Page 119 of Love Among Vines

“I know I told you this before, but I felt something the day we came here. I thought maybe it was just the change of scenery, the promise of closing a painful chapter in my life. But is it crazy to think that maybe I wasmeantto come here? My mom always talked about taking a trip to the Finger Lakes. She had a whole dream board and everything. She loved wine and would occasionally spring for a good bottle. We were supposed to go as a graduation gift. Not here,” she said, waving a hand toward the parking lot. “But Seneca. It was one of the reasons why I felt I had to see it. Let me show you a picture.”

She pulled her phone out and navigated to a picture—she and her parents crowded around a table. There was a sumptuous-looking cake with “21” written in candles, and a bottle of wine that looked strangely familiar.

He frowned and ducked his head closer to the screen. Could it be? He pinched his fingers and zoomed in before sitting uptriumphantly. Even though the bottle was partially turned away from the camera, the label was undeniable.

“That’s one of my bottles.”

“What?” Jade leaned in. “Holy shit.” The look on her face suggested she had just had a major revelation. Hopefully one that resulted in her staying in town.

“Your mom really did have good taste,” he said with a nudge. “And by the way, I don’t think it’s crazy. I feel the same pull. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve never left for more than a few months. It’s home.”

“Home,” she echoed. Her voice was soft.

There it was. The perfect segue. Now all he had to do was?—

“We should go.” She jumped up from her seat and tossed the rest of her drink back.

He blinked in surprise. “Oh. Okay.”

“We still have to go to the store. Come on.” She tugged him back to the car.

When they emerged from the superstore an hour later, they were laden with bags of groceries—which Rett had insisted on paying for—and some mood-setting décor. Tapered candles, cloth napkins.

“I don’t want to hear any moping if your dessert doesn’t turn out. There was no reason to choose such a complicated dish,” Jade said as he pointed the truck toward home.

They had decided to tag team dinner—she would make the entrée, and he would make the dessert. It was going to give him a chance to try out that Baked Alaska recipe from theNew York Times.

He straightened up and looked at her. “Baked Alaska is not that complicated.”

She shot him a dirty look. “Going forward, let’s assume that anything that you have to set on fire counts as complicated. Anddid we really need to make the ice cream and the cake from scratch? We’ll be at this all night.”

“That’s the plan,” he said, and his hand slipped between her thighs. “It seems like we might have some downtime,” he said quietly. “You know, while dinner’s in the oven and the cake is cooling.”

“Indeed,” she said.

His fingers slid higher, brushing gently over the lace fabric of her underwear. “There are a couple of really special bottles in the wine cellar I’d love to sample.”

Jade raised her eyebrows. “Another private wine tasting? Last time, I almost ripped the clothes from your body and mounted you on the bar. Are you sure you want to risk that? I can’t think of a reason we would need to practice fake bar-humping.”

“Maybe there doesn’t need to be a reason. We could just see where the evening takes us.”

At some point in the preparations, he would find the time to talk to her about staying. He had to.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

JADE

When Rett came upstairswith a bottle of wine, cooking was already underway. Ground beef and onions were sizzling in a frying pan. Minced garlic was waiting on a cutting board. And Jade stood in the midst of it all, naked except for the apron she had borrowed from Rett. Well, and the pair of four-inch stilettos she had snuck into her purse.

He stopped in his tracks.

“Good evening,” she said smoothly before turning around to separate the beef.

In a second, he was behind her. His hands slid around her hips.

She turned around and brandished the spatula. “Not yet,” she said firmly.

“What? Why?” His hands hadn’t moved.

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