Chapter 4
DAPHNE
Ishut my eyes for what I intended to be a brief moment, imagining Cru and I sitting out here, enjoying a glass of wine in the evening.
Maybe he’d reach over and touch my hand.
Or invite me to join him on the sleeping porch upstairs.
Perhaps we’d lie next to each other and he’d stroke my hair like he had after taking me to the emergency room in New York City.
I thought about how it had felt when he held me in his arms the day he found me.
When my fantasy about Cru morphed into memories of the man who’d locked me in a room, I opened my eyes. Cru, Brix, and Addy were all staring at me.
“Sorry,” I said without explanation. My plate was still half full of food, but I wasn’t hungry. In fact, if I’d tried to eat more, I likely would’ve become nauseated. “Can I help?” I added when Addy stood to clear her plate and Brix’s.
“Let us do it,” said Cru when his brother stood.
“I don’t mind enjoying such a nice evening,” said Addy, sitting down. “I’m definitely going to miss this place,” she murmured once the guys were inside.
“You could always stay.”
“Have you been to Tryst’s ranch?” she asked.
“I haven’t.”
“When you visit, you’ll understand why Brix and I would rather be there, regardless of how much we’ll miss it here.”
“I’ve heard it’s quite nice.”
She nodded once. “It is. More than that, though. The best word I can use to describe it is magical.”
I could say the same about being in this part of the world. I’d always been drawn to the Central Coast of California. While the wine regions in the northern part of the state were breathtaking in their ostentatiousness, I found those in Paso Robles to be more welcoming. Los Caballeros especially.
The Avila family had settled in the area in the seventeen hundreds. The winery buildings, which reflected the family’s Spanish heritage, hadn’t been constructed for another hundred years, but that was still old by California standards.
In comparison, the family who owned the property adjacent to this were of Scottish heritage and their structures looked as though they’d been brought over from the Highlands.
I stood and looked out to the vineyards, which were illuminated by the moon.
Working here would be a dream, particularly since Cru was willing to let me be the primary winemaker for the second label.
I’d have to prove myself, of course, but I was always up for a challenge. At least when it came to wine.
The challenge Cru represented as a man was a different story. I could handle the rejection, if it came to that, but letting go of the dream of him and me being together would be hard on my heart.
In hindsight, I should’ve ended things with Beau years ago. Our relationship wound up being more of a convenience than a love affair. If I had, would I have had a chance with Cru then? On the other hand, maybe he was the winemaker Anthony Ricci was happily taken with.
“What I’d give to know what you’re thinking,” he said.
“I’m going to love working here.”
He smiled. “I hope so.”
If he hadn’t reacted so strangely when I attempted touching his hand at Stave, I’d hug him. Instead, I wrapped my arms around my own body. “When do I start?”
“Would tomorrow be too soon?”
“Not at all.” I bit my lip, realizing I had very few items of clothing with me. The little I’d taken with me on my misguided cross-country trip was left behind when Cru had rushed me out of the apartment.
Maybe that was the moment when I realized how wrong Beau had always been for me and how right Cru could be.
“What’s wrong?” Cru asked.
“I don’t suppose there are any all-night clothing stores anywhere nearby.”
“I should’ve thought of that earlier today. I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t help it; I released my arms and touched his with my hand. “It wasn’t your responsibility. I should’ve thought of it.”
He looked down at where my fingers rested on his bare skin but didn’t pull away.
“Does this bother you?” I asked.
“Why would it?”
“Earlier, it seemed like it did.”
Cru removed my hand but embraced me. “We’re going to make great wine together, Cullen.”
“Speaking of Cullen, my parents are probably frantic with worry.” I’d spoken with them from the hospital, explained I was there under an abundance of caution on Cru’s part, then said I’d ring them the following day.
It had been over twenty-four hours, and I still hadn’t called.
Since it was midmorning in Perth, I could get in touch now, but I didn’t feel up to the conversation.
Cru dropped his arms, and his face fell. “I forgot to tell you. They’re on their way. In fact, they should be landing soon.”
“Where?”
“LAX, but they’re catching a flight in the morning to San Luis Obispo.”
“Bloody hell,” I said under my breath.
“Sorry, Daph.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be. It isn’t as if I don’t want to see my mum and dad. I just know they’ll try to convince me to return to Australia with them.”
