“Hey,” he yawns and then panics. “What time is it?” He shoots up from the couch, knocking into the coffee table as he does. The loud bang wakes Nick up, too.
“Relax,” I try to calm him. “It’s only six. We still have plenty of time to get ready.”
Nick rolls up his plans and hands them to me. “Here you go.” He smiles triumphantly before saying, “Good luck this morning.”
“Oh, shit!” Owen calls out as he sinks back into the couch. “A suit. I need a suit.”
“Hey, we’ve got time,” I explain, having no idea where this inner sense of calmness is coming from. “Go home. Shower. Put on your best suit and a killer game face. I’m going to do the same and we’ll meet back here at ten. The meeting isn’t until eleven. We got this,” I reassure him.
He smiles and nods at me before we all walk out to the parking lot. As we all pull away in our own cars, I have a feeling that changes, big changes, are on the horizon – and I don’t mean just where the vineyard is concerned.
Chapter 9
&n
bsp; Owen
“These plans,” Beverly Elliot, our new potential investor, scours through my reports, “they’re very thorough.” She looks over at me appraisingly.
“But these,” she says in a much more appreciative voice. Pulling the blue prints Nick and Elle worked on all night in front of her, it’s impossible not to notice how her face lights up. “These, Ms. Blackwell, are stunning. The seamless integration of the vineyard in every little detail is just breathtaking. I’m really impressed.” Elle’s face beams with pride, a foreign and not completely unwelcome feeling blooms in my chest.
Watching Elle in action over the last hour has been eye opening. The thought that she could fail at anything is one she needs to throw out the window. She’s been nothing but articulate, in control, intelligent, and above all, passionate. I can feel it in my veins. Even if Beverly chooses not to invest with us, we will get someone on-board.
But as I listen to Elle walk Beverly through what a wedding package would include, I know she’s with us, hook, line, and sinker. Clutching a hand to her chest, Beverly sighs, “This place will be so romantic. It reminds me of my wedding, all those years ago. It was on a vineyard just like this one. Tuscany is beautiful. Have you ever been there?” She eyes me and Elle, a dreamy look in her eyes.
“No, I’ve never been. But to hear you talk about it with such fondness, I know I’ll have to get there soon,” Elle answers with poise and charm. A pregnant bubble of silence falls over us in the small meeting room. We’ve gone over every aspect, explained our detailed five-year plan, and shown her everything she’s asked for. The only thing left is whether Ms. Elliot and her investors will join us in becoming one of the largest wedding reception vineyards on Long Island.
“So, Ms. Elliot,” Elle cuts through the silence, “is there anything else we can show you? Or any other questions you might have?”
With one last loving touch of the blueprints she fell in love with, Beverly stands from her seat and extends her hand to Elle. On a firm shake, she says, “I love it. Where do I sign?”
An hour after finishing all the paper work, Elle flops back into her chair. Utter exhaustion mixes with pure elation as a huge grin pulls at her lips. “I can’t believe we did it,” her voice is filled with amazement.
“Well, I can.” I stand behind her, rubbing the tension out of her shoulders, loving how she moans at the softest touch. “You were amazing. Hell, if I wasn’t already invested in Bella Luna’s, I would have jumped on-board, too.”
She chuckles and looks up at me as she rolls her eyes. Her hand covers mine at her shoulder and a look of concern replaces the playful one that was there just a second ago. “We need to talk about earlier.”
Without letting go of her hand, I slide into the chair next to her. “Okay, well, I thought last night was fantastic. Five star performance. You?” I wink, pulling her hand up to my lips for a sweet kiss.
Elle chuckles briefly before the amusement vanishes. “I’m serious, Owen. What are we going to do? What are we going to be, half-owners and…and…lovers? No one will ever take us seriously.”
She’s adorably cute, but very much so misled. “Elle, first of all, if we keep up at the business end of this deal like we did this morning, no one will even bat an eyelash about us being together. And, secondly, if you think I’m going to walk away from what we had last night, well, then you’re crazier than I initially thought.”
Loosening my tie, which has seriously felt like it’s been strangling me from the second I put it on, an idea blossoms in my head. “Things have a funny way of working out, you know. For instance, I can’t stand being in this monkey suit.” Tossing my tie on the table, I undo the first few buttons of my crisp, white dress shirt. “There was a time when all I thought about was shit like this.” Extending my hand over the table, I indicate the piles of paperwork we’ve spent the last twelve plus hours working on.
Standing from my seat, I lean down and capture her lips in a hot-as-hell kiss. Wrapping my hands around her small waist, I lift her up so that her ass sits on the edge of the conference table. Ridding myself of the rest of my shirt, I toss it on the floor. “How does this sound?” I flutter my lips against her neck, her only response a quiet “hmm.”
“I love it out in the fields, more than I ever thought I would.” My lips dance across her collarbone as my fingers work the buttons of her top. “And you love it in here. You’re in your element.” My hands roam up her legs, hiking her skirt up along the way. “Besides, you look stunning in these,” I whisper in her ear, running my fingers along the tops of her stockings.
Angling my head back from her, I meet her eyes. There’s a worrisome look there. “Stop, Elle. You won’t fail.”
“But, I did. The only reason today happened was because of you and Nick.” Her voice wobbles despite the success she’s earned.
“No, sweetheart. She fell in love with your vision. This place is in your heart and in the short time I’ve been here, it’s become a part of mine too. Just not this side. It’s freer out there. The sun on my back, the grapes in my hands. Plus, knowing you’re in here waiting for me, well, that makes it even better.”
Her head rolls back as I kiss the tops of her breasts. My thumbs skim her puckered nipples through the satin of her bra. “What do you think, Elle?”
After lowering her bra, I pull her nipple deeply into my mouth. She groans, lacing her fingers into my hair and holding me against her chest. “That’s not a very articulate answer,” I joke, moving my lips around her pink skin.