Page 1 of Finally Yours (Love & Wine)

Prologue

Fourteen Years Ago

Lauren

“I hate you!” I scream, shrill and ear piercing as hot tears sting my eyes. I’m certain every person within a mile radius has heard my cry. That is except for my mother and father, who don’t bother coming to see if I’m okay.

“Aww, come on, Lulu. It was joke. It was supposed to be funny.”

Nothing he ever does is funny.

He’s not funny in the least.

Never has been and never will be.

As I stand attempting to shuck mud from my hair, I’ve never been more grateful that today is his last day here.

I can’t wait for him to go back to that damn island nation he came from. The one filled with the world’s deadliest animals, where I can only hope he’s taken hostage by an angry mob of koalas or he gets bitten by one of those ridiculously over-sized spiders I’ve seen pictures of.

He begins to walk toward me and I take a step back, putting my hands up to tell him to back the hell off.

“Don’t you even dare!” I yell, my voice now growing an octave higher than before. To say I’m angry would be an understatement. It’s not just my hair that’s covered in mud but basically my entire body. The only things possibly salvageable are the red rubber boots on my feet.

He doesn’t listen and continues in my direction, although in his defense, his glasses are speckled with mud, and I wonder if he can even see me.

Just moments ago, I was mindlessly walking through the vineyard, enjoying the quiet when I was taken down from behind.

Normally I’d have been able to take him down, but he caught me off guard.

Jack can’t weigh more than a buck with bricks in his pockets; tall and skinny, an awkward gangly boy with glasses and dirty blonde hair.

He’s been my worst nightmare since his arrival over a month ago. My only saving grace has been school, something the average fifteen-year-old would never say. It is six and a half hours of non-Jack contact time, but I’m now on winter break and he has tried his best to ruin every second of it.

For some reason our parents thought we’d get along famously given we are the same age, but he’s pretty much the most annoying person on the planet.

My parents own a vineyard and winery in Napa, California. Sounds great, right?

Not exactly. It’s in the middle of nowhere and I’ve been trapped here with this jerk for my entire winter break.

My parents hired Jack’s dad, some world-renowned winemaker, to come in and help get their new machinery up and running. He’s been here for several months building wine barrels and teaching them the ins and outs of wine making. Not that my parents are novices or anything. The business has been in our family for generations.

Eventually my sister and I will take over the business, but for now, she’s away at college in Michigan and missing out on the wonderful experience of getting to know Jack Wilson.

Just his name makes me cringe inwardly. He’s spending his summer break from school here, visiting with his dad, helping with tours and just being an all around pain in my ass.

The tourists love him though.

I’m spending my school holidays visiting my dad.

They find his accent endearing, and his stupid Australian lingo entertaining.

First of all, it’s summer break, and why the hell does he add an “s” to the end of words unnecessarily? Every time he speaks I want to punch him in the mouth and knock his stupid accent out of him.

Today is no different, but my rage is definitely at peak capacity.

Jack is now within inches of me, his hand reaching out to wipe the mud from my face, but I swat at his hand, slapping it away.

“Don’t touch me,” I huff out, stepping back and turning in the other direction. I’m not sure where I think I’m going because behind me is nothing but rows and rows grape vines.

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