Risking the Vine (Romancing the Vine Book 1) (20 page)

Chapter 19

Jac’s frustration mounted until it sat on her shoulders, heavier than a two-ton gorilla. Her head ached as if said gorilla was using it as a bongo drum. Sitting at her desk, she chewed her bottom lip almost to the point it bled. Freaking Deidre stayed behind closed doors in her office until nearly four.

Valerie and Allen stayed, too. Jac’s plan to drop by the office to start collecting her personal effects evolved into solving the issues caused by Ditzy Deidre’s negligence.

She finalized the modified billing just before Deidre exited her office, gave her overworked staff a cursory nod, and sashayed down the cubicle alleyway. Allen popped his head over the top of his cubicle, prairie dog style, watching the woman’s retreat. Within minutes, he strode to the window as if to confirm that her car was no longer in the parking lot. The absence of his annoying throat clearing indicated he’d snuck out without bothering with a goodbye.

Seriously not going to miss that dude in the least.

Valerie sat in Jac’s cube to help her double check the accuracy of the billing. Right after they submitted the billing records for delivery, Valerie had hustled out of the building as well.

Finally, Jac had the privacy she’d wanted since she’d arrived in the office nearly three hours previously. She wandered to the storeroom and found a cardboard box large enough to load some of her personal effects. She hesitated to take too much for fear it would be noticed and reported to Ted before she had the opportunity to speak to him.

Before she did inventory of what she could take without it being noticed, she checked his online calendar. A few keystrokes later, she added a meeting for first thing Monday morning. No sense holding off delivering her notice. She had a hefty check in her purse, a ready-made customer . . . and some big-balled plans to be her own boss.

Carrying out the box, containing files and books she’d brought in over the years, was liberating. The grin on her face felt as big as a house as she stowed the box in the trunk of her car. Taking the scenic route home, she drove past St. Simeon’s Medical Center.

Giddy excitement about seeing Luke almost made her detour to surprise him at work. Only his four o’clock text caused her to rethink the idea.
Contract still not finalized. Heading to the Surgical floor to help. Off at 11. At your house by 11:05?
As if he needed permission to come by.

She sent back a simple message.
I can’t wait.

After two stops, one at Chung Fat’s for takeout, she made it home, deciding to fill the intervening hours by purging her rooms of things she didn’t need. She’d eliminate anything not required for a move to Eugene, which constituted nearly half the contents of her bookshelves. Saving her book collection for the local women’s shelter, Jac scooped up the trade magazines she’d hoarded since college, and tossed them into the black plastic garbage bag at her feet.

The knickknacks she’d received over the years, and a glass bulb filled with confetti, went into the bag with a clunk. Then the six coffee mugs emblazoned with customer logos. She had a lovely set of matched coffee cups she’d bought when she first moved into her condo. Plus she knew Gramps had a collection of his own she’d get upon her move to the farmhouse. Providing Rowena wasn’t taking them when she moved out.

The phone rang and Jac glanced at the display. Rowena finally decided to return her call. Her cousin opened the conversation by pledging to pay the original amounts on the tax bills she’d ignored.

“You’re right,” Ro conceded. “I should have paid better attention. Unfortunately, once I reimburse you, I won’t have the funds for a vacation I have planned. I don’t suppose you’d let me pay you back in installments?”

Her wheedling and whining about the expense raked on Jac’s eardrums. Jac dropped the magazine she held, sat on the floor, and propped an elbow on the coffee table. “Rowena, I love you like a sister. Really, I do. But the tax bill came in installments and you forgot to pay those.”

“I won’t forget this time. And besides, we’ll see each other for holidays. You can always remind me.”

“Ro, I don’t want to be in a position as your creditor.” Rowena
was
family, and by rights they should try to work this out. Jac stroked a soothing circle around her temple before continuing. “Look, these are the best terms I can afford to offer. You pay for two of the years up front, and by March first, you reimburse me for the final year. Would that be easier?”

“I’ll have to scrimp a little on my vacation, but yeah. Thanks, Jac. You’re the best.” Rowena’s breath heaved out in a rush. “I can’t believe you’re quitting your job to move to the boonies. I hate it here.”

