by A. C. Arthur
“Yes, I think Wade did mention that at our meeting earlier,” Lauren said. “Dinner on the deck. Wine, chicken with peppers, sunset. You’re right, that’s definitely not hot. It’s more along the line of romantic.”
The last was said as Lauren looked at Brynne and wiggled her brows.
“No,” Brynne replied immediately. “It’s just dinner.”
“You. Wade. Alone.” Lauren stated evenly.
“We’ve been alone before.”
Lauren nodded. “Right. But you’ve never put on jewelry and make-up to walk through the vines with him. And this is at night, not at the crack of dawn when anybody in their right mind would be too damn sleepy to think of doing anything hot…I mean, romantic.”
“You’re crazy,” Brynne said and then moved toward the door. “This is just dinner and Wade and I are just friends.”
“He’s my brother, Brynne. I know when something is more than just dinner for him.”
Brynne turned back to see Lauren staring seriously at her.
“But I’m not one of those women,” Brynne told her. “You and I know that and I’m certain Wade knows it. Trust me, this is just dinner.”
“Right,” Lauren said with another nod. “Just dinner.”
Brynne left the room without waiting for another comment from Lauren. She walked down the steps leading to the foyer thinking that she wasn’t really hungry but that she wouldn’t offend Wade or Mrs. Ramsey by not at least eating a little of the chicken and peppers. And when she’d walked through the living room and the study, stepping through the already opened patio door out onto the deck, she sucked in a breath and told herself again that this was just dinner.
Regardless of how great Wade looked when he turned to face her, or how strong the urge to kiss him was.
Chapter 3
“It’s sweet,” Brynne said after her first two sips of the wine Wade had poured into her glass. “And smooth.”
He sipped from his glass and nodded as he tasted as well. “It’s a new blend. We used grapes from each of our vineyard blocks. The goal was sweet and relaxing, yet distinctive.”
Brynne set her glass on the table. The movement was slower than normal because her hands had not stopped shaking since she’d stepped outside.
“I’d say you hit the mark. What’s it called?” she asked.
He was still staring at his glass as he held it in his hand, moving it so that the wine swirled in circles. “We haven’t decided yet,” he replied.
“It should be something elegant and sleek,” she told him. “That’s how I felt just drinking it. Like maybe I should be wearing a floor length satin gown and you should be in a tuxedo. Standing in the middle of the dance floor swaying, maybe in a waltz or some other classical ballroom dance.”
When she thought she’d gone way too far, Brynne clapped her lips shut. She settled against the high-backed cream colored chair and let her hands fall into her lap. When he didn’t reply right away—either to ask if she were crazy for meddling into his business, or to tell her to shut up—she looked around once more.
The set-up out here had amazed her into total silence the moment she’d arrived twenty minutes ago. There were only the two matching chairs, set on each side of the rectangular table that was covered in a floor length white table cloth. Crystal glasses and china plates were neatly arranged on the table along with crisp white cloth napkins. In the center of the table were the most adorable mason jars, with candles inside. She’d instantly loved the way the subtle rustic touch had been included. But the table wasn’t enough. Around the table, creating a wide circle on the wood planked deck were lighted lanterns. On the branches of the tree that snaked over to cover this end of the deck were more lanterns placed a short distance a part. They were accompanied by white twinkle lights that made Brynne feel like she was at her high school sweetheart dance, minus her date who had been clumsy and smelled like corn chips. All of this was against the beautiful backdrop of mature trees, lush lawns and the grandiose Big House.
That had been the moment she realized this was definitely a date.
“Perfect,” he was saying when Brynne looked over at him this time.
“Everything you just said was absolutely perfect for this wine. It is elegant and sexy. Just like you.”
Her damn hands were still shaking. Good thing they were in her lap and he couldn’t see that far over the table. At least she hoped he couldn’t.
“That was nice of you to say,” she said when she knew she was taking too long to reply. “Dinner was good too. Mrs. Ramsey never fails in that department.”
His grin was slow and potent. This time, Brynne clasped her hands together and tried not to squeeze them too tight. It must have been the wine, or maybe these twinkle lights. She didn’t know, but how could Wade be even hotter tonight than she’d ever seen him before. Brynne wasn’t blind. Even though she hadn’t been with a man, or even looking for one, in more than a year, she still knew a fine guy when she saw one. Wade Banks sort of covered the ground of a hundred fine guys.
Tonight he wore a simple white button front shirt, dark jeans and a navy blue blazer. When he’d stood to greet here she’d noticed that the color of his belt and shoes matched her shoes perfectly. It was a small thing, yet it stuck in her mind as if he’d offered her dozens of roses. But it wasn’t just the casually hip clothes that had piqued Brynne’s interest. It was the subtle change in his eyes, the easy sexiness of his stance, the smooth timbre of his voice. His piercing blue gaze seemed sober tonight, more entrancing. The dark hair that had been tousled this morning was combed back neatly, laying softly at the sides and around his ears. His strong jaw was just lightly covered with hair that was more appealing than she used to consider a man’s facial hair. She wanted to note more, to capture every aspect of him tonight in her mind so that she could recall the visual later when she was alone, but staring was rude. And the way Wade stared back at her made Brynne feel like he had complete access into her mind. That he could look at her and read every salacious thought that had been bouncing around in her head was enough to have her blushing with embarrassment.
