Chapter 3
The Depot Café
Napa, California
Once Ben dropped Ella off at her house, he went back to the guys’ rental and played Ping-Pong for a couple of hours with Davy.
The others wasted away the night in the pool.
It was the last night of Davy’s bachelor party.
The next morning, Davy’s fiancée, Mia; her parents; and the rest of the bridal party would be arriving for their wedding, which would be on Sunday afternoon at a winery just outside of town.
Ben and the other groomsmen had come to Napa on Wednesday for his bachelor party.
After three full days of drinking and celebrating, Ben was ready to move onto the wedding portion of the program.
Luckily for him, there was not much for him to do on the day before the wedding.
Davy had to meet with Mia and her mom, but Ben and the other groomsmen were on their own until Saturday night’s rehearsal dinner.
Ben planned to spend as much of that time with Ella as possible.
Because Davy did not have to be anywhere until the early afternoon, he decided to join Ben for breakfast. They arrived at the café a few minutes past 8:00, leaving their hung-over buddies to sleep off another night of too much wine, women, and song.
Ben asked to be seated in Ella’s section. Once seated, he spotted her immediately. Seeing him, she offered him a sweet smile as she fluttered around the café, refilling coffee cups and taking orders.
As quickly as Ella could, she made her way to their table.
“Hey,” she said, giving Ben a shy smile.
Looking at him, all she could think about was the kisses they had shared the night before.
A subtle blush tinted her cheeks at the memory.
She felt embarrassed and excited at the same time.
She could feel those effervescent bubbles fizzing through her veins.
Ella tried to act normal, or at least as normal as she could with Ben so close.
“Can I get you started with some coffee?” she asked.
“Coffee sounds great,” replied Davy.
Ben also nodded yes as he looked Ella up and down, then reached out and softly caressed her hand. “You look lovely this morning.”
Ben’s touch sent a tingle ricocheting through Ella’s entire body. It was all she could do to hold on to the coffeepot with her other hand. “Thanks,” she replied. Trying to regain her composure, she asked, “Do you know what you want today?”
“I would love to have what I had yesterday minus the Bloody Mary. I am good with just coffee today. Let me see what that was,” Davy said, looking at the menu.
“Me too,” replied Ben as he too began to scan the plastic menu in front of him.
Before Ben and Davy could find what they had ordered the previous day, Ella recited what each had ordered the day before as if they were everyday regulars.
Davy’s eyebrows shot up, clearly surprised and impressed. “Wow! That was incredible. How in the world did you remember that?”
Smiling, Ben said, “Ella here is a genius. I think she may be the smartest person I have ever met.”
“No doubt,” replied Davy. “You are very impressive, Ella.”
“Remembering that you each got the special yesterday is really not that hard.” Ella was slightly embarrassed and pleased at the same time. “I will put this in and check back with you in a little while.” Giving Ben a smile, she walked back to the kitchen.
After Ella left the table, Ben said, “See what I mean? That girl is something else—smart and beautiful. Did I tell you she graduated from high school at sixteen and will finish college in December at nineteen?”
“Yes,” replied Davy with a laugh. “You did, like four times. You are so into her. Are you going to invite her to dinner tonight or to the wedding tomorrow?”
Ben shrugged. “I have thought about it. Would you mind? I know you have just met her. I would not want to impose.”
“Are you kidding me? Those dopes back at the house are going to bring several women I have never met. I guess that’s what a plus one on the invite means.
You get to invite someone neither Mia nor I have met.
At least with Ella it will be someone I know who is awesome.
There is no telling what kind of girls Jack and Brooksie will bring. ”
Ben laughed as he said, “Truth, my brother, truth.”
For the next hour, Ben watched Ella’s every move as he and Davy talked and enjoyed their breakfast. Around 9:00, Davy took off, claiming he had several things to do before he was to meet with Mia and her mom.
Promising to see Ben later, Davy once again encouraged him to bring Ella to the wedding events.
Ben moved to one of the chairs at the counter so as not to tie up a table.
He was no longer in Ella’s section, but he could still see her as she came and went around the diner.
