“You heard Easton. You get what you want. Do you want a glass of wine?”
“Yes, please.”
She’s patient as I open the bottle of wine. I don’t mangle the cork, but I’m not a sommelier or a chief stew.
I pick up a bowl of fruit that Dante has out. I can’t help but wonder if Easton let him in on the plan, because under a cloth there’s what certainly looks like a picnic to me.
“I’ll just run up and get the scissors and my shampoo.”
“No, Sugar. You’re going to come with me and sit while I get everything else.”
“Okay.”
I take one of the two beach chairs, the food, wine, and a glass. “Right this way, Ms. Brewster. I believe we have a beach picnic for you.”
“Let me carry something, Sam.”
“The primary never carries anything.”
Her eyes go wide. “Unless they want to.” She holds out her hand and wiggles her fingers. I hand her the bottle of wine. She raises her eyebrows but holds the bottle to her chest and leads us to the shady spot on the beach. It’s a nice spot away from the fish weir. “I had a primary a few years ago—they weren’t owners, but they’d rented the yacht for two months. She was nice—too nice. It was a battle to get her to not make her own drinks.” Haley sets the bottle of wine down on a large stone, anointing our spot.
“So you see what I’m dealing with here?” I rake the sand away from her chair, like the deck crew would have done for a yacht guest. Only I use my fingers until I find a stick with two little branches. I’m sure I look crazy grooming the sand with a twig, but Haley’s laughing, so I don’t care.
“That wasn’t the point of my story, but I can see how you twisted it to help your agenda.” She giggles and takes my twig away from me, twirling it between her fingers. Then she waits patiently for me to set up the chair. When she’s sitting, I hand her the glass. I retrieve the bottle and pour a taste of the wine. I’ve seen stews do this, but I’ve never actually done it myself. Mypour is a little large, but she doesn’t mention it. She swirls the wine and sniffs it before taking a dainty sip. “Damn, Rocky has good taste in wine.”
“It’s to your liking?” I’ve got a cocky smirk on.
“I’m not sending it back, if that’s what you mean. Unless?” She shifts left and right, gazing out at the horizon. No boat in sight. She holds the glass up, and I pour more. “I think you should have some too.”
“You think?” This is a lot for her, but if she’s going to get everything she wants out of life, I need to push her. I’m going to have her ordering me around by the time the day is over. “I think I could arrange that. Stay put. I’ll be right back.” I run along the zigzag path to the treehouse.
Penny is curious as to what I’m doing, but then she puts her head down on her paws and huffs. She just wants Pepper to play, but she’s not having it. Pepper gazes down at Penny from the living room platform.
Up on the sleeping platform, I grab the bedraggled paperback, one of the small mats we sometimes take down to the beach, a few towels, things to wash her hair with, some clean clothes, and anything else I think we might need. I nestle my pile into one of Haley’s baskets. This one looks more like a basket than her previous ones.
I snatch another one of the glasses I brought on that very first trip here from the kitchen area too, and I’m back on the beach.
My girl has her eyes closed, her hands folded over her lap. She’s not asleep. I see her twitch as I approach.
“Hey, Sugar.”
She breaks out into a wide smile. “I love it when you call me that,” she says, her eyes still closed. She brings her glass to her lips and takes a sip. “This really is good wine.” She licks her lips.
I pour some for myself and plop down on the mat next to her chair.
It’s oaky with a little chocolate undertone, and the flavors zing across my tastebuds. I haven’t really had wine since that day back on the boat, on Haley’s birthday. I take her hand from where it rests on the arm of the chair and bring it to my mouth, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles. “It’s good. So you like being called ‘Sugar?’”
Her blue eyes sparkle in the afternoon sunlight. “I do. I like all my nicknames.”
I cock my head at her. “Really? There are quite a few.”
“There are.” She smiles, her eyes closing again. She sucks her lips into her mouth, wetting them.
I take a few things out of the basket. “I have your book.”
Haley takes it, bringing it to her lap. “It’s a good book. But if I’d known it was going to be the only book I had to read for the rest of my life...”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I like the part where he sneaks into her bedroom.”
