“Who knew you could string up a tree so impressively?” Madison asked Gabriella, hand on her hip as upbeat Christmas music played over the sound system. Joey had put together the playlist herself. No, it wasn’t quite December yet, but they geared up early for the holidays at Tangle Valley so their guests could enjoy them to their fullest. Gabriella had been put on twinkly lights duty and had the tree looking fabulous in no time. She spaced the strands perfectly, a true pro. “Did you go to tree school and never say?”
“Of course I attended tree school. Who didn’t?” Gabriella reported from on top of the ladder leading up the sixteen-foot tree. “You should have taken advantage of more of my hidden talents.”
“Now you tell me.”
The two were great at easygoing banter, even about their past relationship, which seemed to be as casual a conversation for them as what was on television that night. It perplexed and impressed Joey, equally.
“You guys never celebrated a Christmas together?” Joey asked. “As a couple, I mean. Sometimes I feel weird talking about your romantic relationship because I never witnessed you as a couple. I have no idea why I’m saying these things out loud. Sometimes I misplace my filter.”
Gabriella took a last appraising look at her work and came down the ladder. “Well, it was one of the darkest times in my life,” she deadpanned.
Madison swatted her arm as she hopped to the ground. “She’s going to believe you. She’s Joey and she does that. Fix it.”
Gabriella laughed. “Fine. No, it’s not weird. I have a handful of exes, but this one was a keeper because she’s a knucklehead, but a nice one. No other reason.”
“She once had nice knucklehead embroidered on a pillow for me,” Madison said. “And no, we casually dated through a Christmas once but were broken up as a couple by the time the next one rolled around. I don’t think I ever saw her tree.”
“It is certainly impressive the way you two get along so well,” Loretta offered, as she hung the festive red bows she’d made herself, evenly spaced as always, below the bar. She turned around to them as the music shifted to “Jingle Bells.” “Shows true maturity.”
“I’m a mature knucklehead,” Madison said, adjusting a garland. “I like the progress.”
“Thank you, Loretta. Given your wisdom, I take that as a compliment. One of us is definitely more mature than the other, however, but we’ll let that go.” Gabriella winked.
“I’m not even going to argue that point,” Madison said wisely. She poured another mug of the hot mulled wine. “This batch is amazing. Your father’s recipe really holds up.”
“The secret is in the brown sugar, he always said.”
Loretta nodded. “He was right.”
Joey grinned, knowing if her dad were around, he would have tromped through at the end and offered to help, knowing full well there’d be little to do other than sip the mulled wine and enjoy the splendor around him. “That’s actually my grandfather’s recipe. Handed down.”
“Well, that makes it even cooler,” Madison said and lifted her mug.
The door opened and they all turned. Becca smiled tentatively as she entered, wearing jeans, tall boots, and a maroon sweater. Joey tried not to gawk. Work Becca was sexy as hell, but Casual Becca was swoonworthy in a whole separate manner. It was hard to pick a favorite. Pretty much whichever one was in front of her at the time won out.
“Hey, guys,” she said, popping on a Santa hat from her bag, which scored her mega points. “Things certainly seem fun in here.”
“And they just got more fun,” Madison murmured quietly with a sly grin in place.
All heads swiveled to Joey in happy surprise, because of course she hadn’t told them Becca was coming. What if she hadn’t been able to make it? She would have felt silly. But with her friends now eyeing her proudly, she leapt into action. “Hey, Becca. Glad you could make it.”
“I was worried because there was a wave of fires to put out and three unexpected phone calls from Orlando, but I fought them off bravely. Didn’t want to miss this.” She looked around. “What can I do?”
“How are you with snow stencils? These windows could use a few holiday designs.”
“We’re about to find out,” Becca said. She approached Joey for the can of snow and stole a quick kiss as she passed. The room didn’t break into applause, but it was close. Suddenly, everyone was decorating with a little more gusto and had a festive pep in their stride. They drank the wine, sashayed to the music, and turned the tasting room into a true wonderland.
