Twisted Minds (12 page)

Joe ruffled her hair affectionately. I tried hard not to puke.

“Damn it!” Kira suddenly exclaimed. She was staring down at her phone, biting her lip. “Amy said she’s too hungover to go to the wine tasting tonight.”

That I remembered a little more clearly, probably because it involved wine and not baked goods.

“Why don’t you take Nate?” Cass suggested a little too eagerly. “I know how much he loves his wine.”

Which was true; I just didn’t want her making suggestions about anything. She always had a hidden agenda, and I hadn’t quite figured out why she insisted on pushing Kira and me together.

“That’s a great idea,” Joe said, nodding along.

Kira didn’t seem as convinced. “I don’t want to inconvenience Nate.”

“It’s not an inconvenience. There’s nothing to do at home, and this way he’ll get to see the winery,” Finn said in a matter-of-fact way.

Sure, it was weird that Cass wanted us to spend time together, but I also actually did want to spend time with her.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to act casual about.

From the look on Kira’s face, I could tell she wasn’t too pleased about taking me as her newly-appointed date. Even though I’d defended her against Greg douche, it was still hard for her to trust me.

But maybe one day that would change.

Fourteen

Among the Grapes

“I’m not going anywhere in that thing.”

Kira stood on the sidewalk, staring at my car in disgust. I wasn’t exaggerating. Disgust was etched across every inch of her face.

Any other woman would have jumped at the chance to get in a Ferrari, but not this woman. Kira had to be the difficult one. Her aversion to wealth and materialistic possessions was incredible. My mother would’ve knocked me aside trying to get into my car in a hurry.

“Then we’re not going anywhere,” I said, my tone firm.

We stared each other down, her eyes narrowing as I smirked at her. Without really meaning to, my eyes raked across her little, black dress, loving how classy and elegant she looked.

The dress wasn’t anything special—knee-length, strapless, low neckline—but the paradox of her curvy and slender body was so unique that she made it look more impressive than it actually was. That was how you sold an average dress—you put someone like Kira in it.

“Like hell we’re not. I’ve been looking forward to this wine tasting for weeks,” she said with a scowl. “I’ll just take my car if you’re going to be difficult.”

This was one fight I was going to win. I rarely got to drive my car around anymore and if we were going to a wine tasting then we were going in style.

“I’m the one being difficult?” I raised a brow, keeping my tone calm. “You’re the one losing your shit over getting in my car. Are you too good for a Ferrari?”

Kira’s scowl deepened. “You’re missing the point entirely. You fucked someone in it last night. Plus, no one needs to live life in such excess.”

Okay, the car sex point was pretty valid, but the excessive comment—that made no sense. Did she think my lifestyle was too lavish? She didn’t know the half of it.

“When your father decides he’s going to be absent for most of your life because he’s too busy chasing after models who are his son’s age, a present like this isn’t excessive; it’s bittersweet.” In a moment of rare sincerity from me, I realized my words were the harsh truth I often tried to run away from.

The scowl immediately vanished from Kira’s face, her expression softening as her eyes searched mine. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but then released a sigh of resignation and got into the car wordlessly.

For some reason, the victory was wasn’t satisfying. I eased into the driver’s seat, a sour taste in my mouth. Reminding myself about my miserable life and the parents that were a part of it wasn’t something I liked to do often. Normally, I liked to forget they even existed.

Now, I was sitting here wishing I’d agreed to take Kira’s car. It wasn’t worth the reminder of the void in my chest that I always tried to fill with alcohol and women.

“I’m sorry.”

Kira’s voice was soft, but her words were resounding in the car. I turned to her in surprise. She was watching me with her calm, blue eyes that always made me feel like I was going to drown in them.

At the same time, she was like a life buoy that kept me afloat. It was the strangest sensation, rendering me incapable of an explanation.

I didn’t say anything as I started the engine and pulled out of my spot. Kira was the only one who spoke, guiding me through the town and towards the outskirts where the winery was located just off the interstate.

It took us about fifteen minutes to get there. A large, wooden sign greeted us at the entrance of a long, winding dirt road:
Great Lakes Vineyards & Winery
. We drove up the road, towards the large building that sat on a small hill. An expansive vineyard was set off to the left, with a large garden area to the right.

