Page 1 of Flirting Lessons

One

Taylor Cameron was hot. Shepicked up an ice cube, slipped it down the back of her tank top, and sighed with relief as it slid down her back. Why had she worn jeans today when she knew she had to be outside all day in the middle of the summer, serving hundreds of glasses of wine to guests at the Noble Family Vineyards anniversary party? Sure, this pair of jeans was comfortable, and one of her favorites, but still.

She laughed at herself as she greeted the next person in line. She knew why she’d worn these jeans. They made her ass look fantastic, and she knew she’d see a whole lot of people today, that’s why. She was single again, after all.

“Welcome to Noble Family Vineyards,” she said, picking up the bottle in front of her. “Would you like some rosé?”

As she poured wine, smiled, chatted with guests, and checked them off the list, she looked around the party to see how it was going. A lot of people were already there, though none of her friends had arrived yet. That didn’t surprise her; her friends weren’t the arriving-early type. But despite her boss Margot’sanxiety about the party, Taylor wasn’t worried. Noble had recently been on a bunch of lists of up-and-coming wineries in Napa Valley, and she was pretty sure there would be a fun crowd.

Luke walked by and waved at her. She grinned and waved back. Up until about a month ago, Luke worked here at the winery with her; Taylor assumed he was at the party today because he still had an enormous crush on Margot. She wondered if anything would ever happen with that. He was here with Avery Jensen, one of his best friends and a local event planner whom Taylor had met a few times at other jobs. Taylor gave herself a moment to—respectfully!—ogle Avery. She was always so immaculate, so perfectly dressed from head to toe; the kind of woman who could wear a white dress at a garden winery party and go home spotless. And that dress looked great on her; her golden brown skin stood out against the stark whiteness of the dress that clung to her long legs as she walked, and her hair was caught up in a knot at the nape of her neck that Taylor ached to unravel. Granted, if Taylor had her way, that dress wouldn’t be buttoned up quite so high, but hey, you couldn’t win them all.

Luke always talked about Avery, but he never mentioned how gorgeous she was. Taylor shook her head. Men. No matter how great they were, if they weren’t interested in sleeping with a woman, they didn’t even register how attractive she was. Taylor was…not like that.

“There you are!” a very familiar voice said. Taylor looked away from Avery and threw her arms around her best friend Erica.

“What are you guys doing here so early?” she said to Erica and her wife, Sam. “I didn’t expect you until at least an hour from now.”

Erica glared at her, but her eyes betrayed her amusement.

“Are you trying to say that I’m always late to things? Because if so, I resent that!”

Taylor laughed as she poured glasses of wine for each of them.

“Erica. Please. We would have been late to your own wedding if your mom hadn’t forcibly removed us from the kitchen that morning. And yes, I know what you’re going to say, I am the exact same way. The difference is I don’t deny it.”

Erica’s attempt to keep a straight face failed.

“Okay, you have a good point. And it was Sam who got us here early, of course. She’s got work to do this afternoon, so we can’t stay long.”

Sam was a partner at a law firm in San Francisco and worked constantly. Despite that, Taylor liked her a lot and was glad Erica had found someone who cared about her so much. It still felt weird to her, though, that Erica was so…settled now. They’d met and become friends in their early twenties, when they were both pretty wild and carefree. Now Erica was married, to a corporate lawyer, of all things. And a few months ago, Erica and Sam had moved out of the apartment complex that the three of them had all lived in and bought a house a few miles away. A whole house! Taylor didn’t think she’d ever own a house, especially not in Napa Valley.

“Sucks that you have to leave early, but don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you before you go,” she said, and handed full wineglasses to Erica and Sam. Erica, though, immediately handed her glass to Sam, with a significant look.

“No wine for me today,” Erica said to Taylor. And then a wide grin spread across her face. “Because I’m pregnant!”

Taylor yelled, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in line, and threw her arms around Erica again. She turned to her boss, whose concerned expression softened into a smile.

“Margot, can I have a second? You’ve met my friend Erica; I’ve got to go freak out with her and her wife about their news.”

Margot waved her away, and Taylor pulled Erica and Sam over into the corner and then into a three-person hug.

“Ahhh, I’m so happy for you both! How are you feeling? When are you due? And all those other questions that people who know stuff about babies would ask!”

Taylor was very much not a baby person, but she knew Erica was, and she also knew how much Erica had wanted this.

“I’m due in November, I’m twenty-one weeks along now and feeling good!” She took a step back and put her hand on her stomach, which Taylor could now tell was more rounded than usual. “I’ve done a pretty good job of hiding it, since it’s not like my belly is small at normal times, and I’ve been wearing lots of oversized stuff, but I’m relieved I can stop that now that it’s so hot out. I was sure you already knew, though, after I canceled with you a few times when I was pretty sick in the early stages.”

Taylor shook her head.

“I had no idea. Wait, you’ve been pregnant for twenty-one weeks and you didn’t tell me?”

Erica’s smile faded.

“I know, I’m sorry. But after the last time, we thought…we didn’t…”

Taylor nodded and pulled Erica back into a hug.

“Right, it’s okay, I get it.” Erica had gotten pregnant last fall and lost the baby. That time, they’d told everyone about it in the very early stages. Taylor had assumed she would still be in the inner circle of those who found out about something like this early, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.

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