Shipping Sharon

by Daisy Dexter Dobbs

  Preoccupied with positioning a dab of Brie on her cracker, Maisy stopped cold and gasped. "I beg your pardon!" Without looking up at him, she yanked the plaid blanket back over her knees and midsection. "Look, Keller, don't get me wrong--I appreciate the compliments, but don't you think you're moving just a wee bit too fast here?"

  "Huh?" Turning towards Maisy just in time to see her tugging the blanket closed, Keller threw his head back and laughed. Seeing her incensed, wide-eyed expression when he started to laugh only made it worse. "The wine, Maisy," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I'm talking about the wine." Still laughing, he held his glass up again and twirled it. "See the way it coats the glass and runs down the sides? Those are the legs. This wine's got great legs."

  The deep crimson hue across Maisy's cheeks competed with the blood red color of the wine as she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, I could just die." Peeking up at him through spread fingers, she said, "Keller, I am so embarrassed. You must think I'm a complete idiot."

  "Nothing of the kind. With legs like those, it's a natural mistake for you to make." Gingerly lifting a corner of her blanket, he winked and jiggled his brows. "And this time, I'm definitely referring to yours, Maisy," he laughed.

  Her shoulders relaxing, Maisy laughed and slapped his hand away before lifting her glass, studying the contents and taking a sip. "So wine has legs, huh?" She put the tip of her finger in her mouth and bit at it as she sheepishly glanced up at Keller. "I've got a little confession to make, Keller."

  Keller folded his arms across his chest, feigning a stern expression. "Oh, you do, do you? And just what might that be, Ms. Morganfield?"

  She bit down on her fingertip again and shrugged. "I'm a fake. You probably couldn't tell, but to be honest, I know next to nothing about wine."

  Keller's smile spread across his handsome features. "Is that so?"

  "Yup," Maisy continued, heaving a deep breath, "I heard the tidbit about cabernet being compatible with chocolate on one of those food shows on cable TV." She offered another apologetic shrug.

  Clearly amused, Keller smiled warmly. "And what about those very astute comments you made when you tasted the cabernet earlier, Ms. Morganfield? You know, the currants, the oak, the spice, the earthiness?" He raised a brow and smirked.

  "Eeew, this is really getting to be embarrassing." Maisy rolled her eyes and let out a groan. "I, uh, I was trying my best to be cosmopolitan." She offered a meager smile. "That was just stuff I heard people saying at the wine tasting Norman took me to. I really do like this wine though." Maisy held her glass aloft and grinned. "In fact, this wine is really pretty damn good once you get used to it." She downed a few sips, glanced up at Keller with a sheepish smile and hiccupped.

  "Must be because it's a dry wine versus a wet wine," Keller said, no longer able to contain his laughter. Maisy cringed and Keller wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Your wet wine comment kind of clued me in early on."

  "But, I thought . . ."

  "Wines are either dry, or sweet. That's where you got mixed up." Keller gave her a reassuring squeeze.

  "And here I thought I was being so urbane." Rolling her eyes, Maisy heaved a pained growl. "If that fountain behind us were filled with water, I swear to God, I'd drown myself in it," she said, burying her head in her hands.

  "Hey, don't feel bad. Actually, I think you did some pretty good bluffing for a novice." Keller pulled Maisy's hands from her face and lifted her chin with his knuckle. "Of course, I had to take some points off your score for the champagne comments." He threw his head back and laughed.

  "Guess I should have stopped while I was ahead, huh?" Keller nodded. "It sounds like you're quite a wine connoisseur, huh?" Maisy asked.

  "Pick up the wine bottle and take a look at it."

  She did--and gasped as she read the words on the label. "Keller's Cellars!" She angled him a cautious smile. "Wait a minute, you're not going to try to tell me that this Keller is you, are you?" Keller fished through his pocket and retrieved a small case engraved with the words, Keller's Cellars. He opened it and handed one of the business cards to Maisy. She mumbled the words to herself until she came to the part that read, Keller Chaney, Proprietor and Winemaker. "Oh my gosh, it is you!"

  "In the flesh."

  "Well that's just great. As if I didn't feel like enough of a moron already, now I find out that wine is your business." Maisy took another sip of cabernet and shook her head. "See, that'll teach you not to put on airs, Mazel Lynn," she said, punctuating her thought with a hiccup.

