The Vintner's Vixen

by Rebecca Norinne

  “Only if you go first.”

  Leah shrugged, set her bag down inside the door, and joined Angelica on the floor. “I’m an open book, honey.”

  “Are you and Roger back together?”

  “We’re sleeping together, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “You’re asking if we’re in loooooove?” Leah drawled the word with a bit of extra Southern flair in her accent, and Angelica snorted a laugh. “Who knows?”

  “Would you say you’re in a relationship with him?”

  “Why the sudden interest in relationships?” Leah nudged her shoulder softly.

  “Why are you answering my question with another question?”

  “Why are you?” Leah countered with a chuckle.

  “Fair enough.”

  “So, what’s really going on?”

  Angelica slid her fingers through her hair, selecting a particularly grimy hank, and began sorting grit out of it, strand by strand. “Noah wants a relationship.”

  “Stubble McVineyard wants a commitment?” Leah’s perfectly formed eyebrows rose as high as they could go.

  Angelica nodded. “We had sex in an elevator. And then he said he wants more.”

  “More than elevator sex?” Leah blew out an exaggerated puff of air. “Must have been something.”

  “Oh, it was.”

  “Do you want more?”

  “I don’t know. I think I do, but then I realize I barely know the guy.” She twisted her body to face Leah, not caring about the dust and grime that would lodge its way into the fibers of her jeans. “Did you know his father is some incredibly famous winemaker? And his mother is like the queen of high society, or something.”

  “Noah? But he wears flannel shirts.”

  “I know.” Angelica shook her head. “He also wears three-thousand-dollar suits.”

  Jai had given his estimate of Noah’s tailoring costs before they’d parted ways for the evening. With a couple of digs about rich lumberjacks thrown in for good measure, of course.

  Leah stared at Angelica for a few moments, her face morphing from thoughtful to skeptical and then determined before she settled on sympathetic. “Unless he’s done something terrible you haven’t mentioned, I’m failing to see the problem here. He’s handsome as sin, fucks in elevators, and he’s rich. Plus, he lives right next door. What’s not to like?”

  “I just … didn’t expect him to want more.” Angelica frowned. “I can handle friends with benefits. I’m good at friends with benefits. A relationship is …” She trailed off, uncertain.

  “Honey. A relationship is what you deserve.” Leah put her hand on Angelica’s wrist. “He’s a good guy, and he’s into you. Give yourself a shot.”

  “You think so?”

  “I do. I also think you should let me do something about your hair.”

  Angelica laughed. “Now that, I won’t argue.”

  Angelica met Noah for lunch the next day. Feeling absurdly nervous, she tugged the hem of her shirt down as she sat in the window table at Frankie’s and waited for him. She’d worn a cream-colored cable-knit sweater tee with a mock turtleneck over jeans, a nod to the incoming autumn weather, although it was still warm enough that she was glad it was short sleeved. The knit pattern did nice things for her curves, and she knew for certain the color was the perfect accent against the tan she’d gotten over the last few months.

  A real tan! She hadn’t had one of those since she’d left home at eighteen to start modeling. She admired the skin on her forearm briefly, a smattering of light freckles dotting the spot just inside her elbow, then looked up when she heard the door open.

  Noah made his way straight toward her without even nodding to acknowledge the hostess. Everybody knew him, of course, so the woman just rolled her eyes and turned to greet the next customer as Noah made a beeline for the window—and Angelica.

  “Hi,” she said, smiling up at him. She’d called him after Leah had left and asked to meet. He’d suggested lunch without pressing her about what she wanted to discuss. Just as well, since she wasn’t entirely sure herself.

  “Hey.” He pulled out the chair opposite and sat down, his eyes roaming over her like she was a glass of water in the middle of the desert. She might not know exactly what she was going to say next, but she knew it was nice to be appreciated.

  “I asked you to give me time,” she blurted without preamble.

  “Yeah.” He eyed her over the rim of his glass as he took a sip of water, his expression unreadable.

