Page 53 of Romance Languages

I pivoted on my heel and began our trek through the magical aisles of In Good Spirits. I loved a wine-based challenge. “So tell me about this friend of a friend.”

“Her name is Lorna. She works in public relations. She broke up with her fiance a few months ago and after living with her parents, she just bought a condo in the meatpacking district.”

I fed each new piece of information into my wine processing brain as I scanned rows of bottles, ideas beginning to form.

“What is she like? Have you met her before?”

“A few times. She and Ethan are close friends. We all went to college together. She was a regular at frat parties, just one of those people who knows how to have a good time. I guess she’s perfect for PR because that’s all about parties. Aren’t girls into rosè? That’s a thing, right? I think they sell it in six-packs.”

“I’m not letting you walk into a party with rosè, and definitely not rosè in cans.” Friends didn’t let friends drink wine from beer cans. “What kind of condo? Tell me about it.”

“From what I heard, it’s really nice. It’s a new building, super snazzy, amazing views of the Hudson. Pricey real estate. How about this sparkling white wine? What do you think of that?”

I recoiled and almost retched. Sparkling white wine was what they served in the pits of hell. As I was about to shut it down, the shit-eating grin on his face told me I didn’t need to.

His laughter took over his whole face. Damn, this guy could smile.

“I’m kidding,” he said.

“Thank God.”

“I just wanted to see what your reaction was. It was very entertaining.” He gave my ass a soft pat that threatened to turn me as fizzy as sparkling wine. “What about some Yellow Tail?”

He was egging me on, fucking with me yet again. Yellow Tail wine was known for being very inexpensive.

“There are some varieties of Yellow Tail that are good. I’m not against cheap wine, just bad wine.”

“Sure, Jules.” There was that pleased grin trying to make me melt. “Why don’t I get that for the party?”

“Lorna deserves better. She’s getting over a breakup.”

Seamus walked backward, facing me as we ambled up the aisle.

“This is fun.”

“Wine shopping?” I asked.

“Making you outraged.” His eyebrows lifted in delirious glee.

“I’m not a snob. There are certain items where I prefer quality. I eat McDonald’s.” I didn’t become fat by eating free range, organic meals all the time.

“Man of the people! Do you know what my favorite wine is?” He leaned close to whisper in my ear. “Box wine.”

Those two words sent a chill down my spine. Boxes were for Amazon shipments, not beverages.

“You are one twisted individual,” I said, suppressing a laugh.

“I’m going to ask if they sell Franzia.” He turned to go up to the cashier, who would likely toss him out the door for such a question.

“Don’t!” I grabbed his sleeve to pull him back. “You’ll have me banned for life.”

“Fine, fine.” He effortlessly took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze, a nonchalant moment that burned within me.

I was a virgin with little-to-no dating experience, but…was Seamus flirting with me? The teasing, the smiling, the playful touching. That was flirting, right?

Or was this how he was with all of his friends? Seamus was a happy-go-lucky, friendly guy, the kind of person who could bond with anyone.

I stopped myself from falling down an analytical rabbit hole and returned to the topic at hand: wine.

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