The parking lot was filled with cars as I pulled into a spot and turned off the engine. I really wanted to say something to Kira, to remove the awkwardness that lingered between us, but she was already out of the car before I could open my mouth.

She walked at a quick pace, slightly ahead of me, as we made our way up the stone steps of the massive estate. I admired Kira’s long legs, before my eyes moved up to that perfectly round ass I loved.

Once we were on the patio, we were greeted by two ivory French doors that were wide open. A small sign had been set up on an easel, informing us about that evening’s wine tasting. Without hesitation, Kira advanced inside, but I lingered on the patio, pausing to admire the sprawling vineyard in front of me.

Vibrant green dotted the horizon as far as I could see, plants bursting with life. A moment later, I followed after Kira, letting my eyes drink in the incredible architecture of the building. It was brick and stone; designed to exude wealth and elegance.

There was a small arched doorway right ahead of us with a lectern placed on the outside where a pretty brunette girl stood.

She greeted Kira with a smile of recognition. “Hey, girl! It’s so nice to see you!”

“Hi!” Kira moved forward and gave the girl a quick hug. “I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

“I would never pass up the opportunity to work on wine tasting night with all the food samples we get to try beforehand.” Her eyes glided over to me in curiosity. “I thought Amy was coming tonight. Did you decide to bring a date instead?”

“Amy is hungover as hell,” Kira explained, suddenly remembering I was standing beside her. “And he’s not my date. He’s Finn’s friend from college, Nate. And, Nate, Morgan went to high school with Finn.”

“Well, hey, Finn’s friend from college,” Morgan said with a smile, smoothing her dark hair which was already flawless. “You’re gonna love the food and wine here.”

“We’ll see,” I said, returning the smile. “There’s some pretty great wines in New York City.”

“You’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Morgan said, and then nodded towards the doorway that led into the dining area. “Let me show you to your table, guys. Bill’s just about to begin.”

We followed Morgan through the arched doorway and into one of the most stunning banquet halls I’d ever seen. My jaw dropped, and I actually stopped walking and stared around the room.

It was large and well-lit, with French doors lining the left side of the room, looking out across the expansive vineyard. A decadent chandelier was suspended from the ceiling, casting a warm glow on the people who were settling into their seats.

There were about fifty people seated at square tables, most in pairs or small groups. The largest group of people sat at a bigger table in the center of the room, with the smaller groups situated around it.

Each table was decorated with a jeweled candelabra, the lit candles exuding a jasmine fragrance as Morgan guided us to a table in the corner. Four wine glasses had been placed at each table setting, with an additional glass filled with iced water.

“Here you are,” she said as we took our seats. “All cozy in the corner.”

From the hesitant look Kira shot my way, I wasn’t sure if she wanted to get cozy with me in a corner.

She managed a smile, sliding into her seat. “Thanks, Morgan.”

“You guys have a great night,” Morgan said. “Tell your dad I say hi.”

“I will,” Kira responded warmly as I took my own seat.

With that, Morgan flashed us a final smile and weaved her way through the tables and back out into the foyer.

It was such a strange concept to me how everyone was linked in this town. They weren’t just acquainted through one avenue; there were several different circumstances linking them together. Nothing like the big city. When you met someone, you could say with ninety-nine percent certainty that you would never see them again.

An elderly gentleman walked out to the front of the room and began to speak, introducing himself as Bill Weatherly, the owner of Great Lakes. Servers dressed in formal outfits stood on either side of him, listening attentively.

“That’s who my dad works with,” Kira told me in a hushed tone. “Amy’s grandfather.”

It was the first time she’d directly addressed me—apart from giving me directions to the winery—since we’d been in the car, and for some reason I found myself cherishing the sound of her voice.

Kira’s eyes fluttered over to me, and she seemed surprised I was watching her. A flush of pink appeared on her cheeks, and she cleared her throat and turned to watch Bill as though his words were fascinating.

I turned my attention back on him too, noticing the quality of the navy dinner jacket he was wearing. Obviously, this guy had a lot of money.

