“Okay, tell me what’s bothering you.”
Donnay let out a breath, not sure how she was going to say it. Then she decided to just get it out. She turned toward her mother. “Mom, it’s about Spencer Westmoreland.”
Ruth raised a brow. “What about Mr. Westmoreland? Did you know he came back to visit your grandfather today?”
“Yes, I know.”
“I think your grandfather likes him.”
“I can believe that.”
Ruth studied her daughter. “So what’s bothering you about Mr. Westmoreland?”
Donnay felt her stomach tighten into knots. “He’s asked me to marry him, Mom, and he wants to have a private ceremony here in the valley before Christmas.”
Ruth looked stunned. “You’re kidding, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
Donnay shook her head. “No, Mom, I’m not kidding and it’s the only way.”
Ruth frowned. “The only way for what?”
Donnay took the next twenty minutes to tell her mother everything, including the details of the loan as well as Spencer’s proposal.
Her mother didn’t say anything for a moment then said in a relatively calm voice, “You must have misunderstood Mr. Westmoreland.”
Donnay rolled her eyes. Spencer had her mother and grandparents convinced that he was Mr. Nice Guy. “Trust me, Mom, I understood Spencer perfectly.”
Ruth shook her head. “If what you say is true, Donnay, then how can you even think your grandparents and I would let you go ahead with such a marriage? You mean more to us than the winery.”
Instinctively Donnay reached out and took her
mother’s hand in hers. “I know, Mom, but it’s something I must do.”
Ruth studied her daughter. “And could it be something that you want to do, as well?”
Donnay couldn’t believe that her mother would ask such a thing. “Of course not. You of all people know how I feel about that man.”
Ruth patted her daughter’s hand a few times before asking, “Did I ever tell you that I disliked your father at first, too?”
Donnay looked back at her mother, surprised. “No, you never mentioned that. I assumed, considering how much you loved him, that it was love at first sight.”
Ruth chuckled. “Far from it. I saw him as a threat.”
Donnay lifted her brow. “A threat? To what?”
“To my relationship with Dad. Dad hired him on and the two of them quickly became close. I saw Chad as the son Dad never had, and I began thinking that Dad would regret I was born a girl and not a boy who would carry on the Russell name.”
Donnay thought about what her mother had said for a moment then asked, “Did my father know how you felt?”
“Yes, I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with and at times I deliberately made things hard for him. At least I tried to. But he saw through it all. And for some reason he understood.”
Her mother got quiet and Donnay knew she was remembering those times, and recapturing those moments. It had to be hard for her mother. Donnay wished there was a way she could convince her to leave the valley for a while to find the man she loved and had allowed to walk out of her life. There had been times while in college when Donnay had been tempted to look up Chad Timberlain, get to meet the father she never knew and who didn’t know she existed. But she never did.
For all she knew, and what her mother suspected, he was now married with other children. Children who were her half siblings. She never got the courage to find him because she hadn’t ever wanted to be the one to verify her mother’s assumptions that the man she loved and had let get away had another life that included a wife and children.
“Mom, I appreciate you sharing that with me about you and Dad, but the situation with me and Spencer is totally different. I appreciate what he did for Gramps, but he’s not the man you and Grammy think that he is.”
Her mother touched her arm. “And considering everything, I have a feeling he’s not the man you think that he is, either, Donnay.”
Chapter 8
An aura of intense longing swept over Spencer the moment he rounded the corner of the building where he was told he would find Chardonnay doing a wine tasting. It had been almost a week since he’d seen her and he’d been stunned as to just how much he’d missed her, to the point that once his plane had landed in San Francisco, he had driven straight to the Russell Vineyard.
He followed the sound of voices and stepped into the crowded tasting room. Chardonnay was to taste the first wine to be bottled and packaged from this season’s pruned crop. If the wine passed her inspection, it would continue to age.
Shivers of awareness passed through him when he saw her. She was standing on a platform facing the crowd—a Russell who was about to place verdict on a Russell wine. She stood before a table that held four glasses filled with wine. Sun shining through the huge windows slanted glints of gold on her head, adding highlights to her hair. Emotion gripped his gut at the sight of her. She was the most strikingly beautiful woman he knew, the woman who would become his wife and the mother of his children. She had been on his mind constantly since he’d left the valley, but no memory could compare with the woman in the flesh.
He watched as she rotated the glass a few times on the table. According to what he knew about wine tasting, she was swirling the wine around in the glass to mix it with air. The motion would cause the aromatic compound in the wine to vaporize and get that unique smell.
Moments later she picked up the glass and brought it to her face, sticking her nose into the airspace of the glass where the aromas were captured. Tempting visions, erotic in nature, filled his mind and fueled his imagination. While she was concentrating on the wine’s scent, he was remembering hers, the one he considered sharply seductive, the one that could send sensations racing through him the moment it filled his nostrils.