He hung out, playing on his phone, reading, and pretending not to track every one of Ella’s movements. He loved just watching her.
At 10:00 on the dot, Ella’s shift was over. As they left the diner, Ben resisted the urge to grab her hand and haul her in for a kiss. Instead, he asked, “Are you up for a little adventure today?”
“Adventure? What kind of adventure?” Ella asked, intrigued.
“Hot air ballooning,” replied Ben, his eyes sparkling. “I know you are a native, but I wanted to think of something that maybe you had never done. Have you ever ridden over the valley in a hot air balloon before?”
Shaking her head, Ella laughed. “Heavens no! Never even considered it. Have you?”
“No, but I have always wanted to. You aren’t afraid of heights are you?” asked Ben. He motioned her over to where he had parked Brooksie’s BMW, which he had borrowed for the day.
“No,” replied Ella. “I thought all the balloon rides were at dawn. Can we go on one this late?”
Ben held the door for Ella as she got into the car.
“Is this yours?” asked Ella.
“No, I borrowed it from Brooksie. Do you like it?”
“Yes, it is very nice.”
“Yeah, Brooksie’s folks spoil him rotten, but he is a good egg. Anyway, I reserved a private tour. We have about a fifteen-minute drive to our pick-up spot.”
Once in the car, Ben took Ella’s hand in his.
He drove to the balloon loading spot, quickly parked, then the hot air balloon people helped them climb aboard.
It was a beautiful September day without a cloud in the sky.
In no time, they were loaded and off. It took about twenty minutes for them to climb to cruising altitude of 1,000 feet.
Once there, they could literally see for miles in every direction.
Ella was so petite that her head barely cleared the tall basket.
Ben stood behind her, and unable to stop himself, he laced his arms around her middle and held onto her.
Ella found herself leaning back into him.
Ella was astonished that the view was so beautiful.
She had lived in Napa Valley her whole life, yet she had never seen this view of her community.
She had worried it would be cold, but the heat from the hot air balloon made it quite comfortable.
The trip lasted a little over an hour, then the balloon touched down in the middle of a vineyard.
Ella could see a picnic table had been set up with lunch for them.
The pilot and the ground crew, who had helped them land, loaded the balloon back onto a large truck and drove it back to the original loading spot.
Ben’s friend’s car had been brought to them.
Ella was shocked that Ben had organized such a fabulous trip so quickly. “How were you able to get this whole deal put together this morning? I would have thought these trips booked weeks out.”
Rubbing his hand up the back of his neck, a gesture Ella was coming to realize meant he was nervous, Ben said, “You are smart, aren’t you.
So you got me. This was actually organized for me and all the guys.
However, after last night, I had such a good time with you, I asked them if I could buy them out of their parts of the day.
I wanted it to be just us. I hope that is okay. ”
“Oh. That was so nice. Thank you so much. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I loved every minute of it. Thank your friends for helping me. I appreciate them bowing out. That was really sweet of them, And thank you again. It was amazing,” replied Ella.
Ben gave Ella a sheepish look. “You are very welcome. And as far the guys go, all but Davy were too hungover to have really enjoyed it. I think they were kind of relieved to get out of it. This was really more my thing. So it worked out for the best. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I did too.”
Ben gestured to the picnic that had been set up for them. “As you can see, we have a lunch all laid out for us. I hope you like chicken salad and fruit. I think there is also some cheese and chocolate. I hope you are hungry because we have food for six.”
As Ella moved toward the table, Ben could resist no more. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. This time, he did not restrain himself from deepening the kiss for several seconds. When Ben finally pulled back for a breath, he said, “I have been dying to do that since about eight this morning.”
Laughing, Ella replied, “Well, what were you waiting for?” For a girl with almost no kissing experience, she was fast becoming an expert in what she liked.
Shrugging Ben said, “Well, I did not feel comfortable kissing you in front of your parents. Then, there was the crew and the pilot. This is the first minute we have been truly alone all day.”
“True,” replied Ella, not sure exactly what to say next.
Motioning for Ella to have a seat next to him on the picnic table, Ben poured them each a glass of wine. For the next two hours, they ate, drank, kissed, and wiled away a lazy afternoon.