Page 80 of Wine & Dine

“Well, you’re a vision,” I joke. His hair stands up a little, and he chuckles as he runs his hands through it. “My jeans are still wet, even though I set them over the radiator.” He peers down at me in the tub. There aren’t any bubbles in the water, so he can see all of me.

“Whatcha thinking about in that pretty head of yours?” he asks, perching his backside against the single sink on chrome legs. He crosses his feet at the ankles like wearing an old dingy-white terrycloth robe with a giant daisy stitched over the left breast isn’t unusual. It’s a far cry from his three-piece suits.

“So much,” I mutter as I observe him. He’s contemplative as well with his arms crossed over his chest and his fingers on his lip. He nods once and then removes the robe. Holding the edges of the tub, he steps in, facing me, forcing my legs over his thighs. I always considered this tub large until he settled in with me. He can’t be comfortable with the faucet at his back, but he sits forward, stroking my thighs under the water.

“Tell me what you’re worried about.”

“Everything,” I sigh. “The diner. The vineyard. You.”

He nods again. “I find it’s always best to start at the top of the list. Number one. The diner. Concerns.” He’s serious—like business-mode serious—and I want to giggle, but then I realize…he’s serious.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“You meet with Griffin. That’s his name, right?” Garrett’s brow pinches in recollection. “I say don’t think about the diner until then. Look at the plans, see where they are in the renovation, and then take action. Make the changes you want.”

It sounds so simple, and in his authoritative voice, I wonder what he’s like in his boardroom. I eye his bare chest, glistening from the steamy water. I’d totally want him to do me on his desk if I worked for him. His lips crook, and his eyes narrow as if he’s reading my mind.

“Focus.” He chuckles. “Next. The vineyard.” He breathes out, turning toward the window which casts a glow in the room but doesn’t allow him to see outside. “I’d like to talk to Magnolia. It’s her property, correct? Denton doesn’t have any power of attorney over it.”

I smile sheepishly as I shake my head. “I do, actually. She wrote it off to me when my mother was sick. She worried she’d die, so she reworked her legal documents.” It’s sad to consider but also a reality as my elders grow older. She needed peace of mind, needed to know how she would be handled if she became incapacitated.

“I still want to speak to her. Then with your permission, I’d like to talk negotiations with you. We can set it up with lawyers so they can explain everything in detail. How land sharing would work in your favor and mine.” He pauses, his hands stilled on my thighs, but he squeezes so I understand him. “This is business unless we want to get to item three on the list. Me. What concerns you?”

“You don’t live here. How will you manage a vineyard from California? How would I see you? Would you visit from time to time, and how does that work with me and—”

Wet fingertips cover my lips as his other hand wraps around my hips and he tugs me to straddle his lap.

“Slow down. First of all, I love you, so I want this to work for both of us. Together. My business is in California, but I travel all over for it. I can have my home base from anywhere, which means I can travel back to California whenever I need to. If I’m starting this project here, I’d like to stay here.” He pauses, his eyes lowering to my chest. “I was hoping I could stay with you.”

“I don’t live here. I have my own house.”

“At your house, then. Wherever you are is where I want to be.”

I stare at him. Is he real? Am I imagining him?

“So you’d still keep your place in California and travel back there?”

“Only when I have to, and you can come with me.” He tips his head. “And you’re not answering my question.”

I smile slowly, stroking through the damp hair on the back of his head, focusing on my fingers. “I didn’t realize there was a question in there.”

“I’d like us to live together.” My head pops up, and my eyes focus on his. “Does it seem too quick? Because I can’t think of anything I’d like to happen faster. I don’t want to be separated from you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I assure him, sensing his fear once again. “I’ll be right here.” I lower a finger for his chest and draw a heart over his moist skin.

“I love you,” he whispers, and I lean forward to kiss him. There’s another space on him I’d like to be, and his dick springs against my inner thigh. I press against him as he unfurls, deepening the kiss with my arms and legs wrapped around him. I want to make love to him in this tub, but there really isn’t enough space to move.

He pulls back, holding me by my lower back and stares. “Is our checklist complete? Can we stop worrying for just a little bit?”

“The list will be unending. I’ve just thought of another thing to add to the to-do list.”

His smile quirks up at the corner. “It’d better be me.”

I press against his generously hard length and giggle against his lips. “You can read my mind, so you really are a Wizard.”