Chapter 3
My smile was big, charm turned on to a hundred, and the women in the tasting room were eating it up. I should’ve been happy as hell, but all I could think about was Lainey and her too soft lips. The way my hand molded to her generous hips. If I’d known she’d be a permanent fixture in my mind, I never would have kissed her. I would have kept my damn lips to myself, my hands firmly planted in my pockets, and got rid of that woman some other way.
Now I was stuck trying to get another woman out of my head, reminding myself she had been there all along, and the only reason I was even having x-rated thoughts about her was because of that kiss. But damn.
It was a good kiss.
I shook my head before my mind brought me down a path it shouldn’t go and grabbed the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The brunette in the too tight pants was waiting for her next tasting. With a quirk of my lip, I pushed the glass toward her.
“You’re all set,” I said.
She took a sip, slow and seductive, eyes holding mine as she pulled the glass from her mouth. “Yummy.”
“It’s one of our best sellers. The bottles are over there if you’d like to purchase one.” I pointed toward the nook dedicated to our product.
“Thank you.” The brunette took her glass and walked away, and I put the bottle back in its place.
My eyes drifted down and froze on a burn spot on my shirt. Shit. I knew I shouldn’t have gone into my workshop before my shift, but ever since Albert gave me the okay to get started on the secret project, I was eager and excited. I tucked the tail of my shirt into my pants. That should do.
“What the hell was that?” Rhone, my youngest brother, asked. He was helping behind the bar since we were shorthanded tonight. Normally he was in the facilities helping Franc make the wine.
“What are you talking about?”
“That woman was eye fucking you.”
“I didn’t notice.” My mind was stuck on Lainey. Her sky-blue eyes with the black ring. The adorable lines of confusion on the bridge of her nose. The ample cleavage of porcelain skin that had the remnants of a tan peeking out from the dip of her shirt.
It had been three days since I foolishly kissed Lainey. Three. Days. So why the hell was the taste of her lips still so prominent on my tongue? Why was the feel of her skin brushing against mine on constant rotation in my dreams? For fuck's sake, I’d kissed a lot of women in my life, and the next day completely forgot about them. None of them were Lanes, though. I didn’t know them the way I knew her.
She was… different.
Maybe it was the guilt. I’d kissed her in front of the entire tasting room, which was the equivalent of standing on Main Street and kissing her in front of the entire town.
Usually I was a pro at compartmentalizing and shoving any unwanted feelings into a box in my head to never deal with. But this? No matter how many times I forced it into that box, the lid flew open, and the guilt simmered like an infectious disease trying to take over my body. Until I was in bed or the shower, and visions of her mouth on me overtook all rational thought, and the guilt dissipated. Then I’d say fuck it, grab my dick, and embrace the imagery.
Rhone’s eyes widened, and his head snapped back. “You didn’t even look at her ass.”
“It’s just an ass.”
“You could bounce quarters off that thing.”
It sounded nice, but my mind was currently looking for something a little more supple. Something I could sink my fingers into and hold on to. The ass I wanted swayed with each step and would most likely bounce when taken from behind.
Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me? Thoughts like this were completely normal, but not when it came to Lainey.
“You didn’t even try to sell her a case. You directed her where to go instead of sealing the deal.”
“She’s an adult. She can get her own wine if she wants it.”
“If she wants it?” Rhone shoved both hands through his hair. “What is happening? Am I in some alternate universe?” He glanced around the tasting room like an idiot. Then the jackass poked my chest.
I swatted his hand away. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Making sure you’re real and not some robot that replaced my brother.”
“You’re a moron.”
“And you’re acting weird.”
“Who’s acting weird?” Lainey’s voice came from behind us, and my entire body froze as the sweet sound wrapped around me like a warm hug.
What. The. Fuck?
“Some chick was practically drooling over Nero here, and he didn’t pounce.”
Lanes adjusted on the stool, a few stray strands of blonde falling from her ponytail. “You’re making him sound like a tiger.” I could always count on Lanes to defend me. “When we all know deep down he’s a kitten?”
“Thank you, La— A kitten?”
“All cute and cuddly,” she joked.
“I think I’ll take tiger over kitten. Thank you very much.” I turned to Rhone. “I don’t always think with my dick.”
Rhone glanced at Lainey, and her pink lips curved upward, her dimples emerging. Had she always had dimples?
“I think we should check to make sure he’s not been abducted and replaced by a hologram?”
“Oh great episode,” Lanes added.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “You two really need to lay off the TV.”
