Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,17
his tone teasing.
Danae slipped her planner in her laptop bag, thinking of how far they’d strayed from what she’d scribbled in today’s square. “I just hate things I can’t plan for, you know?”
Josh nodded. “I got that vibe, yes.”
She arched an eyebrow, warning him to be careful.
“Don’t know why you’re giving me that look. Take it up with Mother Nature.”
“Maybe I will.” Danae stuck her thumb under the strap of her laptop bag so it would stop cutting into her shoulder. Thanks to the extra notebooks she’d packed, assuming her team would forget theirs on the boat, it was heavier than usual.
The wattage on Josh’s grin kicked up a notch. “I’d like to watch that.”
A laugh slipped free, and she imagined herself shaking her fist at the sky and asking why it couldn’t cooperate. Mother Nature would likely respond with one of those cartoon storm clouds that followed characters around and rained only on them.
“Come on.” Josh gestured her ahead of him. “We’re gonna miss all the good stuff. Like hearing about the kind of grapes they use in the wine we’ll drink later.”
They continued down the row, the dappled sunlight turning their path into dancing circles of light as the leaves fluttered in the breeze. The earthen scent drifted up with each footstep, a rich mixture of dirt, sunshine, and greenery, and she realized that she had been missing the good stuff.
This time when she inhaled, she took the time to enjoy how crisp the air was as it filled her lungs. The rows made perfect lines that covered acres of land as far as the eye could see, but the individual trunks were twisted and gnarled, each one different from the next.
Danae slowed to study the clumps of green grapes next to her. “I wonder how many grapes it takes to make a bottle. If it’s anything like fresh-squeezed orange juice, it’s a whole lot of effort for not that much juice.”
“Let’s guess, and then we can ask.” Josh’s shadow stretched across the leaves in front of her, turning them a darker shade of green. “Whoever’s closest gets to set tomorrow’s schedule.”
The speed at which Danae whipped around to face him nearly gave her whiplash. The corners of his eyes crinkled, his smirk bringing out the dimple in his chin, and her exasperation faded in an instant. “You’re teasing me.”
“Guilty. You make it too easy. Then again, maybe it’s all part of my master plan.”
“You? Have a plan?”
“Hey,” he said with a chuckle. “And yes. A dastardly plan, one that requires you to answer my next question honestly.” He took a step closer to her, and her heart quickened. “Are you as stressed out as you were before I crossed your path in the vineyard?”
“You mean before you scared me half to death?” Danae asked. Then she took a second or two to truly check in with herself so she could answer his question.
The pressure that had been building in her chest when they’d first begun the tour had eased, any remaining nerves having more to do with how close Josh was. She wasn’t sure why she was having such a nervous reaction to him, besides his aversion to following an itinerary.
An inkling tickled the back of her brain, whispering that the reason might have something to do with his being a relatively charming, ridiculously handsome male, but she promptly shut those thoughts down. She was on this trip to earn her promotion, not to flirt with the sailboat’s captain.
“Admittedly, I do feel less stressed. As long as I don’t go thinking too much. See, I’m new to my position.” She’d blurted out that last part before thinking better of it—hazards of an overactive, noisy mind. She suspected it also had to do with Josh’s directness, and how long it had been since anyone seemed to notice or give weight to her stress level.
Since the admission was already out there—and she needed to talk to someone about the concerns her family had brushed off as silly—she pressed on. “I’m good at my job, but I need to prove to my boss I can handle more responsibility in order to keep my Chief Marketing Officer title.” The pressure that had temporarily eased began building once again, and she had to dig down deep to find her confidence. Sometimes it was about faking it till you could make it. “But don’t you worry, I’ll figure it out.”
“I wasn’t worried for a second.”
She laughed, surprised at how easy it had come—twice