Page 106 of The Bad Girl List

“Compost tea?”

“It’s made by harvesting the plants that grow between the grapevines. We cut them down and put them in barrels of water, then leave them to ferment for a few weeks. The result is a nutrient-dense fertilizer we use to water the vines.”

I nod, absorbing this. Moretti is more than just an award-winning winery. It has farming practices that connect it to the earth. My brain spins off in a new direction as ideas and pictures take shape in my mind. This intense sense of creativity is what’s been missing in my life for the past two years.

Trevor says something to me, but I’m so busy processing that I don’t hear him. He speaks again.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

His eyes crinkle with amusement. “I can tell when you’re in one of your creative spurts. You get this intense look on your face.”

I shrug, refusing to let myself get lost in his dark eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m an artist. I’m really excited to work on your family’s label.” I step into the barn, then immediately stop when I see the two cars parked inside. “You guys have a lot of cars.”

“Yeah.” He says it casually, as if there aren’t two extremely expensive vehicles sitting in front of us.

“Who do these belong to?”

He rubs at the back of his neck. “They’re mine.”

“They’re both yours?”

The first car is a Tesla like Thomas and Tim drive. The other is a convertible BMW. They’re dusty from sitting in the barn, but beneath that, they look like they just rolled off the dealer’s lot. Like they’re new-with-tags. If I was going to add them to the picture of Super Tequila, these two would be the sidekicks looking to the older, more experienced superhero truck for training.

“The convertible was a high school graduation gift,” Trevor says. “The Tesla was for college graduation.”

“Let me guess,” I say. “You barely drive them.”

“I like my truck. Gramps gave it to me when I turned sixteen and got my license. I use one of these if I have to leave town, but otherwise I always use my truck.”

It strikes me that Trevor’s family must be loaded. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me sooner. Not that it matters. Tequila scampers into the barn, tail wagging as she makes several circuits around the cars and pees on the tires.

I detour past the cars and walk along the rows of barrels lined up five-deep along the other three walls of the barn. They’re covered with burlap sacks.

“Do you want to see our weed tea?” Trevor asks.

“Sure, okay. Is that different from compost tea?”

“Completely different. It’s over here.” He leads me around his cars toward more barrels. He peels back the covering of burlap to reveal murky water. “We harvest weeds from around the property and put them in these mesh bags.” He sticks his hand into the water and pulls out a green mesh bag that’s stuffed full of wilted plants. After he makes sure I get a good look at it, he drops it back into the water and re-covers the barrel with the burlap. “We use this to make a natural weed killer for the vineyard. Biodynamic farming is all about nurturing the soil and giving back to the earth. It’s why our wines are so good.”

From the design brief, I knew their wines had won many, many awards over the years. “I wish I’d known about your farming practices when the design brief came in. It changes everything.”

“I can tell you more about our techniques, if you want. To help you with the label design, I mean. You can text me anytime you have questions.”

“Thanks.” I smile and nod, though I’m pretty sure I’ll resort to research on YouTube before contacting him.

A thick silence gathers between us as we stand beside the barrel. We’re only a foot apart. It would be so easy to take a step and lean into him. I want to lean into him, but I don’t.

Trevor’s eyes search my face. His hand twitches once, like he wants to reach out and touch me, but he keeps it by his side.

“Dom,” he says.

Right as I say, “Trevor?”

We laugh awkwardly.

“Go ahead,” Trevor says. “You first.”

I swallow against the nervous lump in my throat and force out the question that’s been turning circles in my mind.

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