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Jack held out his hand. “Give me your glass, I’ll get us a refill. Go ahead and pick a seat.” He motioned to the long benches.
I didn’t have anything better to do, so I agreed and found a spot for us. At the end of the cellar there were curved alcoves cut from the stone. They formed small, private meeting spaces that would be perfect for a romantic date. I chose it for the view of the rest of the room, imagining what it would be like to hold the police officer’s gala here. Romance, mystery, intrigue, and good wine. I hated to give it to Jack, but this winery was breathtaking. It would be such a unique place to host an event.
The space was theme enough. We wouldn’t need to rely on a gimmick.
Jack’s footsteps brought me out of my reverie.
Jack handed me a glass.
“So, what do you think?”
I gulped down half of my glass, suddenly hyper-aware of how private and alone we were.
“I was just thinking about ways we could make this work for the gala.”
“I told you I had a great venue option for us,” Jack said smugly, settling into the curved bench seat that housed us both. He wasn’t too far away. The semi-circle was meant to seat a couple of people, maybe four if you were pushing it. “So, tell me, what are the pros and cons of this place?”
Jack got even more comfortable in his seat, turning to face me. I felt like I had his full attention.
It was unnerving.
I squinted at him for a second. How did he know I still did that? I started using it as a tactic for my trickier events. Normally pro/con lists just happened naturally in my head. I could do the cost/benefit analysis, weigh the possibilities, and really figure out what was going to work and what wasn’t going to work.
When things became less clear, I wrote down my list. I had a notebook full of pro/con lists in my purse. I pulled it out, then rummaged through the enormous bag for a pen.
“Let’s write them down.” I clicked the pen, then took a drink of my wine.
Jack did the same, his eyes never leaving me. Even as I avoided his stare, I could feel it washing over me. I saw through my periphery that he ran his hand through his growing scruff.
“Pros. I know the owner and can get you a good deal on the venue space.” He took another sip.
I looked up at him, finding humor in his eyes. That pro in particular had crossed my mind. And now that I was staring straight at him, I noticed those little crinkles around his eyes. They were deeper than they had been in high school. More pronounced. My fingers itched to trace them. I wondered what made him laugh over these past ten years. Not only what, butwho.
“Whitney,” he whispered.
I cleared my throat and pulled back my shoulders. “Con. It’s far away from town. We’d have to do something to bring people in. Maybe buses or something. Especially if people are drinking.”
Jack nodded slowly, as he looked at me with a question in his eyes. He opened his mouth, then shut it. “I’ve been thinking about the distance,” he said, leaning on the table. “What if we had local businesses sponsor the buses? It’s good advertising for them and everyone gets back safely without a DUI.”
I brought my eyes back to the paper in front of me.
“It could work.” I considered it a viable option.
Jack raked his hand through his hair. “Another pro? We have amazing wine, and I could sell to you at cost, so we don’t have someone trying to upcharge us on the booze.”
And it was a good offer. Alcohol and food were always the highest ticket items for an event like this. Especially with fancy people who wanted to be impressed.
“I’ll write it down.” And I did. “Another con?” I started thinking, not coming up with much. My biggest deterrent was how far away the location was from town. But shuttling folks away for an experience like this—it might pay off big time. With the flickering candlelight, the velveted benches, the ambiance, we’d be hard pressed to find another location that looked like this. Hell, we’d already seen several and this by far was the strongest option. As much as I wanted to like the Haver’s Creek town square, this place won by a landslide.
“Now let’s put this notebook away.” Jack closed the black book, placing it into my purse then tossed the purse onto a chair a table over.
“Hey,” I said as I watched it fly through the air. “I wasn’t done with that,” I scolded him, but then caught a serious look on his face, one that held something like a mix of anger and heat.
“We are done with work for the evening. Obviously, this is our venue, so we can call off the search and work on the logistics tomorrow.”
Static came over the radio attached to Jack’s side. I’d seen him grab it before we left the car. We sat in silence as we heard the weather service extend the shelter time for another couple of hours. They advised all residents to stay safe in a basement or storm cellar until the storm passed. Unpredictable winds made it too dangerous to be on the roads and they urged everyone inside ASAP.
I started getting more nervous about what this meant. “We can’t be stuck here all night,” I said to myself, placing my head in my hands.