“You hardly ate any of it,” he said, looking down at her plate.
“I feel full a lot faster now,” she told him. Even though that wasn’t totally true this time around. She was nervous. This was a date and Brynne wasn’t certain how to handle it.
“Are you happy?” he asked. “About having the surgery and all that you’ve gone through?”
She could talk about this, Brynne thought. Her journey, her reasons behind it, that was easy to talk about. Well, easier than it had been before.
“I’m happier than I was,” she told him. “I wasn’t unhappy with my weight before. I mean, it definitely made some things harder to do. For instance, when I worked at the gallery I was on my feet sometimes for ten to twelve hours a day. I was already starting to have knee and back pain. The doctors kept telling me to lose weight but I brushed it off because I was happy with what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I was even okay when I found out I had high blood pressure, because my dad and his mother had it too. I told myself that being overweight hadn’t caused that, it was just hereditary.”
Brynne shook her head.
“The day they told me I was borderline diabetic was when I had to think again,” she finished.
“Diabetes is known to be hereditary as well,” he said.
“You’re right,” she replied. “But being diagnosed with both wasn’t something I could take lightly. I felt like things were just going to continue to go wrong, you know. First one disease and then another and then what if my knees really gave out on me? Knee replacement, physical therapy? There were just so many things that fell under the arc of being overweight.”
“There’s truth to that,” he said. “There are also those that aren’t the conventional weight or have the body society dictates they should. They still try to live as happy and healthy as possible.”
“You’re talking about my cousin’
s fiancé, Amber, right?” Brynne asked and smiled when he nodded.
She knew that Wade had business dealings with Amber from Bailey, who had been shocked to learn where Brynne was staying and that she knew Wade and Lauren. Brynne hadn’t met Amber yet, but she was happy for her and Brandon especially now that they’d become parents.
“I know you invested in her and her sisters’ cosmetics company. That was really nice of you.”
Wade shook his head. “It wasn’t nice. It was a business deal. Amber had a platform as the spokesperson for My Big Is Beautiful Forever Foundation. That was a springboard for the cosmetics line, or whatever else she chose to do. I was impressed that she was driven to do something else that catered to a woman’s personal view of herself. That’s what we’re all about at The Lily Center, for men and women, that is. Self-worth and self-reliance.”
“Lauren’s really proud of The Center. I visited once with her. It’s a really cool endeavor and it’s so needed in the world today.”
“Why didn’t you want to go there after your surgery? We have therapists, state-of-the-art gyms and personal trainers, nutritionists, group sessions, everything to assist a person in recovery from weight loss surgery.”
“I’m not like everybody else,” she answered, beginning to feel mildly uncomfortable with him and this conversation.
He drank more wine.
Brynne did too.
“Your family doesn’t know that you had surgery last year or what you’ve been doing since then,” he said.
Brynne took a deep breath and released it slowly. This was how a date went, she supposed. He asks questions about her and she was supposed to answer them. In turn, she could ask him questions and he would answer. The last time Brynne had done this it had been exciting and she’d definitely felt like the Q&A was leading somewhere. Tonight, she wasn’t so sure.
Wade Banks was a far cry from Frank Gaines. The older rich and classically handsome vintner versus the hip and funny real estate agent. She’d met Frank through an online dating site and they’d hit it off instantly. For fourteen months they’d conversed via email, Skype and talked on the phone and when they’d finally met in person, neither of them had been disappointed in any way. But then, Frank had actually been in love while Brynne found herself liking him a lot, sort of like a sibling relationship. No, to be fair, it had been more than that, Frank had been one of her closest friends and a big champion of her and her work for a good portion of her adult life. He just wasn’t the guy that she was head over heels in love with. And for Brynne that was a big deal.
“No, my family does not know,” she answered Wade because he was the here and now.
It was best for her to keep her mind in the present and to focus on making decisions for the person she was now.
“You don’t trust them?”
“I didn’t want their opinions,” she said. “Despite everything, I know that my parents and my sister love me. I love them too. But this, I needed to do alone. It was my fight and a big part of being successful at it, for me, was to know that I could do it on my own.”
“And now that you’ve done it, you plan on going home to tell…rather, show them what you’ve been up to while you’ve been away,” he said. “I think they’ll be pleased.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she replied and resisted the urge to pick up that glass again. Instead, she rubbed her flattened palms down her thighs and tried to convince herself that this was going fine.
She was used to sitting and talking to Wade, even if there hadn’t been candles, wine and a romantic setting like this one before. He was a good guy. She already knew that based on what Lauren had told her about him and how she’d seen him interact with the staff here at the winery. She’d never heard him raise his voice or be disrespectful. He laughed easily with her and with his sister. He was intelligent and interesting. All good traits for a date. So she told herself to relax. There was no reason to worry about what the next step was or whether or not she was ready for it, none at all. Or so Brynne thought before Wade spoke again.
