by K. F. Breene
“Well, we all know I’m beautiful,” Nick said jovially, shuffling passed Peter and steering Cassie into the door of the limo.
“I tried to tell her that, too, Jace,” Rachel said, slipping in front of Peter. “But she waved me away and said, ‘Meh.’ Who responds with meh? I usually have to trick people into saying I’m pretty.”
“You’re pretty,” Jenn helped, also slipping in front of Peter.
“Excuse me, ladies, but there is a line!” Demetri pushed in front of Peter also, flashing Jace a warning stare as he waited to get into the limo.
It didn’t need to be said. Jace’s behavior didn’t need to be analyzed. He wasn’t acting like he should, nor was he giving his brother the respect and support he always had before now. The only problem was, he wanted Cassie so bad it physically hurt. It had crawled into him, into the very root, and lodged there, eating away at him. It wasn’t logical, anymore. It wasn’t something he could understand, and he certainly couldn’t control it. The best he could do was ignore it. Not act on it. That was the absolute best he could hope for, and it was killing him.
“You’d think they all like crawling down the tiny aisle of a limo.” Peter grinned as he stepped up to Jace.
“Sorry about what I said just there.” The words tasted bitter in Jace’s mouth. “I shouldn’t have crossed that line.”
With a befuddled expression, Peter glanced around him. When his gaze resettled on his brother, Peter said, “Are you talking to me?”
Jace met the confused gaze with hopefully a blank expression. “To Cassie. I’m sorry. I intended to say something else.”
“Oh.” Peter glanced into the interior of the limo, his confused expression still lodged firmly on his face. “What, that she’s beautiful? Trust me, she hears it all the time. People in L.A. fawn over beauty. You can’t go five steps without someone commenting on appearance.”
Jace waited patiently, his stomach twisting with the slug he should get, and with the knowledge that Peter didn’t like violence and would never follow through like he should. Punishing himself was much harder to bear.
“She does look stunning, though, doesn’t she?” Peter smiled and leaned into the door of the limo. “Now you have to believe it when the hardest man in the family admits something like that, Cassie.”
“I’m amazed he didn’t kiss his own bicep when he said it!” Nick yelled from within.
Peter laughed and patted Jace on the arm. “She’s a vision when she wants to be. Wouldn’t believe you if you said it, though. She apparently thinks she’s just ordinary like everyone else.”
“That’s because you always show me up,” Cassie’s voice drifted out.
“Are we going, or what?” Demetri called. “We’re paying for this tongue waggling—you realize that, right?”
“Besides,” Peter turned to Jace. His gaze flicked down Jace’s body quickly. “You’re looking good. If you did a smidge tighter on the shirt—a stretchy one would really do wonders for your shoulders—and a titch lighter in the slack—just to show off the definition—you’d drop jaws. You’re almost there. Just need a little tweak. You’ll need to find a woman that knows how to shop—since I know you won’t do it—and you’re all set. With your size and shape, you’d be the envy of my whole establishment, I mean it. My bosses would love to work with your frame.”
Jace cleared his throat and shifted from side to side. He wasn’t sure what to say. But he didn’t have to figure it out when Cassie yelled, “He’s the alpha sort, Peter, and you’re making him uncomfortable.”
“What are these words we’re using?” came Nick’s disembodied voice. “Alphas, tweaks, fashion…”
“Yeah, this shit is making me uncomfortable,” Demetri joined in. “Get the tunes rolling, Cassie, and let’s get out of here.”
Peter turned bright red, gave Jace a half scared, and half apologetic shrug, and basically dove into the car.
“Get off Peter,” Cassie squealed. “You’re way heavier than you look.”
“Sorry, there…is….no room. I’m just trying to get by.”
Jace stared for a moment at nothing, not quite sure what just happened. Peter was in the fashion industry, yes, but the way he’d moved…he’d completely changed his stance and how he used his hands to accentuate what he said. Something was off with his brother, and with his brother’s relationship to Cassie. Or was he just grasping at straws in hope—
“Bro, seriously.” The impatience in Demetri’s voice was fairly obvious.
