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Jax raised a dark eyebrow. “That Valentina’s?”
“Yep,” Sully replied.
“Then, I will allow you to eat here in exchange for tortilla chips and salsa verde.”
“Jax, no accepting bribes,” Theo called from the other end of the counter, where he stood talking to an older couple. Sully remembered the friendly winery owner from the first time he’d visited. Theo nodded to them both, an intrigued expression on his face.
“Right-o boss-man,” Jax said and saluted. “No bribes.” She watched Theo carefully. As soon as he turned back to the couple, she leaned forward on her elbows and pulled a bright red lollipop from her mouth. “Seriously, though, I will need to be bribed.”
“Understood,” Alanna said. “We’ll leave a few chips and a salsa container on a napkin on the edge of the table.”
Jax nodded.
Alanna sidled up to the bar and leaned forward. Her voice lowered. “Word on the street is Theo’s finally opened his new blend.”
Jax pushed the lollipop back into her mouth. “Could be he did, could be he didn’t.”
Alanna assessed the younger woman shrewdly. “What if I doubled the number of tortilla chips that happened to ‘fall’ out of our bag?”
“That’s our dinner,” Sully protested in a whisper.
Alanna held up a hand. “It’s worth it, trust me.”
Jax carefully considered the offer. “Then I’d have to say, strictly speaking, Theo most definitely did notfinallyopen his micro-batch of Obssession, which is a mixture of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese, and malbec with so much body it puts Jennifer Lopez to shame. And Theo certainly isn’t so giddy about it that he practically pees his pants every time he tries it. And I, of course, don’t have a few bottles stashed in the back he doesn’t know about.”
“Hey!” Theo barked, finally finished waxing poetic with the couple about petite sirah. “What are you conniving about over there?”
“We’re discussing how great Pearl Jam is,” Jax called back.
“Oh.” Theo looked non-plussed. “Pearl Jam is great. Carry on.”
“I knew I liked you, Jax,” Alanna said.
“Same here, lady,” Jax answered with a wink. “Take a seat, and I’ll go wander in the back and see what I bump into.”
Sully mutely followed Alanna to a small table. A magazine sat under the leg of one of the chairs. To be fair, it did the trick. The chair didn’t wobble, and though worn, was incredibly comfortable.
“That was amazing,” Sully said after pulling out a chair for Alanna.
“Add master negotiator to your list,” she answered as she opened the bag and set out their grub.
The deal went down smoothly. Jax made a show of loudly praising the barbera while pouring an unlabeled bottle into their glasses. With a swipe of her hand, the napkin full of chips and small plastic salsa container disappeared into the folds of her large t-shirt.
No noxious cloud of cologne followed her. Just a slight scent of honeysuckle.
Alanna swirled the wine in her glass then tipped the edge to her lips.
“Oh… my… God,” she sighed. “Theo is a wine savant.”
Sully had the same reaction when he bit into his first carne asada street taco. They glanced at each other. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light, sapphires beyond price or compare.
Alanna held out her glass. “Cheers to dragons,” she crowed.
“And window seats on airplanes,” he added.
The glasses clinked.To the possibility of us,Sully thought to himself.
He took a sip, appreciating the dark, rich taste that met his tongue. He felt buzzed, but not on the wine. Every smile, every laugh, every touch from Alanna intoxicated him. His head swam with her… and yet he knew he had to ask a question that would snatch the smile from her face.