“If you don’t think they’ll be pleased about your weight loss, how do you think they’ll feel about the fact that you’re dating a white guy who’s almost ten years older than you?”
Wade knew the question had caught her off guard. For him, not so much. He’d been watching her while they ate, listening to her responses and calculating just how much she was holding back.
It was standard, he supposed, for a first date. Both parties were unsure at this point, like the kids learning to ice skate, tiptoeing onto the ice in an attempt to make sure it was thick enough, and secure enough to hold them. In time, if these kids didn’t fall and bust themselves up too much, they would gain confidence and start to enjoy the activity until at some point they were gliding easily, purposefully, over the ice. Brynne was definitely tiptoeing around him and this idea of the two of them becoming more than just friends. As for Wade, well, he’d been ice skating a time or two and felt pretty confident about being on the ice.
“I don’t really know how they’ll feel about either,” she answered, honestly, he thought.
Brynne Donovan was not liar. She was honest with herself even if she hadn’t found the time to be that way with her family. Wade knew better than anyone the many reasons a person had for not being upfront with those they loved. His mother had been very good at keeping secrets, until the day she died, to be exact.
“How do you feel about it?” he asked her. “Us dating, I mean.”
She countered his question. “Is that what we’re doing now?”
“It’s what I’d like us to begin doing,” he replied.
She waited a beat, watching him carefully, thinking of her response, wondering if she should trust the instinct or give this new scenario more thought. Wade didn’t want to wait for the answer, so he stood and extended his hand to her.
“Walk with me,” he said.
This time she didn’t hesitate, but put her hand in his and stood. She was shorter than his six-foot two stature, even in heels. Her toes were painted the same burnt orange color as her short nails. Her hand was soft, just like the light floral scent of her perfume.
“It’s just beginning,” he told her as they walked down the three steps of the deck and onto the grass.
“Sunset was scheduled for seven forty-five tonight,” she said.
Wade lifted his arm and looked at his watch. “It’s right on schedule.”
They walked a little further, down a small slope. The air was still and warm, the sky like a blaze just beginning to simmer down.
“It’s not as peaceful as the morning,” she said while they walked. “I think that’s the main difference. Sunsets are more restless, like they can’t wait to get this done, but are forced by nature to move at a certain pace.”
“I agree.”
They’d come to the gazebo and Wade led them inside. There, he took her other hand, turning her to face him.
“I can’t wait to kiss you,” he told her, his voice low and gruff. “I’ve waited for a very long time. Actually, it seems like forever.”
She blinked and looked up at him. Her lashes were long and he didn’t think that was aided by a lot of mascara. She wore a very light eye shadow, just a hint of beige and gold that only enhanced her beauty. Her lips were coated with a pretty gloss. He liked looking at her lips. How many nights had he imagined how they would feel on his?
“I never thought about kissing you,” she surprised him by saying. “Or at least I hadn’t thought I did. Not until earlier today when you first mentioned it.”
Wade warmed inside. “Then you couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he said. “The anticipation has been building all day hasn’t it?”
Her fingers loosened and then clenched his hands.
“I don’t know what this is,” she told him. “I didn’t expect it so I’m not prepared.”
“I can respect that.”
“But I’m not afraid either,” she continued.
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Wade smiled. “No, Brynne, I never thought you would be afraid.”
And he hadn’t. In the months that he’d thought of her and wondered if pursuing her was the right thing to do, fear, had never been a variable. Not on either of their parts.
He stepped closer until the undeniable curve of her breasts brushed against him. Releasing her hands he cupped the back of her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist. She flattened her palms on his chest and tilted her head. Wade stared into her eyes. There was passion there, burning as impatiently as that setting sun. He felt her pressing into him and held her tighter. He lowered his head and heard the loud and incessant beating of his heart. Her lips parted in welcome expectancy.
“I can’t wait anymore,” he whispered when his lips were only inches away from hers.
“I don’t want you to,” she replied and closed the last bit of distance, touching her lips eagerly to his.
Chapter 4
Dammit, he was in the gym.
Brynne sighed as she looked through the glass doors and saw Wade at the weight bench. She’d abandoned her walk this morning in the hopes of avoiding him, but still needed her physical activity for the day. Thank the heavens for the convenience of the home gym located on the first floor, past the formal living room of the Big House. She wasn’t quite as thankful for the sight of Wade dressed in black basketball shorts and a black sleeveless shirt lifting multiple weights as if they were no heavier than a feather.
Her mind screamed that she should leave, but her body remained perfectly still. Her gaze affixed to the man. His legs were spread on either side of the bench as he lay back with his arms extended above his head. Long fingers flexed over the bar and she watched as his chest moved up and down with the deep breath he took and released before lifting that bar off the catch and bringing it down toward his chest. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding a breath until she released it and saw the fog appear on the glass door in front of her. With a shake of her head she rubbed her palm over the spot and then stepped back from the door.