Chapter 2
Later That Day
The Henley Winery
Napa, California
It had been a long day at the Henley Winery.
Ella loved working there when she got to spend her time outside in the fields or giving tours of the vineyards.
She was not a fan of being cooped up all day inside the gift shop, selling tasting tickets and T-shirts like she had been doing for the past five hours.
On Fridays and Saturdays, she was scheduled inside to help with the increased crowds rather than outside giving tours.
Although Ella did not like the work, she did like the money she made from it.
Plus, Parker Henley needed the help. He had let Ella accompany her uncle Pedro on his rounds through the vineyard.
She had started tagging along with him when she was eight.
Parker also let her do her college research projects in his fields as well.
She owed him. So here she was, standing in one place all day, bored beyond belief with her feet aching like nobody’s business.
Much as Ella hated to admit it, she had spent way too much time watching the front door in hopes that Ben and his friends would stop by.
Every time she heard the door open, she’d look over in wide-eyed anticipation.
It had been the only thing that had made the day bearable.
They were closing soon. Her hope of Ben showing up was dying a slow, painful death inside her heart.
Checking her phone, Ella saw she had about ten minutes left before the last tasting session.
Once that happened, they’d lock the doors, and she would be free to go.
Luckily Ella had to go back to the diner for the closing shift.
Yay me, she thought sarcastically. She did not usually work both opening and closing, but she had promised Sophie she would cover because Paulo was in town.
He and Sophie had been apart for weeks with him away at basic training.
No way could she say no to her little sis.
So here she was, counting down the minutes until she had to go to her third shift of the day.
That was her life. Work. School. Work. School. Work. School. Rinse and repeat.
Preparing to leave, Ella was bent over gathering up her backpack and jacket from under the counter when she heard the front door open and a loud group enter. Straightening up, she saw Ben and his crew ambling in. She had never been more happy to be working the gift shop as she was in that moment.
Almost instantly, Ben’s clear blue eyes found Ella’s. She gave him a huge smile and was barely able to stop herself from dancing around in a circle yelling, “Yea! You came! You came! You really, really came!”
Instead, she said nothing but stood staring at him smiling. What was it about this guy that caused her brain to shut down?
Walking straight over to Ella, Ben leaned on the antique wooden counter she had been standing behind all day. Giving her his sexiest grin, he simply said, “Hey.”
Hey. That was it. Yet it almost stopped Ella’s heart.
Ben did not need to say anything else. His swagger and flashing blue eyes said more than a Shakespeare monologue.
Barely able to stop herself from groaning, she gave him a goofy smile.
Straight laced, no nonsense Ella was giddy at the sight of him.
Her siblings could never know about this. She would never live it down.
Neither spoke for a moment. They just looked at each other like kids in junior high, smiling at each other, not knowing exactly what to say or do next.
That was when one of Ben’s friends recognized her. The minute he did, he pointed to Ella and in a very loud voice said, “Guys, look who it is: our runaway waitress.”
At that moment, all of them looked over to where Ella was standing.
Turning toward Ben, the five gave him knowing looks that promised him hours of significant teasing.
He’d had his one pass earlier today with his spicy comment.
This time, they would eviscerate him. Later.
Not now. In this moment, they smiled smiles that promised hours of future torture only those who know you best can extol.
One of the guys yelled, “Hey, can you give me your sister’s number? I know she would want me to have it.”
Turning to his friends with a very irritated look, Ben screeched, “Scat. All of you!”
Ella laughed and said, “You just told them to scat like they are cats.”
“Well, sometimes when I am with them, I feel like I am herding cats, so scat is the perfect word.”
Ella noticed the guys immediately scattered. Ben was obviously the leader of the group. His friends were quietly talking amongst themselves while they picked through some of the shirts and hats the winery offered.
Once Ben and Ella were alone, she forced herself to act as normal as possible for someone whose heart was literally about to jump out and beat on the outside of her body.
“Are you guys here for a tasting? Our last group is set to go off in five minutes if you would like to join it.” Ella was pleased with herself.
