of my body.” She gave him a brilliant smile as she allowed him to steer her out of the plane and toward the awaiting Corvette convertible he’d rented for the duration of their stay. “I still don’t understand the hint you gave me earlier about where we were going. As I recall, I didn’t mention San Francisco when we went to Gillooly’s.”
“Not San Francisco,” he agreed, made sure their luggage was stored in the car’s miniscule trunk, then opened the passenger door for her. “But you did make a reference to someplace in California.”
“No, not really,” she frowned, sliding into the passenger seat. “Well, I mean, I did when I happened to mention my current favorite wine—no.” Her gasp was hilarious, filled with total shock, and the widening of those baby blues made her beyond adorable. “You’re not taking me on a date to a winery in Napa Valley, are you?”
“Not just any winery. Tilted Windmill Vineyard, which happens to have an onsite B and B. And we’re here just in time to celebrate the beginning of their harvest season.” Grinning, he drank in her staggered disbelief before rounding to the driver’s side. “You like their wine, yeah? I’ll get you some of their wine. That’s how I roll.”
“You’re taking me on a date. To a winery. In Napa Valley, because I happened to mention I liked their wine.” With her jaw still unhinged and her eyes shimmering with joy and amazement, she carefully reached over and poked his shoulder with a finger. “Yep. This is really happening, and you’re really real. I didn’t dream you up.”
Funny, that was how he felt about her. “I’m really real. And I’m going to get busy proving that to you just as soon as we get settled.”
Her laughter drifted in the air as he roared the engine to life and gunned for the exit.
*
Joelle might not ever cop to being a princess, and she had the feeling Gus would sneer at being labeled a Prince Charming—though he was most certainly charming, as far as she was concerned. And she didn't believe in happily ever after, because she had learned that life didn’t work that way. It had all shades of happiness and sorrow, and unlimited levels of ups and downs.
But if anyone had told her at that moment that fairy tales happened in real life, she would have believed them. She was currently right in the midst of a fairy tale that no one had ever thought to dream, but she recognized it for what it was.
And she never wanted it to end.
“What's with the smile?”
She felt more than saw Gus’s glance as he drove the winding, scenic highway that ran along Napa River. “Are you kidding? How can I not smile? Look around you. Breathe in that crystal clean air, a perfect mixture of eucalyptus and the sea. I had no idea this morning when I first woke up that I was going to be gifted with this moment. Thank you, Gus. I never would have even dreamed of going on this adventure, yet here we are. And it’s all because you paid attention to something I just happened to mention.”
“You happened to mention that you loved something. That was good enough for me.”
She couldn’t help but laugh while her heart took flight at his thoughtfulness. “I also love croissants. Are we going to Paris next?”
“Maybe next weekend. I think this is it.” He slowed for an arched gateway flanked by high hedges. The center of the arch overhead had an ironwork windmill covered in vines, and the road leading through the gateway was a neatly kept dirt track. Driving through the arch, she caught her breath at the sight the high hedges hid from the main road—undulating hills covered in grape vines all the way to the watery ribbon of the river.
“Wow,” she breathed, staring with dazzled eyes at the picture-perfect scene, and had to laugh when a pair of herons glided gracefully across their path to eventually splash down on the river’s slow-moving waters. “Are you sure we’re allowed to even be here? This feels like someone’s private slice of heaven.”
“Let’s find out.”
He sped up, and she looked ahead to discover the track headed up the biggest hill that overlooked the vineyard. Crowning the hill was a Spanish-style hacienda, with thick-looking walls, balconies accented with black wrought iron railings, and picturesque terracotta roof tiles. The architecture was delightfully foreign to her Midwestern eyes, and she found herself smiling all over