Jac went back to sorting through her magazine collection, dropping another issue into the trash bag. “Jeez, Ro. Why did you stay so long? We could have found a tenant for the house and you could have lived in the city.”

Her cousin laughed. “I know, right? I just never found an apartment I wanted enough to go through the hassle of moving again. Now I have and I’m ready to go. I’ll be out by next Saturday. What are you going to do with Gramps’ farm?”

“I’m going to make it productive again. The soil is great for herbs, and I’ve got an agreement in place with a client. Business is already good.” And with Jules as an investor, it was bound to get better. “Providing I can get up to speed quickly on the whole agriculture end of things.”

“You know Gramps set money from the estate aside in case either of us wanted to restart the farm, right?”

Jac sat up straight. “What?”

“The estate attorney told me. Gramps set up a separate trust fund for the possibility. If neither of us tried to tap the fund within five years, the money was supposed to be donated to the county fair board to fund an exhibition hall in Gramps’ name.”

An exhibition hall? The trust fund had to be a pretty hefty. Even the most basic pole building must cost nearly fifty grand. How had she not known about this fund? “Rowena, could you have used the funds to pay off the tax bill?”

“Unfortunately, no. I talked to the attorney and Gramps was adamant the money could only be used to restart crop production. Talk to the lawyer. You should have the cash for seed money.”

“Do you know how much is in the account?” Jac tried to keep her hopes grounded. With access to the trust fund, she could use Jules’ money for expansion instead of start-up.

“No clue. I’ll text you the attorney’s contact info. You should try to see him while you’re up here next weekend.”

For the next ten minutes, Rowena chattered on about the details of her upcoming move. As her cousin settled in for an extended conversation, Jac shoved to her feet. Listening with half attention was all Ro required, so Jac moved into the kitchen to do inventory of what she needed in Eugene and what she could purge.

It was after ten-thirty before Rowena had exhausted her word supply. With another promise to send details about the trust fund, she disconnected. True to her typical form, Ro hadn’t asked Jac a single personal question, like how her love life was going. For once, Jac would have had an answer that didn’t begin with a scoffing laugh.

Back in the living room, she set her iPhone on the table and took a seat on the soft area rug in front of the couch. Leaning back against the sofa, she drew her knees up to her chest to take a break.

Jac let her thoughts meander to her new home. Since she couldn’t really plant until spring, she planned to redecorate the interior. New paint, window treatments, and maybe she’d refinish the gorgeous maple floors. All projects she could do on her own. In her imagination she pictured Luke by her side. Joining her on weekends to help with some of her to-do list. Working side-by-side during the day . . . sleeping with him curled around her by night.

Would he help happily? Or would his visits taper off over time? She rested her cheek on her knees, gazing out the balcony doors at the night sky. In the distance, lightning danced over the mountains, reminding her of the heated electric sensation of Luke’s fingertips gliding over her skin. Sparks of desire lodged under her heart, sizzling and crackling the way water would as it hit heated rocks.

Had mere thoughts of a man ever aroused her the way thinking of Luke did? She couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to restrain herself once he finally arrived. A quick glance at the clock revealed he’d show up soon. She gazed down the hall, catching sight of her neatly made bed, certain they’d be in it scant minutes after he arrived. She doubted she’d be able to wait to get her hands on him.

To feel his skin against hers. To be together the way they couldn’t be for the past few days, due to distance and lack of condoms.

I’m such a Girl Scout
. Planning ahead, she’d stopped at the drugstore just before she’d picked up her dinner. It felt a little strange dropping the eight-pack box of condoms on the counter manned by a kid who was barely eighteen. The leer he’d given her after checking out her ring finger sent fiery heat to her cheeks. But she held the kid’s gaze. She was an adult and could buy what she wanted.

For a brief instant, Jac considered adding a pregnancy test and tampons to her purchase, just to freak the kid out. Instead, as she accepted her change and the bag from him, she winked. With a grin, she’d swished her hips from side-to-side as she left the store.
Take that, insolent little shit!

If the condition of her body at this moment was any indicator, she’d be ready with very little foreplay. She fervently hoped Luke would feel the same way. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the cushions, relishing the tingly pulses brought about by imagining his body pressed to hers, hard and demanding to her soft and melting.

