At First Blush

by Marianne Rice

  Adrianna left to get a glass and the wine and Alexis sent Ben a message. She had to let him know she was here or it would be a wasted trip. Feeling brave, she took a selfie, making sure to capture the tasting room in the background so he’d know where she was, and followed it with a quick text.

  I’m in the neighborhood. Care to join me for drinks?

  She turned her cell over when his sister came back.

  “We’ll start with our signature Sauvignon Blanc. It’s full of exciting flavors.” Adrianna poured a healthy sample and stepped back. “You’ll notice aromas of green apple, passion fruit and white peach, even complex layers of grapefruit and guava.”

  Alexis swirled and sniffed, picking up on all the flavors she’d mentioned, and sipped. “Oh, it’s crisp and has a lingering finish. I love this. Do you use oak barrels?”

  “Ah, a woman who knows wine. It’s about sixty-five percent steel fermented, and aged with the remainder in neutral barrels.”

  They sipped and sampled the four other wines, talking about the winemaking process. “You’re very knowledgeable. Is this a hobby of yours or do you have a vineyard as well?”

  “I suppose I should come clean.” She thought back to when Ben hid his identity during their first meeting. It was hard to admit, but he was right. Had he confessed who he was back at the Sunrise Diner that morning, she never would have given him a chance.

  And she’d never be so over-the-top in love.

  “You’re not a wine critic, are you? If so, I can open any wine you’d like to sample.”

  Alexis laughed. “I’m a far cry from one, but yes, my family has a small vineyard and winery. In Maine.” She waited for the connection to form and saw when it did in the rounding of Adrianna’s eyes.

  “You’re the Le Blanc family? My parents really enjoyed your folks. My brother went out there to do some consulting work, did you meet him?”

  So little brother hadn’t mentioned her to his sister, or his frequent trips to visit. The pang in her chest gave her a pause.

  “Uh, oh. That frown says you have. My brother can be an ass, but he’s good at his job. I’m surprised he wasn’t able to help your family.”

  “No, Ben did a wonderful job. He modified his original plan to meet my…our requests.”

  “Ah, a woman who knows what she wants. I like it. Does my brother know you’re here? I’m sure he’d love to show off the work he’s done around the vineyard. You know, take credit for all his ideas. They are stellar, but don’t tell him I told you that.”

  “Actually, I just texted him to let him know I was in the area. If we meet up, we meet up. He’s probably very busy.” She did her best to sound blasé`.

  “Yeah. I’d say. He’s handling it all very well. Mom and Dad even cut their trip short and came home from Italy last week to help him out with the baby.”

  “Baby?” The grapes turned sour in belly, fermenting past their peak, and a bitter bile worked its way up her throat.

  “Yeah. He’s a private person. I doubt he shared his personal life with you all, keeping things professional is his forte`.”

  “I didn’t know…didn’t know Mr. Martelli was married.” The wine turned sour in her belly and heat flushed to her cheeks. It had all been a lie. The charming words, the romantic gestures. All a farce, and she’d fallen so easily for him. The betrayal burned deep and hot in her chest.

  Time stood still as the room spun around her.

  “Oh, he’s not. Never will be, my bachelor brother, but you should see him with Sophie. He’s always been my kids’ favorite uncle. Don’t tell our brother Eamon. Ben has that magic touch with kids. And babies.” Adrianna rinsed Alexis’s glass, oblivious to the shattering of her heart. “I’m not a fan of the ex-girlfriend, and didn’t believe the baby could be my brother’s when I first heard, but he’s extremely supportive of her and their baby. My brother’s good like that. Loyal to his obligations. He’s even living at Felicia’s now. Ick. Little Sophie, though. She’s adorable. The spitting image of Ben. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about family drama, and I doubt my brother would be happy with me sharing his dirty laundry, so if you two do meet up, mum’s the word.”

  “I don’t think we’ll be meeting up, so that’s not a problem.” Alexis ignored her vibrating phone, turning it off and shoving it deep in her pocket, standing to leave. “I’m going to take a raincheck on the tour. I’m very grateful for your hospitality, Adrianna.”