  “I think I’m ready.”

  He set the glass down and leaned toward her, his gaze warm. “Ready for what?”

  “For—” She was interrupted by somebody banging on the window, causing her to leap nearly out of her seat. “What the hell?” She turned and found the beaming face of one of the producers from RenoTV staring at her from underneath the painted ‘F’ in “Frankie’s.” The skinny guy with hipster glasses and a too-long tie held up a finger and mouthed “hang on” through the glass.

  She exchanged confused glances with Noah as the producer made a mad dash for the door.

  “What’s that about?” Noah muttered.

  “No clue.” Angelica frowned. “I don’t have any meetings scheduled.”

  “Hi!” The man reached their table and extended a hand to Noah. “I’m so glad to meet you. And so glad to find you both in one place!” He shot a rapid glance at Angelica, but then his eyes quickly bounced back to Noah.

  “Excuse me, but we’re—” Angelica stretched her hand out to halt his verbal onslaught, but the jerk just ignored her.

  “I’m Ethan Lee. One of the associate producers on Miss Travis’s show.” He pumped Noah’s hand enthusiastically. “You’re Noah Bradstone, right?”

  Angelica’s stomach sank as Noah’s eyebrows snapped down. Shit. That’s not good, she thought when he cast her a suspicious glare.

  “I am,” Noah said.

  Oblivious to the lack of encouragement in Noah’s tone, Ethan went back to babbling out his reason for interrupting their lunch. “It’s so great that I caught you both! I was going to try to set up a meeting, but maybe we can just talk about this now to get things moving quickly?”

  “Get things moving?” Noah looked over at Angelica, who did her best to project that she had no idea what was happening.

  “Yes! We have a proposition for you. For both of you,” Ethan corrected himself, finally turning so that Angelica was included in the conversation. Kind of him, since it was clear they were going to talk about her damn show.

  “What kind of proposition?” she asked, eyes narrowed to angry slits. She was almost positive she wasn’t going to want to hear it.

  “Well, since we found out who your famous neighbor is,” Ethan nodded meaningfully at Angelica, and she felt her entire body turn cold as Noah shot a suddenly blank expression her way.

  What was that all about? Did he honestly think she’d called the network and told them she’d found a hidden pocket of high society in River Hill? She hadn’t even known about his other life until the night of the gala. But she didn’t have time to think about any of this, because Ethan was prattling on.

  “We’ve had the whole marketing team working on how we might be able to expand on the foundation you’ve built here.”

  “What do you mean?” Somehow, she got the words out while Noah’s eyes bored into her from across the table.

  “Well, we’d really like to include some shots of Mr. Bradstone here to show how you’re marketing to the higher end of society, you know? A full feature role, honestly.” Ethan turned back to Noah with an encouraging nod. “And no need to worry—the network is happy to provide wardrobe and makeup. Even some extras in your tasting room for parties, if you’d like. Get a real vibe going there, you know?”

  Noah’s expression transformed from blank to frozen, and Angelica grimaced. “Um, can you give us some time to talk about it?” she asked.

  “Oh, sure.” Etha
n bobbed his head again, like some kind of puppet. “Just let me know when you’re ready to get it all in writing!” He shook Angelica’s hand, not seeming to notice that Noah hadn’t extended his own. “My number is on your call sheet, Miss Travis,” he informed her, beaming at both of them before making his way out of Frankie’s.

  “That was … unexpected,” she mused, hoping Noah didn’t think Ethan’s proposal had been her idea. Who on earth had put that bug in RenoTV’s ear?

  “Was it?”

  “Um, yes.” She frowned. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

  “I highly doubt that,” he answered, crossing his arms and staring out the window.

  “Don’t be like that,” she said, anger spiking through her. Why did he always assume the worst of her?

  “Like what?”