As Becca filled her mug a second time, Joey let her arm linger on Becca’s waist as she passed. Yes, it was blatantly affectionate behavior in front of her friends, but Joey didn’t care. Madison caught the intimacy of the touch and passed Joey a questioning gaze to which she merely shrugged. When Becca held her stare with Joey just a little too long after they inspected the window art, Gabriella grinned in approval and awe. When they shared a quick kiss behind the bar, her friends had had enough. With Becca’s back to them as she strung a strand of twinkly lights along the wall behind the bar, Joey’s friends went for it.
“What the hell?” Madison mouthed, silently. She gestured back and forth between Joey and Becca.
Joey grinned. “It’s been good,” she mouthed back. Gabriella sang along loudly to the music to cover their exchange. She didn’t have the most on-key of singing voices, but she made up for it in volume.
“Have you two…” Gabriella mouthed, moving her finger back and forth, as Madison picked up the singing in her place. Even Loretta jumped in, lending her soprano as she followed the conversation with rapt interest.
Joey nodded. “Last night,” she mouthed and offered two hearty okay signs as endorsements. Her friends exploded in celebration, which looked a lot like Muppets when they danced. Joey held out her hands to calm them, not wanting Becca to pick up on the dishing happening literally behind her back.
“Is this high enough?” Becca asked, turning around mid Muppet dance. She quirked her head as the dancers froze. “What’s going on?”
“Gabriella is a dancer,” Joey offered quickly. “As well as a chef. She’s both. She was just teaching Madison this one move.”
“And me, too.” Loretta performed an enthusiastic but poorly executed Running Man.
“Oh.” Becca nodded as if it wasn’t insane. “Well, that’s definitely a…unique approach.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Gabriella said. “I take pride in my work.”
Joey had to give it to Gabriella. She committed.
“But yes, the lights look beautiful,” Joey said. “In fact, the whole place does. Go team.”
Becca climbed down the ladder, and Joey only allowed herself a moment to check out her ass because she did have a modicum of restraint. She remembered gripping it in the throes, and okay, that was probably enough trotting down memory lane in public.
“Your face is red, Jo,” Madison said slyly. “Want some water? It might help that beet-red face. Some might even call you Tomato Face. I won’t, though.” She was enjoying tonight far too much. It reminded Joey of when they were kids and Maddie relished it when embarrassed Joey was called to the front of the cafeteria stage on awards night and honored for perfect attendance.
“Thank you, Madison.” Joey passed her friend a chastising stare, took the offered bottle of water, and swallowed some down.
“Will I see you all at the opening Friday?” Becca asked the group as they consolidated the empty decor boxes.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Gabriella said, looking between Becca and Joey like a proud mom. “I’ve missed too much already.”
Joey sent her a wide-eyed-blink combo.
“We’ll all be there,” Madison added. “Now we’re going to get out of here and let you two…mingle. It is the holiday season after all. Warm and jolly.”
“And sexy,” Gabriella whispered to the ground.
Loretta kissed Joey’s cheek. “Good night, you sweet girls. See you tomorrow, Joey. Don’t
stay up too late now.” Her gaze landed on Becca. “Or do. Your decision. You only live once, right?”
Becca raised an amused eyebrow as the three people Joey enjoyed most scurried from the room, leaving Joey, Becca, and Judy Garland. “They know about last night,” Becca said, simply.
“They know,” Joey said back with a wince. “I’m bad at keeping secrets from Madison, and now from Gabriella, and Loretta has always been a second mother who can read me like a book with large print.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
Becca laughed quietly and leaned against the bar. “They’re your friends, your people. You can tell them anything you want.”
“Really? You sure about that?” Joey asked, stepping into Becca’s space. “I can tell them that as sophisticated as you are, you make the cutest little noises when you’re turned on?”
Becca’s mouth fell open. “Well, maybe not that.” A pause. “I do?” She slipped her arms around Joey’s waist and pulled her in. “Much better.”
Joey nodded vehemently. “You really do. It’s…inexplicably hot.”
“No one has ever told me that before. But to be fair, I was a little out of my depth last night.”
