Tina rolled her eyes. “You were the head of product development at Avec Coeur. You literally smelled things for a living. And you were responsible for developing the most popular perfume Avec Coeur has put out in years. I’m pretty sure you can talk about ‘caramel notes’ all day.”
“I didn’t smell, or taste, any caramel notes in that wine,” I said. Which, of course, made me think of that particular winery. And that particular man. The one I dreamt of last night despite his overly dour disposition.
“Beside the point. It’s perfect. Imagine sipping coffee with a lake view, working at a winery for a few hours, hitting that cute little town you adore.” She said it like the entire plan would be the worst thing in the world. For her.
But for me . . .
“I wouldn’t have a lake view on my budget. And I haven’t gotten the job.”
“Yet. Call them for an interview. Tell them you’re in town for a few days. If you get it, take it as a sign from the universe.”
“The universe,” I muttered. But Tina knew, despite my hesitation, I was actually considering her harebrained scheme. The universe did have a way of working things out. If Ididget the job andcouldfind a place to stay...
“You’re thinking about it.”
I gave her a look. And then thought of something. “Which winery was it?”
I knew immediately from her guilty expression.
“Nope. No deal. There is no way I’m working with that guy. He didn’t like me. And the feeling was mutual.” The last thing I needed was to be fantasizing all summer about Clark Kent, who did nothing but glower at me, but I didn’t say that bit out loud.
“Everyone likes you.”
“Not him.”
“I beg to differ.”
“I am not working with a guy who glares at me through his judgy glasses.”
Tina’s exaggerated blinking refused to let me off the hook.
“No. Not doing it.” I sat back, brought the coffee mug to my lips, and put Tina’s wild plan out of my head. Live here for the summer? Pfft. As if I could really just leave my life and move to the Finger Lakes.
It had been a fun idea while it lasted. For all of five minutes.
But feasible? Nope.
The door creaked open.
“Tell me this isn’t the most brilliant idea in the world,” Tina said to Leeta, who’d just walked onto the porch.
I groaned as my friends planned out a summer for me that simply was not going to happen.
CHAPTERSIX
cosimo
“It’sway too early for this shit,” I said. Whenever two of my siblings came into the Cellar on a Monday morning before opening, it was always bad news.
Neo looked fresh from the vineyards, as usual. Grado Valley’s sole winemaker, his job wasn’t for the faint of heart. He’d made his first wine at sixteen, before he was even legally able to drink it. His apprenticeship with Grado’s former winemaker was cut short when our dad’s best friend and the only other winemaker our vineyard has known had a heart attack and died among the very grapes he loved. It was a sad time for everyone at Grado Valley who knew and loved him, but my dad had taken it especially hard. For Neo, it had been an abrupt start to his career as solo winemaker for us.
The fact that my brother was here in the tasting room, with Dominica, was not a good sign.
“I was in the Barn when Min got the call. She’s freaking out.” He shrugged. “Figured she needed a walk.”
“I am not a dog, Neo,” my sister spat out. Three years younger than him and the baby of the family, Dominica was basically on a mission to prove herself, which sometimes manifested as an angry tornado demolishing everything in its path with a vengeance.
“I didn’t say you were a dog. I’m just saying you needed to blow off some steam.”