Page 15 of Cherished Lands
Ten minutes later, I had set the little pub-style table with place settings for two. The table itself was beautiful. Its base was a large wooden barrel, and the top looked like it was carved from a tree—probably from this very orchard.
The door whooshed open, bringing with it a rush of cold air. Elliot reappeared and set the plate of steaks on the counter before grabbing a bottle from the cabinet. As he was uncorking it over the sink, I caught a glimpse of the label. It was a Vintage Point cabernet.
"Elliot Everton, are you drinking the wine of the enemy?!"
"You can't have steak without wine."
"That doesn't exactly answer my question."
He didn't elaborate further. Instead, he flopped a massive steak onto my plate and set a glass of wine in front of me. The steakwas seasoned with herbs and glistening with butter. He plonked a steaming baked potato down next to it, then proceeded to load his own plate. I was weirdly touched that he'd served me first.
But he didn't need to know that.
"You must have known I was coming if you made two of everything," I teased.
"Always make two. Leftovers for lunch."
"Now, that is just a sad existence."
He eyed me wearily as I cut off a piece of my steak and popped it into my mouth. I really didn't mean to do it, but my eyes shut and a moan slipped out. "Oh my god, this is so good."
When I opened my eyes again, Elliot was smirking, and there was a heat in his gaze that wasn't there a moment ago.
Fuck, this man was so attractive. I'd always thought so. He was just sooff limits. Plus, we pushed all each other's buttons.
There were a few I'd like him to push right now, if I was being honest.
"You can cook for me anytime you want," I said, unable to keep the appreciation out of my voice.
"I didn't wanna cook for you this time."
"You didn't want to go into business with me either, but here we are."
The smirk dropped from his face. A deep groove appeared between his eyebrows, and he glared silently across the table.
I guess I found the big red button.
"I know you're skeptical, Elliot, and you have every right to be. But I promise you, I am doing this for the right reasons."
"I sure hope so."
Chapter Five
ELLIOT
Hot water sluicedover my body, barely touching the ache in my muscles. For once, I wasn't sore from manual labor. The tense knots in my neck and shoulders were an unfortunate side-effect of spending too much time with Tessa fuckin' Belmonte.
Hank, the orchard's attorney, drew up the business agreement in record time. We'd signed the paperwork three days after the meeting with Tessa, and it didn't come a moment too soon. We'd scraped by through the fall—the orchard's busy season—but we were running dangerously low on cash. We needed to get the cidery up and running as soon as possible to bring in a new source of revenue.
According to Nat and Jas, anyways. What did I know?
Seven days into this partnership, and Tessa already had permits secured and an architect drawing up plans. I hated to admit it, but she really did have great connections. Boat loads of money didn't hurt either.
I also hated to admit that the tension currently coursingthrough my body had nothing to do with her snarky fucking attitude and everything to do with my desire to fuck it right out of her.
This morning, we'd planned to meet with Dad and Jasper to scope out locations on the property for the cidery. Just as I was ready to leave, she'd shown up on my porch with coffee in her hand and an obnoxiously cheery smile on her face. She insisted on walking to the meeting with me, and she hadn't stopped yammering until we made it to the barn.
"Quit looking at me like that, or everyone will know you want to get in my pants."
