Taste (Cloverleigh Farms, #7)(57)

For some reason, hearing her say that gutted me a little. “So you regret it?”

She took a second to think, which made her answer even worse. “Yes. I do.”

I took my hand off her leg and let her go.





Ellie and I unloaded the car without speaking another word to each other. When it was empty, she carried the storage cases of dirty wineglasses down to the tasting room, and I brought the heavy box of unopened bottles. The silence was painful, but I knew nothing good would come of trying to soften her up today—she was still boiling mad. I needed to give her anger time to reduce to a slow simmer. Then maybe we could talk more reasonably.

It wasn’t that I needed her to love me or anything, but I hated the thought that she regretted everything that had happened between us. That she’d look at me with resentment for the next couple months. That she thought I’d taken advantage of her. That it was all a joke to me. A game.

In the middle of unpacking the bottles, I looked over at her. She was pulling glasses from the storage case with her back to me. Her hair tumbled down in messy waves and caused an ache in my chest I wasn’t sure I’d ever experienced before. I took a breath, ready to say her name, kneel at her feet, and beg forgiveness—but it was someone else’s voice that broke the silence.

“Ellie!” Winnie came rushing into the tasting room. “You’re back!”

Ellie turned and hugged her friend. “I’m back.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Winnie studied her friend’s face for a moment, and some kind of communication passed back and forth between them. Then she turned to me with a friendly smile. “Hey, Gianni.”

“Hi, Winnie.”

“You guys look beat.”

“Yeah.” I threw a quick glance at Ellie, who met my eyes and then looked away. “It was quite an adventure.”

Ellie made a noise, something between a snort of disgust and a bitter laugh. “I need a shower.”

Winnie looked at her. “You’ve got time. Des was already planning to cover your eleven o’clock tasting.”

“Is he here yet?”

“Just got here.”

Ellie nodded. “Okay. I’ll check in with him and then go grab a quick shower.”

Winnie turned to me. “My sister Felicity is also here again today if you want to run home and clean up, Gianni. She can handle dinner prep, no problem.”

“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “I really appreciate her pitching in last night. My dad said she was great.”

“She had fun, I think,” Winnie said with a laugh. “It’s been a while since she’s worked in a restaurant kitchen, and she said she’d forgotten how exciting the chaos can be.”

“I’m grateful she was there.” My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it out. “This is my dad calling. Excuse me a minute.”

“Just leave the bottles,” Ellie said with no emotion. “I’ll unpack them.”

Nodding, I left the tasting room and answered my dad’s call. “Hello?”

“You back?”

“Yeah.” I climbed the steps and headed through Abelard’s lobby toward Etoile’s small dining room, which looked out over the vineyard.

“How was the drive?”

“Fine.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

My dad paused. “Tired?” He must have sensed from my tone something was off with me.

“Yeah.” I walked over toward the dining room windows. At night, Etoile was almost entirely lit by candles and wall sconces to keep the atmosphere warm and intimate, but right now, bright natural light flooded the space. “Thanks again for filling in last night.”

“Of course. If you’re short-handed today, Felicity said she could come back.”

“I think she’s here already.”

“Is she?” He laughed. “Dammit. If you said you didn’t need her, I was gonna see if she’d come work for me. I just lost a station chef last week.”

“I might not need her. Depends on who’s able to get here today.”

“Okay, let me know. She might not want a full-time position anyway. We were talking last night, and she’s interested in starting a vegetarian catering company.”

I made a face. “I don’t understand people who don’t eat meat.”

He laughed. “Yeah. It’s a whole other way of life. But plant-based diets are getting more popular, so it’s a smart gamble. I bet she’ll do well.”

“Good for her.” It came out a little grumpier than I intended.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes for a second. “Listen, I gotta go. I’m going to talk to Felicity and see if she can cover while I run home and clean up.”

“Okay. Hey, Mom wants to talk. She was worried about you.”

I grimaced. I didn’t really have time for a worried mom thing right now, but I couldn’t say no. “Okay.”

“Gianni?” My mom’s voice was high-pitched with concern. “You’re back?”

“I’m back.”

“Thank God. I’m so glad you got off the road when you did.”