Page 12 of Love Among Vines

The dog dragged her forward, circling once and sitting in front of him. She looked up with a goofy smile until he bent down to pet her again.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“Penny,” she said with obvious warmth.

“It’s a pity you’re leaving,” he said with a glance. “I was hoping to give you that tour you asked about. It’s dog friendly. There’s a lot to see here in the Finger Lakes.”

Jade’s gaze moved past him to the sweeping hills. “I kind of wish I didn’t have to leave. I honestly love it here. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Rett would never know if he didn’t ask. Maybe he could present it as a mutual benefit.

“I have a proposition for you.”

Her eyes widened.

“I think we can help each other,” he said before she could reply. “You need a date so you don’t have to show up to this wedding alone. And I need a date for the vineyard’s golden anniversary in two weeks.”

She blinked. “Your girlfriend won’t be accompanying you?”

An involuntary flashback of Alexa hit him like a punch to the gut—blonde hair flashing in the sunlight as she ran laughing through the green vines.

He shifted his gaze back to the lake, and something hardened in him. There was no way he was ready to share that particular story. “No girlfriend. Let’s just say I am intimately familiar with your situation.”

“Oh.” Her voice softened. “Why do you need a date for the party? Won’t you be busy running around as man of the hour?”

“If you met my family, you’d understand. They’ve been playing matchmaker and hounding me about settling down since I finished school. I just want to be left alone. Luckily my parents live in California, so they don’t know that I’m not actually dating anyone.”

Jade shook her head. “I feel for you. I do. But I won’t be here in two weeks. I have to go back to the city and figure my life out so I don’t go homeless.”

So much for that idea. But he couldn’t give up without a fight.

“You could come back,” he suggested.

She bit her lip. “I can’t…drive.”

Rett stared at her. “You don’t know how to drive?”

She crossed her arms and frowned. “I’ve lived in the city my whole life. Do you have any idea how expensive and unnecessary it would be to have a car in Manhattan?”

He hesitated. It was clear this wasn’t a good match. She had her own life and her own problems that frankly were a lot more dire than his. But something wouldn’t allow him to let her go. She was smart, funny, cute as hell. She apparently struggled with money management, but that was fixable. She didn’t deserve to struggle this way. He could help her if he could convince her to stay.

“I’ll pick you up,” he said. Was he starting to sound desperate?

She looked at him, posture rigid. “We don’t even know each other. How do I know you’re not a crazy person who murders women and throws them through a wood chipper to fertilize your vines?”

He smiled again. “And how do I knowyou’renot unhinged? Who runs to a vineyard in stifling humidity with a backpack full of vending machine cheese?”

She laughed, and the sound warmed him from the inside.

“That’s fair. Okay, so it’s an equal risk situation here.”

Her arms relaxed, and she looked over the vineyard, seemingly making up her mind.

“Why are you offering this after I sweated all over your counter? Don’t you see like thirty bachelorette parties a day? You could ask anyone to be your date.”

He took another step closer to her. “I told you. I know what it’s like to be where you are. I know how lonely it is. And I really could use your help for the party. You’re an artist, right? I bet you’re great at creating atmosphere. I can handle the wine, but I’m useless at décor.”

Penny jumped up on Rett and licked him full in the face. He laughed and scratched her cheeks. Who cared if dog hair got allover his suit? It would be a reminder of this humid morning even if Jade said no.

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