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Kat gasped.
I frowned. “What?”
“I say that too.”
“Say what?” I asked, confused.
“Rich and ridiculous. That’s what I’ve always called my parents and their friends.”
I chuckled. “It seems we agree on something.”
“Is that hard to believe?” she asked.
Her hand was still in mine, and I squeezed it. “No.”
As we stared at one another, something intense flared to life. The heat in her eyes fanned the flame rising inside me. Her tongue slid across her bottom lip, slowly wetting it. My heart thundered in my chest, and I could see the beat of her pulse speed up at the base of her slender throat.
The same intensity that had been present when we almost kissed on my back porch was there now. The prolonged anticipation was almost unbearable. Why did I have this strong urge to kiss her? It grew each time we were together, and I was almost powerless to resist it.
We were standing mere inches apart. When I inhaled, I could smell something sweet that reminded me of when I was younger, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Whatever it was, I wanted more of it.
Kat was watching me intently. I tipped my head to the side and licked my lips. Just as my lips were descending to meet hers, a breath apart, someone walked into the room.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Mom is asking where you are,” Duke said.
I stepped back and cleared my throat. Kat’s eyes darted to the floor, and she turned away from me. I reached down to grab her hand, but she pulled it into herself, so I placed my hand lightly on the small of her back to guide her to the dining room. She flinched and then relaxed. The almost kiss had obviously affected her too.
“Y’all come sit down,” Mom said when we entered the large room.
“Uh-oh. Mom’s throwing her y’alls around,” Will said.
“Hush,” Mom said, swatting him with a potholder.
Kat’s eyes ping-ponged between my two brothers as they went back and forth, ribbing on Mom and each other. Her eyes lit with amusement as she took her napkin off her plate and laid it over her lap.
Will’s wide grin fell suddenly, and he cleared his throat and tipped his head toward the door behind Duke. Duke sat up straighter, and unease settled in my gut. Kat glanced over at me, questions in her eyes. I squeezed her hand in reassurance. I wasn’t sure if it was for me or for her.
The air in the room chilled. Not physically, but emotionally. We were all wound tight. My dad entered the room and took his place at the head of the table, opening his napkin and laying it over his lap as Kat had. He placed a folded newspaper beside his plate and then looked around the room.
When his eyes landed on me, disgust washed over his face. He glanced at Kat and then moved on to Will. His expression changed, and a faint smile lifted his lips.
“The numbers are good this quarter,” he said.
Will nodded. “Yes. Very.”
“Let’s not discuss business while we have a guest,” my mom said, entering the room with a small casserole dish.
When she placed it down, my mouth watered. Sweet potato casserole had always been a comfort food for me, and it had been a long time since I’d had my mom’s. Kat smiled at me. She looked as excited as I was.
“I’ll discuss whatever I’d like, Beth,” my dad said. His tone was clipped, and my mom winced.
I hated how he talked to her and us. He’d always been a dick. Even when we had nothing and the farm was going under, he still treated people in town like he was better than them. My grandparents were old money but had cut him off young for choosing my mom over their choice. He had run away and settled here in Ridge Point.
He’d done well for himself until he started gambling. Luckily, we were older, and Will was dabbling in investing. Since the farm was going under, he and my dad decided on a winery start-up. Will knew a guy—he always seemed to know someone who had something he needed—who had a few grape vines he wanted to offload.
My mom had always wanted a vineyard, and together, she and my dad learned the ins and outs of owning and taking care of one. My mom was in charge of the actual vineyard itself, and Will handled the money since my dad couldn’t be trusted. Dad was in charge of the employees and making wine. The vineyard was thriving, despite my dad’s addiction. When he didn’t have money to spend, things went well.
“I’d love a tour of the vineyard sometime,” Kat said.
