“Well, it’s your lucky day. I happen to be an expert bowler.”
Narrowing my eyes in his direction I sensed his lie as he wove it.
“And expert. . .really? You don’t look like any bowler that I know.”
“And how many bowlers do you know?” He egged on.
“Alright. Let’s put your money where your mouth is. Winner gets one hundred dollars and one dare for the loser.”
Eric took a moment to consider my challenge, and at first, I thought he would decline, but then that seductive smile that had pulled me under almost a year ago grew on his lips. Shit, I was going to be in big trouble if I had played this wrong.
Taking my hand, we walked into the bowling alley as equals, knowing that one of us was going to lose to the other and owe more than just our dignity. I had a feeling that this was either going to be the best idea we’d ever had or the worse.
I really hoped it wasn’t the worst.
Two hours, six games, and two pitchers of beer later, Eric and I had made friends with members of the Connelly family, which included Cassidy (I may have squealed with excitement when she and her husband Harlan joined the group), and some of their local friends as they held their own tournament of sorts. I’d never admitted it to Eric, but he was actually a decent bowler, but sometime after the first pitcher, his throws started to become sloppy where mine grew better. I won our personal competition by one point, which he argued against as we traveled back to the cabins.
Time stood still as he parked his truck between our two cabins. We had plans with some of the people we met to explore the town over the weekend before I started my job on Monday, but I wasn’t ready to leave Eric’s side as of yet. But I didn’t know how to ask for what I wanted.
Luckily, Eric must have read my mind because he quickly jumped from the truck and came around to my side.
“Would you like to come over to my place for a while? I can make us a drink and we can watch a movie or something.”
“I’d like that.”
8
Eric
Willow timidly gave me her hand as I helped her from my truck and escorted her up the porch and into my cabin. I loved the small space, the cabin reminding me of one of my first apartments when I set out to start my own business at the fresh-face age of eighteen.
The town of Carson had completely bewitched not only me, but Willow as well. I could see her falling for the small-town main thoroughfare as well as the people. Everywhere I looked this evening, Willow was making a new friend or found something in common with someone. She may not have noticed, but she settled into the small-town living with an ease that surprised even me.
There were so many times throughout the evening where I wanted to press my lips against Willow’s, wanting to claim her in front of the entire town, but I didn’t want to spook her. Since she arrived, I could see her erecting walls around herself and I didn’t know why. Though I could guess that it had something to do with our limited time together this summer. Of course, I had every intention of offering her a job at the end of her internship. We did actually need someone that could manage the event portion of the vineyard. I had been holding off hiring the position as we finished setting up the main tasting area, but now I had to wonder if I secretly hoped that Willow would fill the role all along.
“Can I get you something to drink? Water, wine, gin and tonic?” The latter had been her drink of choice when I found her at Covert. I wondered if she would remember that. By the small smirk that grew on the corner of her mouth, I could guess that she did.
“What kind of wine?” she asked and I pulled out a bottle of the red from our vineyard.
“It’s a red blend from my own label.”
“Oh yes. I should make sure that I try that one. Maybe next week I can brush up on the wine offerings so that I’m knowledgeable.”
Pouring the dark liquid into two wine glasses, I nodded and said, “That sounds like a good idea. We’ve been concocting some of these for a few years, so it would be nice to get your take on them.”
Together we settled on the couch as I brought the television to life and scrolled to a listing of movies. Quickly we settled on a dark comedy, Willow tucking her feet beneath her legs as she tried to get comfortable on the couch. But she was still too far away for my liking.
Reaching out, I easily tugged her body closer to mine until our sides were pressed against each other. She sighed in contentment as she rested her head on my shoulder and nothing in my life had felt as right as that moment.
The scent of her hair, even after spending hours on a flight, was intoxicating. I wonder if she knew the power that she held over me. The movie was simply background clatter as I memorized the feel of Willow against me. I drank in her feminine scent, washing it down with sips of the fragrant red wine. The two went together better than peanut butter and jelly.
“Eric?” Her voice drifted back into my consciousness and I finally glanced down to find her looking up at me in concern.
“Sorry. What did you say?”
“I was just asking what had you so preoccupied.”
“You. Always you,” I replied without a second of hesitation. My comment didn’t seem to make her as uncomfortable as it probably would have under any other circumstances. She seemed to be accepting me and my possessive nature toward her.
I fought against all of my instincts and tried to keep my attention on the movie instead of the petite vixen pressed against my side. Halfway through the movie, I noticed that her breaths had evened out and I was certain that she had fallen asleep. I’d settled in my mind that I’d carry her to the bedroom while I’d make myself at home on the couch.
Slowly I pulled my arm free from around her shoulders, hoping that I didn’t wake her up. But just as I finished extricating my limb, she turned her gaze on me, a full-awake gaze.
“I thought you had fallen asleep.”
“No, I don’t think I could sleep if I tried.”
“Why is that, Willow?”
“Because I’m here with you, in this magical place, and all I can think of is our previous night together. It flashed through my mind like its own movie screening.”
Leaning closer to her, I brushed the back of my fingers across her bare upper arms, the movement causing her body to shiver. “What about that night were you thinking about?”
“Everything. The way you smelled. The way you tasted. The way we fit together. How incredible I felt in your arms. How I had never experienced anything like that night and I can’t seem to forget it. Why do you think that is?”
This was the moment I had been waiting for—my chance to convince her that we were made for each other. I had practiced the speech dozens of times, but no amount of rehearsing had prepared me for the look of expectation and desire in her eyes as she looked up at me.
“I think that we are two fortunate people that found our way to each other despite age and circumstances. I think that fate played a role in our meeting at Covert that one night, a night I wasn’t supposed to be there. And I think that the moment I touched you for the first time profoundly changed my life.”
“I’m scared, Eric,” she said, her voice wobbly as if she was fighting back the tears.