Page 82 of Whisking It All

“Don’t you need a degree to do that stuff anyway?” Kyla asked skeptically.

Tessa shrugged. “I’m not sure. Gavin would know, though. You could always ask him.”

“Ask me what?”

Tessa and Kyla turned to see Gavin walking into the vineyard’s main building, a wide smile on his face and a small box held under his arm.

“Kyla was just showing me the website she designed for Sugar Grapes,” Tessa explained.

“Yeah? I can’t wait to see it. Kyla’s always had a good eye,” Gavin said. Kyla’s cheeks flamed bright red.

“I was saying she should look into careers in marketing and branding, but she wondered if she’d need a different degree for that kind of work,” Tessa said.

Gavin nodded in understanding, shifting the box from one side to the other. “It’s certainly not a requirement. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there doing just fine without formal higher education, and there is probably a decent amount of overlap with your photography degree. But, since you asked me and I am a college professor, my vote is always going to be to get the degree.”

Kyla nodded. “Thanks. That’s what I thought.” She moved past Gavin and Tessa and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Is she alright?” Gavin asked, concern marring his usually sunny features.

“I think she’s just self-conscious,” Tessa said.

“Maybe.”

“What can I do for you? I’m all out of the strawberries and champagne cake pops, but I do have a fresh batch of the cabernet chocolate cupcakes with blackberry filling that I think you’ll like.”

“That sounds amazing. I’ll take two to go,” he said. Tessa nodded and moved behind the counter to box up his desserts. “The reason I came by today.” Gavin set the box on the counter and removed the lid revealing a stack of glossy postcards, each featuring a close-up image of Jamie and Tessa. In the picture, she sipped her wine, arching an eyebrow at Jamie while he stared at her like he’d rather drink the wine from her lips than from his own glass.

Holy shit. How could anyone look at this photo and not know that we’re fucking?

“I thought you could put these on the counter to advertise the festival,” Gavin said, oblivious to the swirl of arousal and guilt overtaking Tessa as she sealed the bakery box with a sticker. “There’s a link on the back so people can buy tickets. We need to really amp up our efforts over the next few weeks to get the locals to come.”

“Right. Of course,” Tessa said, handing him the box of cupcakes. “We’ll put them out today.”

“Great. Oh! And before I forget.” He reached into the inner pocket of his blazer and produced a folded flyer printed on orange paper. He handed it to her with a sheepish grin. “I didn’t want to forget to give you that, too.” She unfolded the paper, scanning the ad for a costume party-themed trivia night at The Rookery. “We haven’t decided on what theme we should go with yet, but a cohesive group costume is worth the same number of points as a whole round of trivia. We can’t afford to cede the points to Mrs. White and the rest of her gang.”

“Who are they going as?” Tessa asked.

“Likely the same as every year. The Pink Ladies from Grease.”

Tessa laughed. It was too appropriate. “Well, if I have any ideas for you, I’ll let you know. You could be the three Musketeers or something.”

He gave her a look like she’d missed the point. “Tessa, we want you to play on our team again. The group theme has to have a part for you too.”

“Oh!” Her chest warmed at the idea that these men wanted to include her, that maybe they were starting to be her friends.

Probably just because you’re Ethan’s daughter. Or because Jamie asked them to.

“I’ll think on it,” she said, folding the paper back up and tucking it into her back pocket.

Kyla re-emerged from the kitchen, a large tray of double-chocolate red wine cookies balanced on one hand. Gavin watched her for a minute, the smile sliding from his face into an unreadable expression, before he turned back to Tessa. “Right. I’ll let you two get back to work.”

Once they were alone again, Tessa moved to help Kyla load the cookies into the bakery case. “Do you and Gavin not get along or something?” she asked.

“What? No. It’s just… I’m dating his son. I’m never sure how I’m supposed to act around him,” Kyla said.

Tessa couldn’t help wondering if Jamie would have the same difficulty with Ethan when he returned. Not that she and Jamie were dating exactly. They just hadn’t gone more than twelve hours without mauling each other in nearly two weeks. Nothing awkward about that at all.

They placed the last cookie in the case and returned to the kitchen to retrieve trays of cupcakes next. As they returned to the front counter, Tessa asked, “Do you have any ideas for a group costume with three guys and one girl?”

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