Chapter 12
OLIVIA
C all me! I texted Callie as soon as I got back to my room, praying that she had good reception on the train.
Between the slight wine buzz and that knee-weakening kiss, I couldn’t make sense of what had just happened. Jake may have wanted to pretend it was a mistake, but it’s not like he slipped and landed with his tongue in my mouth.
Just thinking about it made me sweat. I was still hot and throbbing from grinding against him. My God, had I really just dry humped him?
I drew the curtains and paced, glancing at my telephone every few seconds. Finally, it began to vibrate, and I grabbed it, flopping down on the bed.
“What’s up, poulette?” Callie asked.
“He kissed me!” I replied in a fierce whisper.
Callie’s squeal was garbled by the poor connection. I could barely make out what she was saying. “. . . knew it! . . . so into you.”
“You’re breaking up.” Ugh, not now. I needed to talk to her dammit!
“How was it?”
“Hot. I mean, we nearly started a fire.” I told her about the cat, and she cackled.
“That fucking cat! What do you think would have happened if you hadn’t been interrupted?”
I’d asked myself the same thing. “I don’t know. He was very quick to make sure I knew it had all been a big mistake and ran off a list of reasons why nothing could ever happen between us.”
“Okay, that’s a good sign. That means that he’s been thinking about it.”
“If that’s true, then why is so eager to send me off to Lucie?”
“Uh, because he doesn’t want to admit that he’s into you?” Callie and I had dissected the whole Lucie situation after we’d left them at the beach. Callie was convinced that he’d only suggested it because he was afraid his self-control would crumble if he was alone with me.
“The problem is we leave tomorrow for Burgundy. It’ll be awkward.” I nibbled at my thumbnail then ran my finger over my bottom lip like he had earlier. That kiss had been anything but awkward. I’d nearly combusted.
“Or it could be the perfect opportunity to launch Operation Seduction,” argued Callie. “Long hours in the car, late nights in cozy country inns. Ooh, maybe there will only be one bed! Come on, you have to go for it, Liv! Don’t let this become another what if .”
“You’re right.” I pressed my fingers to my lips again. I swear I could still feel him. “Enough sitting around and waiting.”
Silence.
“Hello? Can you hear me, Cal?” The phone had cut off. Tossing it aside, I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling, imagining Jake’s naked body rising above me.
* * *
The next morning, I was full of nervous energy as I threw on a white linen dress and striped cardigan and swiped on some mascara and lip gloss.
Jin had told me not to keep Jake waiting, and at exactly nine a.m., I heard the car engine running in the driveway.
I raced out front, dragging my suitcase over the gravel path, afraid that if he’d spent the whole night regretting that kiss, he might leave me behind.
That kiss. It had haunted my dreams. Even now my whole body tingled as I replayed it in my head.
Out front, Jake was loading his suitcase into the trunk of the Aston Martin.
Freshly showered in a blue button-down shirt rolled over his forearms and tailored trousers that hugged his ass, he was so damn sexy that my knees wobbled.
His hair was damp and curly at the nape, and I wanted to run my fingers through it, press my nose into his warm neck and inhale his cologne.
How was I going to play it cool when all I wanted was to climb him like a tree?
My stomach fluttered as I drew nearer, and he stared at me like he was reliving that kiss too. Had his dreams been as erotic as mine? Had he gotten himself off like I had? I could feel the blood rush to my face.
“I was afraid you’d left. I just woke up,” I lied. I’d been up for a while but had been too nervous to make coffee in the house.
He took my suitcase and nodded toward the interior of the car. “There’s a thermos of coffee inside. Black, right?”
“Perfect. Thanks.” A white carton box from the boulangerie had been placed on my seat. I opened it to find a slice of my favorite quiche and a tarte citron, and my heart squeezed at the thoughtful gesture. “So we’re taking this car, huh?”
“You sound like you’re afraid we’ll break down somewhere,” he said as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“No, of course not, but I thought we’d be carting boxes of wine around with us. There’s not much trunk space,” I said, inadvertently insulting both his mechanical skills and the size of his car. Maybe not the best start to Operation Seduction.
“We’ll have the orders delivered directly to the container in Marseille. It leaves next week.”
We drove through Moustiers in silence. With the convertible roof up, the space was tight and the air heavy with tension. As if reading my mind, Jake said, “We’ll be on the highway soon. But we can put the roof down later if you want.”
