Chapter 4
Napa, California
Ella had never been to that winery, but she had heard great things about it. Once there, ushers Madison and Liam greeted the girls and gave their dates quick kisses. Ella looked around, but she did not see Ben.
“He’s still inside helping Davy get ready,” Madison anticipated her question.
All the weddings she had attended had been big, Catholic masses that lasted for an hour or more.
This wedding was much sweeter and more intimate.
The ones she had witnessed were more like church services.
Until that moment, Ella had honestly never thought about what kind of wedding she might someday want.
On the other hand, Sophie had practically planned her entire wedding.
After seeing this one, Ella thought whenever she married, she would prefer something simple like this to a traditional church mass.
Of course, her parents, especially her grandmother, would probably have a fit.
Because she would not be getting married any time soon, Ella pushed all thoughts of her own wedding aside.
Instead, she focused on how unbelievably handsome Ben looked in his navy suit.
Ella liked how everyone in the bridal party matched in navy and cream.
The decorations were minimal because the wedding was held outside in one of the winery’s fields.
Only about fifty guests had been invited.
After the wedding, a large wedding lunch was held, followed by dancing.
All the wedding pictures had been taken before the wedding so that everyone could enjoy a nice easy reception all afternoon.
Ben spotted Ella the minute he walked out behind Davy for the ceremony.
His eyes lit up when he saw her sitting in the back next to the other plus ones.
She looked gorgeous in her rust-colored dress.
Her hair was down and blowing softly in the wind.
He thought she was the most beautiful girl there.
He knew he was supposed to think that Mia was, but really, it was no contest.
Ben did not know what it was about Ella that had him all wrapped up.
He was falling harder and faster than he had ever fallen for any girl.
Of course, she was stunningly beautiful, smart, and fun.
All that went without saying, but it was something more.
When he was with her, he felt like he had come home.
How was that even possible after only a few days?
They had done little more than kiss. Mentally turning his mind off Ella, Ben forced himself to focus on the ceremony and celebrating Davy and Mia, promising himself that after the ceremony, his full attention would be on Ella.
After the wedding, Ben escorted Ella to their assigned table with the other groomsmen and their dates.
Unable to resist one more minute, Ben reached over and took her lips in a deep embrace.
The kiss did not last as long as he would have liked because he knew making out at his friend’s wedding reception was a no-go.
It would be disrespectful to Davy and Mia and their families, and it would also cheapen Ella.
She was already too precious to him to do anything that would harm her.
Instead, he cut it short, but the way his eyes looked at her promised more was to come later.
Ella and Ben enjoyed their wedding feast of salmon with salad served with cold, crisp wine. Ella enjoyed the food and also the witty, quick banter at the table between Ben and his friends. It was clear that all Ben’s buddies knew each other well, and each gave as good as they got.
When the dancing started, Ben guided Ella to the dance floor where they slowly danced to every song.
Even when an up-tempo song was played, they continued slowly swaying to the music.
It was as if both sensed that their time together was going fast. That silent fact was like a shadow hanging over them.
Around 4:00, Davy and Mia changed into traveling clothes, and their guests gave them a warm send-off. After the happy couple left, Ben gathered up his things. He borrowed Brooksie’s car again to take Ella back to town. It only took a few minutes to load up, and they were headed back.
As they drove, Ben held Ella’s hand the whole time. They were about halfway back to Napa when Ben asked, “Do you know of someplace we could go to be alone?”
Blushing deeply, Ella gave him directions to an abandoned barn on the back side of the Henley Winery’s fields.
Driving up to the old wooden structure, Ben asked, “How do you know about this place?”
“I have seen it several times over the years as I gave tours for the winery. Also, I did several of my soil research projects here. Some of the richest, oldest vines are actually in these fields.”
“Why have they never torn this old barn down?” wondered Ben aloud as they drove behind the rickety old structure.
“It is the last remaining part of the original Henley family homestead. The vines have been here for over a hundred and fifty years. I think the family has kept the barn as a testament to all their ancestors endured to start the business and keep it thriving all these years.”
“Hmm,” replied Ben, not saying anything else, but contemplating her answer. Seeming to throw off thoughts about the barn as easily as he discarded his wedding suit before he had left the wedding venue, Ben said, “Let’s get out and talk.”
Both got out of the car, and Ben reached into the backseat and retrieved the blanket they had used two nights before. Ella did not ask why Ben had brought the blanket, but it gave her tingles to realize he had been planning ahead for time for them to be alone.
Ben spread out the blanket on the grass, and he and Ella sat down next to each other.
Ben ran his hand up and down Ella’s back.
She was surprised that he made no move to kiss her.
After a few minutes of sitting quietly, enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of the vineyard, Ben lay back and closed his eyes.
He was exhausted, having been up since before 6:00 helping getting ready for the wedding.
With his arm thrown over his closed eyes, he sighed and said, “Wow, I am so tired. It has been a day—a good day, but a day.”
“Yeah, it was a beautiful wedding. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
“Thank you for coming,” replied Ben, sitting up.
Reaching over to run his thumb down the side of Ella’s cheek, he added, “You looked stunning today. It was all I could do not to run down the aisle, grab you, and kiss you when I first saw you.” Leaning over, he began nibbling on her lips, slowly increasing the pressure.
It only took a moment before they were kissing more passionately than they ever had as their tongues fought each other for control.
Slowly, Ben lowered Ella backward until he was lying on top of her.
He was dying to take the relationship to the next level, but something was holding him back.
Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. Ben could see desire and excitement—but also innocence and fear.
That was the thing holding him back and making him go slower than he had in years.
The thought that Ella might be afraid of him or what he might do to her crushed him.
Also knowing they had only known each other a few days helped cool Ben’s jets. He was in no hurry to add Ella to the list of girls whose hearts he broke. Sleeping together too early might kill something beautiful that meant more to him than any other relationship ever had.
Softly caressing Ella’s face, he said, “I want you to know something. I would never hurt you. I won’t push you to do anything you are not comfortable doing. We are moving awfully fast here. I think we might need to take a step back.”
Leaning into the hand that was caressing her face, Ella replied, “I agree. I trust you, but I don’t have a lot of experience with all of this.
It is a bit overwhelming. I like it, but I can’t lie.
It scares me a little too.” She gestured between them.
“I like it. I like you.” She blushed as she said that.
Reaching up and covering her face with her hands, she added, “I know it sounds ridiculous. I am about to graduate from college. I know just about anything you would want to know about soil and conservation. I know all about the impact and ramifications watering can have on vineyard production. Yet, I know almost nothing about dating or relationships. It is all so embarrassing. Did you know that Thursday night, I went home and looked up ways to be a better kisser and what to expect from kissing and making out to make sure I was not terrible at it?”
At her admission, Ben busted out laughing. “Gurl, trust me. You do not need to worry about your kissing. It is working for me.” He lightly lowered his pelvis to her, allowing her to feel his desire for her. It was something he had so far protected her from.