Page 97 of Blue Hawaiian
She rested her head against his chest and inhaled his delicious pinewoods scent. Nothing could match the comfort of his arms. “Sorry I’m late. Once again, the travel gods werenotsmiling at me. I was hoping you didn’t give up on me.”
His lips grazed the top of her head. “I didn’t. Not for a second.”
A snarky voice cut into their reunion. “He totally did. The guy was whining like a baby. You could have thrown him a bone and texted back, you know.”
She peered over Connor’s shoulder, surprised to see his sister seated in an armchair by the fire. “Victoria?”
Victoria lifted her wineglass in greeting. “Sorry to crash the party. I had to get away, and this was the best escape I could think of.”
“It’s fine.” She eased herself out of Connor’s grasp. “I couldn’t call because my battery ran out on the drive. I had to use a map to get here.”
“See why I like them? They never let you down.” He gestured inside. “Come on in.”
She kicked off her shoes and left her fleece on the coatrack. Following him into the great room, she eased herself onto the overstuffed couch across from Victoria. The smell of woodsmoke brought back powerful memories. She and Connor had made love for the first time on the thick fur rug in front of this fireplace.
“Jess?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re spacing out on us. You sure you’re okay?”
“Sorry. I was just…remembering.” When he smiled knowingly, a warm flush heated her cheeks.
Victoria stood up. “Time for me to make my exit. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone, but don’t eventhinkabout having sex out here in the open. And please keep the noise down because I need my beauty sleep.” She hiccupped and wove out of the room.
“Is this okay? If Victoria needs you, I don’t want to be in the way.” After her epic trek up the mountain, Jess had no desire to head back so soon. But she didn’t want Victoria to feel unwelcome.
Connor sat beside her on the couch, his thigh brushing against hers. “Please stay. I thought we’d have the place to ourselves, but Victoria showed up a few hours ago. Ben broke off their engagement.”
Her heart swelled with pity. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry.”
“I never liked the guy, but this is low, even for him. It’s better you arrived late because Victoria needed to talk. But I have to admit, I was starting to worry you wouldn’t come.”
She pressed her hand against his cheek, rubbing the prickly stubble. “You gave up on me?”
He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. “Knowing your luck, I assumed something had gone sideways. I was just disappointed. I’ve been thinking about this day for weeks.”
Relief washed over her in a powerful wave. He’d been thinking about her. And he wasn’t afraid to admit it.
“I wanted to get up here by noon. But Gabi flew in for a surprise visit on Thursday and didn’t leave until now. Since I hadn’t told her about our plan, she didn’t know she was messing with our big day.” She sighed. “I had to fess up tonight. Which is probably for the best since I’m tired of keeping secrets.”
“Victoria knows, too. For the record, she thought we were being idiots.”
“Do you think we were being idiots?”
He enfolded her hands in his. “Sometimes. There were nights when I wanted to call you so badly that I wished we’d never set those rules. But the time apart made me realize what I really wanted.”
She tensed up but didn’t break their gaze. “Which is?”
“You.”
“Really?” She wanted to leap into his arms, but he held up his hand to stop her.
“Yes. But before we go any further, I want to be up-front about everything.”
She drew back, scarcely daring to breathe, her heart thumping in triple time. But she stayed silent, letting him have his say.
“This winery business is more demanding than I ever imagined. My uncle’s loan put us in a good place, financially, but the workload is intense. Right now, I have a small window to catch my breath, but this year’s going to be all-consuming.” He grinned. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s the first time I’ve ever been in charge of anything, and I love it. Our winery is going to kick ass, but it’ll take a lot of work to get there.”
While she was proud he’d come this far, she couldn’t envision how she could fit into his life. She blinked quickly, trying to stem the tears welling up in her eyes.
“So…maybe the timing’s not ideal, but…” She stopped herself because shestillhadn’t let him finish. “Sorry. There’s more, right?”
