Page 14 of Love Among Vines

She bit her lip and looked out the window. A name like that belonged in a faraway castle or, at the very least, on a memorial somewhere celebrating a Puritanical town founder.

“Mostly lifelong resident of Hammondsport, graduated from the local high school before getting a master’s in business from Cornell?—”

Hmmm. An Ivy League guy. He was like a slightly more approachable version of Nate.

“—and an advanced sommelier certificate from the Wine School of Philadelphia.”

“There’s no way that’s a thing,” Jade interrupted.

“Which part?”

“The Wine School of Philadelphia?” she raised her eyebrows. “Is that just a euphemism for tailgating outside Lincoln Financial Field?”

Rett frowned and turned on his blinker. “It’s one of the most highly respected wine schools in the entire country.”

“Sure. Well, in that case I graduated summa cum laude from Fancy Pants Arts Academy and apprenticed under Dr. Robert Ross.”

“You’re really going to besmirch the good name of American treasure Bob Ross?”

She smiled again. There was a sense of humor beneath that buttoned-up exterior. Who knew?

“You’re right,” she said. “That was too far. So after obtaining your sommelier certification from that imaginary school, you came back here?”

“I did. My grandmother was sick. She taught me everything she knew, left countless notebooks filled with her winemaking notes. She passed away last February.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. And she left the winery to you? Not your parents?”

Rett nodded. His smile was gone. “My dad—Gerald Rhodes, for the record—is really into music. He moved to California to write scores for movies. That’s where he met my mom.”

“What does your mom do?”

“She’s an actress. Teresa Rhodes.”

That name sounded familiar. She’d have to Google her later.

“Shortly after they got married,” he continued, “my dad realized he wanted to be closer to home. So my mom pivoted to Broadway, and we moved to Hammondsport. They technically stayed until I graduated high school, but my mom was gone a lot. She still took a lot of roles in movies, and I knew she always considered California her real home. They’ve been there ever since. I spent summers in college here with my grandma learning about wine.”

“Wow. And just in case it comes up”—and definitely not because she was being nosy—“the ex?”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Alexa. We met when I was at school in Philly. She moved to Rochester when I got my certificate, and we dated for two and a half years. Now she’s dating my older brother.”

She grimaced. At least Ashley wasn’t her sister.

“Yeah,” he said. “We don’t talk much.”

“I don’t blame you. Thank you.”

“For what?” He shot her a glance. His brows were still contracted.

“For sharing. It makes me feel a little less weird about the fountain of crazy I spewed all over you. Sorry again for that.”

“Don’t do that,” he said. True to his middle name, fire was in his eyes.

“Do what?” She looked around the interior. She hadn’t put her feet on the dash. It was a little late for him to be scolding her on the metric ton of dog fur that was probably stuck to the seat.

“Don’t apologize needlessly. Don’t make yourself small.”

Oh. A thrill ran through her. She had never been one for bossy men—the world had enough of them—but there was something intriguing about being bossed around for her own good.

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