Entangled

by Melissa Brayden

  Becca would never think of lavender the same way again.

  Joey, looking like a woman on a mission, turned, backed Becca up against the wall, and sank to her knees. The sensations hit immediately as Joey’s warm mouth went to work. Becca’s eyes fluttered closed, and she gripped the wall for support. Suddenly, she didn’t feel tired at all.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was two days after Thanksgiving, and Joey sat on top of an oak barrel as evening crept in. Across from her on a stack of hay bales, Gabriella sat cross-legged. Madison chose to stretch out on the concrete floor, back against the bales, as they shot the breeze and caught up on all they’d missed during the Thanksgiving break. The sun had just descended on what had been a lazy day on the vineyard, as the majority of staff had recently traveled back from wherever their holiday had taken them. As for Joey, she’d enjoyed a turkey dinner prepared by Loretta, who’d insisted, since her daughter was tied up with a show in New York. Uncle Bobby and Madison had joined them, and the foursome did their best to enjoy each other’s company without dwelling too much on the empty chair at the head of the table that no one had felt comfortable filling just yet.

  Tonight felt like a good time to regroup with her friends, however, before jumping back into work, which would bring an inevitable uptick in visitors as the holidays approached. To bolster their evening, Madison had brought the three of them a thermos of hot mulled wine she happily poured into cozy mugs. The spices were fresh and aromatic, making Joey’s soul squeeze when she inhaled deeply from her cup. The warmth radiated through her gloves, reminding her how much she loved the colder months. Before her first sip, she thought of her parents back in the day, newly married and working on putting Tangle Valley, an up and comer in the Oregon wine scene, firmly on the map. She sent a silent cheers up to them now, remembering what big shoes they were all trying to fill.

  She’d turned on one of the metal portable heaters she’d talked her father into purchasing, in spite of the coats and hats and gloves they’d piled on. Yes, it was cold outside, but the old barn was becoming a nice place to unwind and catch up. She’d half-heartedly suggested they relax in the Big House but was relieved when her friends suggested the barn. It was becoming their time, their place, and she liked that.

  Gabriella was newly home from spending Thanksgiving in Connecticut with family, first generation Italians. “The food, you guys, was off the charts. My grandma Ursula has the best stuffed olive recipe, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. We showed up for Thanksgiving. All of us. Two tables of food, entirely covered in dishes of all kinds. Pastas, eggplants, antipasto platters, and my mother’s spinach lasagna, which I would happily die at the feet of. Almost sinful, except it wasn’t.”

  “And how many of those were your dishes?”

  “Nine or seventeen. Not that many,” Gabriella said with a wink. She dusted off her shoulder with pride. “What? I had to show them up. I’m the chef. My Tuscan rib eye was the talk of the neighborhood, though.” She sipped her wine. “Speaking of things cooking, is Becca back from Georgia yet?”

  Madison grinned. “Oh, Gabriella, I can safely say that she’s not. I know this because Joey says as much every few hours. She’s but half a human without her soul mate.” She reached across and gave Joey’s boot a shake in solidarity.

  Joey balked. “You guys, I have never said Becca was my soul mate.”

  “Out loud,” Madison corrected. “You forgot that part.”

  “It’s just that I haven’t seen her in four days now, and yes, I can admit that I miss her. A lot.” She shook her head as she searched for the words. “It feels strange to say, given it’s only been a couple of months for us, but four days feel like four years. It’s disarming.”

  “Don’t cast this as anything but normal when you care about someone. I, personally, like seeing you so invested,” Madison said. “It looks good on you after the last few years of tumbleweeds.”

  “Hey!” Joey bit out.

  “The utter truth. But you deserve a break from strife and heartache.”

  Gabriella held up her glass. “Have the good sex. That’s what I say.”

  “Feels really nice,” Joey marveled. “I’m not going to downplay it. I miss her smile. The way her hair tickles my shoulder when we kiss.” Joey lifted her shoulders as if doing so would take her back there, to those magical moments she’d shared with Becca.

