the card, saw the words The Jade scrawled across the top in a modern script, and suppressed a sad shake of her head. Instead she focused on the name Rebecca Crawford, which seemed friendlier, exciting even. She held it up. “For eggs.”
“Will I see you again?”
“Oh, you never know. This town is pretty small, and you’re welcome here anytime.”
Becca squinted. “I can’t decide if that’s code for I’d like you to come back again or If you do, I’ll try my best to be nice.”
“Well,” Joey said with a shrug, “it could go a lot of ways.”
Becca seemed to accept that and gave Sky’s leash a tiny tug to signal their departure. “I enjoyed today. Thanks for not killing me.”
Joey nodded. “Anytime.”
As Becca headed off down the well-worn path that led to the vineyard’s guest parking, words she hadn’t planned on fled Joey’s lips. “It was code for come back.”
Becca stopped, turned, and broke into a supermodel grin as the wind hit. It was one of the most beautiful images Joey had ever seen. “Good to know. I will be.”
“What the hell are you doing right now?” Joey mumbled to herself as she watched after Becca. The view of her ass made Joey’s stomach flutter and her thighs tighten. Her cheeks flashed hot in betrayal.
“So what the hell are you doing?” Gabriella asked from several feet away. “I saw every minute of that, and it was glorious.”
“Wait. What did I miss?” Madison asked, arriving in the area between them. She followed Joey’s gaze to Becca Crawford driving away in a Nissan Juke and whistled low. “I see. I always arrive too late. Fill me in?”
Joey glanced back at the tasting room, which had been hit by a big boom of new arrivals. She pointed at her friends. “Meet me in the big barn at seven, and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s problematic because I’m a weak individual.”
“Why I like you,” Gabriella said. “You have a pulse.”
Joey grimaced. “Seven o’clock. I’ll bring the wine.”
“The big barn it is,” Madison said. “Little Joey Wilder,” she said with a knowing gleam in her eye as she wandered away back to the barrel room.
* * *
Becca clipped off Sky’s leash and watched as he bounded into her living room and up onto her comfy leather couch, which he had apparently declared the best place for sitting and snoozing in the sun that cascaded through the large picture windows. He threw back his head and bellowed, beagle style, before collapsing onto his side in surrender. Becca could imagine how the barking and bellowing could be a problem for anyone who lived in an apartment. She’d take out his orange ball later and give him a workout in the backyard, but for now she’d let him rest.
“You were so well behaved in front of my friend,” she told him and placed a kiss on the side of his head. And then another one because she’d truly grown to adore him. She loved how warm and smooth he was. “You are a stellar individual,” she told him. He reciprocated with a lick across her face. “Nice one.” She sat next to him on the couch, and unprompted, he snuggled his big body against her side. Who would have guessed from their tentative introduction that he would be such a lover?
Becca knew she had a lot to organize as opening approached. There were trainings and systems to set up, vendors to schedule, and meetings to sit in on and conduct. God help her. She needed to outline in writing everything about the upcoming week, to keep her head on straight. There would be time for that later that night. For now, she wanted to sit with Sky, decompress from their afternoon out, and ruminate over her conversation with Joey, who she now knew was actually a Josephine. She grinned, thinking the name pretty, but also feeling that Joey fit her better. “Joey Wilder,” she murmured, liking the way the name felt on her lips. The woman had definitely snagged Becca’s attention in a way no one had before. She was beautiful and stubborn and quick witted. A killer combination, even if she was on the wrong side of things.
Becca’s phone, which she had deposited on the coffee table, vibrated in notification. Probably Louise from corporate in Orlando. She reached for the phone, imagining this was about securing rooms for the out-of-town leadership team who would arrive shortly to assist with opening.
She was wrong.
Instead she found a