  Her middle felt like she’d been punched in the gut, and she did her best not to keel over on her way out.

  “Oh. Okay. Eamon is on his way to show you around if you can stay a bit longer.”

  “No. I have a call I need to make and…I need to check into my hotel. With the jet lag, the wine is going to my head. Thank you, though.”

  Alexis blinked back tears as she fled to her car. She didn’t know where to go, where to stay. Her flight home wasn’t until Sunday night and she hadn’t budgeted on staying in a hotel for three nights.

  Speeding out of Martevino, Alexis put the windows down, the breeze and the sand drying her tears as she drove for miles, heading nowhere, her heart broken, shattered.

  “What do you mean she just up and left?” Ben ran his fingers through his hair, not caring about how he looked.

  “We were talking, getting along like we’d been friends for years. I really like her. Mom and dad were right about her family.”

  “And…” Ben waved his hand through the air, hoping Adrianna got the sign and hurried along.

  “She loved the wines, and had been looking forward to going on a tour, then something happened and she took off. Looked kinda sad, like someone ran over her puppy or something.”

  “Hemsworth?”

  “Who?”

  “Never mind.” Ben hoped Hemmy was okay. Hell, he hoped Alexis was okay. When he got her text he nearly shot out of his seat, pushing past the owner of Mavericks Sporting Goods, forgetting about the expensive marketing plan they’d hired him to develop, to get to Alexis.

  Coming to Napa wasn’t even on her Bucket List. She came to see him, to surprise him, and hell if he wasn’t surprised. It had been over two weeks since he’d touched her skin, kissed her neck, touched his lips to hers, and he was dying to hold her again.

  When Felicia’s water broke hours after he’d stepped off the plane, he’d rushed to the hospital while waves of regret and sadness flooded through him.

  Regret at losing time with Alexis. Sadness at the new life he was so not ready to face.

  And when he held Sophie for the first time, nuzzling his nose into the tiny crook of her neck, he thought of Alexis.

  Both of them were so fragile, so innocent. And he’d hurt them both. He could easily redeem himself with his daughter and make up for the lack of care and attention he gave to her while she was growing in her mother’s womb.

  Alexis, on the other hand, would take more time and finesse. He’d had ample opportunities to tell her about the baby. There was the day he sort of told her about Felicia, or the morning after making love for the first time, or the second.

  And then he got caught up in discovering the budding relationship between them that he put the baby news on the back burner. Hell, he pushed it as far away from the forefront of his mind as possible.

  Yeah, he was an ass. An unforgivable ass. And holding and rocking and caring for Sophie made him realize it more and more with each new day.

  Becoming a father wasn’t what he’d expected. The crying, the diapers, the lack of sleep, he’d been prepared for. Sort of.

  What he hadn’t planned on was falling head over heels for his daughter the second he looked into her eyes. Just like he hadn’t expected to fall head over heels in love with Alexis.

  “What’s the matter, Ben? Is it Sophie?”

  “No, she’s fine. Felicia’s mom is with her now.”

  “Where’s Felicia?”

  Ben didn’t miss the tone in his sister’s voice. It was no secret that no one cared for his ex-girlfr
iend. Heck, Ben didn’t care for her either, but she was Sophie’s mother. Even though she seemed put out about it.

  She’d refused to trade in her two-seater Mini Cooper, and couldn’t afford a second vehicle, so bringing Sophie anywhere was left to Ben, or Felicia’s mother, who, like her daughter, wasn’t keen on having her day interrupted with doctor’s visits and running mundane errands.

  But Felicia and her mother weren’t the ones Ben wanted to think about right now. “Where did Alexis say she was staying?” He’d sent her four texts, and she had yet to reply to any of them.

  “She didn’t.” Adrianna shrugged. “Flew out of here like a bat out of hell.”

  “Did you say something to offend her?”

  “As if,” his sister scoffed. “I’m the coordinator of social events and wine tastings for a reason.”

  “What were you talking about when she bolted?” She scrunched up her nose in guilt. “Adrianna.”

