Chapter 3
Sherry
New Year’s Eve was the night before the world dove into resolutions and gym memberships. But first they partied, and it was my job to throw the best celebration Vine Valley had ever seen. I moved through the tasting room of my family’s vineyard, greeting familiar face after familiar face.
Twinkling fairy lights softened the rustic wood beams above and cast a golden glow over the large space, creating a luminous warmth to the festivities. Flickering votive candles sat atop repurposed wine barrels, and black and gold balloons rise from every corner.
The room hummed with laughter, clinks of glasses, and jazz music from the small string quartet set up on the far side of the tasting room.
Dressed in crisp white shirts and black aprons, the caterers maneuvered through people, offering plates of brie and fig jam crostini, lobster bisque shooters, and mini caprese skewers.
Nero, my older brother by barely a year, and tasting room manager, stood behind the polished tasting bar, filling glasses and cracking that smile filled with too much charm every chance he got.
When he glanced at Lainey, his girlfriend, and my best friend, there was nothing but love in his gaze.
I was happy for them, truly, if not a little jealous.
Nero had been dominating Lainey’s time, and I missed my best friend.
At least she’d finally have someone to kiss when the clock struck midnight.
“You outdid yourself.” The silky voice slid through my ears, and the warm breath caressed my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. Heat curled in my stomach as I turned, coming face to face with the man who had been haunting my dreams since Halloween despite my attempts to forget him.
“It’s my job.”
His dark blond hair was freshly cut and the slight stubble made him more dangerous in that tuxedo.
The glittering lights from the crystal chandeliers caught his eyes as he scanned the room, and when our eyes locked, a slow, devastating smile curved his lips.
“It’s more than that, and you know it. Not anyone could pull this off. ”
The compliment flowed through me, sending a wave of warmth to my heart.
The treacherous organ would find his compliment and charm irresistible.
It was getting harder and harder to resist him, though I’d been able to hold my ground.
He was no longer just an employee and coworker.
He had proven to be efficient, professional, and exactly the kind of person we needed to replace Wyatt as he stepped into a new position.
In a short amount of time, he’d become a vital part of the vineyard, and I would never allow myself to jeopardize that.
His gaze held mine, unreadable yet searing.
I forced a polite smile and stepped back. “Enjoy the party. I have a job to do.”
“Do you have anyone to kiss at midnight?”
A response stuttered up my throat and tumbled from my lips in an incoherent sound. “You know I don’t mix work and pleasure.”
“You have several times, as a matter of fact. Before and after, I was inside you.”
My eyes widened at his blatant arrogance, heat rushing up my neck and spreading through my cheeks. “Keep your voice down.”
“Why are you afraid someone might hear?”
He was baiting me, but I wasn’t an idiot. I turned my nose up and glanced away as if I didn’t care. “There’s nothing to tell because nothing happened.”
He laughed at the blatant lie, and the sound echoed around us. I darted my eyes away from him, scanning the crowd to see if his laugh caught the attention of anyone.
“You can pretend all you want, but we both know it happened.”
“Nothing happened, Ben,” I stated without room for argument.
We had one single beautiful night together, but that’s all it was. A moment in time that I was grateful for, but just like all moments, life moves on.
“If that’s what you want to keep telling yourself.” His finger dragged ever so slightly up my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. “I will never forget how you screamed my name, how your eyes fluttered back when you came.”
I grabbed his finger and turned to him, anger simmering beneath the surface. “Can you shut up?” I shoved his hand back at him, not numb to the fact that tingles still erupted where his skin had touched mine.
“Does it matter if anyone hears? You’ll just continue to deny it. Act like it wasn’t the best sex of your life.”
I told him Halloween was a one-night thing. Yet, it did nothing to temper my desires. If anything, they had grown into an inferno, something I’d been able to push deep down, except at night when I closed my eyes, and my carefully constructed walls crumbled.
“You haven’t as much as uttered a word to me since that night. Why now?” He had tried to talk to me a few times since, but it was never so direct.
“This dress, for starters.” His eyes roamed down the black silk that clung to my curves, leaving little to no need for imagination. “But mostly, your sheer talent of putting this event together. Your confidence as you float through the crowd, because you know you nailed it. Confidence is sexy.”
I rolled my eyes even as my pulse betrayed me. “So, what? You’ve been able to avoid me for months, and suddenly my confidence turns you on?”
