Chapter Three

Celeste

 

“So tell me, how did you turn into a wine expert?”

What the hell was he doing back at the restaurant and in my wine cellar?

“Last time we talked you were leaving Atlanta behind for Tybee and opening a boutique. What happened?” I turned to face the extremely gorgeous face of Skeet Remington and his barrage of questions.

Like a few evenings ago, he was still dressed like an imposter in a suit and tie with his dark hair perfectly styled. Gone was his usual outfit of faded denim jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket and messy hair from riding his vintage motorcycle wearing his helmet.

I’d bet he was probably driving some racy sports car.

“Life stepped in and changed things.” I walked away from him, putting a long sturdy wood table with burgundy cushioned bar stools between us.

“The blue glass lighting is perfect with your eyes.” Still a real charmer.

“Can I help you with something?” I busied myself, taking inventory of the red and white wines housed in dark wood and brass cabinetry from floor to ceiling.

“This is a great room. Do you have parties in here...or intimate dining?” His last words rolled off his lips in a low, growling whisper that hit certain parts of my body.

“Yes, customers book this room for special wine pairing dinners.”

Damn it! He was making me lose count and I only had a few hours to get things sorted before I picked Veeta up from pre-school.

Remember Veeta.

Remember why you’re working.

“I never expected you to be pushing wine...or any liquor.”

I wasn’t a stranger to alcohol. I grew up on a peach farm that specialized in making peach liqueur since the early nineteen hundreds—rumor has it that it was illegally made in the beginning. My mother’s parents had turned Corday Peach Liqueur into a multi-million dollar business and it still makes the best peach Bellini, in my opinion. My parents took it over once my father—a financial wizard who fell in love and married the peach farmer’s daughter—was named CEO.

The peach farming business was never something I wanted to be involved in, I left that to my siblings, Clancy and Conrad. I wanted to be a fashion designer and had gone to college to take business courses. My best friend Martina and I were always sewing fun summer clothes for ourselves and a few of our friends. That was what got us planning our dream of opening our own resort-wear store on Tybee Island.

When I lost Martina and gained Veeta, I went to work at a winery not far from our farm. It was enough that I was living at home with an infant, I didn’t want to feel like my family was financially supporting Veeta. I took on the responsibility, not my parents. They had already done that raising my cousin Caprice when her mother ran off with her Russian husband who was about to be deported for some shady dealings. Rather than go back to his homeland, they hopped on a plane for Europe. Somewhere along the line they were killed when their train derailed.

Without my friend and partner, I left my dream of opening the dress boutique behind and launched into becoming a sommelier. The only sewing I did was cute little dresses for Veeta and skirts for myself. Being a sommelier in a restaurant, I needed to look stylish and I found that most pencil skirts didn’t have pockets which I deemed necessary for my line of work.

“Sometimes we make decisions that take us in different directions.” I knew he was familiar with that. He disappeared six years ago and returned a businessman.

“Why not the family business?”

“I could ask you the same thing... Why did you turn into a suit?”

I hadn’t noticed he had gotten so close to me as I delivered my last question, but his body was nearly pushing up against mine.

His next words were felt on my cheek. “I couldn’t have you.”

“What do you want?” I managed to ask in somewhat of a gasp.

He didn’t answer. He moved my hair to the side and brushed his lips lightly over my neck. Shamelessly, I rolled my head slowly to give him full access. It wasn’t real. I was imagining his arms coming around me. His fingers weren’t unbuttoning my blouse and his hand wasn’t slipping inside of my bra to cup my breast. His other hand wasn’t moving the hem of my dress up and wandering into my panties.

No, I wasn’t moaning as he moved through my wetness and dipped inside to a perfect spot. My hips didn’t roll and rock to a rhythm and I didn’t back into his erection against my backside. It was a fantasy. A delicious daydream that had me wanting to cry out as my body shuttered but it wasn’t possible when his mouth silenced me. It wasn’t the best kiss either. It wasn’t real. I just knew that once I opened my eyes, I would be standing alone in the wine cellar.

Only that wasn’t what happened. He was still there behind me, smoothing down the front of my dress and turning me in his arms. Facing him with my head down looking at his expensive leather shoes, he adjusted my white lace bra and buttoned my blouse closed. I didn’t want to look up and admit it was real, but he didn’t give me a choice as he lifted my chin to make eye contact.

“You’re still as beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on you.”

“Your eyes are still green like a peach leaf.”

“They still only see you when I close them at night. I’ve come back for you, Celeste. I’m going to make things right. We’re going to be together forever. You will have your dream. I promise to give you everything and more.”

I wanted to believe each and every word he said, but I had to beware of what he might do when he learned that things had changed and he was no longer my first priority. He left before my life shifted and he never bothered to return until...

What was his reason for returning?

Why did I let him affect me...and touch me?

Thank God no one walked in on us!