Page 47 of Lighting Up Christmas

Now it was Zhang’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “I don’t remember.”

“Calling you on that.” Riley waggled her finger at him. “You need a better story. I was thinking you’d named your blocks after characters in your first game—you know, a nostalgia hit.”

“I keep my winery separate from my work,” he said abruptly closing any door of exploration.

“Tell me what I should be tasting with the Riesling,” she prompted.

“You tell me what you taste.”

A challenge. She could do that. Badly but still. Riley picked up the glass—it was a different shape than the usual glasses she’d seen on wine tasting excursions. Smaller. Daintier. Riley was worried she’d snap off the stem.

She swirled it and sniffed.

“That’s right,” Zhang said softly, his voice warm with approval.

Yikes. If he worked his own tasting room, the wine bar would be three hips deep in women pushing their glasses forward, ears tuned eagerly to his words that would be as precious as the gold liquid he poured into their glasses.

Aren’t you the romantic?

“What do you scent?”

Gosh, he’s making it sound like we are animals circling each other.

Riley bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the image, and dutifully sniffed at the wine.

“You need to go deeper.”

Why did everything he said sound so sexual? Pressing her legs together on the stool, she swirled her glass aggressively and sniffed deeply.

“Fruit.”

The look he gave her nearly made her bust out laughing.

“Are you just pretending this is difficult and painful because you have a very unpleasant challenge planned for me?”

“No, but that is a good idea.”

“Can’t wait. Stop stalling. Take your shot.”

Riley swirled again and sniffed. “Vanilla,” she said, “and honey and then some citrus.”

“Lovely. Sip.”

Riley put her lips to the glass. Was this the moment she took the final step into adulthood? Left her youth and the habitsand preferences of her family packed up neatly in her childhood bedroom and lived life completely on her terms?

She tentatively sipped at the wine, desperately wanting to like it so she could say something clever or funny.

The wine in her mouth hit her like a golden taste bomb, more encompassing than she’d ever had in her life. Everything in her mouth danced.

“Wow!”

She drained the glass, her mouth on fire for more.

“It’s sweeter than Coke. Can I have another?” she asked, plunking her glass on the table and pushing it forward.

“If this were a real tasting, I’d be watching you carefully right now,” he said drily.

“Watch away.” Riley inched her glass even closer to his hand holding the bottle. “No one said it was like this.”

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