Page 13 of Love Beyond the Illusion
His focus bounces between my lips and my eyes. I don’t mind blowing on Jack’s dice, and at this point in the night, I’d probably blow on other things if he asked me.
“I’d blow on other things if you asked me to.”Oh my god. Did I say that out loud?
I did. But I don’t care.
Jack’s eyebrows snap together, and he licks his lips. “I think I can arrange that.”
Chapter Six
Jack
Attwointhemorning and another alcoholic beverage later, we now find ourselves in a small yet funky lounge off to the side of the madness that has surrounded us all evening. The sound of high bells of the lucky or unlucky slot machines chime in the background.
“I’m surprised you haven’t stayed with your first choice of wine this evening because you sure know more about wine than the average man,” she teases, with a little smirk lifting the corners of her mouth.
I lean in, with bent knees touching the small black circle table between us. “My family owns a winery,” I tell her, stroking the top of her thigh. A bold move for me because I’m not usually the one making the moves.
“That explains it.” Piper raises her eyes to me. “I’m assuming you aren’t part of the family business since you work in marketing.”
My body automatically stiffens. I’m thrust back into the unfortunate reality of the loss of my dad and how my whole life is being turned upside down. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach returns after a brief reprieve the last few hours.
“Yeah. I moved away to attend college in Arizona, then started working for a marketing company out there after graduation.” I take a generous swig from my drink. It burns going down, but I take another anyway.
Piper rests her chin in her palm. “So, do you have any plans on ever being a part of your family’s winery?”
“That’s where things get a little complicated.” I feel my face fall. I should probably talk about this, and who better than a girl I barely know? I laugh internally at the irony, then clear my throat. “I unexpectedly lost my dad over the summer, and since he basically ran the entire operation by himself—with the help of my mom and our winemaker Rob, everyone expects me to step into my dad’s place.”
Piper’s eyebrows raise while she brings her drink to her lips. “That’s a heavy load,” she says before sipping it.
“It is, isn’t it? And to make matters even more fucked up, my dad’s best friend, who is part owner, wants his son to take over instead of me,” I explain, removing my hand from her thigh. I haven’t spoken to anyone outside the people involved about what’s going on with my family’s business. It feels freeing.
“That sounds like some shady shit. How do you feel about it? Do you even want to take over though—” All of a sudden, she stops mid-sentence and looks down at the floor between us. “Wait. Where is our luggage?”
I tilt my head to the side and rub my lips together, stifling a laugh.
“Why does it look like you’re trying to keep from laughing?” She snickers, batting her eyes at me. “If I may add, you’re not doing an excellent job with it.”
She is adorable, and I can’t hold it in anymore.Did she truly forget what we did with our stuff?
I finally explode, letting out a full belly laugh. “We left our suitcases with the concierge.”
“Oh, yes. I knew that.” Piper nods vigorously, probably convincing herself as much as she’s trying to convince me.She forgot.Piper glances up at me through her long eyelashes with her cheeks the color of crimson. When our eyes meet, electricity flows through my veins, causing the hairs on both arms to stand straight up. She’s embarrassed by being so drunk, but I find her effervescent energy charming.
For a moment, our eyes lock. My heart hammers the back of my chest. The energy with this woman is off the charts. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and feeling bolder than I typically do, I’m overcome with a desire to taste that bottom lip of hers.
I slowly lean in until I can see the specks of green in her hazel eyes. To my pleasant surprise, she doesn’t back away. We share a breath for a moment before her eyes fall closed. But suddenly, she jerks her head away and scrambles to grab something from her purse that hangs across her body. Piper clumsily pulls out her phone.
My is still racing from how close I got to touching her lips when I notice the color draining from her face as she stares at the screen.
“Do you need to take that?” I’m unsure how to respond to the sudden change in her expression.
Blinking a few times, Piper shoves her phone back into her purse. “No, I don’t.” A heavy cloud has appeared over her. It’s a contrast to everything I’ve seen until this point. My mind reels with who could have called. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn’t someone good.
Fuck, was it a boyfriend? An ex-boyfriend?
I feel my jaw tighten.
Piper looks over at me, a half-smile on her face. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