“Why is that?” Joey asked, already knowing the answer if Becca’s experience had been anything like her own.
“I think the chemistry might be a little more compelling than I’m used to.”
Joey nodded. “We combusted last night, but I do take part of the blame for showing up on your doorstep so unexpectedly.” Joey reached behind Becca and found her mug. She put a little space between them because it was starting again, that ever-present tingling that made her want to touch Becca and kiss her and…more. This conversation might be too important for distractions.
“Blame is not the word. Let’s go with credit, because I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Good.” Joey was feeling shy again, but she wanted to know more about Becca, and this was the perfect opening. “You mentioned people you’ve been with in the past. Anyone special recently?”
“Oh, the requisite talk about the past is here.” Becca straightened.
“Is that bad?”
“Not at all. It’s just not pretty.”
“Oh, my. Is there a scandal in the mix?”
“No, but there’s an ex-husband and an ex-girlfriend. Neither of whom is a big fan of mine, if I’m being honest, and I’m not sure I completely blame them.”
“Oh, Becca, what did you do to them? Erect hotels in their hometowns, too?”
Becca raised her eyebrows and sighed. “Well, my ex-husband, Blake, felt like I wasn’t meeting him halfway. I wasn’t. I was gay as the day is long and just took my time realizing that.” She shook her head ruefully. “He hates me for breaking his heart and stealing two years of his life. We divorced when I was twenty-four.” A pause. “I’m thirty-six now, by the way.”
“An older woman. I’m so worldly.”
Becca laughed. “How old are you?”
“I’m thirty as of three months ago, which means I’m a settled adult, right?”
“You seem like an adult to me, especially yesterday.”
“Good. And I don’t think you should beat yourself up about the demise of Blake and Becca, which is one of the better couple names I’ve heard. What about the girlfriend? Feel like telling me about her?”
“Eve.” Becca’s brow creased as this one seemed to be more complicated. “We met at a hospitality conference in New Orleans and hit it off. Dated long distance for a year. She quit her job, moved to Orlando, and spent the next two years hating the city, hating her job, and hating me for not being unhappy along with her.” Becca shook her head as if being yanked back there.
“So not the best introduction to life together.”
“No. I started working a ton just to avoid her, and she felt it. Called me selfish and asked me to move out. Of my own house. I’d had that place for years.”
“Oh no. And did you?”
“Sadly, I did. I loved that house. She also took my car. I’m a country song now. Listen to me.” She laughed ruefully. “What about you?”
“Me?” Joey scoffed. “Not much to report. Pretty boring.” She went about straightening the decor as the focus shifted uncomfortably to her. That snowman statue should probably look to the left a bit more. Yep, much better.
“You haven’t dated recently?” Becca asked.
“Not at all. No.”
“But you were going to get married?”
“Yes. Three years ago. You seemed to already know the story in the Nickel earlier. Everyone does, so I’m not surprised you were updated.”
“I heard the basics, but not from you.”
“That’s fair.” Joey paused, put her hand on her hip, turned, and told it to Becca straight. Just easier to get it all out there. “I planned to marry my childhood sweetheart, who I was very much in love with. Simone. She decided moments before that I wasn’t forever material and is now very much involved with someone who I would have to agree is an upgrade.”
Becca blinked at her. “Surely you don’t really think that.”
“Have you met Constance?”
“No. But she works at the practice I visited with Sky.”
“She’s athletic, tall, beautiful, kind, and she’s a veterinarian.” Joey held out an emphatic hand. “She helps adorable creatures when they’re sick. I’d leave me for her, too.”
“I don’t care who she is. She’s not you.” Becca said it without hesitation as if it was as true as the sun rising each morning.
For a moment, it robbed Joey of her ability to speak. And finally, she melted. “That was a really sweet thing to say.”
Becca looked her straight in the eye. “I’m not trying to be sweet. I just tell it like it is. I’m still getting to know you, but I can’t look away. You’re stunning. You’re incredibly intelligent, full of pep and spirit and more than a little spitfire in the best way. You’re also thoughtful and overflowing with this energy I find completely addictive.”
