Page 27 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

“Of course I do.” Lucy folded her arms. “But I also think that Monica could easily have just pulled her business. Instead, she invited us out here.”

“Yes, to waste our time. All this grape stuff is interesting, but we have real work that’s on pause because we’re here.”

“Come on.” Lucy glared. “Sometimes you have to appreciate your surroundings, even when you’d rather be hunched over your desk with espresso and a pile of work that only you can do.”

Elliot glared back. “This is why I should run the company, and you should be in charge of things like this.”

Just then, Lucy spotted Monica picking her way back to them out of the corner of her eye. “Monica’s coming back. Be civil.”

“You be civil.” Elliot hissed back before turning and greeting Monica with a broad smile. “Everything all right?”

“Yes. Paul had a question about the plans for this evening. We have a grape-stomping workshop, which the two of you have on your agenda, and he needs to work out some logistics.” She looked back and forth between Lucy and Elliot. “Is everything okay?”

Lucy and Elliot smiled. Lucy’s, at least, looked forced. “Of course. So, tell us more about the grape-stomping.”

“Of course.” Monica gestured for them to climb back toward the house. “So, after picking and destemming the grapes, we hold a few batches of grape-stomping. This macerates the grapes in preparation for fermentation. It’s one of the highlights of the year.” She grinned.

“I have to ask,” Elliot said. “I understand that grape-stomping is very traditional, but doesn’t using feet to crush the grapes… interfere with the flavor of the wine?”

Lucy winced. She’d rather drink wine that tasted exactly like feet than question Monica when things were finally starting to go well. Luckily, Monica didn’t seem offended.

“That’s a fair question, and a lot of people ask about it. I can assure you, though, that our grape stomps are very sanitary. All guests first wash and sanitize their feet. We work carefully with the grapes before and after, and professional testers assure that grape-stomping doesn’t harm the flavor at all.”

“I’m sure it tastes great,” Lucy said quickly. Monica chuckled.

“It does. In fact, stomped wine tends to taste better than machine-processed wine because it doesn’t crush the stems andseeds along with the grapes. Those stems and seeds release bitter tannins that can disrupt the flavor of the wine, but with stomping, we’re able to strain out the stems and seeds for better flavor.”

“I never knew that,” Elliot said. “Fascinating. How long does it take?”

“We have short shifts of around an hour each for our guests,” Monica explained. “The actual process takes up to three days, but we rotate people through and use our farm workers for spare shifts. Otherwise, it gets boring. We also lead our guests to stomp in different ways to keep things interesting.”

Lucy and Elliot exchanged a slightly apprehensive glance, and Elliot’s mouth curved into a smile. Despite herself, Lucy felt her heart flutter at the familiar gesture. She quickly looked away and fell into step with Monica as they headed back toward the farmhouse.

Within half an hour, Lucy and Elliot were standing with a group of around ten other guests, barefoot and with their pants rolled up above their knees, sanitizing their feet in a large tub. Lucy and Elliot exchanged a glance as they washed off their feet, and this time, instead of glowering, they shared another grin at the situation. The manager of the vineyard, a portly man in his late forties, explained the procedure for the grape stomp. Then they were invited to climb into a large tub of grapes.

“Need a hand?” Elliot asked, extending a raised palm to Lucy. She shook her head.

“I can do it. Thanks.” She stepped over the high brim, and her eyes widened as she stepped onto the grapes. They provided a very strange texture beneath her bare feet, especially as thegrapes began to rupture. Once the first batch of guests was in the tub, the manager played a song over the speakers. As instructed, Lucy and Elliot walked back and forth in time with the melody, grapes popping and bursting beneath their feet.

Soon, Lucy’s legs and feet were stained a deep purple. Elliot, slowly treading across the tub, nodded to one of his own purple legs, and they shared a smile.

“Now, grab a partner,” the manager called out. “Hold each other’s hands and get those feet up high!”

Lucy was half tempted to reach for one of the other guests, but before she could, Elliot held out his hands to her.

“Shall we dance?” he asked.

Lucy hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded. “All right.”

Elliot’s warm, broad hands enveloped hers. She lifted her gaze to his, and, for a moment, she spiraled back in time to when those brown eyes of his had looked like endlessly inviting pools of melted chocolate. Then the manager began another song, and the couples stepped high and brought their feet down, crushing the grapes.

Elliot spun Lucy around, and then she spun him. The song was catchy, and the atmosphere was very festive. Lucy found herself grinning, and she lifted her arm to spin Elliot around again. He did as directed. As the song came to an end, he tipped her back in a dip, Lucy’s head coming close enough to the grapes below to smell their sweet scent.

“For the next song, link elbows and stomp in a circle!” the manager suggested, so Lucy and Elliot did. Lucy felt like shewas traveling back in time, not just to college, but to a time before when all wineries processed their grapes this way and whole communities would gather to make it happen. When she felt Elliot’s elbow linked through hers and saw his broad grin, she didn’t think of the businessman who cared only about profits and nothing about her. Instead, she saw the goofy, sweet, caring boy he’d been in college when their futures had seemed bright and open.

After the song finished, the tub they’d been stomping had turned from whole grapes into a purple liquid that reached their upper calves. They rotated to another tub, and the whole process began again. Lucy enjoyed herself more than she’d expected. She smiled at each of the other guests, but especially at Elliot. He was smiling, too.

When the final tub was finished after around an hour, she accepted his hand to help her climb out of the tub. They washed their feet off under a spigot, but her legs were still stained a deep purple.

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