Page 41 of Twin Babies For The Grump

I kiss her, tongue in her mouth. “I like picking you up.”

“Show off,” she accuses.

And she’s not entirely wrong about that, so I just laugh and tell her,“Maybe!”

Chapter Eighteen

Tess

Thewaterfromtheshower crashes over me, soothing the aches that are starting to settle from the harsh fucking.

Owen doesn’t seem able to keep his hands off me, touching my sides, my arms, reaching out to brush the hair from my face and water off my cheeks.

He leans forward twice while I’m trying to wash my hair and kisses me, despite the threat of getting sudsy shampoo all over his face. It makes me smile.

“I can’t believe that I was nervous about telling you,” I say, with a laugh.

“I don’t know. I think I can see it. I know… I can be a hard ass with work.”

“You can be,” I admit, with a nod. “You realize that this isn’t San Francisco, right? The people out here—”

“Are a lot different,” finishes Owen, tossing his washcloth on the floor. “I know. You’ve told me that before. And I see where you’re right, Tess, I do. But I’ve spent my whole lifebuildinga company based around low lives, snakes, and—businessmen.”

I laugh at the utter disdain he says that last word with. “You talk like you weren’t a businessman yourself!”

“I was a CEO. There’s a total difference.”

“Alright,” I say, stepping just a little bit outside of the spray of water, so I can push my hair backward, gathering it at the base of my neck. I pull the hairband off my wrist and loop it there, so it’s out of the way. “What’s the difference?”

“I already owned a successful company,” says Owen, a hint of smugness creeping into the words. “And they just wanted to take something that was already doing well. If I let up on them, they would have ripped Bale Enterprises straight out from under me.”

I don’t know much about the world of big business, other than what I’ve seen in movies, but I figure that if there’s anyone who’s going to know, it’s going to be him. I do need to point out something though. “The people here aren’t interested in taking over the winery. Most of them actually enjoy their current jobs.”

“Do you?” Owen asks. It doesn’t feel like a diversion to the conversation, but rather, like a genuine question.

I laugh at him “Yeah, Owen, I do.” Sliding open the glass door, I step out of the shower and snatch up one of the towels, wrapping it around my middle. “I like working here. I loved working for your dad, and I like working for you. You just need to lighten up a bit.”

“I don’t know that I can until this contest is over,” admits Owen, cutting off the water and stepping out of the shower after me. “It feels like that’s the kind of thing that needs a hard hand driving it.”

“Do you know what happens when you handle grapes with a hard hand?’

“I feel like I should already know the answer to this but…”

I smile at him, heading out of the bathroom and toward the kitchen, where most of my clothes are still waiting for me. “They burst. You’re going to squeeze the life out of the winery and our entry into the contest if you don’t calm down with things a little bit.”

“You think so?” Owen follows me out.

“I know so. Just… Look, if this were big business, I would be listening to you, right? But it’s not. This is Napa Valley. And I think that it would be a lot better if you just took a deep breath and let things settle down.”

We take a few moments to get dressed, but the conversation resumes as soon as our clothes are back on.

“Alright, fine. I’ll take advice if you have it.”

“You should let me call Jed,” I tell him.

Owen’s brows furrow and his lips pinch into a frown at the edges. “Tess.”

“No, I’m being totally serious here,” I insist. “He was a good worker, and heshouldhave kept his position. Let me give him a call and see if I can convince him to come back. It’s going to help with morale a lot.” Leaning into his personal space, I press a kiss to the side of his neck. “Happy workers make tasty wine.”

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