Broken Pieces (Cape Isle, #3): A Cape Isle Novel (17 page)

I roll my eyes and step back for him to walk in. “Whatever. I'm almost ready. Come on in.”

I lead him towards my bedroom and start pointing at bags that I'm finished with.

“You do know that we are coming home on Sunday, right?” he asks, taking in all of my luggage.

“Yep. A woman must be prepared for anything. It says so in the rule book.”

He laughs and steps towards me. “Can I have my hello kiss, now?”

Instead of answering him, I stand on my tip toes and press my mouth against his as his hands come around my back and he pulls me closer to him. Tilting my head to the side, I part my lips and his tongue strokes against mine in a slow and sweet caress. He pulls back to nibble on my bottom lip.

“Hmm… strawberries today,” he mumbles.

I let out a small laugh against his mouth before he deepens the kiss again. It's not long before I can feel his hardness against my hip.

He pulls away, with a groan, and kisses the tip of my nose. “Let's go, before we end up just staying here.”

I quirk an eyebrow in question and he shakes his head. “Nope, come on feign,” he laughs.

He grabs three of my six bags and makes his way back down the hallway. I watch his ass while he goes before turning back to finish packing. Oh, this is going to be a fun weekend!

After being in the car for three hours, I am bored out of my mind. I am not a good traveler; I'm restless and I hate being still.

“Are we almost there?” I ask, for what must be the hundredth time.

Zack looks over at me and smiles. “Almost.”

That has been his response every time. I sigh and roll my window down only to roll it back up. Reaching over for the radio and scroll through the stations. I can't find anything, so I sit back and tap my feet against the floor board and hum to myself. The side mirror looks like it needs to be adjusted, so I spend a few second playing with the controls for that.

Zack's laugh has me turning my head to look at him.

“It's like traveling with a toddler.”

I squint my eyes at him. “You know I hate being in a car.”

He takes his eyes off of he road for a second to look over at me. His smile is so big that I can see the dimple in his cheek.

“I promise we will be there soon.” He reaches his hand across the center console and takes mine, giving it a squeeze.

I sigh and relax back in my seat. “Who is watching Lady this weekend?”

“I took her over to Summer and Grant's house before I came to pick you up.”

I nod my head. “I miss having Duke at my house. He took up so much room and now it's so empty without him.”

“Do you want to get a dog?” he asks.

“No. I'll just come steal Lady.”

He chuckles and lifts my hand to kiss the back of it. “Sounds like a plan, but if she stays over then so do I.”

“Deal.”

We are both quiet for a few more miles and I look out my window again, trying to figure out where we are. I know we are somewhere in the mountains of South Carolina, but I don't think I've ever been through here. I ask Zack numerous times where we are going, but he still doesn’t tell me. We better not be camping. I'm not a good camper.

“I'm hungry,” I whine.

He looks over at me and then to all of the empty wrappers in the floor beneath my feet.

“There is no way in hell you are hungry, Angel, but we will have dinner when we get there. I promise.”

I sigh again and lean my head back.

A few minutes later, we finally slow down and take a right turn. I sit up and look out the window.

A few miles later, we come to a large metal gate. I look around and notice the large brick walls that block you from seeing in. Where in the hell are we?

Zack lowers his window and pulls up to the little box next to the gate. He types in a code and the metal gate starts to slowly swing open. I look over at him with wide eyes, as we pull forward.

“Look out your window, Angel,” he says as we pull through the gates. The first thing I notice are the trees. They are massive and they are everywhere. The road in front of us is lined with them and it looks like it goes on for miles. Then, I see what is just on the other side of them and I smile. A Vineyard. Rows and rows of grapevines, as far as the eye can see.

“You brought me to a Vineyard. Oh my God!” I can feel my smile over taking my face. I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek before leaning back to roll down my window. I swear I can smell the grapes.

I see a sign up ahead that is welcoming us to the
Ariel Vineyards and Villas
.

“Do you like it, Angel?” Zack asks, looking over at me with a soft smile.

“I love it,” I whisper in awe.