  “Like you think I’m some sort of monster whose only goal in life is to somehow impinge on your idyllic life here in quaint little River Hill.” She was being cruel, she knew, but so was he. How dare he act as though she were some sort of cackling villainess every time one tiny thing didn’t go his way?

  He snorted but didn’t respond.

  Angelica took a deep breath to calm her exasperated nerves. They weren’t going to get anywhere sniping at each other. She tried to remind herself that she’d asked him here so they could discuss how a relationship might work between them. She still didn’t know if that was a good idea, but she had feelings for Noah that she wanted to explore.

  “Talk to me,” she said, trying not to make it sound like a plea. “Tell me what you’re thinking.” She could probably guess, based on the fact that his hand was fisted around his napkin in a grip tight enough to turn his knuckles white. She bit her lip.

  “I think you have a lot of fucking nerve.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Excuse me?” Angelica stammered. “I don’t think—”

  “Oh, I think you thought long and hard how best to use me,” Noah said, interrupting Angelica before she could offer an excuse for her behavior. There were no excuses he hadn’t heard before.

  When, Angelica’s jaw fell open and she stared at him mutely, he shook his head sadly. He really should have known better. Hell, he had known better. Unfortunately, he’d let his friends convince him not to trust his instincts. That was certainly the last time he let that happen. “I have to admit; you had me fooled.”

  “Me?” she cried, her eyes darting back and forth to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Leaning close, she whispered, “I’m not the one who turned into a raging asshole overnight.”

  Too late, Noah realized that despite her lowered voice, the older couple to their right was eyeballing them excitedly, happy to be the first to land the latest bit of town gossip. That was probably the only thing Noah didn’t like about living in a small, tight-knit community; everyone knew everyone else’s business just as soon as it happened. Just as Naomi had known as soon as he and Angelica had hooked up, this would spread, too. No doubt this conversation would be common knowledge by dinnertime.

  He leaned forward too, and rested his forearms on the table, his fists clenched tight in front of him. “How long did it take you to run back to your producers and tell them who I am? Did you all get a good laugh over how gullible I’d been?”

  “Gullible?” Angelica asked, her brows angling into a deep vee. “You are many things, Noah, but gullible is not one of them.”

  “No? I fell for your act easy enough, didn’t I?”

  Angelica’s eyes flicked between his, searching for something. And then, with a resigned sigh, she leaned back in the booth, her expression weary and taut with hurt. “Okay, I’ll play. What act is that?”

  Noah jutted his chin forward. “This one right here. The doe-eyed innocent.” His eyes raked over her, lingering on her pillow soft lips and all of her pretty, pretty curves. “When we both know you’re actually a manipulative little vixen.”

  Angelica crossed her arms angrily, plumping her breasts up like an offering at the altar of all things womanly and divine. Forcing himself to drag his eyes away, Noah thought to himself, Damn, I’m really going to miss those.

  “Out of curiosity,” Angelica said, her eyes flashing with antipathy, “has anyone ever told you you’re a small-minded egotistical son of a bitch? Because if that’s never happened before, consider me the first.”

  Noah suppressed a grin. For as angry as he was, he really enjoyed Angelica’s sassy side, and he realized he’d miss that, too. “A couple of weeks ago,” he answered with his best approximation of a good-natured chuckle, one that belied his displeasure over Angelica’s duplicity. “Except it was more like ‘you male chauvinist piece of shit.’”

  A small, unbidden smile tugged at his lips as he remembered his conversation with Naomi. But then that smile dimmed as he also recalled it was that discussion which had made him drop his guard in the first place, the one where he’d let himself imagine what it would be like to be in a real relationship with the woman sitting across from him. The woman who’d sold him out.

  “Well, that too,” she replied with a pointed, definitive nod.

  Noah studied her for a moment, and a feeling of resignation washed over him. Quietly, he asked, “Why’d you do it, Angelica? I thought we had something good.” He paused. “Or, at least, we could have.”

