CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
LORI
Lori’s body came to life, lighting a path of desire through her. It had been such a long time since she’d felt this way, and yet, it was different. More intense.
She inhaled Griff’s spicy aftershave lotion and enjoyed the taste of his lips on hers, the sweetness of their dessert still on them.
He drew her closer, and she loved how they fit together in all the right places.
“You feel so good,” Griff murmured, rubbing her back.
She leaned against him, liking the strength of his healthy body. She now knew why it would never work with her and Guy. What she was experiencing was genuine, easy, and natural.
“Guess we’d better keep moving, huh?” said Griff.
Lori stepped away and grinned. “It’s not too far to my cabin. You’re welcome to come in for an after-dinner drink.”
He took hold of her hand and led her down the road.
“How is the cabin? Is it comfortable? Do you agree it’s a unique way to raise money?”
“The cabin is lovely, with every convenience. Advertising it as a honeymoon or special escape for wine lovers to learn about the business, sharing home-cooked meals with the owners is a unique experience that I think many people would be willing to spend money on. But how would your family feel about having meals with strangers?”
“Maybe if we limited it to a first-evening opportunity, it could work. We wouldn’t want that every night. It’s different with you,” said Griff, smiling at her.
“I was afraid to let you know I was coming, afraid you’d tell me to stay home,” said Lori. “It worked out well that Guy couldn’t make it.”
“Who is this other man? Someone you care about?” asked Griff.
Lori shook her head. “Guy is my high school boyfriend who moved back to town. We recently went out two times, but neither of us was seriously interested in anything more. But it was the first time I’d dated in a while.
Being with you in Florida helped me realize there was still fun ahead for me if I made the effort. That’s why I’m here.”
He stopped walking, faced her, and drew her into his arms. “There was something special about our meeting at that hotel. Let’s go back there for New Year’s this year.”
Lori couldn’t help laughing. “Whoa! Let’s take this one step at a time.”
“A step or two or more,” said Griff, giving her a sexy look.
A shot of desire stopped her from reacting.
He gave her a sympathetic look. “You tell me if I’m going too fast. Okay?”
“Alright,” she replied, knowing he wasn’t going fast enough.
They continued to the cabin, where the front porch light welcomed her home. She unlocked the front door and held it open for him to go inside.
He stepped into the entrance area and looked around. “Rosie did an excellent job of fixing the place up.”
“The kitchen is small but well laid out with excellent appliances,” said Lori. “I think anyone would be happy to work there.”
They walked through the rest of the cabin and entered the living room.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, beer, or water?” asked Lori. “Not much choice, but I’ve been too busy to get back to the grocery store after I arrived here.”
“A cold beer sounds great,” said Griff.
Lori got him a beer, a glass of water for herself, and carried them into the living room.
She handed Griff his beer and took a seat on the couch facing him.
“Here’s to Adeline Hills Winery and vineyards,” she said, hoisting her glass. “The vineyard and the operation are much larger than I’d imagined. I looked it up online, but pictures there don’t do it justice.”
“Rosie is working to upgrade our website,” said Griff, “but it’s hard to put into words and photos all the aspects of vineyards and the parts of the winery that we open to guests,” said Griff.
“It seems to go on forever,” said Lori. “I see a lot of workers traveling on a variety of carts, including special vineyard ones, and regular Go-Karts for farms. I guess with this much acreage, they’re needed.”
“Yes, they are,” said Griff. “Around the house, we walk. But in the fields and down by the barn, they’re often used.
Carlos takes care of them. We have a catering cart to get food and drinks out to the field staff.
We’re as modernized as we can afford to be.
Still, we depend on people to do the work. ”
“It’s a lot of responsibility,” said Lori. “Are you happy about taking it over one day?”
“I love this place,” said Griff. “That’s something some people don’t understand. They see the money we make from it, and that’s all they're interested in. Not the work or the challenge of it.”
“Cassandra?” asked Lori, remembering how exhausted and hurt Griff had seemed when they first met.
“Yes. She and a couple of others. My grandparents worked together planting the first of the vines and every year after, even when they hired help. That is what formed this successful vineyard today.”
“And Pete will be part of it?” asked Lori.
“Yes. We’re like brothers, and though I’ll have a majority ownership in it, Pete will own part of the vineyard one day too.”
“He seems likable, though I don’t think his mother cares for his girlfriend,” said Lori.
Griff laughed. “Sarita and a friend of hers have arranged for the friend’s daughter to visit us soon. Sarita is convinced she’s the perfect girl for Pete. She says she knows all about soulmates.”
