by Aurora Rey
“What question was that?” Hannah finished with the green beans and started on eggplant.
“If you two are dating. Like girlfriends.”
“God, no.” Hannah frowned. Then, seeing Jenn had finished the peppers, she pointed at bags of salad greens that had been assembled earlier. “Those next.”
Jenn followed the directions but kept her gaze on Hannah. “Why do you sound so offended by the idea?”
She stopped what she was doing and let her shoulders drop. “I’m not offended. I—” What was she? “I just don’t think it’s that kind of arrangement.”
Jenn caught up to her. She nudged Hannah in the rear with her bin, snapping her attention back to the task at hand. “What kind of arrangement is it?”
Hannah sighed. That was exactly the problem. She didn’t know. She placed an eggplant in the bin and started moving again. “I’m not sure.”
“That’s your problem.”
That gave her exactly zero clarity. “What is?”
“You don’t know, you don’t like that you don’t know, and you’re acting like a wallflower too timid to just find out already.”
Great. “That sounds like three problems.”
Jenn gave her a look that held absolutely no sympathy. “I have a proposition for you.”
Hannah closed her eyes. “That sounds dangerous.”
“Let’s do a wine tour. You and Drew and me and Suri.”
“Oh, God.” The thought of a double date with Jenn and her new girlfriend sent a panicky feeling through her.
Jenn finished with the lettuce and put her hands on her hips. “You don’t have to act so offended by the idea.”
“I’m not offended.”
“You’re terrified.”
“I am not.” She wasn’t. Was she?
“Not terrified, but nervous. You want answers, you probably even want to see what girlfriend territory might look like, but you’re totally freaked out by what you might learn.”
“Aren’t finance people supposed to be good with numbers and bad with feelings?”
“That’s stockbrokers. Wealth managers are all about relationships. I am great at feelings.” Jenn pointed her thumb back at her chest.
Yeah. She was. And she was right. “This could go very badly, you know.”
“It could also be a ton of fun. Either way, you’ll know where you stand.”
“True. Okay.” She nodded, slightly more confident with the idea. “I think Drew is only off Mondays and some Tuesdays, though.”
“Not a problem. I make my own schedule, remember?”
“And there’s not a lot of demand for yoga on Monday afternoons?”
“Suri does some private classes, so let me double-check. Want to try for next week?”
She got a twinge of guilt. She rarely took this many days off in the summer. Then again, things seemed to be running just fine. In truth, it was probably a good idea for Jeremiah to flex his manager muscles a bit more. “I’ll text Drew and let you know.”
“Excellent. I’m looking forward to getting to know her.” Jenn pointed at the bins. “Are these done? May I take mine?”
“One more thing.” Hannah grabbed a pint of cherry tomatoes and tucked it into one of the bins. Ever since the tomato fiasco, they’d been coming in good and heavy, much to her relief. “Now it’s done.”
“I know what I’m having for dinner.” Jenn grinned and picked up the bin. “I’ll see you, hopefully soon.”
“Hopefully.” Hannah sent her an air-kiss. Jenn left and she placed tomatoes in the remaining bins. When they were done, she closed them up and stacked them for pickup.
She walked to the front of the barn and let Clare know they were ready. Official pickup didn’t start until six, but early birds weren’t uncommon. Then she headed out to the shed where Roberta sat. Peaches would be ready for picking any day and she wanted to mow between the trees once more before people started coming through.
She slid open the door, topped off the tank with diesel, and climbed on. Before starting the engine, she pulled out her phone and texted Drew an invite. It made her feel better, like she was taking control of the situation. It didn’t hurt that she’d not be able to check for a reply for the next two hours.
Chapter Sixteen
Drew had been plotting what to propose for her next date with Hannah when she got the invite to do a wine tour double date. A perfect suggestion, really. She hadn’t wanted it to seem like she was only interested in a second round of sex, but she wanted something more interesting than dinner out. Not that there was anything wrong with a nice dinner at a great restaurant. Obviously.
