Page 20 of Twin Babies For The Grump

“Right, the Grapefest is a pretty new event, but it’s already considered to be the contest to win, at least for locals. There are bigger ones, you know, France, Italy, places abroad,” I explain, with a gesture of one hand. “But in Napa Valley, the thing that you want to win right now is Grapefest.”

“And how high are the chances of us winning?” Owen asks. He’s frowning and sounds like he’s taking this very seriously. That’s something, right? At least he isn’t brushing it off.

“Middle ground,” I admit. “We’ve hit a standstill with the production of the new select wine. We had three sample varieties and Thomas was supposed to clear off on the product that he wanted used—”

“I’ll take them up at the estate,” says Owen, interrupting me. There’s a dismissive air to his tone. “And I’ll get an answer to the winery by tomorrow. Once the people down here have it, what do our chances look like?”

I fumble again, unable to help it. Owen’s got the sharpest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen, and this side of him is nothing at all like the smooth-talking man that I met at the bar. This man is all business, he knows his shit, and he’s not interested in hearing any excuses.

Honestly, he doesn’t act anything like his dad.

“I think that they’re high,” I say, “but we need to catch up on interviews. I’ve been putting them off because we didn’t technically have an owner anymore. And I know that that can’t have looked good to them.”

Owen makes a face, brows pinched down and mouth twisting up. He’s clearly irritated but I’m temporarily spared by Marco calling out, “Tess! What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I’m really sorry,” I say, “I have to handle that. But welcome to the winery, and, I suppose, welcome home.”

Then I turn and I leave, mentally slapping myself the whole way.

I’m normally way more put together around the higher-ups. That’s part of why Thomas was so impressed with me. I don’t fluster easily. But with Ki— Owen… Well, he’s a totally different story. He’s hot, he’s good in bed, and now I’m also discovering that he’s my boss?

That’s something.

And it’s not something I like.

A sudden barking reaches my ears. Someone must not have closed the doors to the estate house correctly when they took papers up to the office!

I turn, watching in abject horror as the white bundles of fur come bursting from the house, out of the building, down the walk, and then straight to Owen.

Relieved that there won’t be a dog chase, I turn and continue toward Marco, who’s standing rather listlessly in front of several boxes of corks. There’s a mouse presently on the top of one such crate.

Before I can say anything, I hear a low sound behind me. A bark.

Tipsy barrels past Owen and over to me instead. The ruckus scares the mouse away. I barely manage to hook my hands in Tipsy’s big, bright blue collar before he goes off after the little critter.

“No, no, no, you don’t need to be doing anything with that little fellow,” I tell him, tugging him back over.

Tipsy wiggles and prances about.

“Sit,” I say, firmly.

He sits, but he doesn’t stop wiggling. It’s like his whole body is just a twisting mess of muscles and fur. His tail thumps against the floor so hard, it’s a wonder that it doesn’t hurt. Or break the tiling.

“Just go finish getting the crates sorted,” I tell Marco. “Put a mark on the ones from the most recent delivery.”

“Alright,” says Marco, before he turns and ambles off, into one of the side storage rooms.

With him gone, I’m able to give my full attention to the dog. Sinking down onto one knee, I bury both of my hands in his scruff of thick white fur and give it a scratch.

“We both know you shouldn’t be out here,” I coo at him. “We both know that, yes we do.”

Tipsy wags his tail even harder.

“I guess he likes you,” says Owen, the heels of his polished black dress shoes clacking over the tile. I look up at him, way up, and my gaze does not linger on his pelvis, thank you very much, or on his chest— well, maybe it lingers a little!

Only a little though!

Then our eyes meet, and I give him a small smile. “I was up at the house a lot, helping your father with the paperwork. It could get confusing to him at times, with all the new changes that were being put in place.”

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