AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?” she asked with a laugh. “What are you smirking about?”
He shrugged. “I’m not smirking, I’m just looking forward to the challenge.”
“What challenge?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side as they neared the house. “The challenge of making sure that the one night you are prepared to spend with me is so good that you won’t want to leave.”
She laughed and slapped his arm. “It’s not like that. You know what I mean.”
“I do, but …” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’m still looking forward to the challenge.”
A shiver ran down Becca’s spine. Jacob wasn’t the kind of guy who failed at any challenge he set himself – she already knew that.
When they got back to the house, she was glad that he took her back into his study. She was already starting to love this room. It felt like him. The rest of the house was beautiful, and it was welcoming, not stuffy, but the study just felt like Jacob.
“Do you want a drink?”
“Please.”
He was standing beside a beautiful wooden bar – she was really going to have to do some research and figure out what the different woods looked like. She’d guess the bar was made of teak, but she had no clue what made her think that.
“What?” she asked when she realized he was watching her with a small smile.
He laughed. “That’s what I’m waiting for you to tell me – what would you like to drink?”
“Oh!” Well, wasn’t she dumb? “Sorry, what are you having?”
“Cognac.”
She pursed her lips. She wasn’t much of a drinker, and she didn’t like liquor. It occurred to her that she didn’t know the first thing about wine either – which wasn’t ideal, considering that he was a winemaker – that his whole freaking life revolved around the wine business. She could feel her cheeks heating up as the silence lengthened. It shouldn’t be so difficult to decide what she wanted to drink, for heaven’s sake!
“Hey.” His tone was gentle.
“What?”
“It’s not a trick question. You can have soda or wine or water – whatever you like.”
She blew out a sigh. There was no point in trying to pretend that she knew what she was talking about. If she was going to even consider staying here with him, it was only fair that he should know just how clueless she was.
She shrugged. “Would you mind if I taste your Cognac?”
“Of course.”
He poured himself a glass and brought it to her. She took it and sniffed. It smelled pretty potent. She took a little sip and felt the burn down her throat.
“Wow! That’s strong! It’s kind of nice, but it’s too strong for me.”
Jacob chuckled. “It’s an acquired taste. Are you a wine drinker?”
She let out a short laugh. “Not really. I don’t know the first thing about the stuff.” She gave him a wry smile. “Sorry.”
“There’s no need to be sorry. I don’t know the first thing about teaching little kids, so we’re even.”
“It’s not the same though, is it? You don’t need to know about little kids.”
“And you’ve never needed to know about wine. You don’t now, if you don’t want to.”
“No.”
