Page 25 of Bad Behavior

“I’m a vegetarian,” I answer. “So… meat.”

He folds his menu and looks at the waiter. “Will you ask David to make us a vegetarian pizza? Chef’s choice.”

“Of course,” the waiter says, bobbing his head. “I’ll put that in for you.”

“And a bottle of whatever wine he recommends to go with it,” Jameson says, handing the menu over. “Thanks.”

I hand my menu over as well, thanking the waiter. The waiter vanishes, and Jameson and I are alone again.

“So…” I say, trying to think of something to talk about. “Have you talked to Asher at all?”

Jameson frowns. “No, not really. Your brother is a stubborn bastard. Every time I get home, he’s not there. And when I see him at work, he’s very…”

“Brusque?” I supply.

He squints at me. “I was going to say untalkative. Is that a word?”

I shrug a shoulder. “It gets your point across well enough.”

The waiter returns with a wine bottle and two glasses. There is a whole charade that Jameson and the waiter play, where the waiter pours the wine, waiting for him to smell and taste it. The waiter even leaves the cork on the table, which is something I recognize from eating at fine dining places with my parents.

I finally get a little of the wine, which is red. I turn the label toward me, and read it.

“Garnacha. Sounds fancy.”

“Mmm,” Jameson says, taking a sip. “Your brother would probably appreciate this more than I do.”

I taste it, finding it a little more bitter than I expected. I make a face, and Jameson chuckles at my expression.

“That good, huh?” he asks.

“The only wine I’ve ever had much of is my mother’s chardonnay.” I sit back with a sigh.

“You tutored me,” he says, moving his chair closer to mine. I can’t help but feel a little flutter in my stomach at his nearness. “Let me teach you how to taste wine. That way even if you don’t like it, you will look fancy when you try it.”

I laugh. “Okay…”

“Okay. First you want to take the glass, and hold it by the stem. Apparently that’s important so that the heat from your hand doesn’t affect the wine.”

He shows me how to hold it, and I copy him.

“Okay.”

“Next, you want to swirl it clockwise. You get a good view of the color of the wine, and then you stick your nose in the glass.” He does, inhaling deeply.

I do the same. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to smell. It just smells like wine to me.”

His mouth kicks up into a half smile. “I’m just smelling the raspberry and cherry notes. Anyway, then we taste… just take a small sip, and kind of roll the wine around in your mouth.”

Sipping the wine, I swish it around a little, then swallow.

His mouth quirks up. “You’ve got a little…”

He reaches out and touches the corner of my mouth with the pad of his thumb. Our eyes meet, and I swallow. I watch his eyes drop down to my mouth.

Maybe he’s wondering how I taste right now?

Then he gives himself a visible shake. “Sorry. Um… what did you taste? In the wine, I mean.”

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