Her voice was calm and gave nothing away.
She had no idea the gleam in her eyes had already betrayed her raging interest in Ben. The pull between them was magnetic.
Ben liked that she was feeling it too. “Yes, we need a tasting for five. I am the designated driver, so I am not drinking,” he answered, still smiling like he was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial.
Nodding like a smiling robot, Ella quickly rang up the sale on the computer.
“We charge five dollars for you to join your friends. That covers the cheese and chocolate we offer along with water. Is that okay with you?” She was doing her darndest to appear cool and unaffected.
Inside, rockets were exploding in her brain.
Handing Ella his credit card, Ben said, “That sounds perfect. Why don’t you join us? Working here I bet you know everything there is to know about the wine. I’d love for you to teach us all you know.”
Did he just say, I’d love, not we’d love?
He did, didn’t he? Ella almost crackled at the realization.
The euphoria she had felt at realizing Ben wanted to spend time with her was doused by the reality that she could not join him.
Once again, her age was going to be her downfall.
She had been battling it her whole life.
At three, Ella was reading and adding and subtracting.
She begged her mother to let her go to school with her cousin Julia who was in the second grade.
Of course, Ella’s mother said no. When Ella was ten, she pleaded with her mother to teach her to drive so she could drive herself to the vineyards and not have to depend on rides.
Of course Ella’s mother said no. Even then, Ella had been waiting on customers and running the cash register at The Depot for the breakfast and lunch shifts between doing her schoolwork.
Right now, she would sell a kidney to be “of age to drink.” That was a joke because she had been drinking wine since she was a kid.
Okay, maybe not drinking, but taking sips, testing the texture and flavor of the grapes and learning the nuances of them and how they grew and fermented into various wines.
Sighing, Ella thought it was the same old song, different verse.
No matter how old she was, she never seemed to be old enough to do all the things she longed to do.
And what she longed to do was join Ben and his friends.
But that was not to be. This time it would be her saying no, not her mother.
Shaking her head, Ella replied dejectedly, “Thank you for asking, but I can’t. I am not twenty-one. But the wine is excellent. You will enjoy it.”
Ben gave Ella a puzzled look. “Okay. I know it is not polite to ask a lady her age, but how old are you? Earlier today, you said you were Sophie’s older sister, yet you are not twenty-one. She looked every bit of twenty-two. How old are y’all?”
Ella’s heart sank. Here it was: the end of her Ben fantasy. Once he realized how young she was, he would lose interest. Sighing she said, “I am nineteen. I will be twenty in December. Sophie is seventeen.”
Whistling, Ben chuckled. “Seventeen, huh? I know two dudes who are about to be very disappointed. They are half a step off of asking your sister to start picking out wedding China.”
Ben’s joke brought light back into Ella’s eyes, and laughing she replied, “Well, I can see why you all thought Sophie was older. She got all the height and curves. It is the bane of my existence that I am built just like my tiny Hispanic grandmother. She was five feet tall but scary when crossed. Sophie’s lucky.
She took after our mom’s dad, who is over six feet tall.
But it does not matter how old she is because she has a long-time boyfriend and is very much off the market.
” Oh my word. Ella was rambling. Shut up!
Shut up! She silently screamed to herself.
He already knows you are just a kid. Don’t make it worse.
Ben did not seem at all bothered by Ella’s long-winded response. In fact, quite the opposite, he seemed rather amused by it. “I will be sure to pass that information along.” Then giving her a look that made her want to squirm, he lowered his voice and asked seductively, “How about you?”
“What about me?” asked Ella, confused. What was he talking about? Her brain was doing that short-circuiting thing again.
“Are you off the market?” Then leaning in until he was almost touching her, Ben whispered, “Are you available?”
Available? Available for what? wondered Ella, looking into Ben’s beautiful twinkling eyes.
Somehow, although Ella was not aware of it, she must have spoken her thoughts aloud because Ben responded by purring, “Available to spend some time together?”