Page 50 of The Bad Girl List

Feeling bold, I lean forward on my elbow and touch a finger to the side of his face. My chest heats up when he catches my hand, fingers running across the backs of my knuckles.

I feel suddenly fluttery and nervous. “Do you have a favorite color?”

His eyes linger on me before he releases my hand. “Not really.”

“Seriously?” It’s my turn to frown at him. “I was sure it must be blue. There’s so much of it in your house.”

“My mom hired an interior designer when they built the bungalow. It wasn’t specifically built for me. It was meant to be a guest house.”

“Huh. So neither of us has a favorite color?”

He flashes me a grin. “I guess not. Look how much we have in common.”

I love the way he says that, like something about us makes sense.

“Okay, my turn,” I say. “Have you ever watched Survivor?”

“The reality TV show?” He sits up straighter. “Are you kidding? We watched it every week as a family growing up.”

“Me, too!” Yet another thing we have in common. “Did you know that in the beginning, they let contestants bring one luxury item? That’s my question. If you got to be a Survivor contestant, what would your luxury item be?”

“Hmm.” He takes a sip of wine, thinking. The overhead lighting casts a faint halo around his golden hair. “I don’t think three-legged dogs count as luxury items, so in that case I think I’d bring toothpaste.”

“Good choice. Everything is better with good breath.”

“Exactly.” His eyes flick to my mouth, then back to my face. “What about you? What would your luxury item be?”

“Sketchbook, of course.”

“Now that I could have guessed.” He leans forward with both elbows on the table. “My turn. Get ready, things are about to get serious.” He smiles to show me he’s teasing. “I need your education credentials. I’m pretty sure we would know that about each other if we’d really been out a few times.”

“Salutatorian of my high school. Graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a degree in digital design. Your turn. I had education on my list, too.”

“UC Davis, double major in viticulture and enology,” he replies. “Definitely not Salutatorian in my high school class. I didn’t get serious about school until college, when I actually liked the subject matter.”

“Sometimes I wish I’d relaxed a little when going through school and enjoyed myself more,” I say. “Sure, it’s cool that I was a Salutatorian, but I missed out on a lot of fun stuff like football games and field trips because I wanted to study. I come from a long line of over-achievers. Annika says it’s hardwired into us.”

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s good to go after what you want.”

Our knees bump under the table. I almost move away, then decide against it, waiting to see what he does. Trevor doesn’t move either, and our knees remain lightly touching.

“Tell me about your family,” I say.

“Well, you’ve already met Thomas and my dad. Gramps lives on the winery property in his own place. My mom and dad live in the big house near the tasting room. I have an older sister, Selene. She’s currently working at a winery in Italy. She’s a winemaker.”

“Why doesn’t she work for the family winery like the rest of you?”

“She will, eventually. Selene has to do everything in her own time. But it’s fine. Our current winemaker has worked for us for more than ten years. He’s good at what he does. Tell me about your family. Do you have any siblings?”

“Annika and I are both only children. But we grew up on the same street, so we’re practically sisters. She has an older brother. Our moms are the oldest in a family of six kids. Auntie Helen never got married, but we have a bunch of other cousins, most of them younger than us.”

“A nice, big family then,” Trevor says.

“We always have something going on,” I reply. “Whether it’s birthday celebrations, holidays, or just our monthly potluck. We spend a lot of time together. My mom and her sisters go to a casino almost every month. I like having a close family.”

“My family is close, too,” Trevor says. “Tell me about your ex-boyfriend.”

“Oliver?” I wrinkle my nose. “Why do you want to know about him?”

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