Forbidden First Times: A Contemporary Romance Collection

by Sofia T Summers

  “Of course, should I make a plate for dino too?”

  “Of course!” Lincoln echoed as he clambered onto the dining chair and plonked his ‘dino’ down on the table. He began to imitate roaring sounds while I pottered around getting everything ready to cook.

  It was probably one of the better examples of our usual Saturday morning routine, but for the first time, my mind began to wonder if something was missing. Memories of Lincoln’s mother danced before my eyes as I looked over at the kitchen table. I remembered the mornings when she would be sitting with Lincoln at the table, coloring and drawing with him while I made breakfast. Things sure would be easier with someone else around to care for him, but that wasn’t the only reason I was thinking about my ex.

  No, I worried that Lincoln might need a motherly influence in his life and as soon as my thoughts went down that road, I began picturing Billie’s face. Even though I’d forbidden myself from getting involved with an employee again, I couldn’t help but wonder if I should make an exception for this one. After all, Billie was exactly my type and she was young, funny, and kind. She didn’t look like she’d harm a fly, let alone me.

  Yeah, that’s what you thought about the last one’s too, a snide voice in the back of my head reminded me.

  It was right. I couldn’t risk getting someone involved in our lives again. I couldn’t keep upheaving Lincoln’s life like that. It wasn’t fair. Instead, I began to think about other ways to surround Lincoln with positive influences. The eggs I’d been cooking on the stove were well and truly scrambled by the time I’d finished daydreaming and I served them to Lincoln on a small blue plate when they’d cooled down a little.

  “Bon Appetit,” I said as I placed it down in front of my son.

  “Bone apple what?” he questioned before shrugging and digging into the food in front of him.

  I laughed and grabbed my phone from where I’d left it on the counter while I’d been cooking. I scrolled through my contacts as I considered my dilemma when a brilliant idea came to me. I turned to look over at Lincoln and then pulled up a chair next to him.

  “Hey, buddy, how would you feel about having a little picnic with Nana and Papa today?” I asked.

  Lincoln looked up at me and his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. “Yes! Yes!” he told me.

  “Okay, okay, I’ve got to check with Nana first and see what she says, okay?”

  Lincoln nodded.

  With that idea in mind, I began typing out a quick message and then sent it to my mother. While I waited for a response, I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a fruit smoothie from inside. I took a long gulp of it and felt my phone vibrate in my hand as I did.

  ‘Sounds great’ was the response I received and with a smile, I began to write back to arrange the time and location of our meeting.

  “Are you finished with your breakfast yet, Linc?” I called behind me.

  “Uh-uh,” Lincoln confirmed in a mumble with a mouthful of eggs.

  “Well, let me know when you are and we’ll get ready to go see Nana and Papa.”

  “Okay!” came his cheerful response as I headed toward the bathroom to shower and get ready.

  Once we were both dressed and I’d stopped at the grocery store to pick up some supplies for the outing, Lincoln and I were ready and raring to go out for the day. I had two big bags full of snack food including brownies which were my mom’s favorite and some chips that Lincoln liked. Instead of driving to my parents’ house, the two of us enjoyed the walk. After all, we didn’t live far away from them. Both of our houses were on the outskirts of the vineyard and it only took twenty minutes or so to reach my parents’ house.

  Rays of sunlight erupted across the sky, only being cut off by the fluffy white clouds which hung high in the baby blue sky above us. Verdant green vines were hanging to our right while we walked along the dirt path road which led to every building on Wendall Winery property. Lincoln held my hand for some of the walk, but for the majority of it, he sped off ahead of me to inspect different things he found along the way like a rock on the floor or a bug climbing the fence.

  Because of my son’s unquenchable desire to learn about the world, it took us almost double the time to reach my parents’ house, but I didn’t mind. I enjoyed watching Lincoln having fun and I wouldn’t have hurried him for the world.