  “You’re going to make it until she’s back. I promise you,” Gabriella said as if this was the most vital of causes. “Then you and Sexy Execsy will kiss and bound through the vines, laughing and holding hands.”

  Madison blinked a few times. “God, I want to be you, Gabriella. If that’s how you see the world, let me wear your unicorn glasses. How can we make that happen?”

  Joey grinned. Madison, who had been practical and levelheaded since the day Joey met her, sometimes struggled to see the world beyond science and logic. “Please make that happen for her. She needs to do a little skipping of her own.”

  Gabriella sat taller and moved her hands in a circle around each other. “You just gotta relax, Maddie, and the butterflies and unicorns of life will find you, too, one day.”

  Joey laughed. “Don’t dissect them when they do.”

  Gabriella pointed at Joey in reinforcement. “Yes, listen to her. Embrace your inner unicorn, Madison.”

  Madison raised her mug in acquiescence and then mumbled into it, “I might need that on a T-shirt.”

  “Don’t tempt me.” Gabriella looked behind her, remembering something. “Oh, damn. I brought cake.”

  Madison’s mouth fell open. “You brought cake and you’re just now saying so? We’ve been sitting here for ten minutes. Cakeless.”

  “Gabs,” Joey said, leaning in, “if you bring cake, you should be screaming that all the way to the barn with the pan raised above your head in victory.”

  Gabriella nodded. “Got it. Next time? Screaming from a distance.” She pulled the foil off the dish and presented the wonder that was her work. “It’s pumpkin and apple with a cream cheese frosting I perfected when I was sous chef for Aiden McHenry at Albondiga in Manhattan.”

  “Oh my God. Really?” Joey felt her face light up. “I love his show. I still can’t believe you worked with him. When I saw that on your résumé, I knew we had to have you. I’m just lucky you’re willing to slum it.”

  Gabriella looked skyward. “He was actually the last man I considered before scrapping the whole concept of them.”

  “Why have you never informed me that you dated Aiden McHenry? I feel like that’s key information.” Madison accepted the slice of cake, complete with a stainless-steel fork. Gabriella came prepared.

  “Dated is the wrong word.”

  “Oh. Well, then. So you had a hot hookup with Aiden McHenry?” Joey asked, mouth agape.

  “Sadly, I did. And I would not use the words hot or anything close.” She took a moment to enjoy her cake because, as Joey had found, angels had kissed it into existence. Good God. Gabriella dabbed the frosting from her face. “Fantastic body. Lots of ambition in bed. Talked a big game about it beforehand. Did nothing for me. That’s when I knew I had to be out.” She shook her head as if it was just so clear now. “Hooked up with a random girl from the restaurant two weeks later and thought my world sparked into magnificent color.”

  “Unicorn color,” Madison said. “How am I doing?”

  Gabriella grinned. “Better.”

  “I’m ambitious, too.”

  Gabriella pointed at Joey with her fork. “So I get how one person can change everything you think you know about yourself. Who knew I was gay?”

  Madison raised her hand and they laughed.

  Gabriella turned back to Joey. “When is she back?”

  “Tomorrow. Apparently, Carla’s been great while she was away, but she’ll have a lot of things at The Jade that will need her attention when she’s back. Hoping we can steal some time, though.”

  Gabriella eyed her knowingly. “Please. I’
ve seen you two together. If you’re in the same town, there’ll be no keeping you apart, little magnets that you are.”

  Joey beamed, liking the sound of that. She could get used to it even, which felt reckless and terrifying. She moved past it. Maybe they’d drive to Portland this weekend, hit up a food and wine tour. She’d also like to see that new indie film Loretta’s daughter, Carly, had out. Of course all of those activities involved a little sex-laden extracurricular afterward. Joey thrummed with excitement.