  Angelica’s bottom lip trembled, but then she took a deep breath. With a long, slow exhale, Noah watched her face morph from enraged to resentful, through somber and into something that looked like… disappointment? “I never said a word to anyone, Noah. You can believe me or not, but I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  He was still simmering with righteous indignation. But what if it was all a big misunderstanding? Noah wanted to trust her. The problem was, while her words sounded genuine enough, the slight shifting of her eyes told a different story.

  “Why don’t I believe you?” he asked, voice heavy with disappointment and dread.

  Angelica chewed on her lip and let out a thin sigh. “Okay, I told one person,” she admitted. “My friend Leah.”

  “Leah?”

  “The woman you’ve seen doing my makeup.”

  “So, you did talk about me with someone affiliated with the show?”

  Angelica shook her head. “It’s not like that. She’s my friend. She’s loyal to me, not the producers.”

  “If you say so.” Noah shrugged, and looked out the window. He knew the best thing for him to do was to stand up and leave the restaurant, but he stayed glued to his seat. He couldn’t bring himself to walk away from Angelica. Not yet.

  Angelica sat forward and reached out to take his hand, but he pulled it away at the last second. If she touched him, he didn’t know if he could keep a level head.

  Slowly, she slid her hand back and linked her fingers in front of her. “The truth is, I was struggling with everything that happened between us last weekend, and I needed someone to talk to. But I swear, Noah, she wouldn’t have breathed a word.”

  “But someone did. If it wasn’t you or Leah, who?”

  “How well known is your father in this town?”

  “I’m sorry?” he asked, not following her sudden change of topic.

  “Your dad, the wine king or whatever he is. How many people in River Hill know who he is? Or better yet, who you are to him?”

  Noah scratched his chin. Angelica enjoyed the feel of his rough stubble between her thighs and he liked seeing her all marked up, so he’d skipped his morning shave. Now he wished he hadn’t. “I don’t hide who I am, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  She sat up straighter in the booth. “Right. So that means anyone could have planted the idea to leverage your name and stature in the community in the producer's head. Literally anybody could have Googled you.” Her shoulders slumped forward. “And yet, your first instinct was to blame me.”

  “It’s the timing, Angelica,” he breathed. “Nothing for months, and then bam. Suddenly Howdy Doody is in here practically salivating over the ide
a of introducing me as a ‘character.’” He used his fingers to make air quotes.

  Angelica looked away. “I swear to you, it might look that way, but it isn’t.”

  “Tell me something,” he said, and her eyes darted back to his.

  “Anything.”

  “If you were in my shoes, how would you feel? What would your first thought have been?”

  Her head bowed forward, and she fidgeted with her napkin. When she raised her face back to his, Angelica’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I would have trusted you. I would have believed you.”

  “Why?” he asked, genuinely curious. All evidence pointed to Angelica being the leak—or if not her directly, then her friend Leah. But what Noah saw written on her face right now went so far against that being the case, he didn’t know what to believe anymore. Was she the problem here? Or was it him?

  “I would have trusted you,” she sniffed, “because I care about you. Because I know you’re a man of your word. Because I knew you cared about me too.” She looked away then, and a single tear slid down her cheek. “Except maybe that’s not true at all.”

  Noah groaned and fidgeted in his seat. He did care about her, which was why he was so torn up over everything that had just happened. If he didn’t, he would have laughed at the producer kid’s antics and walked out of the restaurant without a backward glance. But because of how much he cared, and how badly he wanted to build a future with Angelica, he’d needed to know why she’d betrayed him. Now, after hearing her impassioned plea, he found himself questioning his initial reaction. Maybe she’d been right about someone else in the town putting the idea into the producer’s head.

  If only the timing hadn’t been so suspect, he thought, this wouldn’t be happening.

  But this wasn’t the right place to be have this conversation. “Can we get out of here?” he asked, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Go somewhere we can talk about this with fewer prying eyes?” It seemed like half of the restaurant was leaning in their direction, trying to hear what they were saying.