  “Are those my two handsome boys?” my mother, Miriam Wendall, called out from the porch as soon as she spotted us walking toward the house. Her face was framed by long, flowing gray hair and her green eyes which matched my own followed our every movement. She was wearing a pair of denim jeans and a baggy yellow t-shirt which looked really comfortable.

  “Nana!” Lincoln cried and began running at full force toward the elderly woman. She caught him with an ‘oomph’ and lifted him up to cuddle him close.

  “My, my, Linc, you have grown so much! One of these days, you’re going to be too heavy for me to carry!” she remarked.

  “He’s already too big to be carried,” I told her as I caught up. “Linc insists he’s a big boy now.”

  “Is that so?”

  Lincoln nodded.

  “Well, I suppose I’d better put you down them!” My mother placed Lincoln back on his feet on the porch before smiling over at me and enveloping me in her arms. “It’s nice to see you, Quentin. You should come visit more often.”

  “Ma, you know how busy the vineyard gets better than anyone,” I replied with a scoff.

  “I know, I know, I just worry about you.” She drew back and looked me over. “But you’re looking healthy. Have you started dating anyone yet?”

  “Ma!” I cried indignantly.

  “All right, all right, I know it’s none of my business. Okay then, let’s go find your father. He’s been sunbathing out by the pond all morning.”

  It was only a short walk down the hill to the pond where our usual picnic spot was and sure enough, my father was laying down on a blanket by the pond, soaking up the warm sun’s rays. He was going to be disturbed soon enough, however, as Lincoln began running toward him as soon as he saw him.

  “Incoming!” I called with a smile on my face just moments before Lincoln jumped on top of my father’s chest.

  All four of us laughed as Lincoln excitedly bounced up and down. My father sat up and grinned over at his grandson before rubbing the top of his head where hardly any hair had survived. His brown eyes crinkled as he looked at Lincoln fondly and hugged him close. My mother laid out the food on the blanket once my father moved out of the way and all of us happily tucked into it.

  “Did you boys make these brownies? They’re delicious,” my mom said as she took another big bite from one.

  “Daddy got them at the store!” Lincoln declared.

  I laughed. “You know I’m not much of a baker, Mom.”

  “There’s always time,” she remarked.

  As time went on, Lincoln and my dad ended up enjoying kicking a ball around the field together. They were chasing each other and my dad was teasing him repeatedly. The sight of it warmed my heart and for the first time that day, I’d begun to regain my confidence that Lincoln was being raised well and in a good environment. He didn’t need a mother to grow up well-adjusted. There was no reason for me to even think about dating again. I certainly didn’t need to date, say, an employee…

  “So, how’s Billie settling in?”

  The question startled me and I looked over at my mother with wide eyes wondering if she could read my mind. “Uh, she’s fine,” I answered, feeling a little uneasy. “You know, she’s doing her job.” I shrugged.

  My mother narrowed her eyes at me. “Is that all?”

  I sighed. “Well, she is a good choice for the role, I’ll give you that,” I continued. “From what I’ve heard from Peter, she’s been doing a good job of cleaning up the mess Albert left when he retired and she’s already figured out a way to streamline the system.”

  My mother nodded and let out a ‘hmm’. “Sounds like she’s a perfect fit
then.”

  In more ways than one, I said to myself before desperately trying to push all thoughts of Billie to the back of my mind.

  9

  Billie

  “Wow, Billie! I know you said we were going to be doing a tour, but I thought it’d end up being a total snooze fest! But this… This place is beautiful!” Carla exclaimed excitedly as we entered the main gates of the office parking lot.

  I laughed and parked the car before stepping out. Carla wasn’t far behind me and I took a nice, deep breath of the fresh air surrounding me. It was a hot day and the sun was hanging high up in the sky above us. I used my hand as a visor to shield my eyes from the sun as I looked around to see if many other people were taking the tour, however, there were only a few cars parked near ours.

