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We’d no sooner sat down in his jet, with a security officer moving to the back, that I snuggled up against Zeke’s side and immediately fell asleep. I had no idea when we’d taken off, and only woke up when we landed because Zeke woke me by kissing me all over my face. I groggily opened my eyes.
“Are we…there?”
“We are. I’m so glad you’re resting. You need it. Sleep is really what will heal you right now.”
Exiting the plane to a waiting car, I still had no idea where
we were. “Going to share sometime soon where you’ve taken us?”
“To an idea.” He winked at me. “In Washington state.”
My mouth fell open. “We’re in Washington state?”
“Yes.”
I scanned through what I knew about Washington state. “Do you want to move to Seattle?”
“No. I like that city, and it’ll be nice to have a big city within several hours of a drive, but no, where we’re going is elsewhere. Did you know that Washington has a great wine country?”
I absolutely did not. “No. Zeke…more info please?” He couldn’t possibly want to go wine tasting.
“I thought I might show you an option. It’s just one. And you can say no and hate it. Nothing will happen that you don’t want to. I thought I’d show you a maybe future. One we could make together. If it speaks to you.”
I was intrigued. So much so, I stayed awake the hours we drove until we got to the place he’d wanted me to see. “Is this a winery?”
He got out of the car and came around to open my door. “It is. An old one. Owners died. Their kids were bad at this. But it used to grow really great Pinot noir. One you liked very much in my house one of our first evenings together. A winemaker I have hired tells me this place is ready to grow again.”
It looked run down, like no one had taken care of it. In the distance, as far as I could see, there were large plants growing here, there, and everywhere. The house was shuttered. Big but sad looking.
“What would we do here? Grow wine?” I put my hand on the old wood.
“The winemaker would grow it. I’d love to learn. Eventually maybe I can do it. If not, he can. But we’d make wine here. Our family would. Takes a lot of time to grow things that last. Wine changes as it ages. So do grapes. You have to cultivate them, get them to where they can be counted on to launch. Outside forces play a role. Weather does it what it does. People make mistakes. But we could build something solid here.” He knocked on thehouse. “We’d knock this down. I’d build you a house here that you could stay in, forever if you want to. It would be our house. You want to go to art school? There are several in Washington state, and two of them do virtual, distance learning.”
I stared at him, my mouth falling open. “When did you learn about all of this? About this spot?”
“Before you were taken from me.” He pulled me against him like saying the words required him to hold me. “About this place. The last week or so, I started to think it might work. I could still work at my other jobs. Selling finance to the very rich. But I’d do this too. Maybe eventually selling our wine could be all that I do. If it never is, that’s fine. If the vineyard doesn’t make it, we’d never have to leave the house.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “I love this idea. Yes, this is ours, but I have some stipulations.”
“Give them to me.”
I swallowed. “It has to have a gym. I miss running. And when the weather is bad here, we need a gym with side-by-side treadmills.”
“Done. What else?”
“I have to decorate it.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Count on it. I’m going to sell the house in France and all the furniture.”
I might let him do the bathroom. But I’d tell him that later.
“And?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“It might not be avoidable, but I want to be so secluded here so that no one takes my picture ever again without my permission. I’m not a commodity. I don’t owe the world my photo or evidence of my life. It gets to be ours.”
Zeke kissed the end of my nose. “Done.”
This was really happening. I was going to have this life with Zeke Scott. I squeezed him tighter.
