When Livvie heard her alarm go off, she groaned. Absolutely exhausted, she got out of bed and showered. The only thing that drove her in her sleepy state was the thought that she’d be spending time with Drake in his vineyard this morning.

Last night had felt like a dream. She had fallen asleep in Drake’s arms. Sometime later, he’d picked her up, dropped her off in her bedroom, and then he went to his. But not before he kissed her on the forehead. She hoped today would be as magical. She was worried Drake would have reverted to his old, arrogant self again.

She debated what to wear a thousand times. Finally, she dressed in her floral, off-the-shoulder, short-sleeved, silk blouse, which hugged her hips. Then she put on her skinny jeans and black sandals. She would have preferred to wear her comfy jeans from yesterday, but these jeans looked better on her. She wasn’t sure how Drake would respond to her this morning after last night.

When she walked down the grand staircase, she ran into Mr. Birkshire cleaning the candelabras. Is there anything he didn’t do?

“Hey, Mr. Birkshire.” Livvie smiled.

He continued dusting but glanced toward her without smiling.

“Good morning, Ms. Collins.”

He resumed cleaning, and Livvie had to stop herself from running down the rest of the stairs and out into the vineyard. She couldn’t wait to see Drake. Did that make her pathetic?

She took the exact path she had taken yesterday according to Drake’s instructions, but she didn’t see him anywhere. She looked at her watch. She’d found him here at this exact same time the day before.

Hmm…where could he be? There were men working in the fields, but when she asked them where Drake was, they only smiled. Then she saw Andrew, and she ran toward him, hoping he would know, but when he saw her coming, he walked the other way, pretending he hadn’t noticed her.

Feeling she had no other option, she walked back into the house. Surely, Mr. Birkshire would know. Luckily, she found him exactly where she’d left him, cleaning the candelabras.

“Hey, Mr. Birkshire?”

As he had done earlier, he continued dusting but glanced her way. “Yes, Ms. Collins?”

“Have you seen Drake?”

This time he didn’t even look at her. “Mr. Morganthal should still be resting. This isn’t his morning to work in his vineyard.”

Resting? Livvie scrunched her forehead. “I thought he worked in his vineyard every morning?” She felt defeated. She could have slept late like Drake.

“No. Every Monday afternoon and evening, he has wine tastings in the area. It’s important for him to know what’s selling and how the different wines taste. It usually runs late into the evening, so he sleeps in on Tuesdays.”

“Oh.” Livvie looked down. She didn’t want to tell him she’d been with Drake after he’d gotten home last night. At the same time, she wondered why Drake hadn’t told her he slept in on Tuesdays? “I guess I’ll go back to sleep then, too.”

Mr. Birkshire looked down at Livvie as she started climbing up the stairs.

“Why do you look so unhappy?”

Livvie stopped climbing. “I thought I was supposed to go out into the vineyards every morning,” she said.

“You are. There are others who can show you the ropes, you know.”

“But no one out there gave me the time of day.” Livvie sighed dramatically and resumed walking up the stairs.

“Let me get someone to show you around.” Mr. Birkshire wiped his hands on a cloth from his pocket.

In a strange way, Livvie thought he was testing her. She didn’t want just anyone to show her around. She wanted Drake.

“That’s okay, Mr. Birkshire. I’ll go to my room and get some sleep. Sorry for disrupting you.”

Mr. Birkshire nodded and resumed dusting. Livvie noticed he’d dust a spot and then stop, and then dust a spot and stop. She was so mesmerized watching him that she stopped climbing the stairs.

“Leave your baggage at the door, Ms. Collins.”

Mr. Birkshire continued dusting. He didn’t look at Livvie when he spoke, and yet she knew what he was trying to say.

“I can only leave my baggage at the door if I know for sure that it’s safe to do so.” She had felt safe last night, but in broad daylight reality hit her. She couldn’t be with Drake.

“Nothing in life that feeds the soul is safe, Ms. Collins. Nothing is a guarantee. And the biggest risks in life to take are always the most dangerous. But would you rather carry your heavy baggage around wherever you go, or leave it at the door, and start to live freely again?”

Livvie swallowed and then continued on her way. Mr. Birkshire wasn’t looking at her anyway—on purpose, she supposed. She was surprised he’d spoken so directly, and she felt as if he was kind of scolding her, the way a concerned dad would. And he was right. But with all of Drake’s issues, was this the right situation to release her baggage? She honestly didn’t know.

 

* * * * *

 

Livvie did go back to sleep. She was so exhausted; she didn’t even take off her clothes. When she returned to her room, she’d been tempted to call Carly back, but Livvie wasn’t in the mood to confess her feelings for Drake. She had only known him for three days. Maybe all this was nothing more than a brief attraction? What woman wouldn’t be attracted to Drake Morganthal? But deep down inside, she knew that wasn’t true. This wasn’t just an attraction because she had experienced brief glimpses of who he really was. He was thoughtful, generous, and passionate. Google had never revealed any of that.

She was awakened by a knock on her door. She wasn’t surprised, as she doubted they would allow the lucky raffle winner to hide in her room all day. She ran her hands through her hair, making sure she looked decent, and then opened her door.

Her heart delved into her stomach when she saw it was Mr. Birkshire.

“I came here to tell you that Mr. Morganthal requests your presence in the dining room for some scone tasting.”

The second Livvie heard “scone,” her stomach growled loudly.

“Sorry,” Livvie said. She wasn’t one of those people who pretended that their stomach hadn’t just made a mortifying sound. She would rather just acknowledge it and move on. “So why scones?” She questioned him in an effort to stop her heart from beating wildly at the idea Drake had requested her presence. There was something incredibly sexy about that. When this week was over, she would definitely be requesting Carly’s presence to help her get out of her severe depression.

“He’s hiring a new baker, and he’d like your opinion.”

Wow! Not only was Drake requesting her presence, but he would also like her opinion.

“Will I be eating cake, too?” Livvie loved scones, but she would never turn down cake.

Mr. Birkshire looked extremely frustrated. She had never seen that look on his face before. If she could get him to be frustrated, maybe, eventually, she could get him to crack a smile.

“Perhaps. Good day, Ms. Collins.” Without a second glance he closed her door.

Livvie shrugged and did the only thing she could think of to do. She opened her bedroom door and walked to the dining room. After all, Mr. Morganthal had requested her presence.