Move of a hip.

SQUEAK.

Thrust of a thigh.

SQUEAK.

“I can’t concentrate like this.” I collapse onto Jake’s chest, a fit of giggles and moans mixing together in my delirious state.

“I can get you to concentrate …” Jake inches his hips up, his cock hitting the exact spot inside of me that makes stars appear in front of my retinas.

“Everyone in this hallway can hear us!” I whisper shout, giggling again but my orgasm is so close to the brink that I feel like I’m going insane.

We’ve been making love on and off throughout the night, the first time being as soon as we stepped inside this room at the bed and breakfast so that Jake could work off the steam he collected in his ears at his father’s house. From there we would wake up every two to three hours, unable to stop our fingers from trailing over each other’s skin.

And now the sun was coming through the curtains, and we could hear the rustle of people as they awoke inside the Victorian house. The king bed in our room may as well have been made from rusty brake pads it was so noisy, and the closer we got to coming, the worse the sounds got. I think everyone in this hotel knew what position—girl on top—we were in and how deep Jake was inside of me.

“So let them, nosy fuckers.” Jake moves, one hand clasped on the back of my neck so that he can raise my head up to meet his blazing green eyes.

Oh, good God. I can’t possibly worry about anything else but the orgasm wracking my system when he looks like that.

We come in a flurry of shouts, squeaks and the headboard hitting the wall.

“I think we might have broken the bed.” He chuckles, his hands smoothing over every inch of my skin as if he’s trying to catalogue it.

“Hey, we had to make use of it if we were paying for an extra night, I think we really got our money’s worth.” I blew a few stray strands of hair out of my face and propped my chin on his chest.

“Do you think it’s time for this world class brunch I’ve been reading about?”

Jake had picked this resort for its close proximity to a few Seneca Lake wineries he wanted to check out for distribution deals, and because the breakfast was raved about on TripAdvisor. I guess it really was true that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. It sat on an estate that was only visible once you crested the long winding road up. An old Victorian house with charm and modern fixtures, the whole resort sat on these beautiful gardens that looked straight out of an English palace, backing right up to the edge of Seneca Lake. It was completely romantic and rustic … and I think we were both beginning to fall under its spell.

“Can we even show our faces at brunch?” A blush spreads over my cheeks.

“Get up. I’m taking you for some eggs Benedict, baby.” He slaps my butt, the sound probably resonating in the hall through these paper thin walls.

Thirty minutes later and we’re showered, in our winery best, scarfing down the most delicious spread of eggs, waffles, muffins and sizzling bacon I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Sure, there are some weird looks thrown our way from other guests, but Jake flashes them that dimple and waves, and I’m in a fit of giggles again.

After we finish, our stomachs full, it’s time to get drunk. Well … at least for me it is. Jake keeps calling this a business trip, but I’m just here to taste a lot of wine while I have a hall pass from being a parent. With an expert sommelier, who also happened to be very sexy and nice to look at, this was the ultimate pleasure trip.

A shuttle from the B&B took us to our first winery, a small family owned place that was shaped like a barn and had a black Labrador laying on the front steps. Jake spent most of this visit speaking with the owner, trading business tips and then we sampled a couple of their wines. They had a strawberry-based wine that was to die for, and I raved about it until Jake promised he’d make a strawberry flavored ice cream.

A little tipsy, and pulling up to our next stop on the tour, I rest my head on Jake’s shoulder. My nose is tingling, which is how I know I’m on my way to drinking too much. But the sun is out, we’re “working” for his business, and I’m happier than I’ve been in years.

Walking up to one of the counters in the next winery, a big operation type of place with beautiful rooms and windows for walls that show visitors the entire property, Jake chats with the employee, who sets two glasses on the counter.

“Okay, let’s challenge your palette a little.” The employee, a larger, Hispanic looking guy, smirks at Jake.

He clearly wants to stump him. He pours us each three glasses of white and three glasses of red … of which I get started on immediately. I have no manners or etiquette when it comes to all the swishing, sniffing and spitting. I gulp ’em down, loving every delicious taste.

