Page 138 of Love Among Vines

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

No one had ever gone to bat for him the way she just had. His parents had pretended like Rett and Alexa had never dated.

“Yes, I did. She doesn’t get to ruin your life twice.”

“She didn’t ruin my life.”

“What do you mean?”

“If she hadn’t fucked my brother, I never would have met you.”

A small smile appeared. “That was almost adorable.” She leaned in for a kiss. This one was sweet, tender. Warmth spread to his fingers and toes.

He held her for an extra second. “Do you want to get out of here? Maybe take a drive?”

“You mean me?”

“Yeah. You’re legal now. Let’s drive over to the winery parking lot. You shouldn’t be able to do too much damage there.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

JADE

“Whoops,”Jade said for the fifteenth time that hour as gravel spun beneath the tires of Rett’s truck.

“You know, I thought this would be less aggravating than dinner with my brother. Now I’m not so sure.”

“Hey.” She swatted him. “I’m doing my best. This is the first time I’ve ever been behind the wheel. And your gas is so touchy. Are you sure that’s normal?”

He glowered at her, but he still looked like a weight had been lifted off him. “Let’s try parking one more time. Reverse,” he prompted.

“I still don’t understand why you don’t have a backup camera.”

“Backup cameras make you lazy.”

“No, they keep you from running over children.”

“Do you normally see many children in the parking lot of a winery that’s been closed for two hours?” He raised his eyebrows.

“You’re impossible,” she said with a frown. “By the way, have you been doing your homework?”

He looked blankly back at her.

Jade wound her arm around Rett’s headrest as she backed up. “Your dream? Don’t think I’ve forgotten. Now that I’m staying, I won’t rest until you figure out what you really want.”

Anything to distract her from the disaster that had just happened and the disaster that was likely to happen tomorrow.

“Let’s revisit this after we see how the party goes. I won’t have time for dreams if I have to start cutting my employees’ hours.”

With her foot on the brake, Jade stretched her arms. They were sore from holding herself up during their amorous escapade the night before. Almost as sore as they had been after a CrossFit session.

An idea struck her, and she almost gasped. CrossFit. One of the other regulars she was friendly with, Lindon, was a food and wine critic for theNew York Times. What were the odds that he was free to come to the Finger Lakes this weekend? Maybe she could bribe him with a painting. She resolved to text him the moment she got back to Margie’s. There was no point in saying anything to Rett until it was a done deal.

“Fine,” she said. She turned the truck toward the exit and started descending the driveway.

“Hey,” he said. “Where are we going?”

“To get Penny.”

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