  “I liked her. We were talking about family. She told me what you did for her winery and for the town and we sort of…got to talking about you.”

  “And?” Ben had always been a patient man, but his sister was about to push him over the line.

  “I don’t know. I may have mentioned how stubborn you are. Well, you are.” He didn’t disagree. “But I told her how adorable you are with Sophie.”

  “Ah, shit.” Ben spun around, knocking the heavy barstool over, not caring enough to pick it up, and ran out to his car.

  “Ben!” his sister hollered after him. “What is it? Is everything going to be okay?”

  Hell if he knew. It was his own damn fault for not telling her about the baby. He didn’t have anything to hide. It wasn’t like he and Felicia were in a relationship or getting back together. The only reason he crashed on her couch the past two nights was to give her a break with the middle of the night feedings.

  Since Felicia didn’t want to nurse, there was no reason why Sophie couldn’t stay at his place. With the help of Adrianna, he’d turned the guest bedroom into a pink nursery for his daughter, who had yet to see it. But Felicia put up a fight every time he asked to take the baby home with him. It was her manipulative way of keeping him with her, he knew.

  Revving his engine, he peeled out of the parking lot driving back toward the city. That’s where Alexis would go, right? To hide in the cluster of people?

  No, she wasn’t a city girl. She’d want to be alone. To hide until…until her return flight. Ben pulled over to the side of the road and slammed his Audi into park. Picking up his cell, he dialed her number. Again.

  And again she didn’t answer. This time he left a message. “Alexis. Sweetheart. We need to talk. I just left the vineyard. Please. Call me. It’s not what you think. Well, it is. I have a baby, but I’m not in a relationship with her mother. I care about you. Let me know where you are. Please.”

  He hung up and called her parents, hoping they’d shed some light on where Alexis was staying.

  “Hi, Shane. I just spoke with my sister at our vineyard and she said Alexis was in town.” He did his best to slow his racing heart and sound nonchalant.

  “She didn’t tell you?” Shane chuckled. “Probably wanted to surprise you, I guess. Glad to hear she arrived safe. She hasn’t called to check in yet.”

  “I’d love to catch up with her. Do you have any idea where she is staying?”

  Shane paused before replying. “I figured she was…ah, staying with you or your family.”

  “That may have been her plan but she didn’t let anyone in on it. I’m worried about her getting lost around here. Napa is small, but easy to lose your bearings. And San Francisco is no place for a single, beautiful woman to be alone.”

  “Now you have me worried. I thought you two kids were ah…friends.”

  “We…we are friends. If you hear from her, will you call me and let me know where she is? I’d like to see her…to talk to her.”

  “Absolutely. Claudia and I will feel better knowing she’s with you and not wandering around the state of California on her own.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to her. As long as I know where she is.”

  An hour later, when Ben had reached the outskirts of the city, Shane called back, giving him the name of a sketchy, cheap chain hotel near a well-known gang territory in Oakland, proving their ignorance to California life. The most dangerous city in the state also housed the cheapest hotels. Not the place Alexis, or any woman, should be staying alone.

  Instead of frightening Shane, he thanked him and followed his GPS’s directions to the sketchy dive. He spotted the motel and parked next to a shiny blue Prius in front of room twenty-nine. The car was as out of place as a hemlock growing in the middle of a Napa vineyard.

  Ben shot out of his car and all but banged on the dingy green door of her motel room. “Alexis. It’s Ben.” He waited, hoping to hear the sound of the lock being opened. Nothing. “Alexis? Please, hate me all you want, but you can’t stay here. It isn’t safe.”

  A frail woman dressed only in a leopard print bra and underwear, who could be anywhere between eighteen and eighty, her face wrinkled from the sun, teeth brown from cigarettes and drugs, stepped out from the next door and yelled at him.

  “Will you shut the hell up? Some of us is trying to work around here.”

  A man who had a few extra hundred pounds on him put a beefy hand over hers and pulled her back in the room.

  “I ain’t paying you to yell at the neighbors. Get back in that bed.” He slammed the door shut and Ben tapped on Alexis’s window.

