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“Can’t we do that tomorrow morning?”
Dale draws in a breath and then exhales slowly. His nostrils flare slightly. Is he angry? Angry that I’m questioning him?
Finally, “No. We’ll do it now.”
“All right, then.” I set my cutting tool down, remove my gloves, and place them in the bucket with the others. Then I follow Dale out of the vineyards to his truck.
He opens the passenger door for me. “Get in.”
I smile more sweetly than I’m feeling. “Thank you.”
He starts the engine, and we drive for a few moments in silence.
Then I turn to him. “How was Denver?”
“Fine.”
“And your brother?”
“Also fine.”
“Your dad?”
“What is this? Some grand inquisition?”
“Just making conversation.”
“We’re all fine.”
But the tension in his jawline says otherwise. Talon and Donny may be fine, but Dale most certainly isn’t.
My instinct is to ask what’s wrong. Already, though, I know he won’t answer.
Don’t push.
I hear the words in Jade’s voice.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time. Three p.m. I’ll need to be done here by six to get back to the house, clean up, and then meet Brendan for our dinner at seven thirty.
I’m looking forward to it.
Not because I want anything to happen between Brendan and me. In fact, I want the opposite.
But damn, I’m yearning for some actual conversation. With Diana gone, the only person I have to talk to is Jade. I adore Jade, but she’s a generation older than I am and she works full-time in Snow Creek so she’s not around a lot.
So yeah. I’m looking forward to good food, good wine, and good conversation. Nothing at all wrong with that.
Dale pulls into the winery parking lot. He turns to me, and his eyes soften.
“What?” I can’t help asking.
“You have a smudge of dirt on your nose.”
“I’ve been harvesting. I’d be surprised if I didn’t.”
“It’s…”
“For God’s sake. What?”
“It’s cute.” He pulls a red bandana out of his pocket and reaches toward me, gently erasing the smudge.
Yes, gently. His touch is so gentle, and I warm instantly.
“If it’s so cute, why did you remove it?”
He doesn’t reply. Simply folds the bandana and shoves it back into his pocket. Then he leaves the truck and walks to the passenger side, where he opens the door for me. I get out and follow him into the building to the tasting room.
“So what do I need to know for tomorrow?”
He clears his throat. “We serve lunch in here. My cousin Ava caters it. Have you met her?”
“Briefly, at the pool party before Dee left.”
“She’ll deliver the food by eleven thirty, and lunch is at noon.”
“Do you want me to set up or something?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We have people to do that.”
“Okay. What should I do, then?”
“You need to be here during lunch to answer questions from the tasters. Of course, we’ll provide lunch for you as well.”
“Won’t you be here?”
“Yes. So will Uncle Ryan.”
“I’m sure the tasters will direct their questions to the two of you,” I say.
“They may, but I’ll be deferring to you.”
My eyebrows shoot upward. “You will?”
“You’re a doctor of wine, after all.”
Is he being sarcastic? I honestly can’t tell at this point. He liked what I did at my first tasting.
I say once more, “Not yet. I only have my master’s in wine.”
“Good enough. Neither Uncle Ryan nor I possess a master’s or doctorate of wine, so you’re ahead of us. You’re the expert.”
Again, is he making fun of me? Being sarcastic? Or just being an asshole?
So hard to tell.
But two can play this silly game.
“Of course. I’ll answer whatever questions you feel are appropriate. Which wines will we be tasting tomorrow?”
“The red table blend, the fine Cab, the Meritage, and the Syrah.”
Excitement roars through me. The Syrah. I haven’t had the pleasure yet of tasting the Steel Syrah myself. I can’t wait.
“Which ones will I be doing?”
“The table blend and the Meritage.”
Disappointment aches. But Syrah is Dale’s favorite grape. Of course he’ll take that one for himself.
Doesn’t matter. I’ll wow them with the red and the Meritage. I’ve already tasted the table blend, and it’s wonderfully simple in its complexity.
“May I have a taste of the Meritage?” I ask.
“Why?”
“Uh…so I know what I’m dealing with tomorrow.”
“You didn’t taste the Cab Franc in advance, and you did fine.”
My cheeks warm. “That’s nice of you to say, but you know as well as I do that I’ll do even better if I taste the wine ahead of time.”
His lips quirk up at one corner. Just a little. “Maybe I like seeing how good you are on your feet.”
I shake my head. “No one does a tasting without sampling the wine first.”
“You did.”
“Yeah, and I shouldn’t have had to.”
“A doctor of wine should be able to do anything.”
Anger boils in my belly. “You’re so determined to make me fail. Why, Dale?”
“Make you fail? Didn’t I just compliment you on your first tasting?”
