Page 57 of Won’t Let You Get Away

I narrow my eyes. “What do you want?”

Ma grins mischievously. “I want Noah and Connor to come tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” I agree, reaching for my phone on my clipboard. “I can text Noah?—”

“Or,” Ma interjects, “you could bring him the banana bread and ask in person.”

Quinn coughs and mutters something about checking an order before hastily leaving the tasting room.

I see right through my mom’s scheme. “And this wouldn’t be an attempt to meddle in my life… would it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she responds, picking at an imaginary piece of lint on her sleeve.

“We all see through your banana bread bribe, Ma. You only make it when you want something.”

Ma rests her chin in her hand, propped up on her elbow on the table. “I made their father a promise to check in on them,” she says, with a sad smile on her face. “Nicolas Dawson was a good man; you would have liked him. He used to bring his boys and AJ over once a week for Wine Wednesdays and have dinner with us. He knew they needed a break from work and wouldn’t do it on their own.” She sighs, shaking her head.

“Without him, they’ve lost themselves in their work. Connor and AJ are slightly better since they live in town and can grab a beer, but Noah…” Ma huffs a half laugh, causing my chest to tighten. “That man threw himself so deeply into work that I don’t think he knew what month it was until you showed up.”

My cheeks flush at her comment, and I lower my gaze to the bread beside me.

“I tried to check in on them or sent Tucker and Tommy to help. But let me tell you,” she says theatrically, “Nicolas warned me how stubborn they could be, but it was like pulling teeth just to get those two to come to dinner when you arrived in town.”

Playfully, I swat her hand away, but she catches mine and rests our clasped hands on the table between us. She gazes out the glass windows at the back of the tasting room overlooking the vineyard.

After a minute, something clicks in my head. “Wait, you were close with their dad?”

She nods with a soft smile and glances at me.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that Noah’s vacation coinciding exactly with mine over the holidays wasn’t a coincidence?”

Ma laughs heartily, finally releasing my hand and standing from her seat. “I simply told Nicolas your plans and where you were going,” she points to the bread. “You’ll invite them for me?”

“Yeah, Ma,” I reply, holding back laughter at the scheme she played a part in and allowing her to change the subject. “I’ll head over to Noah’s now and ask.”

She gives me a peck on the cheek before heading toward the kitchen, likely to chat with Andrew for the next hour before Pa comes to take her home.

Gathering my things and the bread, I head to my office to grab my purse and head out for the day.

Since the weather has been warming, I’ve been walking from the cabin on days when I need to work at the winery. The walk to and from work helps me gather my thoughts or unwind for the day, despite my aching feet some days. Usually, I carry a cardigan because even if it’s seventy-five degrees, I tend to feel chilly at some point. However, this morning I was in a rush and forgot one.

Now, as I take a detour to Noah’s place with a slight breeze picking up, I regret not going back for it. But I distract myself from the chill by pulling out my phone and noting down my latest baby name idea.

It isn’t until I’m approaching his house that I wonder if I should have texted him first. He usually visits me at the end of every day to hang out and pick up Rosie, so this is the first time I’ve come to his place.

Squaring my shoulders, I remind myself he’s given me an open invitation to stop by whenever and continue up his porch to ring the doorbell. His faint “one minute” echoes from behind the door. As I turn away and look down the road toward one of the barns, I take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

At the sound of the door opening behind me, I smile and turn around.

“Hey, I hope it’s okay that…” My words fail and my mouth hangs open at the sight of Noah in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

NOAH

Bri’s jaw drops open, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks as she stares unabashedly at my bare chest.

Tightening my grip on the towel around my waist, I barely suppress a smirk. “Hey, Sugar.”

Bri manages to close her mouth, shaking her head as she drags her gaze up to my face.

---