Jake takes about twenty minutes to get through all of his glasses, and then looks up at the guy. He may not be smiling, but I know that cocky gleam in his eye.

“From left to right … merlot, dry cabernet, and you tried to trick me with this one, but the last red is a shiraz. As far as the whites, you should have tried harder … chardonnay blend, dry Riesling, and a Gewürztraminer.”

The employee tips a fake hat in Jake’s direction and I look up at him dreamily, the wine infusing my blood.

“Let’s take a walk, Tipsy.” Jake’s big hand settles on the curve of my back and he walks me to the entrance.

We find our way to the vineyard, walking among the tall leaves curving up towards the sky. My hand rests in his, the peace of this afternoon mixing with the wine running through my veins.

“Do you regret leaving last night?” I ask because I do feel kind of bad that we left his family sitting at the dinner table.

I can just imagine Denise’s face … I would pay money to see that.

“Honestly? No. Is it bad to say that I haven’t even thought of it until now? I’m not even sure why I agreed to go to the opening in the first place. Some disingenuous, delusional sense of loyalty I guess.”

I nodded, seeing his point. “I’ve always dreamed of having a big family, but … and I don’t mean this in a malicious way, last night kind of sucked. For people who have so much, the atmosphere in the room portrayed anything but.”

Jake takes my hand and walks me through the rows, picking up a grape leaf here or there and examining it. “I don’t take offense, the way my family behaves ninety percent of the time is atrocious.”

We’re silent for a minute, walking along the rows, tall stalks of wine grapes hiding us. The sunlight streams through every so often, but out here, it could be just us two and the world melts away.

“Sometimes you just have to settle with the fact that not everyone is going to want the best for you, even if that is your family. It’s been a long time coming, but I think something clicked last night. How am I supposed to believe in myself, in my choices in life, if I’m always looking backward for approval? I don’t need it, and I think that piece of the puzzle revealed itself to me at that dinner table. We choose who we let in, and how they affect us.”

His words were off the cuff, but so wise. I’d thought for so long that I needed to make things work with Derek because that was what society or fate or whatever had taught me … when really, my daughter and I were in a much healthier place without him.

“I love you.”

The words come out of my mouth before I mean for them to, but once they’re out there, I don’t feel any of that rush to take them back. No embarrassment of saying them to a man first, or panic because I didn’t really mean them.

It had taken me years before to get comfortable with saying those three little words. But as I’d said from the first time I was reintroduced to Jake … there was something between us. Something that wasn’t complicated or hard-to-get, and from there we’d just progressed. I never had to guess what he was thinking, or second guess myself to wonder if we were on the same page. There was honesty and maturity here, and out of that, I’d grown to love him quickly. Watching him with my daughter, how he treated my own feelings with such care … it was no wonder I’d fallen head over heels in just a short amount of time.

Jake has stopped walking, and just stares at me, a little smirk on his face that makes that dimple pop.

“How smart am I that I got the girl I crushed on hard in college to fall in love with me?” His hands move to my hips, the heat of them shooting straight through my thin cotton sundress and sending goose bumps over my skin.

“How do you know I’m not just drunk?” I make a study out of his green eyes.

“Because I know you. And I love you, too.”

The shock I expected to come from saying the words myself, comes when Jake says them. He utters them so matter-of-factly, as if they’ve been between us forever. The expression on his face is warm, his cheeks relaxed into a smile, his eyes adoringly capturing me.

“You do?” While my mind is clear, my tongue is tipsy with wine.

He nods. “You should know I’ve never said those words to anyone else. Which I guess makes me a virgin. But in any case, I do love you. And I love Lennon. I know it hasn’t been that long, but there is that corny saying about knowing when you know. And I just know.”

It was simple and uncomplicated … a refreshing change from the past. While there were still kinks to work out, hell life always had kinks, my heart dared to soar.

“Well now that we got that out of the way,” I winked at him, “let’s go have some real fun. More wine!”

“Don’t I get a kiss? Or maybe I can cop a feel? I’ve always had this fantasy about being alone in a vineyard …”

Jake’s hand trailed down to cup my ass, and I squealed, but the noise was swallowed by expert lips capturing my own. Now this was the fun part I was talking about.