartment building. “Oh.” She rubbed her eyes behind her glasses and stared out the window. Her brain seemed to work in slow motion.
Drew stayed silent next to her, letting Annie get her bearings.
Finally, Annie pulled herself together and turned toward Drew. “Do you want ...?” She trailed off when she realized she had forgotten what she had wanted to ask. There was also something she wanted to tell Drew, something to do with how to get back at Jake, but now she couldn’t remember what it was. Her head felt as fuzzy as a herd of sheep.
“Do I want what?” Drew asked.
“Coffee.” Annie pointed at her apartment building.
“You’re asking me in for a cup of coffee?” Drew formed quotation marks with her fingers. “Why, Ms. Prideaux, and here I thought you were an innocent straight girl!”
“What?” Annie’s brain had trouble catching up. “Oh, no, no, it’s just ... I just meant ...”
“Relax. I’m just kidding.” Drew patted her arm. “I don’t need coffee, but I’ll escort you inside.”
Annie tried to get herself together. “I can make it on my own.”
“I know you can, but I’m here, so you don’t need to.” Drew got out of the car and crossed to Annie’s side. She opened the door for Annie, helped her out, and wrapped her arm around Annie’s hip while she escorted her to the front door.
When Annie fumbled with the keys, Drew wordlessly took them from her and opened the front door, then let her step inside first. She followed her upstairs to her apartment on the second floor.
As the lights flared on, Annie squeezed her eyes shut and peeked through her lashes. “Don’t look around,” she said. “I didn’t tidy up.”
Drew looked around. “Are you kidding? My house never looks this orderly.”
Annie wanted to answer; she wanted to be a good hostess and offer Drew coffee, but she was so tired that she could hardly stay on her feet. “Excuse me. Need to lie down.” She stumbled through the living room, nearly crashing into the door frame before she made it to the bedroom, where she dropped face-first onto the bed.
* * *
Drew stood in the doorway and looked at the sleeping woman. “Looks like my damsel in distress turned into sleeping beauty.”
At the sound of Drew’s voice, Annie mumbled something that sounded like, “Make yourself at home.”
Drew laughed. Polite to a fault, even when she’s smashed. After pausing in the doorway, she entered the bedroom and walked past the large birch desk that stood against one wall. Files were neatly stacked on one side of the desk, while the other seemed to be reserved for software and a few CDs. Shelves with books covered each of the white walls. A quick glance revealed that they were mostly crime novels and tomes of non-fiction. Drew stepped up to the queen-sized bed and touched Annie’s shoulder. “Come on, Annie, you can’t sleep like this. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night, feeling like a half-cooked lobster. At least take off the jacket.”
When Annie didn’t react, Drew sighed and wrestled one of Annie’s arms out of the jacket, then knelt on the bed and leaned over Annie to free her other arm. After a moment of hesitation, she untied Annie’s shoelaces and slid the shoes off her feet. Drew’s mouth quirked into a half-smile. When I fantasized about undressing you, this wasn’t what I had in mind.
A feeling of being watched made her look away from Annie. When she glanced down, she looked into the green eyes of a tabby.
The cat stared back.
“Hey there,” Drew said, making her voice soft. “You must be Amadeus.”
As if answering, the cat let out a bawling meow.
Drew winced. “Ouch. Her father must have been ecstatic to have a tone-deaf cat named after his favorite composer.”
The cat turned and walked out of the room. In the hallway, he paused and made the unmelodious sound again.
Was he trying to tell her something? She followed him through the small apartment and into the kitchen, where he stood bawling up at one of the cupboards.
“Poor b
oy. You’re hungry, huh?” Drew paused in the middle of the kitchen, not wanting to invade Annie’s privacy by going through her cupboards.
Amadeus let out a piercing cry.
“Ssh, you’ll wake Annie.”
The cat meowed again.
“Okay, okay.” Drew opened the cupboard. Inside, everything was as neat and tidy as the rest of the apartment. An open box of kibble stood next to two unopened ones. She put two handfuls into his bowl, not sure how much to give a cat, then put the box away.
She had no idea where Annie kept the aspirin and didn’t want to root through her cabinets, but she filled a glass with water and placed it on the bedside table so Annie could easily reach it.
No doubt Annie was in for one hell of a morning. Drew just hoped she wouldn’t regret coming to the wine tasting.
Chapter 5
A vibration next to her head woke Annie. Earthquake! She shot upright and then sank back, clutching her head. “Oh, God.”
Something rough and wet trailed across her forehead.
It took her a moment to figure out that the vibration hadn’t been caused by an earthquake but by Amadeus’s jumping on the bed. Now he apparently thought she needed a bath—cat-style.
“Not helping, Amadeus.” Annie sat up again, this time more slowly. Pain pulsed through her temples but then ebbed away when she stopped moving and leaned back against the headboard.
She looked around the bedroom, trying to remember the details of how she had gotten there. She remembered getting into Drew’s car; the rest was a bit fuzzy. Her shoes sat next to the bed, and Drew’s jacket was missing, but otherwise, she was fully dressed. A glass of water waited for her on the bedside table. Had Drew put it there?
Annie reached for the glass with the greed of a person dying of thirst. She gulped down the water, getting rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. With her head still hammering, she lay back in bed and tried to piece together the events of last night.