They stared at each other. Joey could hear her own heartbeat as she turned the words over in her mind.
“Me?” she asked quietly.
Becca nodded. “You.”
Joey moved to Becca and kissed her, long and thorough, her heart soaring. “That’s what I have to say to that,” Joey murmured as she pulled back, her mouth but a centimeter from Becca’s as they breathed the same air. She stared into those beautiful hazel eyes. “I don’t know where you came from, but I’m trying not to question any of this.”
Becca’s eyes held understanding. “You can trust me, Joey. I mean what I say.”
Joey nodded. She was beginning to. With each moment they spent together, another wall came down. On one hand, she hated how vulnerable that made her, but on another, she felt alive for the first time in years. “Dance with me?”
Becca turned her head and passed Joey a sideways look. “Here?”
Joey held up one finger, walked to the switch on the wall, and killed the overhead lights in the tasting room, leaving the space dark with the exception of the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree and around the room. “The Christmas Song” played as Joey held out her hand to Becca, who took it wordlessly. She wrapped an arm around Becca’s neck and held their joined hands near her heart as they danced slow and close.
For Joey, this felt like an important moment, a turning point of sorts. Her feelings for Becca startled her, and she had to decide whether she was capable of facing them fully. She looked up and met Becca’s gaze, watching as she smiled down at her. As the song came to its conclusion, Becca caught Joey’s mouth in a kiss that quickly turned hungry.
“I don’t think you’ve seen the Big House yet,” Joey said, breathless and happy.
Becca shook her head. “Feels like a shame.”
The tour was quick and to the point, ending in the recently remodeled new master bedroom. They didn’t go over the paint colors or new finishes in favor of taking each other’s clothes off.
Becca wore matching black lingerie that made Joey want her so badly she forgot to take her time. With her hand between Becca’s legs, she walked her backward to the bed and had her delicious way with her, taking in every detail with new reverence. This wasn’t a hookup. Becca was beginning to matter. When she said Joey’s name moments before she came, Joey memorized the sound. It was everything.
Becca didn’t stay over that night because there was work the next day and she had Sky to think about, but Joey stayed at her place the night after. They stayed up late, naked in Becca’s bed, just talking.
“You’ve never been to Europe?” Becca asked, as Joey traced a pattern on her stomach, loving how smooth her skin felt.
“No, but I plan to visit wine country in France sometime within the next five years. Madison says I’d go nuts for some of the lesser known boutique wineries in that region. What’s something you’ve never done but want to?”
Becca kissed her chin. “That’s easy. Play on a sports team. I don’t want to be the star. I just want to help. Maybe softball or soccer.”
Joey fell onto her back. “I couldn’t take it if you wore a uniform.” She went back up on her elbow. “Do you understand what that would do to me?” She fell flat again with a labored sigh.
A pause.
“Now I think I have to.” Becca laughed quietly. The sheet only came to her waist, and Joey loved the view of her topless. In fact, it might be her favorite of images. “Are there rec leagues in town?”
Joey nodded. “New sign-up is in the spring.”
“Did I really just turn you on?” Becca asked in her ear. “Be honest.”
She had, but the whispered question doubled the effect. Becca slid down the bed and nestled her hips between Joey’s legs. Joey’s eyes slammed shut when Becca kissed her and proceeded to take her to new heights.
“Home run,” Joey hissed, collapsing in satisfaction after.
Becca laughed and pulled her close as they worked their way toward sleep. Once the first glimpse of sunlight slipped in through Becca’s oversized windows, Joey watched as Becca, naked and unaware of her beauty, moved about, showering and prepping for work. Skywalker came to the side of the bed and swiped a tongue across Joey’s nose. It felt everyday, domestic, as if somehow, Joey just belonged in their midst. She snuggled into the warmth of the covers for a few more minutes before she, too, would need to get ready for work at Tangle Valley. First, she smiled to herself. It amazed her that she was able to feel happiness in the moment, when things at the vineyard were so daunting, when she’d lost a close family member and best friend. Yet, Becca’s presence in her life helped her through it.
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