Page 26 of Love on the Vine
“My friend Callie arrives this afternoon,” she reminded me. “I was going to meet her at the train station, but without my phone, I can’t order an Uber.”
“You can borrow the car, no problem.”
“I can’t drive stick,” she admitted.
“I’ll take you,” I offered, internally cursing myself. So much for keeping my distance.
“Really? You don’t have to if you’re busy.” She plucked nervously at her croissant.
“No, it’s fine.” The last thing I wanted to do was lock myself away in my office and ruminate over my shitty problems.
“We’ll stay out of your way this weekend,” she said between bites of croissant. The way she said it made me sound like an ornery house cat she was trying to appease. “We’re having dinner with Chantal tonight and might go check out Saint-Tropez tomorrow.”
The idea of her at one of those awful, pretentious nightclubs in Saint-Tropez, surrounded by panting lotharios made me clench my fist under the table. “Watch out for yourselves in Saint-Tropez.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not dangerous, but there are a lot of rich douchebags pretending to be international playboys.”
“Ah, I see.” She pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.
“Watch out for Chantal too. She might offer to adopt you soon,” I teased.
“I don’t think I’d mind if she did. Everyone here is so wonderful.” She smiled shyly and took a sip of water. “They’re always asking about you. You’re a local celebrity.”
“And are you still smiling and saying ‘oui’?”
“It’s worked so far.”
If only she knew. I’d already decided not to fill her in on just how effective her preferred communication method was. There was no point. People would believe what they wanted to, and it would only embarrass her. And right now, for some inexplicable reason, I just wanted to make her smile.
I’d been acting like a dick avoiding her even if my intentions were good. She didn’t deserve that after all the hard work she’d put into reorganizing our inventory. “Listen, I want you to know how grateful I am for the work you’ve done with the inventory. Jin’s going to implement the same system back in Shanghai.”
Her eyes widened, and she stopped chewing her croissant, dabbing a napkin at her mouth while she swallowed. “I’m so pleased. I was afraid I was going to be a burden this summer.”
“You’re not a burden,” I said seriously, and I meant it. If I was having my own issues being so close to her every day, I didn’t want her to think she was the problem. My eyes ran over her face; she was beaming now, and a little rush of pleasure pulsed through me. My gaze caught again at her mouth.
“You have a crumb here.” I gestured to my mouth, willing myself not to reach out and brush it from her.
“Oh.” She rolled her lips together, wetting them, the tip of her tongue darting over her bottom lip. That was all it took for the blood to rush to my cock.
“Is it gone?” she asked, and I grunted. I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so perfect in my life.
“So have you finished the car?” she asked after a lengthy silence.
“I should hope so with all the manpower I’ve put into it,” I answered, then before I could think better of it, asked, “Do you want to test it out? We have some time to kill before we pick up your friend.”
“Really? Yes!” Her eyes brightened and she stared at me as if I’d just lassoed the moon. Snapping her notebook shut, she hopped up, hastily gathering her materials. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll meet you at the car.” I smiled and watched as she walked back to the cottage, mesmerized by the gentle sway of her hips. For a minute—only a minute—I allowed myself to imagine that the village gossip was true.
* * *
The car’s engine came to life with a satisfying purr, and we took off down the hill.
“I’ve never been in a vintage car before. Unless you count my old Toyota,” Olivia admitted. “It’s so beautiful.”
A thrill ran through me as she ran her hands over the dashboard as if it were me she was caressing instead of my car. I suppose with all the sweat and energy I’d put into restoring it, the car was part of me.