The intercom buzzed, shattering her quiet reverie. He was here. She scrambled to her feet and raced to the front door, pressing the
Talk
button. “Hello?”

“It’s Luke. Can I come up?”

God, his voice sounded sexy even through the intercom. The nerves jumping in her system escalated. In response, she slid the
Lock Release
lever to the side and held it for a moment, to be sure. She eased the door open and stared at the elevator, willing it to rise as fast as her level of excitement.

The stainless steel doors at the end of the hall slid open, revealing the man of her dreams.

Luke slumped against the back wall, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the bag slung over his left shoulder. He was wearing navy scrubs, which accentuated the blue tones of his eyes. His right hip jutted to the side, bearing all of the weight of his casual stance. A tired smile illuminated his face as he simply stared down the hall at her.

As the doors began to slide shut on him, he leaped forward and thrust his hand toward the opening, stopping their progress. The move reminded her of a cat, smooth and efficient, despite the exhaustion evident in his casual posture. He prowled on nearly silent feet toward where she waited, not taking his gaze from her face. With each step, his expression grew lighter, until the moment he reached her. His huge grin was the last thing she saw as he enveloped her in a bear hug worthy of the name.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he squeezed tightly, snugging her against his hard body. He buried his face in her neck and breathed deep. Warm breath tickled the sensitive skin beneath her ear as he groaned on his exhale.

“Good Christ, you smell wonderful.” He tightened his grip and leaned backward, lifting her until her toes dangled over the gray patterned carpet.

He flexed his fingers on her hips. The soft pressure sent shivers whizzing up her spine. Her voice came out on a breath. “You look exhausted. Poor baby.” She nuzzled the crook of his neck as she stroked her fingers through his disheveled curls.

Luke kissed his way along her cheek, seeking her mouth. When he skimmed her lips, a groan rumbled deep in his chest. Jac felt the vibration below, where an erotic pulse pounded, communicating urgent need throughout her body.

His lips were demanding on hers, the dark scruff on his cheeks a combination of scratchy and soft. Their tongues collided, stroked, probed. A moan built in the back of her throat as he cupped her butt and nibbled on her lips. The kiss eased to gentle, worshipful.

Luke lifted her until she could wrap her legs around his waist, locking her feet behind his back. The motion opened her center. The hard ridge of his erection pressed into her right where she craved it. As the angle of their kiss changed, Luke walked through the door to her condo. The door banged as he kicked it, crashing into the doorjamb, shutting out the rest of the world.

His bag clunked as he dropped it to the floor. He tightened his grip on her behind and pulled her closer, rocking his hips as he did.

She held his head between her hands as a wave of sensation washed over her, beginning at the base of her neck and building until it crested into flaring sparklers behind her eyelids. Had anything ever felt this wonderful?

Without releasing his lips, she unlocked her legs from his waist and slid down his body until she found her feet. His erection throbbed against her stomach and his solid, unmovable chest cushioned her breasts. Liquid heat swirled in her veins as she reached behind him to twist the lock. Then she pushed his shoulders until his back hit the hard wood behind him. She slipped her fingers under the hem of his scrub top to caress the hard ridges defining his waist.

Flattening her palms on his abdomen, Jac started to slide them up, stopping when he grasped her arms.

Chest heaving, he pulled his mouth from hers, gripping her wrists. “Wait.”

His single word tore through the haze of lust fogging her brain. She eased away and slanted her gaze up at him. “You don’t want . . .?”

Oh, God. What if he didn’t want? What if the ardor and passion she felt for him, that she thought he felt for her, wasn’t reciprocated? Maybe he’d only meant for their time together at Team Vino to be a vacation fling, and this would be their last hurrah, so to speak.

Jac jerked her arms from his grip and took a hasty step backward.

“Aw, shit. I’m handling this wrong.”

Damn straight.
No one in their right mind started a break up speech with a soul-searing kiss like the one they’d just shared. He reached for her hand again, pulling it toward his body and pressing it against his hot, straining cock. He gasped and thrust his hips forward, grinding against her hand, and groaned. “Jac, you can tell I do want.”

Yes, she could, and thanked her lucky stars for it. This wasn’t a let-her-down-easy chat. She molded her fingers over his rock-hard shaft. “Why stop?”