Page 51 of Rare Blend
“Very smart.”
“That makes you a third generation, then?”
“Yep, a third-generation vintner.”
“So, you’re a nepo baby.”
His face twists. “A what?”
I can barely contain the laugh that wants to escape. “Nepo, as in nepotism. It’s a fairly common term these days, Grandpa.”
He gives me a good-natured eye roll. “You sound like my little sister, Elyse.”
I perk up slightly. “Oh, yes, we’ve met. We’re actually going out this Saturday for country night at The Jackalope.”
His eyes nearly bug out. “You’re going out with my sister? That’s a recipe for disaster.” He rubs the bridge of his nose, looking undoubtedly stressed.
“What’s wrong with your sister?”
“For starters, she finds trouble everywhere she goes.”
“How much trouble can one find in a small town?”
He cocks his head, eyes leaving mine and landing on my lips, where they linger for a moment before he clears his throat. “You’d be surprised.”
I shift in my seat, ignoring the heat starting to coil in my stomach. I continue, asking about how much of his family is involved in the winery. Apparently, nearly all of his family works for the winery in some capacity. All of his siblings, a majorityof his cousins, and his aunts and uncles are on the board. It’s a complete family business.
It turns out Ethan can string together quite a few words and speak in great detail when he’s not the focus of the topic. The further into the interview I get, the more relaxed he becomes.
I learn a little of the winemaking process, and he has Tawny schedule a time for me to take a look at the original winery tomorrow. He explains the grape varieties and why they’re chosen and how they manage sustainability. He tells me about successes and failures they’ve experienced over the years and how they’re constantly having to adapt to keep up with competitors.
By the time we’re through, my brain is in overload mode. I feel like I got a crash course in starting my own winery.
“And now for the personal questions.”
He blows out an exhale. “I was hoping you’d forgotten.”
“Like I said, you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to, and these questions are mild compared to the ones on dating apps.”
He shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”
My pen slips, dropping and rolling across the floor, under the desk. Ethan bends in his chair to retrieve it and hands it back to me. The very slightest contact of his skin touching mine, fingertip-to-fingertip, has me nearly dropping the pen again.
“Thanks,” I mumble.
Re-straightening in my chair, I ask the question that’s begging to jump out, even though it has nothing to do with the interview. “You’ve never been on a dating app?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, never felt the need to.”
Oh, right. Of course. When you’re ruggedly handsome with a job, that ticks off a majority of the criteria most women have.
“I get it. The women come to you. That makes sense.”
He barks out a laugh, shaking his head like what I said is ridiculous. “Just the opposite. I’m awkward enough in real life. I don’t need to add to that by being even more awkward behind a screen.”
“So, you don’t date?” The question falls out of my mouth before my brain can think twice at holding it in.
His head jerks back a little, eyes wide. “Uh, not really. I was with someone for a while, but it didn’t work out. I haven’t been serious with anyone else since.”
