I didn’t know, I swear! Your dad entered the booking himself.
Zoe
Wait. How long is the booking for?
Hannah
He blocked the calendar for the next eight months …
Zoe
WHAT?!
Zoe
WHAT?!
Zoe
WHAT?!
Diego
Uh-oh. You broke Zoe.
Hannah
Doesn’t mean Laine will DEFINITELY be staying in your treehouse for all that time. He probably blocked it off until after harvest to be safe.
Zoe
“Dad, listen. We need to—” I burst through the office door, then stop cold. Because it isn’t Dad leaning casually against my desk.
It’s Laine.
“What are you doing in here?” I quickly shut the door behind me, which is a mistake because now the room’s even smaller. Laine’s tall, confident presence fills it till it’s overflowing.
“Waiting for you,” Laine says. “We need to talk.”
Now my entire body’s blushing. I press my back against the door, as though creating space between us will make this less awkward. But this ismyoffice.Myvineyard. I can’t let her walk in here and control me with her gaze. I stand up straighter, then move with conviction past her to my desk and sit. “Yes, we do. Please, have a seat.”
There, boss-bitch status restored.
Laine sits, and I almost wish she hadn’t. The way she spreads her legs, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, looking at me through those professor glasses, makes me want more vulva hugs. I clear my throat, but before I can speak, she launches in.
“Look, I know this is awkward”—she gestures behind her at the winery where Iclearlyfaked getting a call and ran away to scream-text my friends—“but you need me to take this job, so let’s figure this out and get past it, Brennan.”
I fold my arms and sit back in my chair. For as long as I can remember, Charlaine Woods has rendered me speechless. Part of the reason she didn’t know who I was until I ordered her brother to get an erection in front of her senior class, probably. But I left that shy little Zoe behind years ago, and Zoe Brennan, Director of Operations for Bluebell Vineyards, isn’t takinganyof her shit. “I’m well aware of what I need,Woods.”
Laine’s head is cocked to the left, her face thoughtful as she tries to decipher my words. Perhaps I should be clearer. I let the chair spin to the side so that I can cross my legs, noticing how her gaze follows their long line.
Mm-hmm. Exactly as I suspected.
She catchesmecatchingherlook, and I raise both my eyebrows, point made. “How arewesupposed to run this vineyard together as professionals after last night?”
“It was an accident.” Laine blushes. “IswearI didn’t know who you were until I heard your last name.”
I huff. “Yes, I remember your look of horror when you finally realized who I was, too.”