She found herself oddly excited by the prospect of spending time with Hannah’s best friend. It would give her the chance to see another side of Hannah, learn more about her. In her experience, best friend dynamics were just as telling as family ones.
Rain had been in the forecast, but the storm shifted overnight, leaving a warm and sunny day. Drew slipped on a pair of navy shorts and a short-sleeved white button-down with little navy anchors on it. It was officially the preppiest thing she owned.
Ready a good half hour before she expected to be picked up, she took up residence on the porch and called her own best friend. It rang and rang, but just as she resigned herself to leaving a voice mail, Baker picked up. “Hey, hey, Chef. What’s shaking?”
The sound of Baker’s voice never failed to make her smile. “Just hanging in my favorite rocking chair. Thought I’d see what was up.”
“Dude. A rocking chair? Really? Are you eighty?”
“It’s about ambience, man, not age.”
“Uh-huh. And you’ve settled right into that, haven’t you?”
Drew looked out at her front yard. She’d mowed that morning, so everything looked neat and fresh and perfect. And the herbs she’d planted in the flower bed were thriving. “You know, it’s not half bad.”
“Sellout.” Baker laughed, taking any sting out of the insult.
“Well, I’m spending the afternoon touring wineries with a beautiful woman and her friends and I’m hoping to get laid tonight. If this is selling out, I should have done it ages ago.”
That earned her a hoot of laughter. “I can’t disagree with you there.”
“What about you? What are you up to?”
“Same old, same old, man. Another day, another dollar. I’m taking over the Long Island accounts.”
Baker was a regional account manager for an office supply company. She joked that it was a bougie bullshit job, but Drew worked with enough suppliers to know it was legit. “Are you switching? I thought you loved handling Brooklyn and Queens.”
“Adding. Twice the work and I’m going to have to deal with all the five-one-sixers.”
Five-one-six, one of the area codes for Long Island, served as shorthand for a specific type of Long Island resident. “Are they giving you twice the pay to do it?”
“Eh. Not quite, but close.”
Only Baker would downplay a promotion this hard. “Dude, that’s awesome. Congratulations.”
“I’m going to have to wear a suit when I go out there. A suit.”
Drew laughed. She was pretty sure Baker secretly loved her suits. And wining and dining big clients. And closing deals. “Your life is so hard.”
“I start next month, so if I’m going to come up and play, it’ll have to be soon.”
The idea of having Baker visit made her even happier. “How’s next week?”
“Perfect, actually. You sure you can swing it?”
“Of course. My family decided not to come until August, right before my mom goes back to school, so it’s perfect.”
“Do I get to sit on the porch with you?”
She imagined them side by side, drinking beers and talking about life and women. “There’s a rocking chair with your name on it.”
“Cool. I’ll text you later with dates. I got to run. I’m taking a client to lunch.”
Of course she was. “Go get
’em, tiger.”
Drew ended the call. She got up and went inside, wanting to start a list of things she needed to do to get ready for Baker’s visit. They were going to have such a great time. At the sound of a vehicle in the driveway, Drew nodded approval at what she’d come up with so far, grabbed her keys, and headed out. A sleek black SUV sat with its engine running. Drew locked her front door and headed toward it. The driver’s side window went down and a familiar face leaned out. “Are you okay in the back?”
“Sure.”
As she got closer, a hand came out. “Jenn. We met briefly at the brewery.”
“Right, right.” Drew shook the hand. “Great to see you again.”
“Likewise.”
Drew opened the back door and found Hannah sitting at the opposite end of the bench seat. She looked gorgeous, as usual, in a vibrant pink and purple paisley dress. She loved that Hannah’s style seemed to be full-on farmer or full-on feminine. It made her wonder if there was anything in the middle. “Hi.”
Hannah smiled, sliding her sunglasses off and looking her right in the eyes. “Hi.”
Jenn turned around in her seat. “Drew, this is Suri. Suri, Drew.”