“Don’t tell me that Black Mirror episode wasn’t good.” Lainey slipped off her sweater, revealing a t-shirt that dipped toward her heaving chest that was just begging to be kissed, licked, and sucked.
Fucking hell.
I swallowed, trying to ignore the barrage of intrusive thoughts stampeding through my head. My eyes wandered to the dip of her shirt. Damn it.
“Sutton’s favorite episode,” Rhone said, referring to his best friend.
“It was so good.” Lainey’s gaze drifted to me, her eyebrow quirking slightly. “I think he’s malfunctioning.”
“What? No.” I grabbed a rag and moved toward the bar top, needing to do something to keep my attention from wandering to Lainey’s cleavage.
“I think I saw a glitch,” Rhone said, and I clenched the rag to keep from punching him in his smug face.
“Don’t you both have, I don’t know, jobs?”
“My brother’s at the store,” Lainey said. “Which means I have”—she looked at her Fitbit—“about another half hour before he eats all my samples. If you can ring me up for two bottles of Pinot Noir, I can get out of your hair.”
“You’re making your red wine chocolate cake, aren’t you?” My mouth watered just thinking about it. She had made it for several of our in-house events, and it was always a massive hit.
Her head tilted, a faint smile on her very kissable lips. “I am. A three tier for a bridal shower.”
“Big cake for a bridal shower.”
“You can never have enough cake.” She winked, and I gritted my teeth as the gesture moved right to my dick.
Rhone shot me a glare. “You want me to grab the bottles?”
“Yes, make yourself useful,” I said. Lanes shifted her bag and reached for her wallet. I held my hand up. “Don’t worry about it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We are not doing this. Take my damn card and charge me.” Her lips pressed into a thin line, and I imagined swiping my tongue along the seam, begging for entrance.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No.”
“Nero Francis Grasso, don’t start with me.”
“I’m not starting, you’re starting.” I’d never charged Lanes for the bottles, but she probably didn’t realize since she always sent her brother. My brain shifted from her lips and curiosity poked at me. “Why didn’t you send your brother?” He worked for Lainey part-time. While she baked the cakes and met with clients, he ran the errands and did most of the deliveries.
Had she wanted to see me? An unexpected swell of heat burned in my chest.
Lainey sighed, her chin dipping into her cleavage. “The dumbass broke his wrist.”
“How the hell did he manage that?” I asked.
“Flew over his handlebars on the trail.” Rhone placed the two bottles in front of Lainey and flashed the good ol’ Grasso smile. “Said it hurt like a bitch.”
Rhone and Lainey’s brother, Austin, had been close friends since elementary school.
“Yes, so now since my brother didn’t think twice about playing Evel Knievel like a jackass, I’m left with trying to figure out how to deliver a cake to Philly tomorrow. I’d like to think I can carry it myself, but that’s not exactly realistic. Sherry offered, and you know I love her to death, but she isn’t the most graceful of souls. I can just picture her tripping over her feet and face-planting into my silky chocolate buttercream.”
“I’ll go with you.” The words burst out of me as if not giving my brain a chance to cut them off.
“You will?” Lainey and Rhone said at the same time.
“Sure.”
“Who's going to work the tasting room?” Lainey’s blue eyes drifted around the large space before settling back on me.
“Rhone.”
“Come again?” Rhone exclaimed, and I gut punched him so quick no one would have noticed if he didn’t huff out a groan.
“He’s free,” I added. “Right, Rhone?”
Rhone's tightened jaw eased, and he straightened, though pain lines still creased around his eyes. I guess I hit him harder than I realized.
“Right,” Rhone uttered before clearing his throat. “Franc doesn’t need me tomorrow, and Sutton asked if she could pick up a few shifts since her rent went up. I told her she could come work with me for the day. Honestly, this brute will just be in our way.”
I would have argued, said something witty to counteract the insult, but everyone was in the way when it came to Rhone and Sutton together. Though, I’d have to check with him after Lanes left because this was the first I was hearing about Sutton taking on some shifts. It wouldn’t be the first time, and I was always willing to take her on. She had a great work ethic and actually had knowledge about wine. It was refreshing.
“Great,” Lainey said, shouldering her bag and grabbing the two bottles of Pinot. “That’s great. If you’re really okay with it. I don’t want you to feel obligated because I helped you the other day. You know, that girl, me, you, your tongue down my throat… Remember?”
Heat filled my cheeks. Was I actually blushing?
