Page 27 of A Taste of Chardonnay

“Sure, if that’s what you want to think.”

“Why the fuck are you here, anyway?” It was snowing like a bitch. The streets would be slippery. The building was entirely too dark.

“I’m doing my job.”

“Haven’t you looked out the window? It’s slippery as fuck out there.” I glanced at her three-inch heels. “You’re going to bust your ass.”

“I don’t need you worrying about my ass. Thank you very much.”

I swallowed as my mind drifted to that damn costume. Mentally smacking myself, I knocked the image away. “Where’s your car? It wasn’t parked in the front.”

“It’s in the back parking lot. I had to go to the warehouse earlier, so it was easier to park there.”

“And you were planning on walking in the dark by yourself?” Vine Valley was a safe town, but that didn’t mean bad things couldn’t happen. Tourists came in and out of this town who didn’t have the same respect as the residents here. You couldn’t trust outsiders. Anger boiled in my veins, thinking about some asshole harassing her… or worse, attacking her.

“I think I’ll be all right,” she said.

“Don’t fucking do that again.”

“I’m sorry… I don’t remember when it was determined you could tell me what the fuck I can and can’t do.” Annoyance tinged her words, and it gave me a sick satisfaction.

Pushing her buttons was my favorite pastime. Watching her unravel from her perfectly put together exterior was a high I’d never quit.

“I just determined it.” Despite getting under her skin, I was right. It was irresponsible to park in a secluded area that lacked proper lighting.

“Oh, really, and you think I’m going to just say, ‘Oh okay, sure. Whatever it is you say, Brady.’”

“Fine, do whatever the hell you want. See if I care. But you know damn well if Laurent was here, he’d be telling you the same shit.”

“Well, he’snothere. And for crying out loud, I’m a thirty-eight-year-old woman. I don’t need anyone telling me what to do. Not even my overbearing brother. So, if we’re done here?”

I couldn’t fucking leave her here. It was snowing like a bitch, and Laurent and Franc would fucking kill me if, God forbid, something were to happen to her. Hell, I’d fucking do the job for them if something happened to her.

“Go finish what you’re doing. I’ll wait.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

I pulled a stool from the bar and plopped my ass on the wood. Jack was set up at home. I had nowhere else to be. The whole town was closed. I could sit here all fucking night if I had to.

I glanced toward the french doors that led to the deck, but it was a black abyss. I narrowed my eyes toward a light on the warehouse and saw the walls of snow pouring from the sky.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she exclaimed.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“No, you look like an overbearing ogre who needs to mind his own damn business and leave me the hell alone.”

If she didn’t hurry her ass up, we would be stuck here, and there was no way in hell that was happening.

“Have you not glanced outside? It’s really coming down. You probably don’t even have snow chains on your tires. Your car won’t make it out of the parking lot. Get your shit. I’ll bring you home.”

“I don’t nee—”

I held my hand up, cutting her off. “You’re giving me a fucking headache. Can you just get your shit?”

“I think I’d rather be snowed in here than get in a truck with you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her shirt covered her completely, but I could still see how the motion pushed her tits up.

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