Wiping the crazy from his mind, Jace bent to slide into the limo, only to freeze a moment later. Cassie sat next to the only open seat, arms stretched above her, fiddling with the sound system.
Why me?
He slid into the cushy seat beside her. Her fragrance drifted up and flirted with his nose, spicy and feminine, even her choice in perfumes perfect. A champagne bottle popped, followed by cheering.
“And here we go!” Nick reached for a plastic glass with a huge grin. “A day of tasting, talking, and no kids.” His sigh spoke volumes.
Chapter 11
“Sooo… what’s up?” Cassie asked, tapping her phone. A blast of Can’t Stop Believing tore through the car. She flinched and adjusted the volume of the limo’s speaker system as Jenn, Rachel, and Peter immediately started singing, glasses of champagne already nearly empty. They’d only been on the road for ten minutes. Apparently this was a day for letting their hair down.
Jace sat next to her, looking out the window, his hands clasped in his lap. Considering his white knuckles, he wasn’t the most relaxed camper in that limo.
“Hey, dumb-dumb, what’s your problem? Why the freak out?” She contemplated jabbing his tickle spot, but thought better of it. He had a certain air about him that bespoke suppressed danger.
That beautiful gaze turned her way. The raw quality of his personality blasted out, causing vibrations up her spine, not to mention a bit of dampness in her panties. “Not a thing. Why did you choose that seat?”
“That sounded like an accusation. And because I have the whole of my music library on my phone, not to mention a few kick-ass playlists. I am going to get this party bumpin’!”
His gaze turned intense, pushing into her and touching something deep inside. Her chest constricted. She gulped. And then he looked away.
It was a nice little moment, though, as far as those things went. Kinda scary and dangerous, like deep, primal things were working toward the surface, but kind of exhilarating.
“Well, I hope you can work out a lighter mood here, soon, because I want to have fun today,” she said easily.
“What does that have to do with me?” he asked the window.
The next song came on, a Billy Idol, fist-pumping extravaganza.
“I forgot about this song!” Demetri yelled from the front of the limo. He sat next to Nick, who sat next to Peter, and then Rachel and Jenn.
“Hey, have you ever heard of a thump-bird?” Cassie rested her phone in her lap and picked her drink up out of the drink holder next to her. She took a sip, watching Jace over the rim of her plastic glass.
His scrounged up eyebrows were expected.
“Want me to show you?” she asked, not able to help a goofy smile.
He studied her for a moment, his face a stern mask, before looking away at the window again.
A dose of insecurity pinched her gut, and then gurgled into anger. “Why are you being such a dick all of a sudden?”
He didn’t even look her way. “I’m just minding my own business.”
“In a second I’m going to punch you in the face with your own business.”
“You better hope she doesn’t have anything to throw!” Peter yelled over the music.
Cassie glanced down the aisle of the limo, ready to badger Jace until he got around to pulling the stick out of his butt. The words died on her lips. She had the attention of the whole car. Most expressions held some sort of shocked fascination, and Demetri had a broad smile.
She
looked back at her phone. Possibly talking a load of crap could wait until they had a bit more privacy—she didn’t need to make a spectacle of herself.
The rest of the limo ride passed in increasingly alcohol-induced mirth for most, and quiet confusion at Jace’s sudden cold shoulder for Cassie. He wouldn’t even look at her. She tried to engage him, asking him where they were headed, but he glanced at Peter, or someone else, and turned back out the window.
What was worse, she felt the harsh treatment way down deep, as if it was her best friend doing it. As if it was someone like Krista, or Kate, or even Sean. The continued neglect made her feel both despondent, and like she wanted to cry. Since before she even arrived at the house, she’d had Jace to banter with, or talk to. She hadn’t realized how much she’d relied on him, or how much his presence helped her enjoy her surroundings, until it disappeared.
And what could she do about it? Nothing. Not without breaking Peter’s confidence, or coaxing Jace to cheat on his woman. Both of those things weren’t acceptable.
