Passionate Harvest (12 page)

She traded a glance with Dominic, hoping he’d see how ill at ease she felt in the middle of his family reunion. Especially with her crumpled dress and flushed cheeks.

“Listen, why don’t you guys fix yourselves a drink and take your gear up to the guest room? I have to run Lucy home.”

“Oh, leaving so soon Lucy? I hope we haven’t driven you away?” Sasha didn’t appear very sorry that Lucy was leaving.

Lucy edged towards the door. “I have a lot of things to do at home.”

“You can get to know Lucy better on Monday. She’s having dinner with us.” Dominic answered his sister-in-law.

“That’s great. Good to meet you, Lucy.” Jake shook her hand once more, and gave his brother a knowing smile that made Lucy blush all over again.

* * *

Dominic started his car ready to take Lucy back to Maggie’s. This wasn’t how he’d hoped the afternoon would end. He’d wanted to spend much more time with Lucy, in his shower, in his bed, with her soft curvy body next to his. Now, he wasn’t sure what to say to her, what they should do next.

What did he want from her? A relationship? Or just great sex? So much for not getting involved. He’d had a half-assed thought that having sex with her might somehow diminish his desire for her. Instead it was as if she’d imprinted herself on his soul. All he wanted was to have her back in his arms, in his bed.

“Your brother looks a lot like you.” Her observation cut across his thoughts.

“Yes, he’s eighteen months older than me.”

A gentle sigh escaped her. “He seems nice.”

“He’s okay, as brothers go.”

“Have he and Sasha been married long?” Her gaze rested on him as she asked the question.

“They were married a few weeks before I came to England.” He was careful to keep his tone neutral.

“She’s very beautiful.” Her response was as guarded as his.

“This wasn’t how I wanted today to end.” He pulled up outside her house and turned off the engine.

Colour stole across her cheeks. “Me either.” 

He lifted a stray strand of her hair from her rosy face. “I wasn’t expecting Jake and Sasha until tomorrow.”

“I know. Sasha said they managed to get an earlier flight.”

“We have things we need to talk about.” Although he had no idea what he wanted to say.

Her eyes met his and she cut straight to the question he’d been asking himself. “Where do we go from here?”

A band tightened around his heart at the confusion in her voice. “I’m not sure. I suppose we both need some time to work things out.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. Everything had moved so quickly he didn’t want her to think he was taking advantage of her by rushing her into a relationship, especially when they had business ties. At the same time he knew he wanted to be with her, to spend more time with her. Yet seeing Sasha again had raised his old doubts and fears.

“You’d better get back to your family.” She had her hand on the latch of the car door.

“Can I call you later?” He didn’t want her to leave this way with all that had happened hanging between them.

She nodded.

He leaned over and kissed her once more, tasting the lush sweetness of her mouth. Then she was gone, out of the car and inside the house.

On the drive back to his cottage he tried to sort out his feelings for Lucy. What were her feelings for him? Had she too been carried away by the moment with no thought of the possible implications for a relationship between them? He was no closer to a resolution when he re-entered his house to find Jake waiting for him in the kitchen.

“Where’s Sasha?” Dominic dropped his keys down onto the counter top.

“She’s taking a shower then grabbing a nap. She’s still a little jet-lagged and tired from travelling.” Jake leaned back in his seat to survey Dominic. “How are things with you? I take it you and Lucy are getting along better?”

“Lucy is okay. She doesn’t know much about running a vineyard but she does have other skills she can bring to the business.” He took the vacant seat opposite his brother.

“It doesn’t hurt that she’s very pretty, either.” Jake grinned at him.

“How are things with you and Sasha?” Dominic knew his brother’s marriage was fiery to say the least. Sasha’s propensity to flirt combined with an avaricious nature couldn’t make for an easy life.

Jake’s smile faded and he held out his hand in a see-saw motion. “So-so. You know Sasha. I think she hoped Dad would retire this year and hand over the vineyard to me. I told her I would only ever have a half share as it’s your inheritance as well as mine.”

“And you know that as far as I’m concerned you can have my share. You’re the one who runs the place day to day. I have half of this place to look after.”