Drew turned her attention to the other woman in the front seat. She looked Indian, maybe, with a deep complexion and wavy black hair. Very pretty. “Nice to meet you.”
Suri offered her a bright smile. “Same. And thanks for coming drinking with us today.”
Drew glanced between Suri and Hannah. “Thanks for the invite.”
With everyone introduced and buckled in, Jenn backed out of the driveway and headed to their first stop. It was the Thirsty Owl, the place Hannah had taken her for their picnic. Drew indulged in a few pleasant memories of that afternoon while Jenn parked. Inside, the tasting room featured a huge wooden bar and rack after rack of wine. Only one other group was there and they were already sampling things. Hannah led them up to the counter. “Hey, Lisa. Is Pete in today?”
The woman behind the bar smiled at them. “He’s at some kind of vintner’s convention up in Canada.”
“Vintner’s convention?” Jenn said what Drew was thinking.
Lisa waved a hand back and forth. “New techniques, cool gadgets. Winemakers nerding out with each other and drinking lots of wine.”
Suri shrugged. “I could think of worse conventions.”
Everyone laughed. Jenn slid a hand around Suri’s waist and squeezed. “True story.”
“Four tastings?” Lisa asked.
“Yep.” Jenn slid money across the bar before anyone else had a chance. She glanced at Hannah, then Drew. “We can take turns.”
That seemed more reasonable than fighting over it. She nodded at Jenn. “Thanks.”
Lisa slid four laminated menus across the bar. “I’ll let you peruse for a minute.”
There were a good twenty wines on the list. Different varietals, but also different vintages. Drew’s experience with Finger Lakes wine was still somewhat limited, coming mostly from working with Nick and the bartender at Fig. She’d been pleasantly surprised thus far.
Hannah leaned over. She pointed to a couple. “Those are your party bus wines. Everything else here is pretty good.”
“Party bus wines?”
“Sweet table wines. Popular with the party bus crowds. The ones here are better than others, but still on the sweet side.”
“Ah. Thanks for the warning.”
Hannah pointed to two others. “The dry Riesling here is one of my favorites, as well as Sauvignon Blanc.”
“Perfect. What about reds?”
Suri chimed in. “The Finger Lakes are still sorting out how to do a great red. I think they’ve had the most success with Cab Francs.”
Hannah nodded. “Agreed. The one here is quite good.”
Drew grabbed one of the dry erase markers and made her selections. Lisa worked her way through, pouring about an ounce of each in their glasses and offering commentary on the vintage or the specific process used for each. Drew had done wine tastings before, but always as part of her job. Doing it socially proved a lot more fun.
They did a second stop at a place called Lamoreaux Landing, then headed to Red Newt. Like the others, some of their selections were on the wine list at Fig. At Red Newt, instead of a tasting, they each settled on a single glass and ordered a cheese board to share. In addition to great wine, Red Newt boasted a large deck overlooking the lake. Drew got a little of Hannah and Jenn’s history and learned about Suri’s yoga studio. Conversation was easy and relaxed, like they’d all known each other for years. It didn’t take her long to think about what it might be like to do this sort of thing again and again.
When the food was gone, Jenn and Suri went inside so Suri could find a birthday present for her aunt. With the two of them poking around the shop, Drew was left on the deck alone with Hannah. They left the table and went over to the railing. Sunlight glinted off the lake, and the vineyard boasted row after row of lush green leaves and craggy old vines sprawled over the gentle slope down toward the water. She took a deep breath—honeysuckle mixed with Hannah’s perfume. “This is nice.”
“It’s one of my favorite whites.”
Drew shot Hannah a sideways glance. “It’s an exceptional Chardonnay, but I wasn’t talking about the wine.”
“Oh.” Hannah turned toward her, making Drew wish she could see her eyes behind the dark glasses. After what felt like an eternity, Hannah smiled. “Yeah. This is nice, too.”