Though, part of her wondered why Jace never mentioned his fiancée. Peter had mentioned that they often had problems, and also that the family hated her—which explained why they never brought her up—but she figured he’d say something in passing. Although, guys tended to be closed-mouthed about that sort of thing…
“Okay, here we go!” Rachel chirped, sitting on the edge of her seat as the limo rolled to a stop.
They’d parked in front of a giant castle-looking establishment with a few spires, a huge, looming front entrance, and a gray brick façade. It had a gothic feel to it that made Cassie think of Transylvania and vampires. In contrast, the window panes were thick, bright white.
“Why create such a sinister looking castle, and then go all Disney with the window panes?” she wondered as she exited the limo. Jace offered his hand to help her out, still barely looking at her. To prove a point she ignored it.
“This place was originally built by some guy.” Peter crawled out after her. “He went to jail or something, and couldn’t afford to finish the place. The winery swooped in and bought it.”
“So they changed the window panes to try and be like, ‘Hey, we’re friendly, come on in. What’s under that sheet? Oh nothing—especially the original torture chamber that would’ve been too expensive to yank out.’” Cassie said.
“Colorful imagination,” Jace said in a dry tone as he helped the other women out of the limo.
“What’s this one?” Jenn looked at a wine map.
“Ledson. We came here last year.” Rachel looped her arm in Jenn’s and hustled the other women toward the huge front entrance. “I just love the grounds.”
“We’re on a wine tasting trip, and we choose our stops based on the grounds. Makes perfect sense.” Demetri shook his head.
“Since you didn’t help with any of the planning, mister, I wish you’d stop bitching.” Rachel threw a squint-eyed scowl at him over her shoulder.
“Yes, dear.” Demetri surged forward, dropped his chin to her shoulder, and threw his phone in front of them. “Selfie!”
Nick jumped in at the last second, his own phone poised to take a picture. “Photo bomb!”
“And it begins,” Peter reflected.
Smiling, Cassie followed everyone into the winery, and then gasped when she saw the ceiling. Natural wood in an intricate design looked down on them, a huge, crystal chandelier in the very center. A large stairway swept upstairs to their right. To the left was an arched doorway into some sort of gift shop, and straight ahead was the tasting room.
“It’s beautiful,” Cassie gushed, stopping in the middle of the expansive room and taking it all in. “Imagine living here.”
Peter stopped next to her, but when he saw Rachel and Jenn pushing on, he said, “Do you mind if I go ahead with them? I’ve been here before. Also…” he lowered his voice for her ears alone, “I can be more myself around them. They never give me weird looks or get uncomfortable or anything—unlike my brothers.”
“Yeah, yeah, go. Have fun.” Cassie waved him on.
“Thanks, lovely!” Peter gave her a smile before hastening after the girls.
Cassie walked slowly to the side and brought out her phone to take a picture.
“Is this for your column?”
Cassie glanced toward the doorway to the wine tasting. Jace stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning on the doorframe, studying her from the distance. His shirt set off those broad muscular shoulders just right, his biceps stretching the sleeves and showing off his tattoos. His rugged and handsome face, hair in disarray but freshly shaven, made her inwardly sigh at the same time as rolling her stomach. He was one handsome fucking bastard.
A girl couldn’t properly get the point across without swearing. He just was.
“Talking to me now?” she asked with an intended snarky tone. Instead, she managed deep and breathy. So, kind of missed the mark on that one.
“Didn’t want you to get lost.”
Cassie dropped her phone and turned to him. Giving him a flat stare, she pointed, with exaggerated slowness, at the sign next to his head that said, “Tasting Room.” She let her eyebrows creep up her forehead.
A smile flirted with her lips. “You’re dense.”
“You’re hot, you’re cold—are you on your period?” she asked him, going back to the picture.
“Peter left you.” It sounded like an accusation.
She ignored it.
“Remind me to get a picture of the outside.” She slipped her phone back in her cross-body satchel. “Or are there going to be other wineries this pretty?”