“Don’t act like you’re not the reason for the avoidance. You made it very clear it was a one-night stand. I was honoring your request.”
I swallowed, heat creeping up my neck as he closed the minute gap between us. “Then why stop now?”
“Because it’s been fucking torture, and I thought maybe tonight, you’d admit, it’s been torture for you, too.”
Seeing him every day hauling boxes, muscles bulging, hair a tousled mess of pure sexiness had been torture, but my job, my family, the vineyard and its legacy were more important to me than a man I barely knew.
Except I did know him. He always arrived ten minutes before he had to start.
He was kind and helpful to the men in the warehouse who worked under him.
He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and take on the most basic tasks.
Nothing was beneath him, and it was an honorable quality the rest of the workers appreciated.
He was always willing to offer a hand in areas that didn’t fall under his position.
He appreciated the process of wine making and spoke with Franc and Rhone frequently about the new batches.
I snapped out of my stupor and shook my head. “Sorry to ruin whatever New Year’s Eve miracle you were hoping for, but I scratched my itch, and I’ve been fine ever since.” The words were like acid on my tongue as the lie came too easily.
“Really?”
My breath hitched as his finger found my knuckles, tracing a searing line toward my wrist.
“I can see the desire in your eyes. Hear the stutter of your breath. That itch has not been thoroughly scratched.”
“Hate to break it to you, but you’re not as unforgettable as you think.” I kept my composure, holding my head high, shoulder straight, even if the confidence I was exuding was nothing more than a sad attempt at covering up the truth.
“Lies,” he said, his hand engulfing my wrist, his thumb rubbing along my pulse point, causing it to quicken. “You want me. Your mouth might not admit it, but your body doesn’t lie.”
I snatched my hand back, ignoring the burn of his touch. “You might find confidence sexy, and it is, but arrogance? Not so much.”
“Funny. You didn’t seem to mind my arrogance when you were moaning my name.”
Hot lava shot through my spine, but I folded my arms and pinned him with a glare. “Must not have been all that memorable, since I don’t recall.”
“There you go again, pretending like it didn’t happen when I know damn well you can’t forget. I bet you close your eyes and see me at night. Relive every stroke of my finger, every swipe of my tongue. Tell me. Do you touch yourself?”
Heat rushed to my core, moisture building between my legs as I shifted. If he only knew the extent of it. The only problem? It was never enough. The only touch I wanted was his, but he was an employee of the vineyard now, and I didn’t date anyone who I worked with.
Rhone once dated a girl who worked in the tasting room. She cheated on him, but tried to act as if he cheated on her. It got messy. Until Chardonnay stepped in, threatening to drag her ass outside or call the cops. The girl wisely chose neither and escorted herself out the door, never to return.
It caused a ripple of gossip through the tasting room and eventually made it into the streets.
People talked about it for weeks, acting as if it was a hot new TV show.
Odette even made a Team Rhone rhinestone t-shirt with matching capris.
The drama became the focus and not the world-class wine and years of hard work my family poured into the vineyard.
I didn’t want to become gossip. I wanted them to see me as Sherry Grasso, the event coordinator and third generation vineyard legacy and not the girl who slept with the new guy.
But the longer I stood there, looking into his green eyes, my resolve was teetering. Did I think about him and touch myself? Heat flooded my body as his question and the heady desire of his tone replayed in my head.
“Even if I did,” I said, trying to keep the tremor from my voice, “it would be none of your business.”
Ben’s smirk deepened. He leaned in, his breath teasing my ear.
“I know you do.” His voice dropped, lower, rougher.
“I still hear the way you begged me that night. When you think no one is watching, your body reacts to me. Like right now. You’re pressing your thighs together, trying to ease the ache. ”
“What’s your point?”
“Midnight. You. Me. No more pretending.”
I swallowed, the desire to agree without a second’s hesitation clawing at my throat. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m the event planner. People expect me to give a speech.”
“Then after the clock strikes midnight, and you ravish the crowd with your charm and wit, come find me.”
“I’m not a dog.”
Ben chuckled. “Never said you were, but you’ll still come.”
“Where?”
“The cellar. Ten minutes after midnight.” His eyes met mine, a deep dark intensity swallowing the shades of green. “Deal?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I spun around before my body betrayed me and sashayed across the tasting room, knowing damn well his eyes followed my every step.