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“You’re right. I’ll work on my control.”
“Don’t work on it too much,” she said with a saucy glint in her eyes. “I like when you lose control.”
“You. Are.Killing. Me.”
“I know.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and headed down the hall, calling Gio’s name, so I couldn’t grab her wrist and yank her into me.
I adjusted my permanent erection and grabbed my shit. “I’ll see you guys later tonight,” I said, cursing Laurent for making me go to the damn town hall meeting when I could be at home with Gio and Quinn. Then again, being with Quinn, not being able to touch her, or kiss her, that seemed like another circle of hell. So maybe the town hall meeting didn’t seem so bad after all.
“Have a good day,” Quinn said, coming into the hall to see me off. Her eyelashes fanned down, tongue dabbing at the corner of her sexy mouth before bringing those big eyes back to me. Heat flashed through my body. That damn minx. “We’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”
With a groan, I headed out the door before all restraint was lost.
Town hall meetings were not exactly my idea of a good time. The few I had gone to never seemed to accomplish much. It usually ended with people arguing and refusing to budge on a topic, leaving the discussion open until the next meeting. Some showed up to argue. Some showed up for Lainey’s cake. And others showed up to sit back and watch the fireworks.
I hurried into the meeting room, hoping this would be quick. I wanted to get home to Gio and Quinn. The day had been long and torturous. The smell and taste of Quinn lingered with me throughout the day, but it was fading, and I needed it back.
“There you are,” Lainey said, as I made my way into the meeting room. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was tucked behind her ears. Her blue eyes stayed on me as I weaved through the group of people conversing in the middle of my path. She was manning the table with the refreshments and holding a plate with a perfectly sliced piece of cake. At just over five feet tall, I towered high above her. “For you.” She handed the plate up to me, and I gratefully accepted.
“The only reason I’m here,” I said.
“I appreciate the comment, but we both know you’re here because Laurentbribedyou with my cake.”
“Still here for the cake.”
Lainey laughed. “I’m here for the drama. Who do you think is going to go at it today?”
“My money is on Albert and Odette.” I took a bite of cake. My tastebuds practically sighed in delight at the nostalgic flavor of milk and cookies. How Lainey managed it was beyond me.
“Oh, that’s a given. I’d be more shocked if they didn’t go at it. My money is on Tommy and Steve.”
“What? No.” Tommy and Steve were the two most chill people I knew. Tommy was a legit flower child of the sixties who owned a hippie shop in town that smelled like patchouli and bad decisions. His love of tie-dye and the Grateful Dead turned into a lucrative business for him. And Steve. Well. Nothing upset him, other than claiming Bigfoot wasn’t real.
“Apparently the town website knocked Tommy’s store down to second and put Steve’s museum at number one for the best odd attractions in Vine Valley.”
“People actually care about that stuff?”
“Tommy’s been number one since the creation of the website.” Lainey slipped into a spot-on impression. “He finds it an insult, dude. And totally not groovy,”
“I didn’t even know he knew how to use a computer.”
Lainey let out her usual loud, boisterous laugh that had all eyes turning our way. She pressed her lips together and waited for the attention to disperse. “Sorry, I was just imagining him trying to type, stoned out of his mind. Do you know he’s already had three slices of cake? You’re lucky you got here when you did. I didn’t know how long I could hide this piece for you.”
“This is all the cake?” I asked.
Lainey gently elbowed my side, and a knowing smirk lifted her lip. “I have a small one in the car for you and Gio.”
“You’re the best.” I slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight. “Gio is going to flip out.”
She patted my chest and shot me a glare. “Then tell that little nugget I’m mad he hasn’t come to see me lately.”
Guilt tugged at me. I always made an effort to stop by Lainey’s shop. “We’ve been busy. It’s nothing against you.”
“I know. I just like to be a pain in the ass. Last time I was in the winery, Nero told me you stole his applicant as your new nanny.”
“I didn’t steal her. She was far better qualified for my job than his. She doesn’t even drink wine.”
“Sherry told me she’s very pretty. Nero did, too, but he thinks anything with a size two waist and perky tits is pretty.” The disdain in her voice didn’t go unnoticed. Her crush on Nero was the biggest unkept secret amongst my siblings. Except Nero was completely oblivious. It was better that way. As beautiful as Lainey was on the outside and the inside, she wasn’t his type. I loved my brother, but Lainey was simply too good for him.