  Keller flinched. "Mazel Lynn?"

  Furrowing her brows, Maisy looked at Keller. "Did I say that out loud?" Keller nodded with a bemused smile. "Well, just pretend I didn't. You know, Keller, I think this wine's starting to affect me," she said with a determined nod. She reached out to finger his tie, amused that she seemed to be seeing double. "So that's why your tie is printed with little wine bottles all over it, huh?" Keller nodded with a smile. "Very clever. But, I don't understand. I thought wine only came from California or France or other far off places. I never heard of vineyards anywhere in Chicago."

  Keller laughed. "I have grapes shipped in from California's Napa Valley, and from Monterey in sealed, refrigerated trucks. My other sources include orchards in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, California and Washington State for the fruit wines."

  "Fruit wines?"

  "Uh-huh, apple, peach, strawberry, cherry . . . I've experimented with quite a variety of fruits. Even won a few awards here and there." He smiled proudly as he postured, polishing his fingernails against his lapel.

  Maisy studied Keller's business card again, doing her best to focus in on the small print. "Naperville, Illinois. So, you mean the winery . . ." she glanced at the card again ". . . Keller's Cellars, is right outside of Chicago in DuPage County? That's where you make the wine?" She found this all absolutely fascinating. She found him absolutely fascinating.

  "You got it." Keller smiled broadly. "The winery's located in a 19th century, Victorian mansion that's been rehabbed, but still maintains its old world charm. Did most of the re-hab work myself, and I must say I'm pretty proud of the place. I live on the second floor, the offices and retail shop are on the first floor, and the winery itself is underground. We offer wine tastings for a nominal fee and conduct tours of the winery on weekends--they're always very popular. You know, I'd love to give you a personal tour of the winery sometime, Maisy. Would you like that?"

  Struggling with her inner conflict, Maisy furrowed her brow and studied the ground as she kicked at a tiny stone lodged in a crack in the cement. Logic and common sense told her that she absolutely should not see Sharon Chaney's brother again, but, intense curiosity, combined with the delicious affect of the wine, and her growing attraction to this intriguing, appealing man overruled her sound reasoning.

  "Maisy?"

  She jerked her head upright. "Oh, I'm sorry, Keller. Yes. Yes I'd like that very much," she said, already toying with remorse. She couldn't help it--she had to see him again.

  Keller's face beamed with happiness. "That's great. We'll even conduct our own private wine tasting session. I think you'll find it all very interesting."

  "Well," Maisy laughed, "as you witnessed earlier, I do believe I could stand a little education on wine." Weaving slightly from left to right, Maisy narrowed one eye to focus better on Keller.

  "In that case, I'm your man."

  In any case, you're my man, Maisy's thoughts screamed before she could rein them in.

  "We'll turn you into a wine expert in no time." Keller smiled and kept his gaze locked on Maisy's. "I don't think I've ever seen eyes quite that color. They're almost ultramarine." He reached up and lifted a cluster of blonde curls from Maisy's face. Leaning in a bit closer, he whispered, "Beautiful. Like two exquisite, radiant jewels."

  Maisy swallowed hard and felt a curiously delicious charge jet to her core. "Th . . . thank you, Keller." Taking in a deep breath, she eagerly drank in Keller's rich, masculine scen
t as he drew closer. Maisy's eyes grew wide as she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheek. Oh my God, he's going to kiss me! She forced herself to break eye contact with Keller and back away.

  Clearing her throat, Maisy blinked rapidly, and said, "Norman says they're Prussian blue." She rolled her eyes and shook her head because it sounded like such a dumb thing to say--but he made her nervous--and red-hot with excitement. This was most definitely not supposed to be happening with Sharon Chaney's brother.

  Tickled by her subterfuge, Keller's eyes crinkled as an amused smile crossed his face. He straightened and poured them each another glass of cabernet. "I like that . . . Prussian blue. Let's toast to Norman." He lifted his glass and clinked it against Maisy's.

  As she too quickly glugged the deep, red wine, Maisy studied Keller's incredible chocolate drop eyes. She loved how they crinkled when he smiled and laughed. They glistened the way semi-sweet chocolate does when it's melted and stirred--deep and dark, with a rich, sparkling luster.

  "Chocolate?"

  "Yes . . . I noticed," Maisy said dreamily.

  Keller slanted her a puzzled look as he held a little golden box of Godiva chocolates under Maisy's nose. "What?"