  “You can stay at the guesthouse at the vineyard. I’ll leave you alone if you promise to get out of here. Send me a text. Let me know you’re not going to stay here. My sister will be more than happy to have you.”

  Ben waited and finally his phone chimed in his pocket. Sighing in relief when he saw it was from Alexis, he pulled it out and growled.

  “I will go to hell. I am in hell right now, but I don’t want you here, too.” He moved back to the door and rested his forehead against it, refusing to leave until she did. “You’re not safe here, Alexis.”

  The door opened and he stumbled to his knees. “I may not be safe, but at least the people here are exactly what they say they are. Druggies. Hookers. Two-timers. They don’t pretend to be someone they’re not, Daddy.”

  “I never pretended—” Ben stopped himself, not wanting to have this conversation outside a hotel that charged by the hour. “Will you come back to the vineyard? The guest house is yours.”

  “You and Felicia too busy now that you have a baby to stay there on the weekends? Changes everything, doesn’t it? A baby? Congratulations.” She pushed past him, tossed her small duffle bag over her shoulder, and got into her car. “I’ll stay at Martevino’s as long as you don’t come anywhere near me.”

  Fearing she wouldn’t go back to the vineyard if he kept talking, he bit his lip, watching as she flipped him the bird and drove off. He sent Adrianna a text, informing her of Alexis’s return and stay in the guesthouse, and drove back to the city to reschedule his already double-booked Friday, and try to convince Felicia to cancel her spa weekend so he could spend time with Alexis.

  If she’d see him.

  Which was as likely as the woman next door passing a drug test.

  By five o’clock on Friday night Ben was on the road heading back up to Napa. Again.

  He had to cancel what promised to be a lucrative contract, and referred it over to Rangley and Sons. Paul Rangley had been a generous mentor, and Ben didn’t mind sending business his way.

  He’d made two conference calls during his ride, only having to pull over once to take notes and check his calendar. Worried Alexis would take off if she knew he’d be staying at Martevino as well, he didn’t let her or his sister know he and Sophie were on their way.

  He fed her before leaving and she slept the entire ride, only making a few noises when he’d stopped. Knowing his sister and niece and nephew would be thrilled to babysit, he
stopped at her house first to hand off the baby.

  “Diapers and wipes are in the middle pocket.” He dropped the diaper bag in the foyer. “She likes to eat every three hours. Four ounces should be enough for her next feeding in—”

  “Thirty-four minutes. Yes, you said that already. I’ve had two babies. You can trust me to babysit my niece for a few hours.”

  “She’ll need to be changed when—”

  “When she poops,” Nora giggled. At four-years-old his niece was more than excited to have a little baby to play with.

  “See?” His sister laughed. “Sophie is in good hands. Go have your…business meeting with Alexis.” Adrianna didn’t even try to hide her cheeky grin.

  “Yeah. Uh, thanks.” The last thing he needed was his sister meddling in his love life. Or lack thereof.

  “I approve, by the way. So fix whatever you did.”

  Ben groaned, kissed his sweet Sophie, and turned on his heel, opting to walk—or rather, jog—to the guesthouse than drive. He told himself it was in case his sister needed to take Sophie somewhere; she would have his car with the base to the car seat, and not so Alexis wouldn’t see him drive up.

  Following the crushed rock path to the backfield, then over the footbridge to the two-bedroom guesthouse, he tread lightly on the front porch steps, and knocked on the front door.

  “Hi.” Alexis opened the door with a sad smile until she realized it was Ben. “Oh. It’s you.” Her eyes and lips turned down and she stepped back, closing the door in his face.

  “Can I come in?”

  “No,” she said through the closed door.

  He didn’t remind her he had a key and practically lived there. “How about outside? On the porch.”

  “I’m all set, thanks.” The stereo turned on, to country music of course, a loud female singer screeching about keying a guy’s car and busting it with a bat. Yeah. She was pissed. The singer and Alexis.

  Knowing whatever he said couldn’t be heard over the loud music, he sat in one of the rockers on the porch and waited. When that song ended, another started. Another angry song about cheating hearts. Alexis must have figured out how to connect her phone to the system.