  There’ll be no keeping you apart. Joey heard the words again and refused to examine the natural question too closely. What if something did?

  * * *

  Thanksgiving in Georgia had been lovely, relaxing, and a nice break from the day-to-day grind. Not only that, but it had given Becca a chance to reconnect with her parents, her little brother, Paul, and his wife, Lara. They’d laughed together, eaten fantastic food, and she and her sister-in-law had cleaned up at charades, per usual. Yet throughout all the good, a large piece of Becca felt like it was back in Whisper Wall on a vineyard there, and she ached to return.

  After a quick trip to see the cowboys and pick up Skywalker, who knocked her over, stood on her chest, and peppered her with sloppy kisses, she headed home. If she played her cards right, she’d have time to swing by Tangle Valley for a short visit before heading into the resort for the remaining portion of the workday. After leaving so much on Carla’s shoulders, it only seemed right that she take over her share as soon as possible. Carla would take the same number of days off at Christmas, leaving Becca to handle things at The Jade, a tradeoff they’d agreed upon before the grand opening.

  As she let Sky off his leash and watched him bound through his living room, greeting each piece of furniture by jumping on top of it to make sure nothing had changed, her phone vibrated. Hoping for Joey but getting Carla, Becca clicked over.

  “I’m on the ground and getting my doggo situated,” she said upon answering. “How are things?”

  Carla chucked ruefully. “I hoped you’d ask. Jean-Luc, the chef? His girlfriend broke up with him, so he’s crying in the kitchen and calling her a cheating whore in a voice probably too loud for a four-star restaurant, all the while wielding a knife. The staff is literally in hiding. As you can imagine, the food is not making it out in a timely manner.”

  “Fabulous.” Becca squinted and began pacing the length of her kitchen.

  “But wait, there’s more.”

  “Oh. Okay.” She braced herself.

  “Our less-than-reliable front desk manager called in sick, so I’m covering things there with our attendants. Rudy, the valet, has filed a sexual harassment complaint against Frank from housekeeping and is refusing to be at work when Frank is. Both are angry and demanding to speak with you, though HR wants to be briefed first. Also, we’re having that hot water issue on the sixth floor again. A woman reported it to the front desk in a towel. I’m not even making that up. Plus—”

  “You know what? I think that’s plenty.” Becca closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. That Tangle Valley visit was going to have to wait. Damn it. But when it rained, it poured. “I’ll be there in ten and we can make a punch list. Don’t let anything else happen. You put that resort on notice and hold it up with your shoulders if you have to.”

  Carla sighed. “I’ll threaten the building within an inch of its life. See you soon. Happy you’re back. As in, really happy.”

  “Me, too.” She clicked off the call, knelt, and gave her dog a kiss on the brown spot encircling his eye. God, she loved that patch of fur. “What a welcome, huh? I have a feeling you’re going to be asleep within five minutes. I’ll see you soon, okay? We’ll catch up and see what that pesky squeaky bone has to say about things.” Another kiss for Sky before grabbing her bag with an overdramatic sigh.

  The sun was down when Becca came up for air next.

  She headed out to the parking lot, feeling an ache on the back of her neck and tension binding her muscles up in bunches. It had been a long day of travel and then a killer one to follow at the resort. The hot water was up and running on the sixth floor, and they’d managed to call in the assistant front desk manager to cover things up front. She’d began an investigation of the Rudy / Frank complaint and had looped in their HR manager, Sebastian, who would handle it from there. Becca was on fumes.

  “There she is.”

  Becca turned, searching for the voice in the parking lot, knowing who it belonged to. Everything in her celebrated. And then there she was. Joey sat on Dusty’s folded down tailgate, one leg beneath her, one dangling down.

  “What in the world?” Becca said, grinning and changing course. Joey hopped down and waited, her own smile growing. She pulled Joey into her arms and just held her there, absorbing the feel of her, inhaling her scent, and savoring Joey’s soft hair beneath her cheek.

