Page 58 of Love Among Vines

Rett watched as she raised it to her lips. She moaned, and a warm, invigorating tension flooded his body.

“I’m not going to be able to concentrate if you keep responding like that,” he said before he could think better of it.

Her eyes snapped open. “Sorry. I’ll keep it PG.”

He shoved the plate towards her, eyes glued to her. “Try it with the smoked sausage.”

She obliged.

“This reserve Blaufränkisch was aged for about twenty-four months in old French oak.”

“Forgive my ignorance,” she said after swallowing. “But I thought it was hard to grow red grapes in this climate.”

“It’s doable. If you know what you’re doing.” He took a sip of wine and chased it with a slice of sausage.

“Then you must really know what you’re doing,” she said after another sip.

“You have no idea.”

She shifted in her armchair, causing a small farting noise.

“That was the chair,” she clarified.

“Sure.” He winked.

The dog ambled up and laid her snoot on Jade’s leg, then whined.

Jade sighed. “Penny would like some cheese.”

“Oh.” Rett stood up. “I almost forgot. The best part of the VIP tasting is that there’s a separate one for dogs.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he said, striding over to the cart, “that Penny gets to sample the finest local organic dog treats while we have wine.”

“That’s a really nice idea.”

He tapped a knuckle on his temple. “Told you I know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I admire your confidence. With any luck, maybe some will rub off on me.”

He certainly wanted to rub something on her.

The rest of the tasting passed uneventfully. Rett guided her through a series of reds and whites, cheeses and chocolates.

“That was incredible. Oops. I appear to be a bit tipsy,” she said as she stood and staggered into the table.

Shit. He had pulled out their best lineup in the hopes that one of them would be the key to unlocking her for good. Maybe he had overdone it. But they wouldn’t know until they tried.

“Maybe it’s time for a walk. I can give you that tour we talked about.”

“Let’s go.” She found the nearest door handle and pulled.

“That’s an emergency exit,” he said with a chuckle.

“You’re an emergency exit,” she muttered as she crossed to the other side of the room.

CHAPTER TWENTY

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