They’d not discussed PDAs, but in that moment, she didn’t think she could help herself. She closed the distance between them, brushed her lips against Hannah’s. Her mouth was soft and warm, and she tasted faintly of wine. By rights, she should be used to it by now. But each time she kissed Hannah felt new—exciting and better than she’d imagined. This time was no exception. Drew thought she might simply melt into Hannah. It felt that good.
“Hey, lovebirds. You two ready to go?”
Hannah broke the kiss first, but she lingered for a second. It felt like a promise of to-be-continued more than annoyance at being caught. She looked Jenn’s way. “Almost.”
Drew tipped back the last of her wine. “Yes, an exceptional Chardonnay.”
Hannah laughed in that way that sent a jolt of electricity right to Drew’s gut. For the briefest of moments, she wished they were alone. She’d bury her fingers in Hannah’s hair, bring Hannah’s mouth to hers. She had to shake off the stab of desire the fantasy caused. But as they walked back to Jenn’s car, she gave in to wanting to touch Hannah, have her close. She took Hannah’s hand, giving it a squeeze before they split to climb into the back seat.
On the ride back to Trumansburg, Hannah weighed her options. She could have Jenn drop Drew off first, then bring her home. Since Jenn had picked them both up, that probably made the most sense. But she wasn’t in the mood to make sense. She was in the mood to spend more time with Drew. And she felt pretty confident Drew felt the same. “If I get out at your place, would you give me a ride home later?”
She’d kept her tone light, but Drew shot her a glance that said she knew exactly what Hannah had in mind. Instead of embarrassing her, it turned her on. “Sure.”
Jenn probably knew what she was about, too, but her only response was, “Works for me.”
When they pulled into Drew’s driveway, Hannah gave Jenn a half hug from the back seat. “Suri, it was so great getting to know you. Let’s get together again soon.”
“Same.” Suri turned to face Drew. “You, too.”
“Ditto,” Drew said.
Hannah and Drew got out and she offered a wave as Jenn pulled away. No sooner was the car out of the driveway than Drew turned to her. “I’m glad you stayed.”
“Me too.”
“Hungry?”
Part of Hannah wanted to say no, to drag Drew to her bedroom and rip all of her clothes off. But the other part of her was starved. Other than the nibble of cheese, she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “I kind of am.”
&nbs
p; Drew grinned. “Well, lucky for you, I’ve got food in the house and I know what to do with it.”
Hannah winced. “I hope you don’t think I invited myself over just so you’d feed me.”
“Of course not. I’m hoping you invited yourself over for sex.”
She laughed at the deadpan delivery. “I did. Dinner is a total bonus.”
“I like the way you think, Hannah Little.”
And just like that, the negotiation was done. Drew took her hand and led her inside.
Chapter Seventeen
Once in the house, Hannah had a moment of almost changing her mind, of forgetting about dinner after all. But then her stomach growled, loud enough for both of them to hear. Drew smiled. “Okay, dinner. Any requests?”
Hannah shook her head. “I invited myself over without notice. I’m not about to be picky.”
Drew angled her head toward the kitchen area. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
Drew went to the fridge and Hannah took a moment to study the space. The kitchen, dining, and living areas were all one open room. Paired with the Adirondack décor, it felt more like a cabin than a house. It didn’t seem like Drew’s style. She’d made a comment about renting it furnished, but Hannah was a little surprised she’d not done more to personalize it.
The one exception was photos. There had to be at least a dozen framed photos scattered around the room. She made out Drew in one, wearing a cap and gown and flanked by two older women. She wanted to look closer, to investigate the others, but didn’t want to come across as too nosy. She pointed to the one. “Is this you with your mom?”
Drew glanced at the photo. “My mom and Grann. That was the day I graduated culinary school.”
She took that as permission to study the image. It couldn’t have been that long ago, but Drew looked so much younger. And the women beamed. “They seem very proud.”
“They were. Are.” Drew smiled. “They sacrificed a lot to get me there. It felt like an accomplishment for all of us.”
“That’s really nice.” So different from her family. They weren’t unhappy for her, but her dreams had been hers alone.
