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The door opened and I almost dropped the wine and flowers at Rae’s feet. She was always beautiful, but tonight she looked like sin and seduction. Darker makeup highlighted her eyes, and her hair was sleek and straight, begging me to mess it up. The plunging neckline of her dark purple dress made me simultaneously wonder how it stayed in place and want to tug it down.
“Hi.” She licked her lips and shifted her weight from one bare foot to the other. I’d never been a foot guy, but at that moment I’d have paid money to lick her toes, I was so starved for her.
I held out the bouquet of yellow roses. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Thank you. Come in. I’ll put these in water.” She smiled and took my hand like I needed encouragement. I’d have followed her anywhere. Georgie trailed behind us, dancing happy doggie circles until he got distracted by a favorite toy that needed attacking.
In a kitchen cabinet, she found a large turquoise vase for the roses. Watching her carefully arrange them with a sweet smile on her face made the trip into town to buy the flowers yesterday worth the inconvenience ten times over.
“Glass of wine before we go?” I held out a bottle of Grenache blend from Coyote Ridge and set my hat on an extra kitchen stool.
“Is this from the gift basket they sent?” She had a corkscrew in her hand and was slicing the foil off the top with a practiced skill few high-class servers could match.
“No, I picked it up at the wine store in town.”
“Checking out the competition?” She filled two very nice crystal red wine glasses for us and pulled a jar of fancy nuts out of the cabinet and offered me one.
“More than that. Their operation is for sale.” I tried to sound casual despite the hand grenade I’d tossed into the conversation. The nut I’d taken lodged uncomfortably in my throat, and I swallowed hard to force it the rest of the way down.
“Okay?” She waved me out of the narrow kitchen and toward her family room couch.
“It’s time for me to think about getting my own place.” I took a gulp of the wine, forgetting to savor anything about the vintage, only looking for false courage.
“That’s a huge deal. Like massive.” She stood, hands on her hips, looking at me with wide eyes.
“It’s nothing yet. Don’t freak out.” Was I reassuring her or me?
“Not freaking out. But you love it here. Are you sure you want to leave?” She sat and tugged me down next to her. Close enough our thighs almost brushed.
“At my age, shouldn’t I be devoted to something that’s mine and not owned by another person? Do things my way?” The thought of never asking permission was tantalizing.
With a nod, she raised her glass. “To being older and wiser.”
“And in charge of our own destiny.”
The glasses made a pure bell-like bing when they touched. I moved to take a drink and stalled, my hand hanging in midair as I watched Rae.
She took a careful sip of the wine, her eyes closed she rolled it around her mouth. People said wine was sensual. Now I finally understood. Her head tipped back. She hummed inappreciation, and my blood rushed south, pooling below my belt. The daring dress exposed her skin from her throat down almost to her waist. Light and shadow played peek-a-boo with her breasts.
When she finally swallowed and looked at me, I unfroze and took a quick sip from my glass, remembering to concentrate on the flavors and not on her cleavage. The wine was good. Fruity and smooth. Drinkable.
“Want my opinion?” She was all business, and I tried to divert some blood back to my larger head. She knew far more about wine than I ever would.
“Yes.” I wanted a lot of things, but I’d start with her opinion on the wine.
“A good representation of a predominantly Grenache blend. Black cherry and strawberry with a hint of spice. Nice floral bouquet and a longer finish that would pair nicely with most food.”
“It doesn’t suck.”
She took a second taste. “Agreed. Biggest problem I see is the packaging. So lame.” The bottle looked like any of a million on store shelves. A parchment-look label with a gold foil logo and script font.
“Point taken.”
“Are you really going to buy a vineyard? That’s insane.” She turned to face me sitting sideways on the couch, grabbing my arm. “Are you excited?”
“I’m not excited yet. There are a million moving parts I need to understand before I decide to move forward.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, get excited… you’re thinking about buying a vineyard. Hello! That’s living the dream.”
