Page 57 of Love Among Vines

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” She dropped onto her knees beside Tom.

He sat up and looked at them. “Well fuck me dead,” he said, his Australian accent even stronger than normal. “Never in mywildest daydreams did I think I’d come upon Everett Rhodes pashing in the square. I’m Tom.” He extended a hand to Jade.

“Jade.” She took his hand and shook it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He shrugged. “Eh, she’ll be apples. This why you didn’t want to slap the bag last night?” He eyed Rett while pointing his chin at Jade.

Rett shook his head. “As a winery owner, drinking boxed wine would be equivalent to committing treason.”

Tom scoffed. “Fine. We’ll crack a couple coldies at poker, then. Cheers.”

He hefted his bike onto the grass of the town square and set off with his mail pouch on foot.

“He’s just going to leave his bike there?” Jade asked.

“Yeah. That’s Cindy’s husband, by the way.”

She shook her head thoughtfully as if it had just answered a question. “If we were in the city, that bike would already be in a different borough.”

“This isn’t the city. Which is why you don’t need to hide your bag in a tree. That’s our first stop, by the way.”

The flush on her cheeks had grown stronger. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“In here.”

Two hours later, bag rescued from the tree, he led Jade through a set of doors at the back of the tasting room. Nerves rippled in his stomach. Apart from his contractor and employees, no one had seen this room yet. It was another attempt at bringing them back out of obscurity.

They emerged into a room that felt like it came straight from the 1920s. A crystal chandelier dangled overhead, casting a softglow on the dramatic, dimpled leather sofa that sat before the front windows. A long oak bar stood to their right, barstools nestled beneath.

Leather armchairs flanked a small table in the corner, built-in bookshelves laden with antique-looking bottles lining the window behind them. A long, peacock-blue velvet booth stretched nearly the full length of the longest wall, paired with small cocktail tables and upholstered chairs.

She gripped Rett’s arm. “Is this a speakeasy?”

He nodded. “It’s a new addition. I designed it myself. I thought it might draw more people in during the winter. It’s something else I’m hoping to reveal during the anniversary party.”

“I love it here.” Jade sank onto the brown leather sofa. Penny jumped up next to her. “This is heaven.”

Warmth sprouted inside him. With any luck, the renovation of an old storage room wouldn’t have been a complete waste of time.

“Let me grab the tasting supplies. I’ll be right back.”

When he returned with an art déco-themed bar cart minutes later, Jade was staring into the crackling fire.

“Where would you like me?” she asked.

His gaze moved to the bear-skin rug on the floor. An image of Jade completely naked and staring into his eyes while the fire crackled sprang into his mind.

“Where would you be most comfortable?” He took a step closer to her. His eyes dipped down to the red sundress she had put on after they’d retrieved her bag. It would take nothing for him to trail his hand up her thigh, find out what she was wearing underneath.

A laugh rang out in the tasting room, and he blinked. There were a dozen customers on the other side of the wall. This was supposed to be business—step one in empowering Jade. Thatwas what was important. If her muse came back, she could be leading a paint and sip by the weekend.

As if she could read his mind, Jade slunk off to the least sexy corner of the room. She sat in an armchair and looked at him expectantly.

“I’m ready. Gimme the spiel.”

He cracked a smile and launched into a story of how the vines of this particular grape came to be grown in the fertile soils of Keuka Lake.

She nodded along and raised the glass to her nose. The wine sloshed in the glass as she swirled it around.

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