“Good.”

I practically stick my head out of the window as we drive a little farther.

I gasp again when we come to a circular driveway. The main house looks like something dropped straight out of Tuscany. Zack parks in front of an old looking fountain and I jump out before he has a chance to turn the truck off. I spin in a circle and take it all in. The main house sits up on a large hill and from up there, there is a view of the whole vineyard. Behind the house are a few smaller houses and I assume they are the villas.

Zack walks towards me and I throw my arms around his neck. “I love this. Thank you so much.”

“You haven't even seen inside, yet,” he smiles.

I shake my head. “I don't even care. This is the best surprise ever.”

He wraps his arms around me and picks me up off of the ground. I pull his lips down to mine and give him a brief kiss.

“I'm glad you like it. Come on, let's go get checked in.” He sets me down and grabs my hand, leading me towards the front door.

When we walk in, I feel my breath catch and my eyes go wide. Wow, I don't even want to know how much it costs to stay here. While the outside looks like old Tuscany, the inside looks like a modern castle. There is marble flooring and chandeliers everywhere I look. The massive staircase goes up at least five stories, each story with beautiful wood railings and a balcony. When I look straight up, I see that most of the ceiling is made of glass. Off to my right looks like a restaurant and to my left is a little shop.

My wide eyes go back to Zack, as he watches me take it all in. He tugs on my hand and we walk further into the room, where the woman at the receptionist desk greets us with a smile.

“Hello and welcome to Ariel Vineyards and Villas. Will you be staying with us this weekend?”

Zack smiles back and nods his head. “Yes, ma'am. We are checking in under Grantham.”

“Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Grantham. My name is Jessica and I will be getting you settled in. Let me see here.”

Neither of us bother correcting her as, she clicks a couple of buttons on her computer.

Zack looks down at me and winks. I smile and shake my head.

“Alright, I have you two booked into the Cabernet Suite.”

“Do all of the villa's have wine names?” I ask with a smile.

“They do, Mrs. Grantham.”

Zack's hand spasms in mine and I have to laugh. I think he is enjoying the 'Mrs. Grantham' stuff.

I watch as she clicks a few more buttons and then produces a key.

“Here you go. Paul will follow you out and collect your bags. He will show you to your villa. Here is a map of the property. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call. Someone will be at the front desk twenty-four hours a day. We have two dining areas and we also offer room service. I hope you have a great stay.”

We both smile at her and say our ‘thank you’s’, right as Paul magically appears at our side.

I love this place already and I haven't even seen the villa yet.

Chapter Twenty

Zack

I
HELP
P
AUL LOAD OUR
bags as I watch Lexie out of the corner of my eye. I love how happy you she looks, but I love it even more than I am the one that made her so.

This place really is beautiful. It looks like something out of dream, with its rolling hills and ‘old world’ feel. I've never been here, but I'd heard about it and when I asked Lexie to take a trip with me, I knew this is where I wanted to take her. Luckily they had a vacancy on such short notice. I may have almost broken my savings account to pay for it, but I would pay every penny I have a hundred times over if it meant I would get to see the look she has on her face right now.

I take her hand again as the doorman leads us around to our Villa. It has its own private entrance, and to get to it we have to walk on a stone lined path through the gardens. Lexie's smile only gets brighter the deeper we go through the property. We finally come to a brick sign that states 'Cabernet Villa'. Paul waves his hand towards the stairs that lead up to the door, indicating for us to go first. I let go of Lexie's hand long enough to slip the key in the door.

She walks in first and gasps.

The whole place has that old country feel and it's beautiful, but the view is amazing. You can see the mountains in the distance and below us you can see the rows of grape vines. Lexie walks to the old French doors and opens them. There is a lounge area set up outside and I have a feeling that's where we will be spending most of our time.

I turn to see Paul carrying our luggage up the stairs. “Would you like some help?” I ask.

He smiles and shakes his head. “No, son. You go,” he replies, nodding his head towards where Lexie is standing outside.

“Thank you.”

