Page 48 of Love on the Vine
“You can’t see anything with your eyes closed,” he teased, but I couldn’t think about anything when one of his hands started stroking up and down my ribcage. Did he know what he was doing?
“Jake . . .” I whispered, sliding my fingers over the hand that still rested on my hip. His other hand stilled just under my breast. I had to stop myself from arching against him to push it higher where I wanted it. Heat pooled in my belly and in between my legs.
Everyone around us was oblivious—laughing, cheering, even singing as one of the last of the barrels was carried into the ballroom. All my senses had crystallized into my racing pulse, Jake’s warm hands, his solid presence enveloping me.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” His voice husked against my ear.
“No.” My voice trembled.
“Terrible oversight,” he murmured just before I felt the rough shock of his scruff and his firm lips against my bare shoulder.
I let out a shuddery breath as the crowd broke into wild applause and began moving.
As Jake helped me from the step, I turned to face him. His eyes were dark with need, but still he looked conflicted. “Olivia, I . . .”
Just then Louis came bursting through the crowd toward us. “There you are, come quickly. I want you to say a few words to the journalists over there.”
“No way, Louis.” But Jake’s protestations fell on deaf ears, and with an apologetic glance, he headed back inside.
I felt strangely vulnerable without his arms around me, and I closed my eyes, trying to recapture the sensation of his solid presence encircling me.
“Olivia, was it?” a voice said behind me, snapping me back to reality. I turned around to find myself face-to-face with Thomas. He held out a glass of sparkling white wine. “One of the perks of being invited to an event like this.”
“Thank you.” I took the glass and searched the courtyard nervously for Jake.
“How long have you and Jake been together?” He leaned familiarly against the stone pillar next to me. Oh, this one was a charmer. He knew he was good looking and that half the women here were watching us with interest.
“We’re not dating. He’s a friend,” I answered, not wanting to give him much information.
“Just a friend, huh? I thought by the way he was holding on to you earlier that there was something more.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He laughed. “Okay.”
“How do you know each other?” No sooner had I gotten the words out than I remembered what a terrible actress I was. The amused smile he gave me in return told me that he wasn’t buying into my act.
“Ours is a long and complicated history.” He swirled his glass. “Let’s just say we tend to get competitive with each other, and the last time we did business together it didn’t end well. But I’m more than willing to give it another shot. I’ve missed that broody bastard.”
“Well, then maybe he’s the one you should be talking to, not me.”
“Ah, but you’re much prettier than he is. And he won’t return my messages or my phone calls. I know how to take a hint.” He leaned over me, so close that his expensive cologne tickled mynose. “Just a friendly warning—don’t expect him to stick around very long. That’s how it ends for all his girlfriends. If you can call them that. They want more, he turns into a block of ice.”
“You have a lot of nerve talking about him like that.” I was tempted to throw the wine in his face, but then his eyes widened, and his weaselly grin faltered as he looked over my shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jake’s voice came from behind me. Full of barely contained rage, he stood over Thomas, face livid, and grasped his lapels. I knew that it wasn’t really about me—Thomas would have gone after whoever Jake had invited this evening. Still, seeing Jake ready to knock the cocky grin of his face for touching me was the closest I’d ever gotten to have a guy come to fisticuffs over me.
“Relax, Jake. I was just getting to know your lovely friend here.” Thomas chuckled nervously and backed away. “Have you tried the Montrachet? I just bought a pallet for Le Bernardin.” He tossed out the name of one of the top restaurants in New York City. “Eric was asking after you. Says you haven’t been in New York in a while.”
“No, I haven’t. The market has lost its appeal.” Jake’s eyes roamed over me, checking to see that I was all right, and I managed a weak smile.
“Well, you might consider broadening your market now that Sungate is closing in.” Thomas turned to me and explained. “Smaller operations like Jake’s are being swallowed up by bigger players. We’ve made him a handsome offer, but he won’t take it.”
As my mind spun with this new information, he slapped a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “You know you’re just delaying the inevitable. If you got out now you’d make money. Why lose it all because your pride is on the line?”
Jaw clenched, Jake gripped Thomas’s hand and removed it from his shoulder. Turning to me, he said, “We should go if we want to get back before dawn.”
“Don’t tell me you’re driving back tonight? Stay, come on. We haven’t had a chance to catch up,” needled Thomas as Jake pressed his hand into my back and guided me outside.
