CHAPTER TWO

MADDY

“Are you even twenty-one yet, young lady?” 

“Yes, Dad,” I answered with an exaggerated eye roll. “As of last week, for your information.”

Solomon chuckled heartily as he poured me a generous glass of sauvignon blanc and carefully placed the wine in front of me.

“I’m messing with ya, Maddy. With how I’ve watched you grow up over the years, you really are like a second daughter to me.”

“Hah! You would’ve had me at what, twelve years old?” I laughed, teasing him. His daughter Ari would be starting sixth grade at the end of summer. I’d been tutoring her since she was in first grade. As an only child, she was the closest thing I had to a little sister. Solomon and his family were practically like my own. 

That was the norm in a small town like Cloverville. Everyone treated each other like family. Friendships and close connections ran deep and often started in childhood. 

Like me and Luke.

I smiled at the thought of him, swirling my wine in my glass as I reminisced on our intimate, tender moment in the park last night. It felt like a fairy tale. I never dreamed in a million years that it would happen. 

I watched him grow from an adorable little boy to a tall, handsome, and confident man. Too confident at times. Sometimes he was downright cocky, even if he was always good to me. His girlfriends in high school were always jealous and catty toward me, even if we were nothing more than friends. Even if they were objectively hotter than me. 

I grew out of my awkward stage at a later time than most girls. Gangly, nerdy, and a mouth full of metal braces were my main descriptors in high school. Luke never let anyone pick on me, but he definitely didn’t find me sexy back then. 

I had been in love with him for as long as I could remember, but resigned to the fact that he would never feel the same way about me. 

And he didn’t. Not until high school was over and other guys started noticing me.

I tried to get mad about it, the fact that it took him this long to actually want me. But instead, that was when my first glimmer of hope grew and blossomed. And every day while he was enrolled at tech school, that hope and longing grew bigger and stronger. 

I tried to date other guys to keep my mind off of him, but it never worked. Only he made me feel this way and I had to let it off my chest soon before I would burst.

That first day he moved back home, I planned to tell him but he beat me to the punch.

I smiled wider into my wine glass, my heart already fluttering in my chest without the help of any alcohol. It felt like a fairytale ending but it was really just the beginning. 

Our relationship had over twenty years of our rock-solid friendship as a foundation. But romance and intimacy? That was completely uncharted territory for us. Even so, our history made me confident that nothing could break us. We already knew each other as well as two people possibly could. 

He was at the gym tonight while I was here at Solomon’s wine cellar to meet up with my other bestie, Caitlin. She had no idea that Luke and I were a couple yet and I was dying to gab and giggle over it with another girl. 

A quick glance at my watch indicated she was fashionably late as usual.

I drummed my fingers on the bar impatiently, gliding my fingers through the spaces in the wooden slats. The whole bar was made out of recycled oak staves from wine barrels. Some were dyed a deep red from the grapes they once housed, others remained pale and unmarked. 

The tasting room was dark, fairly quiet and romantic, though I heard it could get loud and lively on busier nights. Incandescent bulbs hung on strings from the low ceiling. A few couples spaced themselves throughout the room, talking in low voices over their wine for privacy under the lounge music playing over the speakers. 

In one corner I recognized one of my former bosses, Pepper Sage and her husband Reagan. She ran the organic produce farm just outside of town. She didn’t just do fruits and vegetables, but also flowers, herbs, and other potted plants, and according to some, marijuana-laced treats if you were into those. 

That was never my thing, I just helped her sell at the farmer’s market and during harvests with Luke and our friend Tommy occasionally.

By the time Pepper and Reagan started going steady, Dahlia needed me more at the flower shop so I put in more hours there. Pepper understood, she was always a fair boss. And it seemed like Reagan helped her find more reliable work for the farm, which was always a good thing. Finding experienced people to work on a seasonal basis was difficult. 

Their intimate snuggling in the corner was broken up by a third person joining them. A handsome man with dark hair, olive skin, and in a crisp, tailored suit clapped Reagan on the back and gave Pepper a polite kiss on the cheek as he greeted them. 

I’d never seen him before and shamelessly couldn’t seem to take my eyes away. The handsome stranger’s eyes were a warm, chocolate brown and his smile was full of charm and playfulness.

He must have been one of Reagan’s rich friends. I didn’t know what Reagan did exactly but it was clear he had a lot of money and ran in fancy circles. This friend of his looked like he stepped out of some incredibly loud, Italian sports car. 

I forced my gaze back down to my wine glass I felt my face growing hot. Damn, where was Caitlin to distract me? Until I had someone to talk to, I’d spend the entire evening sneaking glances at that guy like a creep. 

