No response from Evan on the email she’d sent him that morning. After Evan told her he was asking Daphne out, she had to figure out what to do. She felt like doing nothing. Radio silent. Ignore him. Maybe he’d get the message.
She scrolled up to one of her favorite past emails he’d sent her and clicked on the subject—My Philosophy of Life According to Wine.
Dee Dee,
We saw geese flying over our small lake this morning. They honked and made a ruckus, making Poppy giggle. She said they sounded like the lunch ladies at her school, who obviously spend too much time fussing. Funny how children can hear or see something and make it amusing. Ah, daughters. I know you’re worried about yours and her relationship with her fiancé. I hate to hear there are concerns. Making a marriage work is much like making wine. You can plant the best vines, rejoice in the sunlight, and take comfort in the rains, but in the end, what you end up with inside the bottle is unexpected. Every little element the grape encounters changes it, whether it be temperature or soil or something unexplained. Often what you think you’ll pour out isn’t what you get. Sometimes you have to embrace the unexpected.
Evan
Embrace the unexpected.
Ellery cast her gaze once again on the winery and tasting rooms where Gage no doubt prepared for a busy day. The passion Gage had sparked in her had been unexpected. His lips against hers had been like one of those unmeasurable elements and had birthed too many questions inside her. His kiss had been different. Right. Good. Sweet as the wine they made here.
She rose without thinking and walked toward the unexpected.
Five minutes later she pushed into the winery, which housed the tasting room and gift shop. Here was where she’d first seen Gage, looking remarkably grumpy, sexy, and intriguing. She’d disliked him as much as he’d turned her on. Yet she could not deny he’d awakened something inside her, something she couldn’t even put a name to. For some reason, she had to know if what he’d started inside her was real.
The tasting room wasn’t open yet, but the door was unlocked, so she entered to find Gage alone behind the horseshoe-shaped bar, drying glasses and counting them.
He glanced up, looking automatically annoyed at the interruption, but his eyes softened when he noted it was her. “Oh, it’s you. Hey.”
“Hey.” She stood just inside, allowing the door to close against her back. The click of the lock against the strike seemed to reflect her decision to come here.
Too late now.
He glanced back down at the glasses. “You know we’re not open yet.”
“I know. I didn’t come for the wine.”
Lifting his gaze to her, he hooked an eyebrow. It was gorgeously sexy. “So . . . ?”
“So I think you should know that my fiancé doesn’t love me, my mom is screwing my ex-boyfriend from high school, and my dad is broke and can’t pay my credit card bills.”
Gage’s eyes widened. She bet he hadn’t expected her to lead with something like that.
“Also you should know I lost an internship in New York City to a guy from Minnesota who pretends to be Italian. He also wears orange wing tips. Then I took a job working for my mom because I couldn’t cut it anywhere else.”
Gage set the glass down on the counter and tossed the towel next to it. He moved around the edge and started walking toward her. “Never been a fan of orange wing tips.”
“No one is.” Ellery held up her hand. “But that’s not all.”
He raised his eyebrows. “There’s more?”
“My daddy bought my car for me, I cheated on an ethics test, and I got a Brazilian wax that is not very comfortable at all, especially when wearing a thong.” She knew her face was red, but for some reason she needed to tell him exactly what a wreck she was. He had to see her, the real her, not the one who pretended to be this together chick with a designer bag and glossy lips. She needed to say all this to someone, and for some crazy-assed reason, she wanted it to be Gage.
“Is that all?” he asked, stopping in front of her, his expression unflappable.
Ellery shook her head.
He was so close that she could reach up and trace his lips. She had the sudden inclination to do that. Just trail her finger slowly across his