Mercifully, Nora didn’t pick up on it, though Jace sure as shit did, scowling. But Grayson realized he was looking at Nora, not him.
“What did he say?” Jace repeated Grayson’s question with an equal level of heat. Enough that Grayson’s chest grew tight.
Fuck. Was Jace into Lark?
Nora glanced toward the kitchen door to confirm that Lark hadn’t come out yet. “He was always giving her a hard time about being too loud or talking too much. One time, he was giving her shit for coming late to Sunday dinner with his mom and dad, and how much it had embarrassed him, how she needed to be more respectful of them by showing up on time. I got the impression she’d only been a few minutes late, so his chastising felt like a little too much.”
“To be fair,” Jace said, a teasing sparkle in his eye, “you’ve been getting on her for being late too.”
Nora crossed her arms. “I’m her boss. Not her boyfriend. And I know Uncle Rex said I should let what I said to Lark stand, but I do feel bad about yelling at her.”
Jace and Grayson exchanged a glance. God help them if they ever had a truly bad employee, because Nora was not made for coming down hard or firing someone. Grayson had always figured if it came to that, someone else—either Theo, Maverick, or him—would have to do the deed.
While Mila was known as the sweet cousin, that was only because Nora’s quirkiness seemed to overshadow the fact that she was also an absolute sweetheart. Truthfully, Grayson’s cousins were four of the kindest, most compassionate women he knew, and he’d be lucky to find a woman like them to settle down with.
“You should do what you think is best,” Grayson said.
While Nora hadn’t homed in on his tone before, those words had gotten his cousin’s attention. However, given Jace’s reaction, and the way Lark just avoided him, Grayson wasn’t about to tell anyone else about his feelings. At least not until he’d settled things with Lark.
“She did a great job,” Grayson clarified. “I think I’ve been too hard on her in the past.”
“Wow.” Nora’s response mirrored Jace’s enough that Grayson narrowed his eyes.
“I’m not that big of a hard-ass.”
Nora laughed and touched his shoulder. “I know you’re not, but you’ve been pretty vocal about Lark in the past.”
“It’s just like I said. She was amazing at the festival.”
Nora grinned. “I’ll admit I was worried about how things would go with you two, but…” She glanced around the room as if looking for someone, then she leaned closer to the table. “You and Lark sold way more bottles of wine at that festival than Maverick ever has.”
Grayson and Jace laughed loudly. Maverick often boasted—teasingly—that he was the best salesperson on the farm, crediting his endless charm and good looks. No one had been able to counter that proclamation because the guy really did have the Midas touch when it came to moving bottles and cases of wine.
“Oh Jesus,” Jace said. “Please let me be there when you tell him that, Gray.”
Grayson nodded. “Might save that tidbit until Sunday dinner. Feels like everyone would like a piece of that action.”
Nora rolled her eyes, then giggled. “Competitive bastard. Although, for what it’s worth, I think Sunday is the perfect time.”
She gave them a little finger wave, then returned to the merch counter. Ten seconds later, Lark emerged from the kitchen. Her eyes darted quickly in his direction and just as quickly away again, when she realized he was looking at her.
He held his breath, waiting to see if she’d walk over to the table to at least say hello.
Again, he was shaken by just how quickly the tide had turned between them yesterday. One minute, it had been easy jokes and teasing touches, the next, she’d locked herself down like she was goddamn Fort Knox.
“Ladies!” Lark called out to three women who’d just walked in. “Welcome to your new emotional support winery,” she joked, leading the group to the tasting counter. “Here at Lightning in a Bottle, we have a wine for everything.”
The women laughed as Lark flashed them a dazzling smile that somehow looked off. Then she launched into a dramatic explanation of the tasting menu that attracted the attention of half the room. It was quite the show…and quite different from how she’d been at the festival.
He preferred the quieter version of her from the weekend. Right now, she was too loud and too animated. This wasn’t the woman who’d stepped into his embrace, who sank into his kiss in the dark. This version of Lark felt…wrong. And for the first time, he was starting to question if he’d mistaken his feelings for her.
Was she truly the one?
The certainty that had resided inside him since Saturday wavered and unease crept along his spine. Because while they were only twenty feet apart, Grayson suddenly felt like he’d lost something special, something precious.
And he hated it.
Chapter Nine