  Joey released her and stepped back, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve missed you.” She went up on her toes and kissed Becca’s lips. “And these,” she said, kissing them again. “These shouldn’t leave again anytime soon.”

  Becca laughed. “God, I’ve missed you, too.” She shook her head. “This was harder than I thought it would be. The phone calls were nice, but not the same.”

  Joey rocked back on her heels. “Turns out you’re getting attached to me.”

  “It’s true.” Becca knew it was easier for Joey to phrase it that way rather than stating that she was getting attached to Becca. They were sinking in further with each other, but she’d noticed that Joey still clung to safety, and that made sense the more Becca learned about her. This Simone had really done a number, and losing both her parents along the way hadn’t helped. She didn’t trust the universe. But Becca could be patient. She longed to be Joey’s safe place to fall. Trust took time, and luckily, Becca had that to give. “Next time, maybe you can come with me. Meet the family.”

  “Really?”

  Becca nodded. “You’d love my kid brother, Paul. Pauly, as I like to call him. You both have that same earnest sense of humor.”

  “I think you might have just called me naive.”

  “Never. You just come with a big heart. One of your best features.”

  “Oh, that’s much smoother. Let’s go with that characterization for Paul and me. What did you read on the plane?”

  Becca laughed. “What did I read? Where did that come from?”

  “Yeah”—Joey slid onto her truck bed and Becca joined her, heels and all—“I was imagining you in your seat and realized I had no idea what you’d do on a plane to occupy yourself. How could that be? Plane behavior is huge. It says so much about a person. How can I continue to date someone if I don’t know anything about their plane behavior?” She shrugged. “That was my early morning train of thought, anyway. Your daily glimpse of Joey.”

  She’d missed that daily glimpse. Becca stared at her as she spoke, just so happy to be in her presence today. She never got tired of the way Joey’s blue eyes lit up when excitement struck, and now that the topic was Becca, herself, that felt next-level. “Well, allow me to put that curiosity to sleep. On the plane, I did a little listening to music to keep me calm.” She winced. “I don’t love the takeoffs and landings. They make me nervous.”

  Joey shook her head. “I never would have guessed that.”

  “Next, I read some of the customer service reports to see how we’re doing in our first weeks open and then perused a few résumés for seasonal workers because Carla and I are going to need to pull in a few more folks for the three weeks leading to Christmas. After that, I closed my eyes and thought about coming home. About you. A lot about you.”

  Joey took a moment and slid a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s unexpected plane behavior. The me part.”

  “Your little glimpse of Becca.”

  “No novels, huh?” Joey asked, backtracking. “I was trying to decide if you were a Grisham type or maybe a romance novel reader.”

  “I do like Bristow. She has a
new one out featuring two women, you know?”

  “It’s next on my to-read pile. Gabriella is finishing it now.”

  Becca bumped Joey’s shoulder. “Maybe we can read it together.”

  Joey bumped her back. “You have a date. We can read a little every night before bed.” Becca smirked and Joey caught it. “Except we likely wouldn’t get to the book, knowing us.”

  Becca shook her head. “Nope.”

  “Then whenever we have time.”

  “Deal.” They shared a moment just looking at each other, happy to be in each other’s presence again. The feelings Becca was experiencing for Joey were powerful and ever evolving. She lusted after her, yes, but she also just liked spending time with her, getting her opinions on things happening at work, or hearing her joke about the friendly rivalry with the other vineyards. It was a friendship and romance blossoming at once. Becca had never had that before.

  “Where did you go just now?” Joey asked quietly.

  “Somewhere really, really nice. Come home with me?”

  Joey nodded. The banter from earlier had receded and something heavier, more important had settled in its place. They made love to each other that night. It wasn’t just sex. Their touches carried reverence; their kisses communicated a promise of things to come. She slept with her arms wrapped around Joey from behind, holding her close and beginning to understand that she didn’t want to ever let her go.