  “Next time, you should be clearer when you tell me we’re going to your office, Billie,” Carla continued as she came to stand next to me. “I would have worn my nice dress…”

  I smiled over at her as we walked up the dirt part toward the main building. “You look fine, Carla, and I never said it was a tour of my office,” I clarified. “I said it was a tour of my workplace. There’s a difference. Besides, how would a tour of a vineyard be boring?” I asked her. “It’s literally a tour involving wine.”

  Carla giggled. “Well, you’ve got me there, but I don’t know. I guess, I just expected it to be a dusty old basement somewhere. Not this!” She paused to gesture her arm out toward the abundant fields and the action caused her bright yellow sundress’ strap to slip down her tanned shoulder a little. “I thought they’d be showing us all the boring parts like the machines they use to make the wine. I didn’t imagine the fields would look as pretty as this! Or that there would be fields at all. Everything is artificially manufactured these days.”

  “You thought we were making artificial wine?” I questioned, laughing at the idea of it. Carla did always have a strange way of thinking.

  “Well, I don’t know! Like I said, you never know. I was watching a documentary the other day about lab-made meat and—”

  “Oh God, Carla, you need to stop watching those documentaries,” I told her with a laugh. “They’re making you paranoid.”

  “Oh, I’ll be fine,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Besides, we should be enjoying this wonderful view instead of talking about my sad little life!”

  Carla waved her arms out in front of her, indicating the fields and my eyes followed them. Rows upon rows of tall vines were being propped up by wooden fencing and they bore round, juicy red grapes amongst their emerald leaves. The sunlight was spilling over the fields and illuminating the plants beautifully. They looked almost as if they were shining.

  “Well, you’re in luck then because Peter told me we’ll be having a little wander inside the fields during the tour,” I explained with a wiggle of my eyebrows.

  Carla looked over at me with a shocked expression. Her bright blue eyes were wide and her curly blonde hair looked even lighter in the sunlight. “That sounds great! Remind me again how you managed to swing a tour on such short notice?” Carla asked as we reached the wooden porch of the main building.

  “One of the staff members, Peter, said there was an opening and I could bring a friend,” I told her with a shrug of my shoulders. “I didn’t think it was a huge deal, but apparently these get booked for months in advance.”

  Apparently ignorant of the second part of what I said, Carla put a hand to her chest, pretending to be touched. “Aww, you consider me your friend?” Carla asked in a teasing voice before elbowing me. “I’m flattered, Billie!”

  I rolled my eyes playfully. “I wouldn’t get too excited, Carla. You haven’t learned what it means to be my friend just yet,” I told her with a laugh.

  “Well, if wine-tasting is any indication, I think I’m going to like it!” she declared.

  We both descended into laughter as I pushed open the glass door leading to the Wendall Winery main building’s lobby. A tour guide was already waiting in a smart uniform with a waistcoat and tie. Standing next to him were two elderly couples. Carla and I shared a look that said we might need to calm down our usual playful and risqué behavior for this part of the tour.

  We were wrong, however. The tour guide was vibrant and funny, cracking many jokes as he showed us around the inside of the building. The two elderly couples were also very friendly and not stiff like I had expected. They chatted politely to both Carla and myself and before I knew it, we were all having an incredible time!

  By the time we made it outside, I’d learned that the tour guide’s name was Al and that he was dating Tracy who I’d met the day before. But I didn’t just learn about him, I even found out some new information about Carla I’d never heard before. It turned out that she was thirty-two, only a few years older than me in spite of her appearance, and we had far more in common than I would have guessed. It really did seem like we were becoming fast friends.

  “Now, ladies and gentleman, the part you’ve all been waiting for!” Al announced as we finished circling around one section of the field. “It’s time for the wine tasting, if you wouldn’t mind following me inside. We’ll begin as soon as everybody is ready.”

  “Ooh, now we’re talking!” Carla whispered in my ear enthusiastically. I giggled in response and looped my arm in hers as we walked back into the lobby. As soon as we entered, my ears picked up on a familiar young man’s voice and I felt my heart pound in my chest.

  “Daddy! I want to go home!” I heard Lincoln say in a whiny and tired voice.

