deep whiff, and then sipped. “It’s lovely. Bold color, bits of cedar, cranberry, and if I’m not mistaken, nutmeg.”
His left brow arched, followed by the left side of his lips, a touch of pride in his stance. “Wow, you’re uncanny and dead accurate. That’s my Cabernet Franc from last season. I think it’s my best so far.”
Somewhere between her arrival and that of the pizza he’d slipped on a plain white T-shirt, and as crazy as it sounded, he was even sexier than before. Bare feet, jeans, tee, and rumpled hair. He looked like a man who had just climbed out of bed or the shower, or one who was ready to settle down and snuggle with his woman for the night before a blazing fire. A lock of his dark brown hair dropped over his eye, and she had an incredible urge to sink her fingers in, brush it back, and give those too-intense eyes an unobstructed view of the real her.
“Where did you learn about wine?” Jason sat the pizza on the table, along with a couple of paper plates, a pepper mill, and red pepper flakes.
“I once dated a winemaker. He taught me a few of the basics, some of the process, the art behind the combinations used for each varietal. However, I’ve always had this freaky knack for being able to single out individual ingredients. Drives my gram and George crazy, especially when they’re trying to sneak something past me that I don’t like.”
The dogs, tired from their game of chase, plopped at their feet. Jason reached down, gave both dogs a scratch behind their ears, and promised if they were good he’d make sure they both got treats.
“What about your parents, does it drive them nuts too or are they like you?”
A sharp pain shot through Cherry’s chest at the mention of her parents. She really had no idea if she was like either of them or not. An eight-year-old’s memories faded after a while. These days she had to rely on her grandparents to tell her what her parents were like.
“You wanted to clear the air?”
He took a long moment to study his wine, before taking a drink. “I had every intention of telling you at the beginning of the night what I did for a living. I wanted to tell you at the fund-raiser, but Dave was convinced that with the competition, we needed an edge. Before you jump to any conclusions, the plan was just to talk to you about the company and our vision for the center. Let you see we were the right guys for the job despite the fact that we’re younger than the others out there.”
“Okay, so why didn’t you?”
“Standing in front of the fountain, you looked lost. And then there was that crazy conversation. When you first asked, I thought you’d get mad since I was already late and you thought I was clearly after something else.”
“So, you’re saying it was my fault?” Cherry asked.
“No. I take full blame.”
Cherry looked around the yard, taking in what he’d said and what he hadn’t said. She was sure there was more to his answer than what she’d heard, but she wouldn’t push it at this time. “When can you start on the center?”
“Since the job’s officially mine, I’ll probably head over tomorrow and start with a more in-depth analysis, determine the best starting point, take some measurements, that kind of thing.”
“Tomorrow’s great. Tawny will be there at ten. She has an interview with some reporter, not that you need her. There’s a set of keys for your use in the envelope.” They both settled in while they finished off their slices of pizza, saving bits of the crust and a few small pieces for the dogs. Cherry was surprised at how quiet the backyard was considering they were on a busy street, and she noticed that his building was a split Victorian like hers, yet no one had bothered them while they enjoyed the sunset. “This is really nice. Is it all yours?”
“Thanks, and no. Dave actually lives on the second and third floors. We do some work for the owner, so he gives us a break on the rent.”
“Wicked,
His left brow arched, followed by the left side of his lips, a touch of pride in his stance. “Wow, you’re uncanny and dead accurate. That’s my Cabernet Franc from last season. I think it’s my best so far.”
Somewhere between her arrival and that of the pizza he’d slipped on a plain white T-shirt, and as crazy as it sounded, he was even sexier than before. Bare feet, jeans, tee, and rumpled hair. He looked like a man who had just climbed out of bed or the shower, or one who was ready to settle down and snuggle with his woman for the night before a blazing fire. A lock of his dark brown hair dropped over his eye, and she had an incredible urge to sink her fingers in, brush it back, and give those too-intense eyes an unobstructed view of the real her.
“Where did you learn about wine?” Jason sat the pizza on the table, along with a couple of paper plates, a pepper mill, and red pepper flakes.
“I once dated a winemaker. He taught me a few of the basics, some of the process, the art behind the combinations used for each varietal. However, I’ve always had this freaky knack for being able to single out individual ingredients. Drives my gram and George crazy, especially when they’re trying to sneak something past me that I don’t like.”
The dogs, tired from their game of chase, plopped at their feet. Jason reached down, gave both dogs a scratch behind their ears, and promised if they were good he’d make sure they both got treats.
“What about your parents, does it drive them nuts too or are they like you?”
A sharp pain shot through Cherry’s chest at the mention of her parents. She really had no idea if she was like either of them or not. An eight-year-old’s memories faded after a while. These days she had to rely on her grandparents to tell her what her parents were like.
“You wanted to clear the air?”
He took a long moment to study his wine, before taking a drink. “I had every intention of telling you at the beginning of the night what I did for a living. I wanted to tell you at the fund-raiser, but Dave was convinced that with the competition, we needed an edge. Before you jump to any conclusions, the plan was just to talk to you about the company and our vision for the center. Let you see we were the right guys for the job despite the fact that we’re younger than the others out there.”
“Okay, so why didn’t you?”
“Standing in front of the fountain, you looked lost. And then there was that crazy conversation. When you first asked, I thought you’d get mad since I was already late and you thought I was clearly after something else.”
“So, you’re saying it was my fault?” Cherry asked.
“No. I take full blame.”
Cherry looked around the yard, taking in what he’d said and what he hadn’t said. She was sure there was more to his answer than what she’d heard, but she wouldn’t push it at this time. “When can you start on the center?”
“Since the job’s officially mine, I’ll probably head over tomorrow and start with a more in-depth analysis, determine the best starting point, take some measurements, that kind of thing.”
“Tomorrow’s great. Tawny will be there at ten. She has an interview with some reporter, not that you need her. There’s a set of keys for your use in the envelope.” They both settled in while they finished off their slices of pizza, saving bits of the crust and a few small pieces for the dogs. Cherry was surprised at how quiet the backyard was considering they were on a busy street, and she noticed that his building was a split Victorian like hers, yet no one had bothered them while they enjoyed the sunset. “This is really nice. Is it all yours?”
“Thanks, and no. Dave actually lives on the second and third floors. We do some work for the owner, so he gives us a break on the rent.”
“Wicked,
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