“How does Nick’s death affect that? You said Lucy was co-owner with you now.” Jake’s forehead creased with concern.

“Lucy has inherited the other half on condition she stays in England and works in the business for twelve months.”

Jake let out a low whistle. “What if she doesn’t?”

“Her share is sold on the open market and proceeds given to charity.”

Jake shook his head trying to understand the situation. “Guess you need to keep her sweet. Could you afford to buy the other half right now?”

He shook his head. “Maybe in a few years time but then again owning a vineyard is an attractive, not to mention profitable proposition to a good many people.”

“You know I’ll always loan you money if you need it. Dad would always help you out too.”

Dominic knew his family would do their best to assist him if he ever asked but he hated the idea of being beholden to anyone for anything. Making a success of the vineyard had been his and Nick’s dream.

“What about Dad? Has he mentioned retiring? Mom told me she was worried about him.” Dominic switched the subject slightly. He couldn’t help wondering if his sister-in-law intended hanging on to her marriage in the hope that she might get a bigger settlement when Jake took ownership of the vineyard. As far as he was aware Jake hadn’t signed any kind of pre-nuptial agreement and he wasn’t sure how his parents intended passing on the ownership of the vineyard even though they’d always made it clear that it would belong to Dominic and Jake one day.

Jake sighed. “He’s doing less and less but you know Pop, he won’t quit just yet a while.”

“I’d offer to come back and help out, but I’m needed here.” He should make the effort to go home later this year and spend some time with his parents. They weren’t getting any younger and his father hadn’t been well this last year. Perhaps Lucy would be up to coping with the business for a short while by then.

His brother rocked forward on his chair and clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, I know. It’s okay. I have a wonderful manager in Judi, so it’s all good. She’s been taking on a lot more responsibility since Dad scaled back his workload.”

“I thought Sasha was still working with you?” Dominic knew Jake had taken on a general manager to help with the day-to-day running of the vineyard but he’d understood that his sister-in-law helped in the business too. He’d been surprised when Jake had first employed Judi as he’d assumed that Sasha held the general manager’s post.

“She comes in occasionally to help out if we’re short staffed.” Jake’s face took on a closed expression and Dominic knew better than to probe any further.

* * *

Lucy lay back amongst the rose scented bubbles of her bath and willed her body to relax. A chilled glass of white wine stood on the side of the tub while strains of her favourite album drifted in from her ipod speakers. She closed her eyes and tried to erase all thoughts of Dominic from her mind.

She lasted all of thirty seconds before she reopened her eyes. It was no use. Had she been mad to make love to him? She took a long sip from her drink and tried to work out her feelings. He’d said they needed time to work things out. What did that mean? Did he have regrets about today?

He’d promised he’d call her. Perhaps when they’d had the opportunity to talk things would become clearer. She couldn’t deny she was physically attracted to him. She raised herself up a little in the water in an attempt to cool her skin when she recalled making love with him.

“Oh, Uncle Nick, what have you got me into?” She muttered.

Maggie looked exhausted when she arrived back from her church outing.

“I think I might have walked a touch too far.” She admitted as Lucy took her a cup of tea and some supper on a tray.

“Promise me you’ll go and see the doctor on Monday.” She hated seeing the grey tinge on her aunt’s face.

“I’ll be fine once I’ve rested up.”

Lucy frowned. “If you don’t call the surgery on Monday then I will. You need to see the doctor.”

The older woman sighed as she looked at Lucy’s worried expression. “All right if it’ll make you feel better, but I don’t want to waste his time.”

“Aunt Mags, you won’t be wasting his time. I’ve only just lost Uncle Nick, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Her aunt squeezed her hand. “I’ll call them on Monday, I promise.”

She left Maggie to rest and headed off to her room, automatically checking her mobile for missed calls or texts as soon as she closed her bedroom door.

She pulled on her pyjamas and lay on top of the bed willing the phone to ring. Not that she had any idea what she intended to say to Dominic when he did call. She simply wanted to hear his voice, low and intimate against her ear, the way they had spoken last night and the way he’d talked to her this afternoon.

When her phone finally did ring, the sound startled her so much she fumbled with the mobile, almost dropping it onto the floor.