“Are you sure that wouldn’t be a good idea?”
I looked at him and smirked. “You’re trying to get rid of me already, even before we negotiate my salary?”
While he laughed, his eyes appeared more concerned than amused.
“Seriously, Cru. If you’ve had a change of heart—”
He put his finger on my lips to silence me, and all I could think of was how much I wanted him to kiss me instead.
“Let’s make a deal,” he said.
“All right.”
“If I decide I don’t want you here, or you decide you don’t want to be here, let’s agree to just say it outright. No more second-guessing. Like you said on the drive over, we’re friends.”
“You’re right. So, um, my parents are on their way?”
He nodded.
“Is it terrible of me to wish they were arriving tonight, only because then I could stay with them rather than return to Seahorse?”
He chuckled. “Not terrible at all. However, you still don’t have to. We can stay here.”
My eyes widened. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Not here, here. You can stay in the guest cottage. Or the main house—my mom would love it if you did.”
“What about you?”
“I, uh, actually live in the guest cottage, which hasn’t been used as one for a few years now.”
“Good thing I didn’t say that’s where I’d prefer to stay.”
“My mom would be just as happy if I stayed with her.”
“My parents’ arrival means I won’t be able to start work tomorrow.”
He shook his head. “Not even one day on the job, and you’re already taking time off.”
“Believe me, I’d rather be here.”
“Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
“What about Brix and Addy?”
“He said she was tired and they were going to bed. I’ll need to come over in the morning to see them off. In fact, I’m taking them to the airport. You might as well ride along and meet up with your parents.”
“Good thinking.” While I said the words, I didn’t mean them. The longer I could put off the inevitable conversation about my return to Australia, the better.
“This is the cottage,” Cru said after we’d been walking for several minutes. It had a white picket fence surrounding it and a lovely front porch.
“It’s charming,” I commented when he opened the gate and led me up the walk to the front steps.
“Fortunately, it was cleaned today, or I might be afraid to invite you in.”
“Messy, are you? That surprises me.”
He shook his head. “I left in a hurry the last time I was here. Beau, uh, needed my help.”
He opened the door, switched on the lights, and motioned for me to come inside.
“You don’t have to tiptoe around mentioning him. I already told you I’m not upset about him and Sam. I actually knew they were together before the rest of you did.”
The color left his face. “That’s right. You saw them in Vegas.”
“You don’t have to tiptoe around that subject either. I’m not afraid to talk about it. Actually, the more I do, the less horrific it’ll seem.”
“Glass of port?” he asked.
“I’d love one.” I smiled when I saw he’d pulled out a tawny bottle. I preferred it over the traditional style.
We both sat on the sofa, and he handed me a glass.
Our fingers brushed, and my breath caught when I looked up at him.
It was more than his classically exquisite looks that stopped my heart.
His mere presence was so dynamic, so full of virility, that I wondered how I’d ever managed to form words when I was around him.
He caught me studying him, and his gaze held mine as if questioning why my cheeks were flush and my palms so sweaty.
When I looked away, it was as though an invisible string tying us together snapped, and Cru’s expression turned somber.
“You haven’t said much about what happened.”
I rested against the cushion. The police who took my statement wouldn’t allow Cru in the room with me.
After telling them what happened, I hadn’t felt up to repeating it.
Out of everyone, Cru deserved to hear the story the most, but he hadn’t pressured me to tell him.
The hardest part was having to admit how reckless I’d been.
“I met Ryder and two of his friends—a couple—at the airport in Los Angeles. They were headed to Las Vegas like I was, except I’d planned to catch a connecting flight from there to Nashville.
We ended up seated next to one another on the plane, and they talked me into waylaying my trip and spending an evening in Vegas with them.
Since I had no real plans in Nashville other than that I was bored and had never been, I took them up on their offer. ”
I looked into his eyes, expecting to see disappointment or something akin to it. Instead, Cru gazed at me with an understanding I’d never known with anyone other than him. Even my parents.
I told him that, coincidentally, the group was staying in a hotel my father had invested in on the strip. I booked my own room and met up with them later for a night on the town.
“Beau has a stake in that place, doesn’t he?” Cru asked.
“Yes, so I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when I ran into him and Sam on our way to dinner, but I was. Did you know he was there?”