Page 76 of Wine & Dine

“What?”

She shakes her head, unwilling to explain her thoughts. Dammit. She’s killing me here. Deflated, I suggest we turn back.

“We should head back to the house. Wally’s California feet don’t know how deadly this snow can be.” I chuckle without humor. I’m distraught. She doesn’t want to hear my plan and doesn’t want to be part of it, a part of my future.

I whistle for Wally again, taking the tennis ball that’s been in my pocket and toss it toward the house. We walk in silence again, my thoughts filling with ideas that will never come to fruition for this place.

“What did you have planned?” she asks, surprising me with a more cheer in her voice. “You said you wanted the other night to be perfect. What did you have in mind?” She hesitates in asking, and I exhale deeply in frustration.

“I don’t think it matters now.” The irritation of losing both the girl and a vision in the same twenty-four hours suddenly weighs down on me.

“I’d still like to know.”

“Dolores.” I stop. “I’ve been on my own for a long time, and I thought I was fine with it that way. Especially after the scandal with Kate. I’ve kept my heart in check. Tin Man, remember?” I knock on my puffy coat over my left pec for emphasis. “And then I met you, and I shared things with you I haven’t shared with anyone else, like owning a vineyard someday. So forgive me if I hesitate in giving you the last part of my soul when you’re standing here rejecting me.”

She blinks and blinks again, liquid filling her eyes. Shit. Don’t cry, I think. However, this might be the first time waterworks won’t work on me. Raw and restless, like I’m standing naked in this flat field on this cold mountaintop, I can’t take any more disappointment.

“Pretend I’m the Scarecrow. My brain is curious.” I don’t want her brain to be curious. I want her heart to be open. She’s smiling, but it isn’t reaching her eyes. It isn’t filling her face like I know it can.

“Fine,” I huff. “I booked us a room. I wanted to take you upstairs and make love to you. You looked so beautiful in that dress. That gorgeous, fucking, stunning dress. I just wanted you to feel special, and I wanted you to know how much I love you.”

I’m breathing like I’m running a marathon. I’m not winning the race, but I’m sprinting like my life depends on it.

“You what?” she whispers, her eyes wide and glistening as a single tear drops. I close my eyes. I can’t watch her cry. It will break me, and I’m already broken.

“I love you,” I say, turning away, preparing for her to rally against my emotions. Instead, she steps up to me, her coat brushing mine. Gloved hands cover my cheeks, and she forces me to turn in her direction.

“I love you, too,” she says softly. “It’s been there for a while now, and when I saw you with all those elegant women at a fancy gala, I just didn’t think I belonged with you. I wouldn’t be enough for—”

My mouth stops the rest of her words. Her cold lips turn warm underneath mine as I press against her, drawing her to me. My heart fills. The heart I didn’t have, which she returned inside me, swells and swells as I take her lips. Without words, I tell her in this kiss how much I love her, how I’ll do anything for her, anything she asks. I just want us together. I pull back abruptly.

“I wanted to ask you to be my partner…on the vineyard. Work with me to selfishly make my dreams come true.”

Her breath hitches, and she blinks in confusion. Maybe it’s too much to ask. She’s been through a lot the past two days, and this might be the final straw for her.

“Don’t ever leave me like that again.” I breathe out against her red lips, my forehead pressing to hers. “My heart can’t take it.”

“I’m sorry, Garrett. I’m so sorry.” She tips up and takes my mouth with hers, speaking back to me with her sorrow and her fears. I want to believe she’s telling me she wants me to be with her. She needs me. When she slowly pulls back, she tugs my lower lip with hers. “We’ll figure it out, right? Together.”

My lips press into her forehead as I confirm, “Together, sweetheart.”