“Jesus,”Luca admonishes as Anderson and I walk back to the car. He hands me my purse, and I thank him. I’d completely forgotten about it when I went after Anderson. “Did you guys take a midday hike or something?” He grimaces and looks out the window as the car moves forward. Anderson claims the passenger seat, staring straight ahead.
“I was trying to explain why I did what I did,” I answer. Anderson doesn’t give me any indication that he’s interested in playing along. Okay, so I suppose he’s going to revert back to asshole boss whenever he’s not inside of me.
“I think we should discuss what you said,” Luca starts. I pivot to look at him, and he holds a hand out. “Anderson is my business partner. We make decisions together. Sometimes that means I don’t necessarily agree with his ideas—Lord knows he doesn’t always agree with mine. But we are a team. We came up here to talk to Mr. Roseblanc, and now we don’t have the option of purchasing this winery,” he scolds.
Anderson nods. “As the CFO of this company, it is my job to make sure every interaction we have with people is weighed, that a cost analysis be done, and my goal is to maintain a positive return on investment.” He grinds his jaw, looking at me with a mix of anger and deviance. “We can write this mistake off, but what about the others? How many meetings are we going to screw up?”
My throat constricts. What the hell is his problem?
“It didn’t seem right,” I explain, crossing my arms. Anderson looks at Luca for a beat, and then he turns back around. “I’m sorry I screwed the deal up. Again. But I won’t apologize for what I said. It’s true. This place deserves a company who can give it their all—not a company who wants to see if they can dabble in alcohol. His grandfather’s cherished property should not be our experiment.”
The three of us are quiet the entire way back to the bed-and-breakfast. When we arrive, Luca tells us to go to our rooms, because we have reservations at Domaine Chandon for dinner. This dinner is for fun, but an idea forms in my mind as I follow Anderson back to our adjoining rooms—something that may redeem me in their eyes. I glance up for a second and our eyes meet, but I’ll get distracted if I look for too long, so I step forward into my room.
I have an important email to send.
I showerand freshen up before dinner, anticipation buzzing inside of me. I purposefully turned the volume on the TV up obnoxiously loud, because I don’t want to be tempted by Anderson, or think about the repercussions of today. My toes curl every time I remember what he did to me in that vineyard, and I have to take a few calming breaths before I can move on to something else. It was so hot, so frenzied, that it almost doesn’t feel real—like it was some weird, fever dream instead of real life. I throw on a white pantsuit, slipping into low, nude sandals. Before I exit the room, I apply red lipstick.
Luca is waiting in the lounge downstairs, and I sit next to him. He orders me a quick glass of wine, and we drink in silence.
“Don’t mind Anderson,” he says after a few minutes. He’s in a dapper navy suit that accentuates his dark stubble and stylish, dark hair. His honey brown eyes—the same exact shade as mine—search my face. “He’s tough, and serious, and all the things I’m not with Gather. He’s the other half of this company. He’s what keeps my dreams going. He makes everything possible. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for him.”
I nod and take a sip of my rosé. “I understand.” I look down. “The California food editor of Sunrise is meeting us at Chandon,” I add, trying to hide my smile.
“Really?” Luca exclaims, his face lighting up. “This is huge, Natalia.”
I shrug. “Gena is an old friend. She used to work at Amour, and now she lives in Marin County. We’ve kept in touch.”
“This is why I hired you.” He gives me a sly smile, and we clink our glasses together.
Anderson sidles up to the bar, wearing a black suit that makes his eyes look bluer than they are, and my breathing hitches.
“Are we celebrating something?” he asks, his eyes briefly finding mine.
“Natalia somehow got Sunrise’s food editor to agree to dinner tonight.”
Anderson’s eyebrows furrow as he looks at me, a hand on the back of my chair.
“Is that so?”
Something akin to pride shows on his face—something warm and kind.
I nod. “Yep. She’s meeting us at the restaurant. I thought it would be a good way to break the ice. This way, she can get to know us. Their headquarters are in San Francisco, so it saves us a trip. And,” I add, pulling my lower lip into my mouth, “maybe it’ll make up for losing Roseblanc.”
His face softens, and he gives me a lopsided smile that makes my insides twist up.
“Sounds great.” He takes a seat next to me, and as Luca turns to the bartender to pay for our wine, a warm hand comes to rest on my thigh. I tense, and I inhale sharply as he moves it ever so slightly upwards. He removes his hand and chuckles, looking away.
Bastard.
Once the car arrives, I follow Anderson into the back seat as Luca sits up front with the driver. All of a sudden, the large SUV feels too small. I can sense Anderson’s heat from here, remembering how it felt to have his fingers around my throat as I came…
Fuck.
The car ride is quick, and I read on my phone as we drive. When I glance over at Anderson, he has his email app open and seems to be sending a long email, so I face away from him and continue to read. A small pang of disappointment fills me—knowing we have the back seat to ourselves, and he’s not taking advantage of it. Regardless, I enjoy my paranormal vampire romance, and by the time we get to Domaine Chandon, I’m all hot and bothered from reading vampire sex. Anderson helps me out of the car, which is surprising until he leans down and whispers in my ear.
“What filthy book are you reading now?” he asks, his finger trailing across my abdomen.
I scowl. “How do you know I’m reading a filthy book?”
