CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
My nerves had my hands shaking as I reached into the backseat to grab the big picnic cooler bag and blankets. I’d already tossed some foam camping mats into the back so we weren’t reclining on unforgiving metal.
She dropped the tailgate before I could, and climbed up, holding out her hand for me to pass her the stuff.
“This is so great,” she said, spreading out the big black and yellow Mexican blanket. “We should listen to some music.”
I climbed into the truck bed and yanked out my phone. “What’s your jam?”
“Do you know Current Swell?”
I shook my head.
“They’re a Canadian band, but their vibe is very laid back, surf rock, indie folk, beachy, and sort of bluesy. We play a lot of their stuff at the tasting room as it kind of fits the island vibe that we’re after.”
I brought up my music app and typed the band in. Soon, we were listening to soft rock and gentle instrumentals. I could see why she liked them.
Sitting down and draping one of the other blankets over her lap. She opened the tote bag and pulled out a bottle of rosé. “I went with this one because rosé goes with everything. It’s also one of my favorites.”
“Sounds good to me.” I opened the green, canvas picnic cooler bag and started pulling out the items I’d packed. Cheeses, some sliced fruit, crackers, and various meats. I had two stemless metal beverage tumblers that I passed to her so she could fill us up.
“Wow, you really went all out,” she mused, unscrewing the cap for the wine and using her thighs to keep the tumblers secure. “Is that …” she glanced at me, her eyes heated, “is that salted caramel chocolate?”
I instantly went to the worst-case scenario. “Oh shit. Are you allergic to chocolate?” I picked it up and was prepared to throw it out of the truck, but she started laughing.
“The opposite.” Then she wrinkled her nose.
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Well … it sort of does.
I’m not allergic to chocolate. I’m actually obsessed with it.
Unapologetically. Can’t make a trip to the grocery store without two voices in my head talking to me.
One voice is telling me to buy the chocolate, and the other voice is telling me to listen to the first voice and buy the chocolate. ”
I made an amused noise in my throat at her joke.
“And salted caramel is my absolute favorite.”
Even though it was sort of meant to be dessert, we weren’t playing by anybody’s rules but our own. So I opened the bar and broke off a square. She opened her mouth, to my surprise. So with only a small dose of hesitation, I placed it on her tongue.
“The trick is, you let it melt on your tongue for a minute or so before you chew it,” she said, the chocolate now in her mouth.
“You need to let each tastebud work its magic and capture every note.” She closed her eyes, smiled, and hummed.
My cock twitched in my khaki shorts and I had to refrain from glancing down at her chest.
To be honest though, a serious thrill raced through me at these intense feelings.
For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me.
Why wasn’t I attracted to women? Why didn’t I feel sexual desire toward …
anyone? Did Kyla really fuck me up that much that she ruined any opportunity for me to have a normal, loving relationship?
Apparently not. I just hadn’t found the right person yet.
I hadn’t found the person who floated my boat or got my engine revving.
But Naomi certainly did that.
All I wanted to do right then and there was kiss her. Kiss her while her eyes were closed, and she tasted like chocolate.
Then I remembered that we weren’t playing by anybody’s rules but our own, so I did.
I leaned into it and gently pressed my lips to hers.
She smiled against my mouth and hummed a little more before wrapping her arms around my neck.
“I’m glad you did that,” she murmured before opening her mouth to mine so we could deepen the kiss.
I slid my tongue past her lips, tasting the chocolate, salt, and caramel—which was only made more delicious by her.
I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands, but since she’d wrapped hers around my neck, I figured she wouldn’t mind if I cupped her jaw.
She leaned into my palm, my pinky against the pulsing vein in her neck as I tilted my head to the side a little to get a better angle.
After a moment, I pulled away, my head a little light, but my heart all kinds of happy. I opened my eyes to find her smiling at me.
Heat filled my cheeks. I cleared my throat and continued to unpack the cooler bag.
“Oh, they arrived,” Naomi said, pivoting to glance to the left and sort of behind the truck.
I leaned over her legs to see what she was talking about. “Saunas?”
“Yeah. They were on clearance through some company that was going out of business. So we snapped them up. Raina found them online—she’s really good at finding deals like this—so we all discussed it and decided that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to just buy them now and store them here until we needed them.
