you dressed for the day without a tie on.”
“Should I go back to business attire?”
“No, no.” She waved her hands in front of her, eyes glued to his jeans. “This is fine.”
He smirked, feeling the same about her little mauve romper. Except it was more than fine.
“You ready to go?” she asked. “Remember, you can’t take your laptop. You’ll be back by early afternoon.”
“Got it, Jackie. Should I call a driver?”
“Yes, please.” She sent him a sweet smile as they began a slow walk out of the room and down the hall. Blake came out of his room then, his eyebrows lifting.
“Wow. Hey, you two. Where you heading?”
“Just talking Daniel on a little date,” Jackie said.
“Why the ‘wow’?” Daniel asked.
“Because you don’t look like you’re headed to a boardroom for once,” Blake said, clapping him on the arm. “Congrats, Jackie, you’re the only one who’s been able to get him out of work mode.”
The little grin on her face dissolved some of his annoyance. “We’ll meet up with you all at dinner.”
“Gotcha. Have fun, you two.” Blake waggled his eyebrows before he left in the opposite direction. By the time they made it to the front of the villa, the hired car was just rounding the corner.
“How many drivers do you have?” Jackie asked, scrunching her brow as a different car pulled up to take them.
“It’s a local service,” Daniel explained. “They’re on call for us during the wedding week, twenty-four-seven.”
“Wow. So you’re part of the league of personal drivers,” Jackie cracked as they both got into the back seat of the cushy sedan. When the driver asked where they were heading, Jackie leaned forward over the console to talk in a very hushed voice, showing him something on her phone. As amusing as it was, it offered him an exceptional view of her ass that he enjoyed while he could. He was a breath away from squeezing another handful of her perfect ass when she sank back into her seat.
“Okay. Secret mission is underway.”
Their drive through Napa Valley was full of gorgeous sights, which Jackie announced nearly every time she saw something beautiful. Vineyards, of course, but also unique clusters of trees, as well as sprawling patches of flowers. Just being around her helped him relax.
He was surprised when the driver pulled into a plaza; it felt like they’d only been in the car for a few minutes, but really it had been over a half hour.
“Okay. I think my secret is revealing itself already,” Jackie said with a laugh. She led him by the hand down a neatly paved stone pathway to a huge building in the middle of the plaza. Part of the building was flanked by patio chairs and little round tables, where people drank coffee in the cool morning air.
On the front of building, in bold black letters, read: PUPPY CAFÉ.
“What is this?” Daniel asked.
“Oh, so you haven’t heard of these before? Excellent. Come on, you’ll see.” She tugged him faster behind her, and when they broke into the cool air of the building, everything became clear.
On one side of the building, there was a traditional coffee shop, with baked goods and curling lines and plenty of patrons seated at tables in business meetings or with friends.
On the other side of the building was a free-for-all puppy play area. Tiny, fluffy fur balls bounced back and forth across padded floors, while all sorts of people—young kids, students, even elderly grandmothers—were in various stages of puppy playtime: kneeling down, petting the pups, or rolling around with the little roughhousers.
“It’s a café where you can come and play with puppies!” Jackie explained excitedly as she led him to the puppy side. “After we talked last night, I searched and realized how close by this place was! I knew we had to come.”
Daniel stood staring at the puppies, digesting the excited yips, before he looked down at Jackie’s excited face. Warmth filled him from head to toe, and he wasn’t sure what gutted him more: the prospect of playing with puppies for the next hour or two, or the fact that Jackie had cared enough about him to want him to experience this.
“So?” Jackie prompted. “What side should we start on?”
“Obviously the puppies,” Daniel said.
And this time he was the one to grab her hand and lead the way.
Jackie would never get tired of watching this. Daniel, on his hands and knees, shoving his face into the furry face of one particular rough-and-tumble chocolate lab puppy. The little