“Interesting. Sarita seems like a very sensible woman,” said Lori. She liked Sarita’s openness and her devotion to Sam and the vineyard.
Griff smiled. “We’ll see what Cristina is like. She might even arrive here before you leave. Is there any way you can stay longer than next Sunday?”
“I don’t know,” Lori said. “It depends on what’s going on at the school.”
“Well, let’s enjoy this week, and we’ll see what happens,” said Griff. He set down his bottle of beer on the end table and turned to her. “Thanks. I’d better go. We get up early around here.”
He stood and pulled her up beside him. “When you’re ready, ask me to stay,” he said. “I don’t want to ruin anything by rushing you.”
Lori let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thanks for that. I love our connection and want to get to know you better.”
“Me, too,” he said, nuzzling her neck and then giving her a long kiss that told her he wanted to stay as much as she wanted him to.
But she knew tonight wasn’t the night.
She walked him to the door and lifted her face for another kiss. “One more.”
Delighted, he grinned and tugged her to him, lowering his lips to hers, allowing the kiss to linger before they reluctantly pulled apart.
Lori stood in the doorway and watched him walk up the hill, the light from the lantern becoming smaller and smaller.
She closed the door and leaned up against it, reliving the kisses in her mind. This is what she’d been waiting for.
###
The next morning, she prepared for the day, quickly scrambled an egg, and fixed herself a piece of toast and a cup of coffee. She might not be working in the fields today, but she knew she’d be busy.
When she arrived at the house, Griff and Pete were sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee and discussing paperwork.
Pete winked at her as Griff jumped to his feet. “ ’Morning. I hope you slept well.”
“Thank you. I did,” said Lori. “There’s something about doing physical labor that helps you sleep at night.”
“Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”
“No, thanks,” Lori said, sitting at the kitchen table.
“Pete and I are reviewing numbers from winery sales,” explained Griff.
“There’s room for improvement. Because most of our wine is contracted far ahead of time, we don’t have the volume of wine to sell that others may have.
But you and Rosie are right. It’s time to sell a lot more than wine. Rosie is meeting us at the winery.”
“And I’m making sure progress is being made in the fields,” said Pete, rising. “I’ll catch up with you two later on. You'd best let Sam know what’s happening, Griff. And I don’t mean with the winery.” He winked at Lori and left the room.
Lori faced Griff with flaming cheeks. “Was he talking about us?”
“Yeah. I can’t hide anything from him,” said Griff. “But he’s right. I’ve got to be upfront with Grandad. Especially now that he knows about the game Kayla and I have been playing.”
“I think he’ll be happy to hear you’re not trying to keep anything from him. And he isn’t going to react badly to Kayla’s relationship with Rosie,” said Lori.
“I agree,” said Griff. He helped her out of her chair. “Let’s get down to the winery. I’ll give you a ride down the hill on my golf cart.”
“Thanks. It’s another beautiful morning,” said Lori.
###
As they traveled down the hill, a breeze ruffled Lori’s curls and caressed her cheeks. Lori kept her eyes on the land around her, admiring the patterns of the vines following the contours of the hills.
A large yellow Lab ran up to them, barking and wagging his tail.
“This is Rex,” said Griff. “He stays with one of the staff in a house near the winery reception building.”
“You don’t own a dog of your own?” asked Lori.
“I used to before I left to go to college and began traveling for the business,” said Griff.
“Sarita has a little Dachshund we all love, but she’s getting very old.
I suppose when we replace her, I’ll go ahead and get a dog of my own, now that I’m more settled here.
But oddly enough, grapes are poisonous for dogs, so we have to be careful. ”
They pulled up outside the winery reception building and climbed out of the cart.
“Before we go inside, let me show you around,” said Griff. He led her to an enormous private patio at the back of the building. The space was surrounded by lovely landscaping that would be beautiful when the flowering bushes bloomed in the warmer months.
“This patio has many uses,” he explained.
“In the storage shed over there, chairs are kept, along with a portable arch that can be decorated with flowers for weddings. We’ve hosted small concerts here and receptions of all kinds.
Most of our weddings, however, take place at the main house on a side lawn overlooking the valley.
Some even take place inside, in the formal living room. ”
“Who handles those?” Lori asked. “I didn’t think you had the staff to do that.”
“We rent the space out to a wedding planner in the area. It works well for both of us,” said Griff. “We don’t want to be in the wedding business ourselves.”
“I like the idea of smaller weddings anyway,” said Lori.
“Me, too,” said Griff, whose grin sent a hot streak of longing through her.