A stab of guilt pierced my gut as I thought of Luke’s handsome face. If he were here, I’d definitely be keeping myself in check. No way would I have a wandering eye with his all-American good looks and sexy hazel eyes to get lost in. 

He never liked wine though. Luke was a cheap beer and dive bar kind of guy, just like most of the men in this town. Maybe it wasn’t very adventurous of him, but it was comforting. Familiar.

All that mattered was that he still excited me after all these years of knowing him as a friend. There was a passion there that we had yet to tap, and I couldn’t wait to explore those new horizons with him. 

Especially since I never had been with anyone else before. 

"You can't possibly be here alone, beauty." 

I jumped in my seat at the warm, velvety voice right next to my ear. When I looked at the speaker, my whole body flushed with heat and felt like I was melting from the inside out. 

The handsome dark-haired man stood incredibly close to me. One hand rested on the back of my barstool, the other laid out on the wooden bar top next to my glass. He was effectively caging me in. 

Any other person would have creeped me out with this blatant invasion of space. The way he looked so smugly at me with his deep brown eyes felt like a predator toying with its prey.

And yet I didn't recoil. I didn't feel fear or disgust but rather the urge to lean in. To close the distance between us and inhale that seductive, mysterious scent. Maybe out of foolishness or mere curiosity about this handsome stranger, I couldn't tell.

It was like sorcery how he knocked me off my proverbial feet. Nothing like this ever happened to me before, let alone from a man merely speaking one sentence to me. 

My voice wobbled as I tried to find the strength to resist him. 

"I'm waiting for someone," I stammered out.

"Ah, I see." 

His posture and closeness didn't change in the slightest. Rather, he leaned his tall, lithe frame against the bar with a relaxed stance as he smiled playfully at me. Like I was the only woman in this bar and the only reason he was here. 

"A girl someone or a boy someone?" 

His smooth, velvety voice was marked by a beautiful Spanish lilt. From his tailored suit to his dark hair and eyes to his charming accent, he was every bit the Latin lover in a woman's fantasy. 

"A girl friend." 

I bit my lip at my confession, feeling a small stab of regret at my honesty. I could've told him I was waiting for a guy and he'd leave me alone. My body would stop feeling so hot, I'd stop feeling so stupid, and the spell he was casting over me would be broken.

"Would you like me to keep you company until she arrives?" 

Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the next bar stool over until it was touching mine and swung his long legs over it to sit down. My heart rate shot up as the side of his thigh pressed against mine.

What the fuck is happening? I mean nothing is really happening but why do I feel turned inside out right now?

My mind and body raced but the man seemed utterly unfazed. He waved down a bartender and placed a black, metallic credit card down on the bar that didn't appear to have any markings or logos.

"Your finest Malbec, please," he requested and nodded his head at my half-empty glass. "And another of what she's having."

The bartender turned away to pour the order before I could stop her. I could only sit stunned with my mouth half open while this handsome stranger returned his dark, smoldering gaze to me. My skin erupted in goosebumps as if every hair follicle cried out to be touched by this man. 

"What's your name, beauty?" he asked, his eyes traveling leisurely over my body. 

He looked at me like a meal he was about to savor all night long. I suddenly became aware of how much of my skin was exposed. My long maxi dress covered my legs but the halter top exposed a decent amount of my chest. At that point, just having my arms, neck, and upper back exposed felt like I was stripped bare. 

"Look, I sort of have a boyfriend," I blurted, my face feeling like a furnace. 

His playful, hungry grin grew wider, thoroughly enjoying my discomfort. 

"Nice to meet you, Look-I-sort-of-have-a-boyfriend," he chuckled. "I'm Ignacio. Most people call me Nacio. Ah, thank you."

He leaned back in his chair as the bartender presented us with two glasses. A dark red for him and another white for me. I remained sitting frozen in my chair, my hands in my lap and refusing to touch the glass like it was poison.

“Is there anything else I can call you? A shorter nickname, maybe?” he asked me, swirling his drink in its glass. “Look-I-sort-of-have-a-boyfriend doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.” 

I wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. He could tell I was becoming increasingly flustered and embarrassed and didn’t seem to give a shit.

“Do you want something?” I demanded petulantly. 

“Just your name. For now.” 

He lifted his glass by the stem with long, articulate fingers and tapped the rim to mine before taking a long, slow drink, his eyes never leaving mine. 

My brain itched to give him my name but I sealed my lips shut in defiance. Telling him anything about me would just entrap me deeper in his spell and we both knew it.  

Because once he got my name, I was afraid to know what more he’d want from me afterward.