The McEvoys took two for their cabins, since their property has a few rental cabins on it as well.
But then we kept six for here for the cabins we’re going to build. ”
“They’re really cute. Like little round barrels.” I sat back against the rear of the bed and pulled out two plastic plates and some napkins.
“They fit up to four people. Not my jam, to be honest. I don’t like being too hot. I’d rather be cold and able to put on more layers than hot. Also, getting locked in a sauna is seriously one of my biggest secret fears.”
I gave her some curious side-eye. “Has that ever happened before?”
She shook her head. “No. Because I’ve never been in a sauna. And I have no plans of going into any of these. But they were so stinking cheap, and they’ll be a great addition to the property and rentals.”
“Are they wood or infrared?”
“Infrared. Wood would be too costly to keep going, with constantly having to have cords delivered. It would also make the place so smoky, and we couldn’t offer saunas year-round. So we went with the infrared and solar panels to help offset the electricity costs.”
“Seems like you guys have everything sorted out.”
“Danica and Bennett are the money crunchers of the team, and they’re doing a great job keeping us all on budget and finding ways to make things more economical.”
I placed the container of red grapes down between us and let out a sigh. “And there we have it. Dinner.”
Turning to face me, she reached for my chin and brought her lips to mine for just a brush of a kiss. “It’s perfect.”
It was like a sexual beast had been awakened within me now that I found a woman I was actually interested in. Even that gentle little peck had my cock getting stiff and this undeniable urge to tackle her in the back of this truck, shoving all thoughts of going slow straight into the ocean.
“You okay?” she asked, as she pulled away and released my chin. “You’ve got a weird look in your eyes.”
I swallowed and shook my head, tossing on a fake-ish smile. “Yeah. You just look really hot tonight.”
Her cheeks pinked up in a super sexy way, and she tucked a strand of her brunette hair behind her ear before glancing away shyly.
I grabbed a cracker, a piece of cheese, and a slice of prosciutto. “So, tell me about all your grandiose plans for his place,” I said before popping the food into my mouth.
She reached for a few grapes. “Well … that’s Bonn’s old house there. It still has good bones, so we figured we’d keep as much of it as we could intact. But we want to turn it into a bridal suite. Where the bridal party gets ready and the happy couple can stay on the wedding night.”
“So the plan is to make this place into an events ground?”
“Kind of. We want to put staff housing over there, in the woods close to Tom’s land.
Cabins all along the property line here, to maximize sun exposure so we can install solar panels on the roofs.
A big pavilion with indoor and outdoor space for large group entertainment, and a proper catering kitchen.
The McEvoys want a space to grow hops and herbs for their brewery and restaurant, and we wouldn’t mind expanding our grape varieties.
We’d put all of that down there where it gets the most amount of all-day sun exposure.
” She was pointing in various directions and painting such a vivid picture that by the time she was done, I could almost see it ribbon-cutting-ceremony-ready.
“What’s your timeline?”
Her nose wrinkled in a cute way as she reached for a strawberry.
“Ideally, we’d be booked with events and guests and cutting the ribbon this time next year, but a lot of that comes down to permits, availability of supplies, and funds.
The McEvoys—like us—are a family-run business, and the world just keeps getting more expensive. ”
“It sure does,” I grumbled.
“And while we’ve had the addition of two very deep pockets to our family, and they’ve had the addition of one deep pocket, none of us are willing to accept money from them.”
“You mean Tom and Maverick and their pro-sports money?”
She nodded and sipped her wine. “Yeah. They want to invest, but we’re not ready for that.
And they respect our decision. They haven’t been part of the family long, and while we value their input, nobody is under any illusions that this isn’t a fifty-fifty partnership between the five McEvoys and the four of us. ”
“Who has deep pockets on their side? Jagger said he only played college football.”
She slid a sideways glance my way. “Brooke?”
“Oh shit! Right. I totally forgot that Brooke Barker is like a super Hollywood star, probably worth millions.”
She smothered her smile with a piece of cheese. “At least. She’s in heavy talks with some directors and producers about a movie and book deal about her life.”
“Wow.”