A Sip of Sherry (Vine Valley, #5)

Chapter 1

Sherry

Bonfires and heat lamps glowed in the early fall night, casting flickering shadows across Three Barrel Distillery’s lawn.

The scent of wood smoke, whisky, and spiced cider drifted through the air, mingling with laughter as I made my way inside for the Halloween party that was a staple in our small town.

Familiar faces made their way to the bar and out the back door toward the bonfires.

I glanced at my sister, Chardonnay, as she fidgeted with the skirt of the pirate costume I let her borrow. It was all I had, and I wasn’t about to swap my Alice in Wonderland costume with her.

“Stop fidgeting.” I swatted at her hand. “Tugging on it isn’t going to make it any longer.”

The costume was a far cry from Char’s normal wardrobe of power suits and heels, but her legs were killer, and she needed to show them off more.

She grumbled beside me, and her hand immediately found the hem of her skirt again. “Well, you’re four inches shorter than me, and nothing is making that more abundantly clear than the length of this skirt.”

“You look amazing, so knock it off.”

A deep voice cut through the hum of conversation around us. “Ms. Grasso, it’s nice to see you.”

My attention shifted toward the unfamiliar voice, and my heart practically slammed into my chest. He was the Mad Hatter to my Alice, complete with a crooked top hat and a grin that shot an unexpected rush of heat to my cheeks.

His eyes met mine, the room around us blurred, and all I could focus on was the tousled dark blond hair, scruff lined jaw, and eyes that I couldn’t tell if they were green or blue.

“Please don’t call me that,” Chardonnay said. “There are too many Grassos in this area. Chardonnay is fine.”

“Chardonnay it is.” He leaned toward me, engulfing me in the scent of oak and spice, and smiled a smile that should be marked as a lethal weapon. “‘The secret, Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile.’”

Shock at his spot-on reference hit me, but I kept my expression dry, not wanting him to think I was as easy as a line and a sexy smirk. “Are you seriously quoting Alice in Wonderland to me?”

He motioned at our costumes. “It seemed necessary, don’t you think?”

A smile tilted my lips, and Char waved toward Ben. “Sherry, this is Ben. He just applied for the position of warehouse manager. He’s new to town. Lives down at Robin’s Landing.”

My heart sunk. He wasn’t just someone new to town.

He was a potential employee of the vineyard.

I didn’t date coworkers. Relationships always carried their own brand of drama, and I refused to introduce that to my family's business.

My grandparents, my parents, and my siblings all worked too hard for the success of our family vineyard to risk letting those waters get muddy because of a sexy smile.

One wrong move, one broken heart, and suddenly there were whispers in the tasting room, tension at the staff meetings, awkward run-ins during deliveries.

I’d seen it one too many times. The notion that someone could separate work from emotion was bullshit.

If Ben was in the running for the new warehouse manager, that meant I’d have to work with him closely.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I extended a hand and kept it civil. “I’m Sherry Grasso, the nice sister.” I couldn’t help but add the little jab at Char. I wouldn’t be a little sister if I didn’t, even if we were in our mid to late thirties.

Electric current flowed through me as Ben took my hand and brought it to his lips. His eyes, more green than blue, somewhere between eucalyptus and celadon, locked on mine as he placed a kiss to my knuckles.

Heat exploded in my cheeks, and every reason I should’ve walked away got lost the longer he stared back at me.

“Could I offer you a drink?” Ben said, never looking away.

I swallowed as the acceptance of his offer came up my throat with a resounding yes.

It was just a drink. It’s not like I was going to sleep with the guy.

Besides, if he got the job, it would be nice to know who he was.

“I would love one. What about you, Char?” I turned to my sister, whose attention had wandered toward Brady, our brother’s best friend and owner of the distillery.

“No, you two go on without me.” Char tried to wave me away, but I knew the minute I left her, she would bounce.

It was like pulling teeth to get her to go out, and I didn’t want to abandon ship, but when I glanced at Ben, that damn smirk playing at the edge of his mouth, I suddenly didn’t want to spend the evening forcing my uptight sister to have a good time.

“Please don’t skip out. Stay. Have a drink. Have some fun,” I said, hoping she would find her own joy tonight.

“I will. Now you go do the same.”

I spun toward Ben, my sexy blue Alice costume flaring around me. Ben’s gaze slid to the white knee stockings and garters before abruptly snapping back to me. I smiled at the obvious appreciation on his face.

