Page 84 of One Wild Wish

“Like I said, I owe him. He even got a bunch of my friends work. Vesper closing down left a lot of people in the lurch.”

The club where I’d met Jimmy.Disappointment weighted me. I would have loved to revisit Vesper with him, explain how a mysterious power outage had propelled me to fulfill my wish. I may have questioned the wisp of magic I’d felt that night, but I couldn’t deny it now. I mean, here I was, the day I’d paid my tuition, finally ready to forgive Jimmy and move forward.

Ready for love.

This was the domino of happiness I’d hoped for.

“I can’t believe it closed.”

April rolled her eyes. “The place was a death trap. Blackouts every couple weeks. Electrical problems. They couldn’t afford to fix it.”

She excused herself to serve patrons, and I stared dumbly ahead.

Jimmy slid his hand across my waist. “You okay?”

I wasn’t sure. I’d waffled about the “magical” blackout on and off since my birthday, but the possibility of its legitimacy had led to that horrible butt shot. It had pushed me to enter the sommelier contest. It was why I’d enrolled in school. Believing the wish would knock the rest of my life in order had spurred me on, when all I ever really needed was to believe in myself.

Talk about being clueless. “I’m fine. Just surprised about the club. So…” I looked around, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Magic hadn’t led me here. I’d led me here. “Where’s this mysterious blind tasting?”

He moved behind the table and placed one glass on the white tablecloth. With the same grace he’d displayed in the contest, he poured a mysterious white wine into the crystal—elegant movements for such a rough man. The alcohol swished and clung to the sides, its legs dripping downward. When my father had told me the alcohol bleed left on a glass was known as “legs,” I’d rolled my eyes, sure he was lying. Today their sexy drag left me breathless.

Mischief in his smirk, Jimmy pushed the glass toward me, along with a pen and piece of paper. “One wine. One taste. If you guess the name of the wine and the vineyard, you win. If you don’t, you lose. First you have to set the stakes. Write them down. I won’t look until it’s over.”

“Any limitations?”

“No.” Then his hand shot up. “Actually, one. It can’t involve Ainsley and her vicious forms of torture.”

I snickered. “Condition accepted.”

I swirled the glass, the light transforming the liquid from straw to gold. Offering forgiveness was easy, simple words spoken, acceptance to ease Jimmy’s mind. But actions spoke louder than words. Jimmy had explained what he’d done and why, offering so many apologies he was in danger of losing his Man Card. If I entered our second chance unsure, waiting for him to mess up again, neither of us would win. He’d acted like an asshole, he’d hurt me, and we still had much to discuss. A discussion that should come from a place of security, for both of us, which meant taking a risk.

A totally massive risk, but destiny, apparently, was mine to make.

Before I could reconsider, I wrote my stakes and folded the paper, edges matching up. I placed it aside, perpendicular to the table. I lined up the pen, too.

The second I let go, Jimmy nudged the pen askew.

I returned it. He nudged it again. I glared at him, and he winked.

“I’d like to change the wager,” I said.

He snatched the paper and pocketed it. “Not a chance.”

God, he was difficult. And cute, smiling like he was. Time to taste some wine.