  Snapping herself back to reality, Maisy felt the color rise in her cheeks for the umpteenth time that afternoon as she looked down at the box Keller held in his hand. "Oh, you mean these," she said, helping herself to a piece and offering a blushing smile as she gulped down some more wine.

  Keller looked to the left and to the right and laughed. "As far as I know, this is the only chocolate in the immediate vicinity. Is there something I'm missing here?" He scratched his head.

  Waving her hand, Maisy shook her head and tried to remain nonchalant. "No. Don't mind me. I was just thinking about something else for a minute." Like what it would feel like to have a magnificent hunk of man like you take me in your strong arms and kiss me until my eyeballs jiggled. Taking a few hearty sips of cabernet, Maisy looked up into Keller's eyes again and began to feel all warm and squishy inside. She looked at her wine glass and tried to focus as she distinctly saw two instead of one. It's the wine. The wine's making me feel like this. Gotta get rid of it. Maisy drained her glass, cleared her throat and blinked a couple of times. "All gone," she said with a Stan Laurel grin. "You know, Keller . . . I think that maybe I'm not used to having this much wine all at once. I feel kind of smooshy." She let out a giggle and slapped her hand to her mouth. "Whoops, I don't know what I'm giggling for." She giggled again.

  "Just what I need--a smooshy giggler," Keller said laughing as he took Maisy's empty wine glass and set it on the table. "Well, you've got quite a wine blush there, Maisy. And, you did down that cabernet pretty fast. I think you may be just a bit inebriated."

  "Just a bit perhaps. What's a wine blush?" Maisy asked through her giggles.

  Keller took her hand and patted it. "It's nothing to be worried about. A lot of fair-skinned people like yourself get all red in the face when they drink wine."

  "Oh," she said with disappointment. "And here I thought I was blushing because you were about to make my eyeballs jiggle." Maisy tried valiantly to recapture her composure, but gave up as she surrendered to another fit of giggles.

  "Huh?"

  "You know." Maisy jutted her neck forward and tapped at her lips. "Kiss me--I thought you were going to kiss me."

  His eyes widening with surprise, Keller shook his head with amusement as he watched the vivacious, voluptuous woman next to him continue to dissolve into giggles and found that he couldn't help laughing along with her. "I thought you didn't want me to." He tapped his finger against the tip of her nose.

  "Well, the logical Maisy says no, but the smooshy Maisy says yes." She grabbed Keller's finger and held her hand up to his, studying the size difference. "You have such nice, big, strong hands," Maisy gushed. "Let's put one here," she placed one of his hands behind her waist, "and the other one here," she placed his other hand on her shoulder, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips.

  Holding the magnificent blonde creature in his arms, Keller shook his head and laughed. From the first moment he saw her at the funeral home, Keller became entranced by Maisy. When they met again at Chowder Bay, common sense told Keller that getting mixed up with his sister's husband's ex-wife may not be the wisest idea--but, damn, that spunky woman was just too spectacular to pass up.

  "Well?" Maisy said with a silly grin as she opened one eye.

  "Well, what?" Keller said softly, bringing his hand up to her golden curls and feeling the silky strands against his fingers. God, she was breathtaking.

  "Well, are you going to kiss me, or what?" Maisy said, impatiently, now with both eyes open.

  "Oh, sweetheart," he said, caressing her with his eyes, "if only you knew how much I want to do just that--and more--but, you're not in any condition for me to be making advances on you just now."

  Jumping to her feet, Maisy teetered a bit as she held her arms out to her sides. "I'm not in good condition? What's the matter; do you think I'm fat? Is that why you don't want to kiss me?"

  As Maisy began to lose her balance and fall backwards towards the empty basin of the fountain, Keller reached out and drew her back. Holding her by the shoulders, she reminded him of a precocious, stubborn little girl in a woman's body--and a very womanly body it was, too. He swallowed hard as he looked down at the large pair of spheres projecting from her sweater. Rising and falling with her every breath. The thought of embracing her soft, ripe curves--holding her hard against his chest was overwhelming. Keller groaned as he felt himself becoming aroused, and without thinking he pulled Maisy tightly against him, covering her mouth hungrily with his. She was so sweet, so warm, so luscious and he quickly became lost in the depths of her inviting kiss.

