Drunk on Love(36)

She and Elliot had made a tentative peace about the landscaping, though she was still on edge about how much he would push back about the work being done, the people in his way, and most of all, about her ideas to change the look of the property, the land that was theirs, but that she knew he thought of as his. Finding the old plans had helped with that, but only somewhat.

She looked over the appointments for the day. One appointment had canceled, so they had only five— Did that really justify having both Taylor and Luke on the clock today? Hopefully people would buy a lot of wine and make her feel better about investing in the new hires.

She still felt guilty when she thought about Luke. Mostly because every time she thought about him, or looked at him, or talked to him, she was more and more intrigued by him. Attracted to him, yes, obviously; she’d hoped that would go away with more contact with him, but it had just gotten stronger. But that’s not what felt so dangerous to her—it was how much she wanted to know more about him, how much she wanted to tell him more about her, the way he listened when she talked, the way she always knew he was smiling at the same things that made her smile. When they’d talked last week while Pete was at the winery, he’d known she wasn’t telling him everything that was stressing her out, and she could tell he’d wanted to ask her more about it. She had wanted to spill her guts to him, tell him about her worries about her place at Noble, her fear that she’d mess this whole thing up, that she wouldn’t be able to pull it all together in two months. She’d had the wild impulse, in that brief moment as they’d walked together back toward the tasting room, to talk to him like she didn’t talk to anyone around here other than Sydney.

She desperately needed to get out there, that’s what she needed. Sydney was right. A night of good sex with a guy who seemed like a good listener was apparently all it took for her to get all swoony and want to bare her soul?

She shook her head at herself. Focus, Margot.

Just as she turned to her to-do list, her phone buzzed. Taylor. Was she running late?

“Hey, Taylor, what’s up?”

“Hi, boss.” Margot groaned internally as soon as she heard Taylor’s voice, because she could immediately tell what she was about to say. “I’m sick. I can’t come in today. I’m so sorry.”

Margot pulled up the calendar.

“Don’t be sorry—you’re sick, it’s not your fault. Take care of yourself and let me know how you’re feeling, okay? We can handle it here.”

Well, at least she could congratulate herself for hiring more staff. Because a month ago, if Taylor had called in sick, she would have had to cover the tasting room alone all day. Now Luke could cover it. And he’d had weeks of training, so hopefully he could cover it without too much intervention from her.

She walked into the tasting room to unlock the door for Luke, just as he walked up the front steps.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” she said. “Taylor is sick today—do you think you’re ready to handle the tasting room on your own?”

He looked startled, but recovered.

“I . . . Sure, okay.” He glanced over at the bar. “Let me print out some menus and unload the dishwasher.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Elliot had been right to hire Luke. Other than that whole sleeping-with-him thing, he’d been great since he started, with nothing to complain about, and this was another example of it. No panic, and he already knew what needed to be done to get ready for the day.

“I’ll print out the menus if you get the dishwasher,” she said. “I’ll be around all day, so I can help out. I have a few calls later so you might be the only one in here on and off. But obviously, if anything comes up, just buzz me or come find me.”

He nodded, a worried look coming over his face.

“Okay, will do. Just . . . chardonnay is the yellowish one, right?”

She felt a brief moment of panic before she saw that tiny crinkle in his eyes. She laughed out loud, and he did, too.

“I almost got you. Admit it.”

She tried to tuck away her smile, but it was impossible.

“You did. What can I say, I’m not at my best this early in the morning.”

He met her eyes and opened his mouth before he shook his head and closed it.

She blushed and turned away. She hated how much she wanted to know what he was about to say.

“Okay,” she said, looking at the computer. “There’s a party of four at eleven. But that’s it until noon, when there’s a party of three and one of four. And then nothing until two, so you can let them linger. But I’ll be in and out all afternoon to help out. And really, don’t hesitate to let me know if you need me.”

He nodded.

“Thanks, Margot. Will do. I think I’ll be okay in here—between you, Taylor, and Elliot, I’ve been well trained over the past few weeks.”

She laughed. They certainly didn’t leave anything to chance with their employees.

“True. But thanks for stepping up, nonetheless.”

She smiled at him, and he grinned back at her. She suddenly realized they were alone in here. She turned away and slipped through the staff-only door and back to her office.

Thank goodness she had these calls today to keep her busy so she couldn’t stay in the tasting room with Luke all day to help out. God, why was she so drawn to this man? It wasn’t his looks—yes, Luke was definitely attractive, but she’d never found that sort of tall, scruffy, nerdy type all that appealing before. She tended to like the clean-cut, well-put-together vibe a lot better. But there was just something about Luke.