Trying to get a grip, he watched as her eyes closed before she took a sip. He remembered another time he had watched her close her eyes like that. That night she had been at his place. The same night he had decided that no matter what it took, he had to make Chardonnay Russell his.
She opened her eyes and the smile that touched her lips was priceless. He knew the wine she had just tasted had successfully passed her inspection. Of course it would go through other tasters, but everyone knew her opinion counted most. Nodding her approval, she moved on to the next glass.
He leaned back against a solid wall. He had a clear view of her but doubted she had seen him yet, which was just fine. She would know his presence in all things, especially her life, soon enough.
His trip to Los Angles had been very productive. He had met with Steve Carr, the man whose construction company would be responsible for the expansions he wanted made to the winery. Work would begin rather quickly and he was getting excited about it and couldn’t wait to tell Chardonnay so she could share his excitement.
When he heard everyone around him clapping, his concentration went back to Chardonnay. She had tasted all four glasses and evidently had approved all of them. Then, as her gaze spanned the crowd, she saw him. The moment their eyes connected, even if only for a brief second, he felt it as well as saw it. He saw the darkening of her eyes at the same moment he felt deep need pass through him.
She broke eye contact to speak with the people who had begun gathering around her. After she thanked them for upholding the Russell tradition in producing superb wine, she excused herself from the group and began walking his way. He hadn’t moved an inch and his gaze flicked across her from head to toe as she made her way toward him.
He was mesmerized, utterly captivated. And not for the first time he was asking himself how one woman could snag a man’s emotions so thoroughly and completely.
“You’re back,” she said in a tone of voice that didn’t give away whether she was deligh
ted or disappointed.
“Yes, I’m back. Have you set a date for the wedding?” he decided to ask, thinking there was no reason not to.
She gave a resigned shrug of her shoulders and her voice was very cool when she said, “Did I have a choice?”
If she expected a softening of his heart, she wasn’t getting it today. “That depends on what you want and what’s important to you,” he replied in a voice that was painstakingly clear. “And I thought we’d gotten beyond all of that, Chardonnay. No need to whine about it now.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Sounds like it. What I was really hoping for was a nice welcome-home kiss.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said sarcastically.
She had disappointed him but not surprised him. He smiled, thinking he would make doubly sure she made up for it later. However, he definitely wouldn’t tell her that. Instead he decided to change the subject. “I spoke with your grandfather yesterday. He sounds good.”
She smiled and he could tell it was genuine and sincere. “Yes, we’re all pleased with his progress. If it continues he’ll be able to come home at the end of the week. The doctor wants to give him time to build up his strength before planning the next phase of his treatment.”
“The surgery?”
“Yes. They want to schedule it sometime after the holidays, providing his health continues to improve. I’m going to visit with him later. Would you like to come with me?”
He was surprised by the invitation and had no intentions of turning it down. “Yes, I’d like that, but first I need to make arrangements to have my things moved here from the Chablis.”
He watched her mouth tighten. “You’re still planning on living here?”
“Yes, nothing has changed,” he said in an even tone. “All my plans are still the same. The ones I have for the winery as well as the ones I have for us. And speaking of which, your mother said you would be the one to show me to the guest villa.”
“Yes, I guess I am,” she said, her voice trailing off as she turned around and noticed everyone had begun to leave.
“Yes, sweetheart, you definitely are,” he said softly.
* * *
Donnay turned back to Spencer, trying not to let the throaty tone of his voice take over her senses and make her forget how he had succeeded in turning her entire life upside down. And then there was the term of endearment he’d just used. Sweetheart. It had a nice ring to it, but was actually meaningless in their situation.
The shutting of the door claimed her attention and she was grateful for the distraction until she saw that everyone had gone and she and Spencer were left alone. Definitely not a good thing. Especially when simply standing close to him was making all sorts of wanton thoughts flow through her head. Those boundaries she had set the last time they’d been together were fading away and she couldn’t let that happen.
“If you’re ready, I can walk you over to the guest villa. It’s not far from here,” she heard herself saying, as she took a step back, away from him.
In a surprised move, one she hadn’t been prepared for, he reached out, snagged her arm and pulled her back closer. “Not yet. There’s something I need to do first.”
His touch had every nerve in her body tingling and as usual she had immediately drawn to him. From the look in his eyes she knew he wanted to kiss her, was going to kiss her, and as much as she didn’t want to, she felt the anticipation of his kiss all the way down to the bone. She refused to play coy. She wanted this.
“Do you know how many nights I lay awake thinking about you?” he whispered, leaning closer to let his mouth brush her cheek. She could feel the warmth of his breath on the underside of her ear. Not waiting for her response, he answered his own question by saying in a husky voice, “Way too many nights.”