“Oh snap!” Rhone said, and this time I didn’t hide the hit. He let out another groan, and I shoved his ass clear across the bar. His laughter followed him, but I turned my attention to Lainey.
“I’m offering because you need help, and I know you would do the same for me if the tables were turned.”
Her eyes locked on mine, her chin setting in a stubborn tilt. “I don’t believe you, but I’m desperate, so even if you are offering out of guilt, I don’t care. Thank you. I have to leave at ten. The trip should take a little over two hours. The party is at two, but I want to make sure I have enough time to get there, and extra time in case there are any emergencies. Nope, scratch that. There will not be any emergencies. We will get the cake there in one piece, and all will be good.”
She was cute when determined. “I’ll be at your house at a quarter to nine.”
“With coffee?”
My lip twitched. “A dark roast with two sugars and a splash of heavy cream.”
A pretty pink bloomed on her cheeks, highlighting the adorable roundness. “Exactly.”
“See you then.”
She shot her hand out, debit card pinched between her fingers. “Don’t think I forgot.”
“Lanes…”
“Nero…” she mocked back. “Charge my damn card.”
“No.”
The pretty pink turned to a muddled red. “Don’t make me jump over this bar and hurt you.”
I crossed my arms and nodded toward her. “I’d love to see that. Seriously, if you jump over the bar, I will charge your card. And no, you cannot use the stool to help you.”
Her stubborn jaw unclenched. “You’re lucky I’m not wearing a sports bra. If the girls were strapped down, I’d already be over there smacking you one.”
I kept my eyes on hers, but now I had a new vision to occupy my mind. Lainey hurdling the bar, her tits bouncing like Pamela Anderson’s running down the beach. “Excuses,” I joked.
“Look, just be grateful I know my own capabilities or my boobs would have taken out a five-foot radius, and you’d be cleaning up a lot of spilled wine and broken glass right now.”
Great. Just the mere mention of them, and my attention shot to her boobs, wondering how many handfuls each one would be.
Fuck me.
“You okay?” she asked, and I shook myself out of my trance.
“Fine. Tell you what. You can buy me lunch tomorrow.”
“Deal.” And with that, she sauntered out of the tasting room. Her ass swayed and though I might not have been able to flick a quarter off it, I could damn well sink my teeth into it. My eyes lingered on each step until she was gone.
I shoved my hand through my hair and went back to stacking the clean glasses in their place. I needed to make sure everything was in order before I headed to Lainey’s, and I only had an hour. As the tasting room manager, I could hire someone to handle all the little details, but if I wasn’t willing to get my hands dirty, what kind of manager was I?
Besides, I wanted to earn my paycheck and not just live off my inheritance. I didn’t want to be paid just because my family was loaded and had the money either. Laurent and Chardonnay practically ran the entire establishment. As the winemaker, Franc was the backbone of the entire entity. Rhone, as his assistant, was the only one who could run that portion of the business if God forbid something happened to Franc. Sherry ran all the events that brought in a shit ton of money and got our family run vineyard in all the wedding publications. And Rose not only made sure everyone on social media saw all those publications but also created buzz to get people in the doors. What the hell did I do? Winked at a few women, flashed my charm, and sold some cases of wine?
I was the low man on the totem pole, but I never wanted to show that hand. I needed my siblings to see my value, my worth, even if, unlike them, I was completely replaceable.
“Uncle Nero!” a tiny voice came from the front doors, and I spun just as my nephew barreled toward me.
I stepped out from behind the bar and braced myself as Gio flung his body into my leg. All the chaos in my brain settled as I held my hand out and did our secret handshake that we came up with just for us.
“What are you doing here, bud?” I ruffled his hair, and he stepped from under my hand.
“Dad and Quinn are taking me to the park, but Dad had to come here first. He said I could say hi.”
Heat spread through my chest, and I swore my heart doubled in size. I had no idea a kid that wasn’t my own could bring so much joy and love to my life.
“And Dad said if I’m good, we can stop by Aunt Lainey’s and have some cake! She won’t be there, but Austin will be.”
My lip twitched at the mention of Lanes. Luckily, my brother wasn’t around to catch it, and Gio was too young to understand.
“You better behave, then. Aunt Lainey’s cake is hard to miss out on.”
“I’m always good.” His smile engulfed his entire face, and damn if this kid didn’t have the Grasso charm.
“I guess that depends on the definition. Your definition of good might be a little different from your dad’s.”
“But I am. I told Quinn she looked pretty today.”
“It’s a start,” I said.
“A start.” He sighed. “How much better do I have to do for some cake?”