Bill began by talking about how the winery had been founded, that they grew their own grapes on their forty acre property, and produced twenty-one different types of wine here. They were the real deal.

Finally, the old man wrapped up the introductions. “Tonight, the Great Lakes family wants to show you the high quality wine we make here. So open your minds and hearts, and welcome to our home. Bon appétit.”

There was polite clapping; I stared around the room a little bored as I waited for the best part to begin. Our server, a tall guy with a faded hairstyle, approached us with a bottle of wine. He was dressed neatly in a black and white coordinated outfit, complete with a vest and bowtie.

“Good evening, thank you for joining us tonight.” He grinned at Kira, adjusting his bowtie self-consciously. I could tell just from his bright expression and the way his eyes roamed her ample cleavage that he wanted to bang her. “How are you doing, Kira?”

“Hi, Neil, I’m great.” She returned the smile. “What’s that you have there?” From the way, she directed him back to the wine, I could tell she had no interest in him.

A lightness swept through me, and I tried very hard not to smirk at him.

“Yes, sommelier, let us try the wine,” I added, with a condescending smile. “That’s what we’re here for, after all.”

Neil frowned a little, as though I was ruining his chances of bagging Kira. Yeah, right. It was never going to happen.

Putting on his professional demeanor again, he held up the beautifully labeled bottle. “This is a bottle of Great Lakes’ finest chardonnay,
Lark
. It’s a dry wine with faded yellow hues and has a light citrus flavor. It has been aged in American oak barrels, giving it a hint of spice and oak.”

The dude was pretty well-rehearsed, so I had to give him props for that. Rather grandly, he poured us each a glass and stepped back just as the food arrived, brought by another well-dressed server.

“Your first course of grilled shrimp skewer with roast pepper and garlic sauce, which will be complemented by
Lark
. Enjoy.” He gave us a nod and moved onto the table beside us, addressing the older couple verbatim.

My shrimp was grilled to perfection, the flesh brown and caramelized. I tasted a little bit of the pepper and garlic sauce and found it was a little spicy with a bold garlic flavor.

“This smells incredible,” Kira said, lifting her skewer up. She dipped it into the sauce and pulled one shrimp into her mouth. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she let out a satisfied sigh. “It’s sooo good.”

Following suit, I dipped my shrimp skewer in the pale red sauce and took a piece of shrimp into my mouth. The strong flavors of the sauce enhanced the sweetness of the shrimp. Placing it down, I took a sip of the chardonnay and found the mix of flavors were perfectly balanced.

“What do you think?” Kira asked, her tone teasing as she took a sip of her wine. “I know it’s not a
Daniel
.”

It took me a lot to admit I was wrong, but I had definitely been wrong about Ripley being uninteresting. This wine and the quality of food was exceptional and could easily rival a fancy place in the city.

“I guess Ripley isn’t as backwoods as I initially thought,” I said, drinking more of my wine.

Kira’s gaze grew warm, and she tried hard to hide the smile that was creeping onto her face as she reached for her skewer again. “Well, I’m glad we backwoods folk could prove you wrong.”

A warm feeling settled between us, and whatever had happened earlier on in the night faded away. As we finished up our first course, Kira enquired into my position at my father’s company.

“I’ll be overseeing and managing the assets of a range of properties. My father wants to train me in a management capacity so I can build my own portfolio and take over the company one day.” My tone involuntarily turned sour.

Kira immediately picked up on it. “You don’t want to do that?”

“I do.” I shrugged, attempting to verbalize what it was that actually bothered me so much about working for my father. “I guess I don’t want to become like him.”

Which was a stupid thing to say because I was already a womanizing asshole like him. So much for that goal. The harder I tried not to commit myself to a relationship, the more I burned through people, just like both my parents did. Maybe I was just a fool who couldn’t figure out love, like my parents.

“Then don’t be.” Kira leaned forward across the table, her golden curls falling over her shoulders. “Be who you want to be.”

There was something soft in her expression that eased the constriction in my chest. I smiled at her, a little hesitantly, and she returned it. Neil returned just then to clear the table, and the moment between us was lost in a flurry of clattering plates.