“It’s fine. I prefer not to eat bugs for breakfast anyway.” And now I’d steered the conversation toward insects. Fabulous.
He smiled weakly and stared straight ahead. “I can’t promise I’ll be as much fun as Jin, but I do know more than him, so if you have any questions . . .”
“I’ll be sure to ask. And I won’t tell Jin that you insulted him.” I bit into my quiche, carefully holding it over the carton so the crumbs wouldn’t go over the immaculate leather interior of the car. “Did you eat already?”
“Yeah, I’ve been up since five. Went for a run. Fed the cat.”
“Wait, what?” I laughed. That was not something I would have counted on him saying.
“He was waiting outside your door this morning, and when he saw me he started bellowing. I didn’t want him to wake you up.
” His eyes met mine then slipped down, lingering ever so briefly on the exposed skin of my thighs where my skirt had ridden up.
The nervous butterflies in my stomach turned into excitement, and I shifted in my seat to give him a better view.
“That was nice of you.” I nibbled my lip. I wondered what he’d do if I climbed over and straddled him. My breathing turned shallow.
“Mmm,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road.
Another awkward pause. Don’t overthink it, don’t overthink it .
I tried to concentrate on the scenery to take my mind off the gorgeous silent man next to me who, less than twelve hours ago, had his hands on my thighs and his tongue in my mouth. “So how long is the drive?”
“Around six hours, but we’ll make a couple stops on the way—in the Hermitage region and Lyon.”
“Okay.” Hermitage. I knew the name from Jin’s wine atlas, but we’d never gotten around to tasting any. I wished I hadn’t packed the atlas away in my suitcase. If I hadn’t been so distracted by that kiss last night, I could have found out where we were going and prepared. That kiss . . .
“Then tonight,” Jake continued, casually steering the car onto the highway, “we’re going to bone.”
I choked, nearly spraying the dashboard with coffee.
“You okay?” He threw me a worried glance as I tried to compose myself.
“Yeah, it’s just, uh, you seem pretty confident about that,” I coughed.
“About what?” He had the nerve to look completely mystified.
“That we’re going to . . .” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. “You know.”
“Bone?” he prompted, nonplussed. “I did make the schedule.”
So that’s how it worked. He’d decided, despite all the objections he’d given me the night before, that we were going to sleep together. How did even he know I was willing? I mean, I was. But he shouldn’t just assume. “Don’t I get a say?”
“If you don’t want to come, I won’t make you.” He shrugged.
“What?” How were we even having this conversation? He could be direct, but this was next level. “Look, I’m just not sure I’m ready to . . . bone .”
He stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. And then slowly, a look of understanding crossed his features, and he shook his head.
“B-e-a-u-n-e.” He said each letter clearly before repeating the word. “Beaune. We’re going to Beaune. It’s the wine capital of Burgundy.”
I felt the blood rush from my head as I stared down into my thermos.
Oh, shit . I wanted to dissolve into my seat.
Jake stared out at the road ahead, eyebrows drawn.
And then his lip twitched. My shoulders started to tremble with suppressed laughter and a hysterical giggle caught in my throat.
He shook his head again, then he was dimpling all the way—and laughing!
It was a wonderful sound—deep and full-bodied—it wrapped around me like a warm hug.
“I don’t know what’s worse, that you thought I’d just decide something like that, or that I’d put it in those terms,” Jake said finally. “Who the hell talks like that?”
“That’s why it was so surprising.” I caught my breath, swiping at the tears in my eyes, almost giddy with relief. We’d addressed the elephant in the room—or the car—and laughed about it.
“Hey, if you want to drive, let me know,” Jake said once I’d composed myself.
“I can’t drive stick,” I reminded him.
“But you can drive?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then this will be your opportunity to learn.” He grinned wickedly.
“I don’t think so. Not this car.”
“We’ll see. You might change your mind,” he said as he flipped on the radio to a French jazz station.
As Django Reinhardt filled the air, I leaned my head back against the seat and sighed.
There was something so right about old jazz, a thermos full of hot coffee, and the rugged mountains rising on either side of us.
It was almost as breathtaking as that kiss.
* * *
Maybe it was the relief I felt at having broken through the initial awkwardness with Jake this morning, or maybe it was just the thrill of being with him, but the rest of the morning flew by.
Conversation was never strained, and Jake seemed legitimately curious about my life.
I told him more about my family—though we avoided talking about my mom—my trip with Callie and Levi, and the last few months at my soul-sucking job at the law firm.