“A lot.” I didn’t want the kid to have any unrealistic expectations. He had to learn that doing good and being good went hand in hand. “Just remember actions speak louder than words.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you can’t just say you’ve been good. You have to show it.”
“But I put my plate in the dishwasher this morning, and I made sure Sally’s tank was locked.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Sally, Gio’s pet bearded dragon, was Houdini reincarnated.
“That’s awesome, bud. It’s still only a start.”
He sighed again, this time amping up the drama. “I’m going to need a nap.”
I wrapped my arm around him to provide some support as his little world crumbled. “Welcome to life, kid.” I ruffled his hair, and he stepped away from my hand. He hated when I did that.
“Gio!” Franc’s voice cut through the tasting room.
“He’s over here with me,” I said, catching my brother’s gaze as he stalked toward us.
“You ready?” he asked as he approached and rested his hand on Gio’s shoulder.
Gio inhaled. “I think so.”
Franc patted his back. “Quinn’s in the car. Go on. I’ll meet you out there.”
Gio turned to me, and we did our handshake before he took off full speed toward the door.
“No running!” Franc called out, and Gio’s little body came to a halt before his smart ass tiptoed out the door.
Franc ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “That kid.”
“You would be lost without him.”
The tightness in his shoulders eased. “You’re right. He still drives me insane.”
“I gave him a little pep talk, so between that and the reward of Lainey’s cake, hopefully today will be pretty uneventful.”
“Speaking of Lainey. I heard through the grapevine you kissed her.”
“Jesus Christ.” I thrust my hand through my hair and turned toward the tasting bar. “Can anything in this godforsaken town stay under wraps?”
“You act like you just moved here yesterday. What the hell did you think was going to happen?”
I could hear the shift in his tone, that older brother, take charge to teach me a lesson, but also let me know how disappointed in me he is, tone.
“I made a mistake.”
“You know I don’t care who the hell you stick your tongue in, but Lainey?” He shook his head. “Off limits. She is too sweet and innocent for you to play with her heart.”
“I wouldn’t play with her heart.”
“You fucking kissed her. I’d say you made a play.”
“She let me, so I could prove a point to a stage five clinger.”
“Lainey isn’t someone you can use at your convenience.”
When he said it like that, he made me sound like some kind of monster. I didn’t force Lainey to do anything. She was always down to help me out. I’d admit the kiss was new, and maybe I went too far, but I couldn’t just stand there and listen to that woman insult her.
“I fucked up. Okay? What else do you want me to say?”
“That you won’t do it again. That you’ll stay the fuck away from her.”
My teeth ground together. “I’m not going to touch her again.”
“Great. And I say this with love, she’s too good for you. You don’t want forever. You never have. It’s not who you are. You get bored too easily. Move from one woman to the next. Lainey is family and I can’t stand back and watch you treat her like one of your side pieces.”
“I told you,” I snapped. “I’m not going to touch her.”
Franc patted me on the back as if this was a normal conversation and he didn’t just cut me open and force me to look at the dark crevices within myself.
I was a certified player who had a constant rotation of women coming in and out of my life. Nothing he said wasn’t something I didn’t already know.
I wasn’t honorable, like Laurent, who was about to marry the only woman he ever loved. I wasn’t respectable like Franc, who fell in love with his kids' nanny before taking her to his bed. Hell, when Quinn had walked into this tasting room for a job, I had been planning every way I could make her my next conquest. I’m happy Franc swooped in. I didn’t deserve Quinn. She deserved a man like Franc.
Every woman deserved better than me.
I was as heartless as my namesake.
“Look,” Franc said, pulling me out of my mind. “I love you. I just love Lainey too, and we’ve always looked out for her like she was one of our sisters.”
Lanes wasn’t like a sister to me. It was deeper than that. I couldn’t explain it, but the way I felt about her was different than I did my own sisters. Kissing her proved that and opened my eyes to something I’d been blinded to. “I know, and I appreciate that. I’d kill for that girl, so I get it.”
“I need to get going.” Franc hitched his thumb over his shoulder.
“Go. Don’t leave Quinn and Gio waiting.”
With a final pat to my back, Franc headed for the door.
“For the record,” I called out. “You’re right. Lainey is too good for me.”
I closed my eyes, letting the silence of the large space engulf me, the smells of the wine settle on me. I might not be the winemaker, or the man who ran the entire company, but this tasting room was my domain, and even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to be serving wine and slinging racks of glasses for the rest of my life, for now, this place was home.