My eyes drifted for a second, spotting Char making a beeline toward Brady.

Either they were going to kill each other or rip each other’s clothes off.

It could go either way, but until they acknowledged their hatred was actually unresolved sexual tension, I was afraid we’d be living in their denial fueled tension spiral forever.

I brought my attention to Ben. The effortless charm paired with his rugged jaw and thick lashes made me forget how to speak for a second. I cleared my throat. “How about that drink?”

He pulled off the oversized Mad Hatter hat, ruffling a hand through his already messy hair before motioning toward the bar with it.

The yellow vest beneath the deep red jacket hugged his torso just right, and the pushed-up sleeves revealed strong forearms. “Lead the way,” he said, voice low and warm.

I stepped forward, hips swaying, confidence and sex appeal fueling me, but my heel slipped on the floor, twisting my foot sideways and throwing me off balance. My knee buckled, and I stumbled forward with all the grace of a baby giraffe. So much for confidence and sex appeal.

Ben’s hand shot out, latching onto my waist and steadying me against his hard chest. “I got you,” he said, hot against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

I turned my head, not realizing how close he was. Our lips were mere inches apart, and a strong desire to kiss him overtook any rational thought.

“You good?” he asked, knocking me to reality.

What the hell was I even thinking? We’d known each other for all of five minutes. I needed to get a damn grip.

“Totally fine,” I breathed. “Just, uh… testing the floor.”

“I’m guessing it didn’t pass.”

I stomped my heel into the wood. “Definitely a failing grade. I’ll be filing a complaint with management.”

Ben’s eyebrow lifted. “Would that be the big guy dressed as a vampire who looks like he bench presses a full whisky barrel as a warmup?”

“That would be him, but he’s harmless… unless you hurt me or anyone in my family, really. He’s a little protective.”

“I would never hurt you.”

My attention caught on the quiet and serious tone. The noise of the party faded into the background, and my breath caught, the space between us stretching tight.

I swallowed hard, my pulse ticking up. “Good,” I managed, though it was softer than I meant.

He straightened the oversize teal bowtie that would have been a turnoff under any other circumstances, but somehow made him even more irresistible. It was charming, a little absurd, but completely working for him.

Ben took a step closer, his focus lingering on my mouth before finding my eyes again. “How about that drink?”

“Yes!” The word burst out of me like an uncontrollable reflex.

His eyebrows lifted, and heat exploded in my cheeks as I turned from him and carefully made my way through the crowd, waving to all the familiar faces as I went.

“Is there anyone in here you don’t know?” Ben asked as we found an opening at the bar and squeezed in.

I scanned the tasting room, admiring all the costumes and smiling when I spotted Michael from Espresso Yourself, the local coffee shop, dressed as Nancy from the Craft. “Nope, the only person I didn’t know was you.”

“I’m the mysterious outsider crashing the party?”

A wave of confidence came over me. My lip curled in a slow, deliberate smile. “I was thinking more like the hot stranger everyone’s pretending not to stare at.”

“Here I thought I was blending in so well with my giant bowtie.”

I reached up, straightening the ridiculous piece of fabric. “It’s definitely not doing you any favors in the subtlety department.”

“Odette told me go big or go home.”

“You’ve met Odette?” I shook my head. “What am I talking about? Of course you have.” There wasn’t a single soul who entered Vine Valley who didn’t run into Odette and her infamous matching shirt and pant sets.

“She lives in the same community as I do.”

“Oh you live in Robin’s Landing?” I paused for a second then mentally slapped my forehead. “Char said that already, didn’t she?”

“She did, but that’s okay.”

I winced, silently awarding myself a gold medal for Most Awkward First Impressions. “What’s it like living in the same community as Odette?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation steering as far away from this moment as possible.

“Odette caught me moving in and brought over a welcome basket and a binder filled with the yearly calendar of events held in the clubhouse.”

“That sounds like Odette.”

“What can I get you two?” Meadow, Brady’s newest hire, asked.

She had a bohemian vibe to her appearance, all flowy skirts and layered jewelry, like she’d wandered out of a music festival in the desert and wound up in Vine Valley.

“I have some specials here.” She turned around a paper menu framed in a plastic holder.

I scanned the drinks. So many more options than what Brady usually offered. “I’ll have the Rustic Retreat.”

“Good choice. It’s one of my favorite fall drinks. What about you, Mad Hatter?”