“Lucy?” Relief washed through her at the sound of his voice.

“Hi, I wasn’t sure when you’d ring.” Rats, now she sounded desperate. She glanced at the clock, it was only ten, not exactly late.

“Jake and Sasha wanted to order pizza or I’d have called before. Are you free to talk now?”

“Yes, Maggie’s gone to bed, she doesn’t look very well. I’m in my room. Where are you?” She wondered if he was somewhere private.

His chuckle rumbled against her ear. “I’m in my room too. Sasha and Jake haven’t recovered from travelling and the London meetings yet.”

Heat pooled low in her belly. It felt so intimate and right talking with him like this.

“I wish you were here with me.” His words made her dizzy as she pictured him naked next to her on the covers of his big wooden bed. She wished she was there with him too. Not being able to spend the rest of the day as they had hoped had left her feeling as if she had an itch that she couldn’t scratch. She ran her hand across her breast reliving the sensation of his mouth on her skin.

“So, are we seeing one another or?” She left the question open ended. She braced herself for his answer. Were they dating? Or did he just see her as a willing sex partner with no emotional commitment?

“What do you want us to be, Lucy?” He flipped the question back around on her.

“I’d like to see where this takes us. To maybe slow down a little and see what happens.” She bit her lower lip as she waited for his reply, worrying at a tiny piece of dry skin. The pause before his reply felt infinitesimal.

“Okay, sounds good. Would dinner with my family on Monday evening constitute our next date?”

She could hear the smile in his voice. It warmed her like sunshine and she relaxed for the first time since she’d said goodbye to him that afternoon.

“I suppose so.”

“What do you want to do at work?”

She suppressed a sigh. Jo wouldn’t like it if she thought there was anything between herself and Dominic and she didn’t want people to feel uncomfortable.

“Work is a separate thing. We’re both professional people.” Again she waited to hear his response. It would be in her own interests too if she kept some kind of divide between business and personal affairs. She had to work with Dominic for the next twelve months.

“I agree. It would be sensible to try and keep that aspect of our lives separate.”

Lucy hoped it wouldn’t prove too difficult. Somehow when she was around Dominic all her normal good sense seemed to vanish. “I’m glad we’re able to talk like this.”

“Me too. I’ll see you at the office on Monday. Jake is coming to take a look at our operation. It’ll be good to get his opinion on some of the ideas for expanding our range.” The tone of his voice changed from low and intimate to clipped and impersonal.

“Yes, of course.” She couldn’t help feeling a shade disappointed with the ease with which he’d switched from the personal to business in the space of a minute. It might have been her suggestion that they keep things separate but she hadn’t expected him to be able to switch quite so suddenly during a late night lover’s call.

“I’ll see you on Monday morning. Goodnight Lucy, sweet dreams.” The phone buzzed in her ear signalling the end of the conversation and she placed her mobile on the bedside table vaguely dissatisfied with the outcome of the call.

Lucy decided she’d better wear flatter walking shoes and trousers to work on Monday in case she ended up being dragged along on a hike around the vineyard with Jake and Dominic. She left the number for the surgery appointment line propped up in the kitchen for Maggie to ring and made a mental note to check that she’d booked an appointment later that morning.

Butterflies flapped around in her stomach like stampeding wildebeest as she pulled up in the car park at the vineyard. Since Saturday night she’d heard nothing more from Dominic, leaving her feeling edgy and nervous. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and walked into the office.

As usual, Jo was already inside watering the office plants. She acknowledged Lucy’s arrival with a brief “Good morning,” and a scathing glance at her clothes.

“Hi Jo, how was your weekend?” Lucy smiled sweetly at her as she fired up her computer.

“The same as usual. How about you?” Jo placed her watering can down and took a seat behind her own computer.

“Okay. I did some gardening for Aunt Maggie yesterday. She isn’t well. I’m hoping she’ll get a doctor’s appointment today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Nick always spoke very highly of her and she seemed such a nice lady when I met her at the funeral.” To Lucy’s surprise Jo appeared genuinely concerned. She hoped it might be a sign that the other girl might be mellowing a little towards her.