Page 22 of Lighting Up Christmas

It was dumb to feel awkward on his own property. This was his domain. They were providing a service. He was providing a fee. But bringing the muffins made it feel far more intimate. He’d provided niceties for workers before. Bottles of water. Snacks. Lunch. Why did it feel different this time?

One word.

Riley.

And then, she was there, poking her brilliant head out the barn door, grinning at him like she was happy to see him.

“Good morning, Ice Wine King, welcome to my lair.”

*

For some reason,it felt like the sun had come out when she’d heard the truck, and Riley rushed to the door like she was expecting packages for Christmas. And there Zhang sat, lit up by the sun, dark and mysterious against a backdrop of snow and acres of dormant vines.

He looked like a movie.

Beautiful.

Remote.

So, of course, she opened her big mouth.

She wanted to make him laugh. Instead, she was acting like they were friends. They weren’t.

Yet Riley wanted to be.

Something about this man just begged for connection. Warmth.

Not that he’d see it that way. Sophia and everyone at the red dress thirty party Friday night had had a lot of teasing advice and speculation to pass around about Zhang Shi. And they’d toasted him as they’d consumed his wine. Riley had thought to try some, but everyone was commenting on the bouquet and flavors, which made her self-conscious. What if she didn’t taste the same things? And then the wine—in a smaller bottle than what wines were normally bottled in—was gone before she’d worked up her courage.

“Did you want to check the work?” Riley wiped the smile off her face—she was goofy being so happy to see him. He was a client not a friend, and not a particularly friendly client.

“You sent me a very detailed bid,” he said.

She nodded. She had. That was something else she’d changed from her dad and uncle’s way of operating. Everything computerized, parts and labor priced. Her bids were highly detailed, and when there was something she wasn’t sure of, she estimated to the best of her ability and told the client why and where there might be some discrepancies.

On rural properties and especially with historic properties, there were often lots of unexpected issues, and she felt owners needed to know that upfront. Many of them expected it and weren’t particularly worried; they were often rich, and the purchased property was a second or third home.

The Bear Creek area wasn’t the tourist draw that many of their neighboring towns were, but it did have its share of vacation homes as it was surrounded by natural beauty, close to winter activities on Mount Ashland and summer activitiesalong the Rogue River. It was also an easy drive to the amenities of larger towns and the cute artistic offerings of Ashland and Jacksonville. And only a four-hour drive to the huge metropolitan areas of the Bay Area to the south and Portland to the north.

“Okay, if you don’t want an update, I’ll get back to it.”

“I brought muffins.”

The wordmuffincoming out of Zhang’s gorgeous mouth was so unexpected, she popped her head back out.

“Did you say muffins?” she demanded.

A slight head bob, and she could swear his glass-cutting cheekbones colored just a little bit. Riley was charmed to her booted toes.

“Muffin is my favorite word.”

And for a split second, not even enough time for the image to get to her brain, Riley thought she saw the slightest quirk of the left side of his mouth. She took it as a start and vowed that she was going to get him to smile, and then she was going to make him laugh.

She rolled open the barn door and struck a pose, one arm sweeping wide.

“Welcome to Fire Ridge Winery. Men bearing gifts of muffins and coffee are heralded as heroes.”

In the act of getting out of the truck, Zhang paused.

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