He was standing there staring into his wine glass. He took another sip. Then, he looked at us both and pressed his lips together. “If youwill excuse me, I need a few minutes.” He put more wine in his glass and walked out the front door.
After that, everyone wanted to taste it. My father filled the glasses and opened all the bottles. There wasn’t enough for everyone to taste it, but Papa promised it would be at the restaurant soon. Cecelia was drinking the reserve.
She sidled up to me. "From now on, Friday afternoon until Monday morning, you are officially out of the office unless there is an emergency?”
“Yes. I will spend time with Aaron, and he has asked if I would like to learn more about winemaking. I think I do.” Her face looked ridiculous, and she tried not to smile and laugh simultaneously.
“That is amazing. While we are talking shop, I think Silvia would do well to help Forest as his assistant if that is okay with you. Also, you might want to talk to Storm. He’s not enchanted with the restaurant and is looking for his place. He can assist you with your roster, doing the busy work like keeping up with their antics and ensuring they wear the right sponsors, get to their shoots, etc. You have created an empire. Now you need to enjoy it with someone you love.”
She was the second person today who commented on how I was in love with Aaron. Obviously, I wasn’t hiding anything from them. “What makes you think I am in love with anybody?” I looked at her incredulously. She spun me around so I faced a mirror on the wall. She made a circle thing with her finger at my face. “That is what makes me think it.”
“Fair.” I kissed her on the cheek. “I agree with all the other things, too. See if you can get Storm to meet with me.” I am not surprised he is tired of waiting tables and hates the kitchen and the bar. “From Friday until Sunday dinner, we will be at the vineyard. I'll make sure you have all the necessary information. I’ll also be using Aaron’s planefrom now on, and hopefully, we will be traveling together for wine business.” I grinned so hard it made my cheeks hurt.
She gave me a side hug. “It’s all perfect.” With that, she walked away. I realized Aaron had disappeared while I was talking to Cecelia.
I found Stone and Aaron sitting on the front steps. Instead of interrupting, I turned around to check on the dragons. My nieces were sitting on the couch, each with a sleeping dragon on their legs. They were adorable. “I can have them move if you want to put them in their sleeping box.”
“NO!” They said in unison.
“Alright, I’ll leave you all be then.” They moved their heads up and down.
I talked to the rest of my family in the kitchen. The new wine was a big hit. Everyone had questions about the winery and Aaron. These people were so happy for me. At thirty-eight, they started to assume I would just be single. It was funny, though. All these feelings made me feel like I was sixteen with my first love. All I know is that Aaron was worth the wait.
Aaron walked in the door. He and Stone laughed about something. All I heard was give me a call next week. Stone took Aaron’s phone, obviously putting in his phone number. I watched as Aaron used his cell phone, then Stone raised his and said got it.
I smiled to myself. Stone was a hard nut to crack. He didn’t have a lot of friends, and I didn’t recall having ever seen him laughing with someone. Here he made friends with my boyfriend. I shook my head. That is damn cool.
Aaron came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the side of my head. “I missed you.”
“It’s better having you right here. I also missed you, but I didn’t want to interrupt. Stone doesn’t talk to many people.” I said in his ear so only he would hear me.
“He’s a good guy. We are going to talk more about wine and the ideas he has. Since he is a sommelier, I feel he could bring new ideas to the table.” I leaned my head back against his broad chest.
As always, dinner was an event with us all sitting around the table. There were extra people here today, so people sat at the counter and in the living room. Everyone had gotten their questions about the wine and my relationship over with, so we were just another voice in the group.
I stood up and took our plates to the kitchen. I walked over and kissed my mom and Aunt Cecelia on the cheek. I came back around to where Aaron sat. “Well, thanks for dinner. It was fabulous as always, but we – I moved my finger back and forth between Aaron and I – have adult man things we want to get home and do. So, we are leaving.” There were moans, groans, hoots, and claps around the table. I was sure I heard someone exclaiming that was too much info, and someone else said I wouldn’t mind seeing Aaron naked. I left all of that alone cause my family is weird.
I took Aaron’s hand and walked toward the front of the house. “Charlie. Daisy, let's go.” As they landed on our shoulders, I opened the front door, and we walked out.
Halfway down the driveway, we lost it. I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. Charlie tapped his feet on my shoulder, clearly enjoying my amusement.
“Adult man things, eh?” Aaron looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “I can’t believe you said that in front of thirty relatives, including your parents.”
“You give me this weird confidence I have never felt before. I figured it would be an excellent way to duck out early.”
“It was effective, and I will happily take you home and do some adult man things with you. Let’s start with them in the shower.” He grabbed my hand, and we jogged to the truck. We chatted on the way home. It was nice that we didn’t have to find parking since he owned the lot across the street. We went up to my apartment. It smelled like someone had cleaned it. I sent a quick text to my aunt. One of my cousins came in on Saturdays and gave it a complete clean since I was gone until Sunday night. I didn’t ask for it, but it was a perfect solution.
We fed the dragons and then went to my bedroom. It felt so natural to have Aaron here with me. I remembered that it wasn’t that long ago that I couldn’t imagine anybody entering that space. It was my sanctuary now. I wanted to wake up with him every day inourbedroom.
We took a shower, resulting in washing ourselves a second time. I was impressed with our recovery time and stamina. All that working out paid off. It was early enough we could go into the living room and watch TV, but we decided to put on pajama bottoms and hang out in bed. I looked at my calendar. I had a bunch of calls tomorrow and lunch on Tuesday with Aaron and Sarah. I was a little nervous about that. I flew out Wednesday morning.
Aaron slid up against me, his head on my chest, and our legs casually tangled together. I stroked his hair and soaked in how happy this all made me. Just being here doing nothing with this man was what I had missed, and I hadn’t even realized it. I should arrange a romantic date for us next weekend. I could get Matt and Cecelia to help decorate the vineyard house with fairy lights and candles. I noted that I would call them tomorrow.
I slid down further, and we turned on our sides. Tonight, I was the big spoon. Kissing the side of Aaron’s head and pulling him tight against me, “I’m so glad you are with me here.” I mumbled into his hair.
He sighed and wiggled against me. “Me too. I lo … I like that we aren’t spending nights apart.”
I noticed a slip of the tongue. Does Aaron feel the same way I do? I couldn’t help but think it was too soon. There weren’t rules to this, and I'd never had these feelings. Is this even what it feels like? The first time I told someone I was in love with them, I wanted to be confident, knowing there wouldn’t be someone else ever. I felt sure this was it, though.