And then unerringly, his mouth found hers, locked on to it, claimed it and successfully obliterated any and all coherent thoughts from her mind. Instead she concentrated on only one thing—his tongue and the way it was stroking hers, tangling with it in a deeply intimate way, sending sensuous chills up her spine, making goose bumps form on her arms and leaving no doubt in her mind that he had succeeded in touching something deep inside of her once again. He moved her in a way no other man could and she doubted ever would. A part of her knew she should reclaim her senses, put on the brakes. But she couldn’t, nor did she want to. The way he was kissing her, so deep, sensual and intimate, he was making it plainly difficult, absolutely impossible, not to respond in kind. So she did.
She knew the exact moment her arms voluntarily reached around his neck to hold his mouth to hers, as well as when she felt his warm, hard fingers entwine in her hair. She also felt the heat of his body pressed intimately to hers, every hard plane and indentation, and she sank helplessly deeper into his strength, while he sank deeper into her mouth. His kiss was filling her with a physical yearning she only encountered with him.
When their lips finally parted, he pulled her closer into his arms, holding her, and they remained that way, silent for the moment.
Knowing she couldn’t afford to give in to any sort of weakness or throw away good common sense, she pulled out of his arms. “I think we need to make some ground rules,” she said in a shaky breath.
“I don’t” was his response, as he brushed a stray curl back from her face. “Every time I kiss you that way, I want to proceed and strip you naked.”
Like he’d come close to doing that other night, she thought. “I’d rather keep my clothes on around you. I think it’s safer.”
“Safer but not as satisfying. I think you should stop trying to fight me, Chardonnay, and give in to your wants and desires.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
He held her gaze. “Yes, you can and eventually you will. We are perfect for each other.”
She inhaled deeply as her mind absorbed his words. He might think the two of them were perfect but she did not. She refused to become too enthralled with any man again, let him take over her mind and thoughts. Besides that, Spencer was a man who could wiggle his way into a woman’s heart if she wasn’t careful. He would have her falling in love with him even though she knew he would never love her back.
“I would have to disagree with that,” she said with conviction. “Now I suggest that I show you to the guest villa.”
She hoped they were back to square one. No matter how much she might respond to his kiss and intimate caresses, she had to prove that nothing had changed. She still considered him a threat to her happiness.
* * *
As they walked along the path, Donnay was surprised at how relaxed she suddenly felt in Spencer’s presence. It was as if the torrid kiss they’d shared moments ago had been what she needed to ease the tension.
“How many guesthouses do you have?” Spencer asked, breaking into the silence surrounding them. They were strolling a path very familiar to her, one she had always enjoyed as a child because the area surrounding it was always manicured, while the land beyond was overgrown with blackberry, raspberry and tomato vines.
“We have four guest villas, and a gardener’s cottage that’s located at the edge of the vineyard,” she said, remembering the day she had planted her very first grapevine nearby. Her grandfather had given her the space to grow her own to keep her from picking and eating the ones to be used for the wines.
“The guest villa you’ll be staying in is actually where I was going to live when I returned from college. I never moved in since I preferred staying at the big house with my mother and grandparents. I felt it would be lonely living there and too far away from things.”
“But you will be living there with me, once we’re married.”
She glanced over at him. He hadn’t asked a question but had made a statement he expected her to obey.
A part of her wanted to rebel but she knew there was no use. In the end he would get what he wanted. “Yes, I’ll be living there with you.”
He smiled, seemingly satisfied with her acceptance of her fate. “Will you help me move in today?” he then asked.
Considering they seemed to be drawn together like magnets whenever they were alone, she didn’t think that was a good idea. “There are some things I need to do before visiting Gramps at the hospital.”
He nodded. “I understand and that’s fine. But I’m counting on you to help me later since I’m sure I’ll still have a few things that will need unpacking when we get back from the hospital.”
She knew he was letting her know that he wouldn’t allow her to put distance between them. Whether she liked it or not, they would be spending time together later tonight. “We had the phone service and electricity turned on a few days ago so you’re all set,” she said.
“Okay.”
When they didn’t say anything for several moments, he broke the silence by asking, “So you said you’d decided on a date?”
“Yes, I thought two weeks from this Saturday would do it. What do you think?”
He chuckled. “I think it’s time to give my family a call and tell them about you. Of course they would want to attend the wedding ceremony. Wild horses won’t be able to keep Mom away.” He tilted his head and looked at her. “I see you’ve already told yours since your grandmother and mother congratulated me and welcomed me to the family when I arrived today.”
She shrugged. “I saw no reason not to go ahead and tell them. I basically told my mother the truth regarding our relationship. However, I led Grammy to believe we miraculously fell in love.”
“And your grandfather?”
She stopped walking and gazed up at him. “I haven’t told him anything yet, and Mom and Grammy promised they wouldn’t, either. I thought it was best to wait until you returned so we could tell him together.”
Spencer nodded. “And how do you think he’ll take the news?”
Dreams of Forever: Seduction, Westmoreland StyleSpencer's Forbidden Passion Page 24
