A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,51

delirious gluttony. Oh, my God. “Did I actually eat all of this? Please tell me you ate enough, too.”

“I’ve seriously never seen someone eat a meal with such intensity and bliss before.”

“Did. You. Eat?” Mortification was washing over her in hot waves.

“Yes, yes.” He swiped his hand through the air as though her question were a pesky fruit fly. “So what made that happen? I’ve eaten with you before. This was definitely new.”

“Well, I love Thai food, obviously, and I was famished. But it was really the impact of the gorgeous presentation and the surprising combinations of flavor and texture that did it.” She blushed to the top of her hairline. Maybe her head was steaming a little at the crown. “Thank you so much for dinner, Landon.”

“It was my absolute pleasure. Your joy made my meal more delicious as well.”

They chatted awhile longer and then cleared the table and washed the dishes in comfortable silence. That evening allowed her to ease into a lovely routine without overthinking things. Operation Friendship was in fine shape.

* * *

Preparations for the first shooting had the production team running around in a flurry of activity, and Aubrey and Landon’s cozy evenings came to an end. He seemed to be in the thick of it all, which meant she hardly saw him at the villa. In the last few days, he went to work before she woke up and came home after she fell asleep.

Her days were far less exciting without him. Aubrey sighed listlessly. Less exciting was a good thing. A safe thing. In fact, if she thought with her brain instead of her girlie parts, she would remember she had her heart and Comfort Zone to protect.

She shook off her melancholy and got herself ready for work. Her portion of the filming was scheduled to start in a week, and she still had one more recipe to create. That meant she had to hit the tasting rooms again. The perfect Moscato remained elusive even after several days of wine tasting. Even though light dessert wines were far less potent than fortified red wines, nausea rolled through Aubrey’s stomach. She would swish and spit every wine, and stop when she got tired.

After her decision to take things easy, the wine tour promised to be relaxing and enjoyable. And the tour provided pickup and drop-off service, so it was perfect for her current car-less situation. Her group was made up of a friendly middle-aged couple with their college-age daughter and a lovely older couple on vacation from Germany.

Michael, their tour guide and chauffeur, was a sun-bronzed Californian with a brilliant smile and an endless supply of jokes. The college girl laughed hysterically at every witticism, and Aubrey worried the poor girl might crack her ribs.

“Aubrey, you get shotgun.” Michael took her elbow and led her to the front passenger seat.

“Me? Are you sure?” She couldn’t help glancing at the younger woman, feeling guilty even though she’d done nothing wrong. But the girl glared at Aubrey with narrowed eyes, and her guilt evaporated. Glare at him, not me.

“Yes, I’m sure. Everyone else is here with someone.” He winked. “I’ll keep you company, so you won’t be lonely.”

She shrugged and climbed onto the front seat.

The off-the-beaten-path wineries Michael took them to were all beautifully situated and had an abundance of the white and dessert wines the group had signed up for. Aubrey spat and rinsed after every tasting. So far, the wines were lovely, and she was holding up fine.

“Hey,” she protested when Michael casually took her glass from her hand.

“This one’s exquisite,” he said, inhaling deeply from the glass.

He made a point of holding her gaze so she wouldn’t miss he was referring to both her and the wine. Inner Aubrey rolled her eyes, but tourist Aubrey humored the guide and offered a bland smile. He was, after all, giving them an excellent tour. But when he took a small sip of her wine, Aubrey had to draw the line. She didn’t mix spit with strangers. Gag.

“Give that back. You’re the designated driver.” She snatched her glass back. Michael guffawed like she’d made some adorable joke even though she was frying him with her death ray.

The next winery had a stunning view of the valley, so Aubrey forgave Michael’s prior wine theft. As the day wore on, the gorgeous vineyards and easy company relaxed Aubrey enough to let go of her stress. Finding a half a dozen candidates for her second dessert didn’t hurt either.