I reach into my wallet and pull out his tip, passing it to him as he gives me a wink.

I walk up behind Lexie and wrap my arms around her stomach, pressing my back to her front. I kiss her neck, before placing my chin on her shoulder and looking out at the beautiful view. You can smell the grapes on the vines all of the way up here. It's a sweet smell that fills the air around us.

“I love it here,” she whispers.

“I'm glad.”

We stand there for a while longer, me holding her while taking in the view. The sun begins to set and I know she mentioned that she was hungry.

“Do you want to go have dinner?” I ask.

“Could we just do room service?”

“Absolutely. I'll grab the menus and a glass of wine. Be right back.” I kiss the side of her neck again, before reluctantly walking back inside.

There is a small kitchenette area, where there are several bottles of wine and glasses. I don't know very much about wine, but I do know which ones are Lexie's favorites, so I study the bottles, before deciding on a red. I uncork it and pour two glasses full, grabbing the room service menus that are lie on the counter, and make my way back outside.

Lexie sits in one of the large lounge chairs, her feet propped up on the ottoman in front of her. She scoots over when she sees me, making room for me in the oversized chair.

I hand her the glass of wine, before settling in beside her.

“Yummy,” she says, as she takes a sip.

“Is it good?” I take a sip of mine and I'm shocked that I actually enjoy it. I'm usually more of a beer drinker, but this one is sweet and light, not bitter like some of the others I've had.

“Do you like it?” she asks, with a smile.

I nod my head and hand her the menus. “Decide what you want, Angel, and I will go order it.”

“In a second.”

I nod my head, as she lays hers against my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her back and pull her closer.

Eventually she picks the menu back up and decides on some type of penne pasta. I walk inside and re-fill our wine glasses as I call in our order.

Lexie wanders inside and I watch her as she looks around the living room. “Do you want to explore the rest of the villa?” she asks, when I hang up the phone.

I smile and nod my head. She reaches for my hand and pulls me towards the bedroom area.

“Oh my God,” she mumbles, looking around the room.

We have the same view in here that we have in the living room. The bed is pointed towards a set of French doors and Lexie rushes over to open them.

I look back over at the bed and I can't help but imagine the possibilities. We both have a queen size bed in our houses, but this one is much larger than that.

Lexie walks by me and grab my hand. “Stop imagining dirty thoughts of us on that bed and let’s look at the bathroom.” She gives me a wink over her shoulder and I chuckle in response.

“Oh my God. I'm moving here. It's been decided.”

The bathroom is large with two double sinks and a huge walk-in shower. The shower has jets pointing in every direction, but what grabs Lexie's attention is the large claw-foot tub. It looks like it could easily seat two people.

She walks towards me and throws her arms around my shoulders. “I love it here. Thank you so much.”

“I'm glad you like it, Angel.”

Her hands wrap around the back of my neck and she pulls me down to her mouth. Her tongue immediately swipes against my lips, seeking entry. I pull her closer to me and she tilts her head to the side. She tastes like the sweet red wine she was drinking and I have to admit, it tastes better on Lexie's tongue.

A knock on the door has me pulling back with a groan.

“Dinner is here,” she smiles.

I kiss the tip of her nose, before reluctantly walking towards the front door. I have to adjust myself so my hardness isn't obvious through my pants. Jesus. I think I could have Lexie every hour of the day and it still wouldn't be enough.

After we enjoy a delicious dinner out on the terrace, I ask Lexie what she wants to do the next day. I know that they offer guided tours through the vineyards and I know that's something she would probably be interested in.

She quickly nods her head and smiles. “I would love that!”

“Okay. I'll call in the morning and get it set up.” Pulling her close to me, I kiss her cheek. “I'll be right back.” I stand from the chair and she looks up at me curiously. I smile in response, before disappearing inside. I know how much she loved that bath and I figure that she would like to relax in it for a while.

Starting the water, I fiddle with the controls until it's the right temperature. Once I find the lavender bath oil, I pour a little under the warm water. I find a few candles and some matches and I busy myself lighting those, while the bath fills up.