Page 60 of Love Unforgettable
Chapter 20
Cole
I walk toward the winery with Lexie’s friends, Kat and Remi. It’s an impressive place. Like, real impressive, and very new looking. Large wood gazebos line the exterior covering the expansive patio. The patio is set up like one big outdoor living room, with a huge firepit in the middle. What must be dozens of outdoor couches, loungers, and chairs are creatively placed around the entire patio, most in little conversation collections. The tasting room looks huge, and two stories if I’m not mistaken, with walls of mostly glass. On the lower level all the glass doors cascade open making the outdoor and indoor spaces blend seamlessly.
Since it’s dusk, everything is lit up and the result is nothing short of spectacular looking, especially with the vines surrounding the space.
In addition, several outbuildings are off to the sides. All look new as well.
“My God, can you believe how amazing it turned out?” Remi asks.
“No. I mean, I knew it was going to be great, but this is like . . . beyond,” Kat adds.
“Well, I’ll be,” I say as we step across the threshold from the patio to the tasting room. “If this place ain’t finer than a frog’s hair split four ways.”
Kat snorts a laugh. “What did you say? A frog’s what?”
“It’s an old Texas saying, finer than a frog’s hair split four ways. That’d be real fine, so that means this is real nice.”
“I’m gonna enjoy being your friend, cowboy,” she laughs. Then her face spasms slightly. Almost like a wink, but slightly different.
Remi shakes her head. “Don’t be alarmed, that’s her wink. It’s a contortion of facial muscles.”
“Shut up, bitch.” Kat slaps her arm lightly.
“You shut up, bitch,” Remi says.
“I . . . uh . . . if you ladies will excuse me, I’m going take a quick peek around,” I say, not used to their style of conversation. And wanting to seeTOWRMCfor myself.
“We’ll be around,” Kat says. “Probably at the bar bugging Lexie, if you need us.”
“I will keep that in mind,” I say. I wander off toward the rear of the building, figuring I can get a better look at the crowd as a whole from there. I look around as I go, she has everything here, things for drinking wine, things for learning about wine, souvenirs that’re wine related, wine itself. I smile, remembering when Babs told me about shopping with Mavis and Lexie for winery things. I had no idea this is what she meant.
I see a flash of pink before feeling something crash into me, which I promptly grab onto.
“Dang, I’m so sorry,” she says.
I look down, to see Lexie in my arms. She seems upset.
“Hey, hey, sweetness, you okay?” I tilt her chin up with my fingers, so I can see her face. She looks like she’s been crying.
“Cole. Hi. You’re here. Wow. Yes. No. I don’t know. I mean. Shit. Oh, God, do I have to go back out there?” Her voice is pathetic as she talks, the last sentence barely a squeak. She wraps her arms around my waist, I move us off to the side where there aren’t any people before I respond.
“No, baby, you don’t. Especially if that’s not where you want to be. Did something happen? You want to talk about it? I promise I’m a good listener.” I rub her back in soft slow circles as I talk. She leans into me slightly and the air moves with her scent. Vanilla maybe? With just a hint of floral. And something sour? I sniff again.
“Quit sniffing me,” she says into my chest.
I smile. “I like the way you smell, sweetness. It’s good.”
“Trust me,” she says, looking up at me. “There is no way that I smell good.” I reach out to wipe a bit of smudge from under her eye. “How do I keep getting into these situations with you?” She groans as she throws her head back slightly. Something catches her attention from the side, her eyes go alarmingly wide, she looks back at the center of my chest, off to the side once more, and then back to center and up at me.
“Can they see me?” she asks.
I turn my head. “Who?”
“Don’t look,” she hisses, fisting my shirt at the neck. I bring my gaze back to hers.
“Can who see you?” I ask.
