took pity on her and opened the correct one.
Equipped with the opener, I reached out and took the bottle from her.
“Everything okay? Did something happen?” I asked as I planted the bottle on the counter and liberated the wine from inside by removing the cork.
“Yeah. Sure. Everything’s fine. Just peachy.” She let out a bitter sounding laugh.
I poured a generous amount into a glass and handed it to her before leaning back against the counter, arms folded, ready to wait her out until I got an answer. “Tell me.”
After a big gulp, she sighed. “I nearly made a huge fool of myself today at work.”
“Nearly. So that means you didn’t, right?” I asked.
“I didn’t. But now I have some major work to do. And not one clue where to start.” She sighed.
I shook my head. “I don’t believe you could make a fool of yourself at work, not even almost. And I really don’t believe you have no ideas.”
She raised her gaze to mine. “Oh, no? Why not?”
“Because you’re one of the smartest people I know.”
She rolled her eyes at me. All it did was make me want to grab her and kiss her hard for her sass.
“Well, I hate to tell you, you’re wrong. At least I’m not smart when it comes to Millennials.”
Now it was my turn to let out a huff. “I’m pretty sick of that word. Just so you know.”
“Which word? Millennial?” she asked, looking surprised.
I nodded. “This summer that word hit my last nerve.”
She frowned. “You? Mr. Zen Guru who never gets upset about anything? Mr. Always Look on the Bright Side.”
I cocked up a brow at all the nicknames she’d given me. “See. You have plenty of marketing ideas. And I do lose my cool sometimes. I just hide it better than most.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“You don’t want to hear my bitchin'—uh, complaining.” I eyed the swear jar and then her.
“Yes, I really do. And I’ll wave the swear jar fee this time if you tell me.”
That sounded fair. I prepared to launch into my long tale.
“So it was the hottest day of the year. I’d just delivered a load of hay to one of the farmers a few counties away. He’s an old guy so of course I unloaded and stacked it for him. All two hundred bales. Stacking hay is a dirty job. The dust gets in your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your lungs. Everywhere. So by the time I was finished I was pretty hot and thirsty.”
“That would make me cranky too.” She nodded.
“Oh, I wasn’t cranky yet. Just hot and thirsty. I was planning on grabbing a tire and jumping in the river when I got home so I was in a pretty good mood. Until I stopped to get a cold drink at the farm stand. That’s when I heard some out of towner complaining about there being only one girl checking people out. The line wasn’t out the door, mind you. This lady was behind one other person. Then she sees me sitting there, drinking my iced tea, wearing my Morgan Farm T-shirt. Apparently she thought I should be checking out customers too so she says to her friend something about lazy Millennials who don’t want to work.”
Sarah cringed. “Ouch. What did you do?”
“I stood up and walked away before I said something I regretted.”
“I’m impressed with your restraint.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Eh, I try not to let things bother me. Life’s easier when you just don’t give a fu—uh, fork.”
She smiled. “Good catch.”
“Thanks.” I returned her smile. “I’ve been trying out different substitutes. I think I like that one.”
“Until Stewie starts pre-school and says it to the teacher,” she pointed out. “Not sure how that’s going to go over.”
“Mmm. True. But he’ll be your sister’s problem again by then, no?”
She snorted out a laugh. “Yes, he will.”
I liked hearing her laugh. Liked it better than her bad mood when she first walked in today.
And I definitely liked laughing with her rather than looking ahead to when our cohabitation would be over. But we had a long way to go yet before then.
“So I shared. Your turn. Sit down. Relax. Tell me about this supposed screw up you made.” I picked up the open bottle of white wine and eyed her now empty glass. “Refill?”
“No, but thank you for the offer. I think I might have some of that iced tea I saw in the fridge though.” She moved toward the refrigerator.
I held up my hand. “I’ll