  Maisy felt as if her world was spinning as Keller eagerly explored her mouth with his tongue. Is this really happening, or am I having the best damn dream of my life? Peeking through one eye, she saw the lush, long lashes of Keller's closed eyes before her. No doubt about it, I'm dreaming. This is too damned terrific to be real. My God, he was delicious. She could taste the scrumptious combination of chocolate and cabernet combined with the magnificent taste that was all his own. So, maybe this chocolate and cabernet thing has something to it after all. Wrapping her arms around Keller's neck, Maisy let out a little moan and savored the luscious experience of his kiss.

  Gently pulling back, Keller removed Maisy's arms from around his neck. Maisy looked up at him through clouded eyes that asked why. Sucking in a deep breath, Keller placed his hands on her arms. "Maisy, I'm sorry. I never should have taken advantage of you like that."

  Beaming a bright smile, Maisy said, "That's okay, I liked it. Go ahead, take advantage of me again." Leaning forward, she closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

  Keller shook his head and smiled. Taking in another deep breath, he struggled to maintain his resolve. "No, Maisy. Not like this. Your thoughts are clouded by all that wine now, and," he gave a little laugh and scratched his head, "and I have a sneaking suspicion you might not feel the same way once the effects of the alcohol have worn off." He led Maisy back to the area where they had been sitting and sat beside her. "Believe me, Maisy," Keller laughed again as he shifted uncomfortably, "this is a whole lot harder for me than it is for you." He dragged his blanket over his lap in an effort to cover his full, throbbing arousal.

  Maisy smiled and shrugged. "From now on, Keller, whenever I have cabernet with my chocolate, I'm going to think of you . . . and this wonderful picnic . . . and that delicious kiss." Discarding the blanket that Keller had tucked around her, Maisy scooted towards Keller, resting her head on his chest and breathing a sigh. "I certainly don't need that anymore," she said. "Hold me, Keller. Hold me tight."

  Hesitantly placing his arm around her, Keller could feel the heat radiating from Maisy's body--and those voluptuous round breasts of hers pressing against him was almost more than he could handle. When she placed her hand on his chest and purred, he groan
ed from somewhere deep inside, yanked Maisy close, and kissing her urgently. Taking a moment to breathe, Keller brushed the damp, blonde curls from Maisy's forehead and smiled. "You know, if we don't pull in the reigns, we could get arrested for public indecency." His voice was thick and husky.

  "That's okay, I don't care," Maisy said breathlessly. "Because none of this is really happening anyway."

  "On the contrary," Keller said, adjusting himself, "believe me, Maisy, it's real." He laughed.

  "Uh-uh, it never happens like this in real life--just in fairy tales and romance novels--so, I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming. Just don't wake me up, Keller, okay?"

  The ringing of Keller's cell phone was a rude, unwelcome interruption. "Damn." Tsking, Keller reached into his suit coat pocket and retrieved his ringing phone. "I'm sorry Maisy. I've got to answer this. I'm expecting an important call from one of my vintners in California."

  Watching Keller intently as he answered his call, Maisy wrapped her arms around herself, luxuriating in the memory of the delicious kisses they had just shared. While he was certainly dashing and handsome, it was definitely more than just physical attraction that gave Maisy the warm, tender feeling that blossomed inside her. Keller was caring, intelligent, and had a great sense of humor. As Keller listened to his call, Maisy saw his eyebrows knitting together in a look of displeasure. She wondered who or what was distorting Keller's handsome features into angular lines of anger. She longed to reach out and smooth her fingers along his creased forehead and furrowed brow. After a minute or so, when she heard Keller say Sharon's name, Maisy stiffened, her ears fully perked and her pleasant, fuzzy state of intoxication rapidly diminishing. It was as though she'd been encased in a wonderful little bubble of fantasy until the mention of Sharon's name sharply pricked the bubble and deflated it.

  "Look Sharon, I told you, I'm busy. I'm . . ." Keller looked at Maisy, and offered an apologetic smile. ". . . I'm with a very important client right now. I'll call you later." Heaving a sigh, Keller returned the phone to his pocket and turned to Maisy. "Obviously not the vintner from California." His smile was met by Maisy's steely glare. "Honestly, Maisy, I'm really sorry about that . . . I know how you feel about Sharon." He placed his hand over Maisy's. "Believe me, the last thing in the world I wanted or expected now, of all times, was an intrusion by my lamebrained sister."