  “I know, I know, let’s just wait here to see Uncle Peter and then we’ll head back, okay? Maybe Papa will give us a ride if you ask nicely okay?” Quentin told him.

  I couldn’t resist looking over at them and it seemed that neither could Carla. Quentin was dressed in his casualwear for once which I thought wouldn’t be as sexy as his suit and tie, but honestly, it made him look gorgeous. He was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a long-sleeved white cotton shirt that hugged his biceps deliciously. Seeing him like that made something primal inside of my surge and I had to look away.

  Carla, however, didn’t. She let out a low whistle when her eyes settled on Quentin and I laughed. “Who is that tasty snack over there?” she asked in a quiet voice, her eyes surveying him like a piece of meat.

  “That’s my boss,” I told her. “Looks like he’s with his family. Those people there are his parents and the kid is his son. They own this place.”

  Carla stopped looking at them to turn and stare at me. “You’re joking!” she exclaimed, her mouth gaping.

  I shook my head.

  “He’s so hot,” Carla continued in a hushed voice, crowding in closer to me. “Tell me that you’re going to hit that!”

  I blushed and felt heat course throughout my body. It was bad enough that I’d been secretly thinking about Quentin, I couldn’t bear Carla talking about it out loud! So, I laughed a little awkwardly and shook my head.

  “No, absolutely not,” I told her firmly. “That’s totally unprofessional.”

  Carla arched an eyebrow. “I’d be unprofessional any day for a piece of that action…”

  “Carla!” I chided before the two of us giggled again like a couple of schoolgirls.

  Before I had a chance to say anything else, however, someone was tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around with a gasp to see someone familiar. It was Richard Wendall who had interviewed me over Skype for my job here. My eyes widened and I smiled politely.

  “Mr. Wendall, good afternoon,” I greeted. “What brings you here today?”

  He chortled and his brown eyes crinkled, making his crow’s feet more prominent that before. “This is my vineyard, you know. I like to pop in from time to time to see how things are going,” he explained. “And Quentin, well, he can hardly leave the place alone even on weekends! I worry he might be micromanaging a little too much, but c’est la vie!” He paused and looked me over once more. “Anyway, enough about me, Billie dear, how
are you liking it here?”

  I smiled up at him, happy to see a friendly face. “I’m really enjoying my job so far, sir. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the surroundings are just so beautiful.”

  Carla nudged my arm with hers and I rushed to introduce her. “Oh, Mr. Wendall, I totally forgot. This is my friend, Carla. I brought her along for the tour. Well, she’s my landlady and my friend. I think we decided on that earlier.” I sent her a teasing glance and she chuckled.

  Carla reached out to shake Mr. Wendall’s hand with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and thank you so much for hiring Billie! She’s the best tenant/friend I’ve ever had.”

  The three of us laughed and Mr. Wendall continued to speak to Carla, answering some of her questions about the vineyard, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay attention. Instead, I was more focused on the fact that Quentin’s eyes were burning into me like a laser. I could have sworn that he didn’t look away even once after he noticed I was in the lobby. Occasionally, I glanced over in his direction, trying to look like I was examining the building, and not once did he even flinch.

  It should have been disconcerting, but instead, I felt my thighs shiver and my whole body tingle. The intensity of his stare was addictive and I enjoyed being the one to draw his gaze. I wanted him to look at me and only me.

  My thoughts were interrupted when Carla linked her arm in mine once more. “Thank you for the information, Mr. Wendall, I’ll make sure to visit again during the spring like you said.”

  “My pleasure, Miss Carla,” he replied. “I’ll see you soon, Billie.”

  “Bye, Mr. Wendall!”

  With that, my boss’ father returned to his family, scooping up Lincoln in his arms and tickling his sides. My heart ached as I imagined being part of such a warm, loving family, but I knew it couldn’t be. For starters, getting involved with Quentin was bad news. I needed my job and I didn’t want to give it up. Secondly, Quentin almost certainly had a wife. I’d never seen her around, but how else would he have a son?