Jace looked around, his eyes slowing on the exquisite architecture above them. “No, this is probably the best. For appearances, I mean.”
She walked across the grand room, a flurry of tingles bursting in her stomach as he straightened up when she neared. Focusing on her breath, she matched his pace up the corridor.
“Are you going to tell me what was up in the car?” Cassie spied the others in a reserve tasting room at a smallish counter in an offshoot on the side. “Wow, going big, huh?”
“Do you have the funds?” Jace glanced down at her. “Is Peter not paying for you?”
“What? Oh.” She waved the thought away. “I don’t know. I’m fine.”
“Hurry up.” Demetri slid down the counter, shoving Nick, making room for the newcomers. “We’re already done with the first glass.”
Cassie stepped up to the counter and an empty wine glass. A smiling man waited for Jace to assume his position in front of his own empty glass, before pouring a white wine.
“We’re doing the gamut,” Nick filled them in, looking around Demetri.
Cassie nodded, swirled the two or so ounces, took a big sniff and sipped. The liquid assaulted her taste buds and scratched its way down the back of her tongue. Her glands felt like they were reeling from a dose of lemons.
“Yikes. That’s…” Cassie took another sip, trying not to make a face.
Jace watched her with a half grin. “Good?”
“What do you think?” Jenn stepped away from the counter so she could see Cassie’s face.
“Um…” Cassie had one more sip to finish the sample. No sense wasting it. “It kind of makes you lose an eye, doesn’t it?”
Everyone else glanced her way. “What’s that mean?” Rachel asked.
“Lose an eye. When you taste it, you make this expression—“ Cassie made a face like she was sucking a lemon, her grimace accented with one eye squeezed shut in agony.
All the onlookers, except the less than enthused pourer, started to laugh. Two camera phones came up, pointed at her.
Jace stuck his head next to her, his heat on her back even though they weren’t touching, his smell in her senses. She vaguely heard him rumble, “Photo bomb.” She tried to ignore it with everything she had, but her legs started to get wobbly and her stomach wanted to upchuck.
She reached out to grab the counter as the next wave of win
e was poured into her glass. Her body became acutely aware of Jace’s large frame next to her. Of his strength and power and his movements. Of how masculine he could make swirling a glass of wine and drinking it.
“Talent,” she muttered.
“What’s that?” he asked, slightly leaning in to hear.
“What about the red?” Jenn asked Rachel.
Rachel shrugged. “It’s okay. Peter? Cassie?”
“Are we invisible?” Nick asked, his fingers touching his chest to indicate who he was talking about in case no one caught his meaning.
“No, you just never have a real opinion,” Jenn explained.
“It’s okay.” Demetri shrugged and downed his glass.
Jenn gave Nick a look that said, “See?”
“Talent,” Cassie answered Jace, focusing to clear the crazy thoughts in her head. “Making this wine tasting deal look all macho.”
“Macho, macho man!” Demetri sang. “I wanna be a macho man.”
“Is that what you’re saying, Cassie?” Nick held his camera at her face with a straight arm. Demetri brought his up to mimic is brother. “That he’s gay? As in, village people gay?”
Peter lost his smile. Jenn turned to the counter and asked for the next pour.
“Cute,” Jace growled.
“Are you saying the Village People are his idol?” Nick pushed, tapping the face of his phone with his thumb to click pictures.
“I think this one is pretty good,” Rachel answered Jenn. “Might buy it.”
“What?” Demetri lost interest in mocking Jace and refocused on the wine. “Are you trying to spend my money, honey dearest?”
“My money. This is payment for wiping your kids’ asses all day for five years.” Rachel motioned she was ready for the next pour.
“Now, this varietal,” the pourer began.
Cassie tuned him out, immediately. She’d been wine tasting a few times—learning about the rain, how the wine got its name, or the batch size didn’t interest her. Basically, if it tasted good enough, she’d buy it. If not, she’d still drink it, and then move on.
