Page 25 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

“I’m a little surprised to see you greeting us personally,” he said as he held out his hand.

“I like to make sure all my guests have the best possible experience,” Monica replied with a wink. “Come on in. I’ll give you the fifty-cent tour, then show you to your rooms.”

“Wonderful,” Lucy said, falling into step beside her. “We’re really looking forward to seeing everything.”

“First, have a look at the stonework outside,” Monica began, stopping just outside the doors. “As you can see, we preserved the structure of the original farmhouse as much as possible. Our guests appreciate the traditional architecture — as well as the modern conveniences we’ve installed inside.” She winked at Lucy, who smiled, then let them through the large double doors into an open foyer.

“This is the entry hall,” Monica continued. “Off to the right is our indoor dining and tasting room. We have a second tasting room on the second-floor terrace. Guests can choose to participate in wine tastings as well as eat three meals a day. We’ve signed you up for the full-board meal plan, of course, so you can sample the fare. Oh, and we’ve booked you in for a wine-tasting session this evening.”

Lucy and Elliot made eye contact, then looked away quickly. Alcohol didn’t seem like a good addition to their already rocky partnership, though Elliot was looking forward to sampling the wine. He didn’t know much about wine, but the bottles onoffer must be good. Perhaps a glass of wine or two would ease things enough that they could have a real conversation instead of sniping at each other.

Not that Elliot was sure he wanted to have a real conversation. He couldn’t let his guard down around Lucy, not after the way things had ended last time.

Elliot tuned back in to Monica’s tour just as she explained about the farm-to-table food served in the vineyard’s restaurant, based on partnerships with local farmers.

“We highlight in-season produce and local varietals,” Monica explained. “The local farmers often buy our wine as well, so it creates a very supportive farming community.”

The tour continued upstairs, where Monica showed Elliot and Lucy to their rooms. They were neighbors. Both rooms were beautifully decorated with antique furniture, modern appliances, and artists’ renderings of the vineyard and its surroundings.

“As you can see,” Monica said, “one of the Pura Vida principles is creating a unique, authentic experience. Everything ties into that, from our support of local artists and farmers to our preservation of original structures and practices.”

Lucy sent Elliot anI-told-you-solook, and he held back a sigh. Maybe she’d had a point that talking about how Borderless could highlight Pura Vida’s unique heritage might have been a better sell. Maybe.

“We have twenty-four Pura Vida vineyards across the United States,” Monica continued. “I’ve personally visited all of them. Each has a unique twist that showcases the local region while still staying on-brand. Now, I’ll give you both time to settle in.There are schedules in your rooms of the various activities we’d like to show you while you’re here.”

“Should we split up?” Lucy suggested. “We could see more of what you have on offer that way.”

Elliot felt both relieved and annoyed at Lucy’s suggestion. It would definitely be better if they didn’t do their tours together, but he found it frustrating that she was equally unenthusiastic about being around him. After all, she was the one who’d broken his heart and who was making his life difficult.

Either way, it didn’t matter because Monica shook her head.

“Don’t worry, you have a jam-packed schedule, so you’ll be able to fit everything in. Most of the tours will be private, and you’ll have more fun if you’re together.”

Lucy and Elliot exchanged another glance as if to saydon’t be so sure about that,then turned to Monica.

“That’ll be great,” Lucy said. “We’re really looking forward to seeing everything.”

“And I’m looking forward to showing you. Now, I’ll see you in an hour or so for the vineyard tour. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions about the agenda.”

Elliot and Lucy thanked her and then went into their rooms without saying goodbye to each other. Elliot closed the door and ran a hand through his hair. They’d had a very early flight this morning — or, perhaps, last night — and had a full day now. Usually, that wouldn’t have bothered Elliot, but he wasn’t sure he could spend that much time around Lucy. A glance at the schedule showed that they’d be spending a lot of time together over the next two days, from vineyard tours to wine tastings tomeals to grape stomping to something called a dawn harvest. All the activities would be bookable through the Borderless app if the collaboration went through.

Elliot had planned to take advantage of the free hour to get a little work done, but instead, he flopped onto his bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be back in New York or Chicago, getting actual work done, not stuck in a remote vineyard with the last person he wanted to be spending time with.

There was nothing to be done, though. He was here. Lucy was here. They would both just have to deal with it.

CHAPTER 13

LUCY

Lucy was tired. She was annoyed with Elliot. Yet she couldn’t stop smiling as she unpacked her wheelie suitcase in the room that would be hers for the next night. The vineyard view outside her window was gorgeous, and the activities on offer all sounded like a lot of fun. Lucy had taken a few trips like this with Dominic in the past, and while there had been a few tricky moments — like the time Lucy had found a snake in her bed while visiting a resort in Ecuador — she’d always had a great time. Trips like this were one of the biggest perks of the job.

That was part of why Lucy found Elliot’s reluctance to come so annoying. Of course, he had work to do, but so did she. Forging great relationships with the app’s clients and understanding what made them special was vital to Borderless’s success. The fact that Elliot didn’t seem to understand that made Lucy doubly glad that he wasn’t the sole CEO of the company.

Lucy shook her head to clear out unwanted thoughts of Elliot. Instead of letting herself dwell on him, she took a quick shower to wash off the flight, reapplied her light makeup, and did herhair. For the first activity on the agenda, the vineyard tour, she selected a breezy blue dress. It was different from what she usually wore, but on trips like this, she always tried to embrace the vacation vibes.

With a little extra time before the tour, Lucy caught up on emails before grabbing her bag and her copy of the agenda and meeting Elliot outside. He was still in the same slacks and button-down he’d worn on the airplane. His gaze swept over Lucy.

“You look… nice.” Then he turned away, clearly uncomfortable with the compliment. It was like he was a completely different person from the man who’d flirted with her so easily back in college.

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