“My wardrobe is incredibly impractical, especially for living on a vineyard. I don’t plan on running through the vineyard in these heels for the next two–” I stumbled over my words. “Um, two hundred years.”
“You have nothing but the best.”
I roll my eyes and turn to Elena. “That rod is so far up his ass.”
Elena laughs again, this time tears coming out of her eyes. “Oh, I like you.”
“I mean, where are my sweatpants? Oversize sweatshirts? Does he really expect me to wear fancy lingerie every night? Come on...where’s the comfort in that?”
“No,” Stone growls behind me. “I expect you to sleep naked.”
My cheeks burn, as do Elena’s. “And on that note, I must get back to work. Grab a seat and I’ll bring you a bottle. The usual?” she asks Stone.
“I’d love to do a tasting. A flight of five?” I point to the chalkboard sign behind the bar.
“I have bottles of every wine up at the house.”
“That’s nice.” I pat Stone’s chest and slip my hand from his. “I’d like a flight. Mixes of reds and whites, is that okay?”
“That’s more than okay. Would you like a meat and cheese plate as well?”
I eye the small food menu. “Just a veggie plate, please.”
Elena snickers on her way back to the bar.
“I knew this was a mistake,” Stone mumbles as he pulls me through the tasting room and out the doors to the patio.
The outside is just as cute as the inside. Cute isn’t a word I thought I’d use for Stone’s winery, but it is. There are just enough people to make it a happening spot, but not so many where I feel crowded. I don’t miss the curious stares by many.
“You don’t need to put on a show for Elena.” He pulls out a chair for me.
“I’m not. I like her. She’s nothing like you.”
Stone sniffs. Or laughs. I can’t tell. “You are too much alike.”
“Which is what made you fall helplessly in love with me and led to you asking me to marry you out here on the patio while sipping from a flight of your wines.”
Elena delivers our wine and vegetables, adding a small plate of cheese for Stone. “We’re super busy tonight, and now that you two are here, I can’t imagine the crowd dying out any time soon. If you need a refill, Stone can get it. It was nice meeting you, Gia. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
She’s off before I can reply. “She doesn’t know, does she?”
“Elena? No. She doesn’t know about...anything.”
“Tell me about her.” I pick up the first glass of white and read the description of the wine and flavors.
I sip, nibbling on a celery stick and some of Stone’s cheese while he tells me about Elena. They played together a lot as young children, then their fathers had a disagreement and stopped talking. They hadn’t talked for six years. Not until his parents’ and sister’s funerals. And not again until two years ago when he asked her to run Parlatore Wines.
“Why did you stop running this? It’s beautiful.”
“Elena’s doing. She tore down what I had and made it more modern. She wanted to appeal to a younger crowd. It was a good business choice.”
“Since you’re not busy with the day-to-day work here, you have more time to...”
“Find you.”
I pick up the fourth glass of wine and drink. The rich red has sharp notes of cinnamon and coffee. “That could be a great line for Father Paul Michael, but it kinda sounds a little stalkerish.”
“Searching. Not stalking.”