She shrugged. “We’re alone. Who’s going to see?”
“You’re right, who’s going to see?” I tugged harder on the garment and her breasts popped free. I bent to suck one of her luscious pink nipples into my mouth.
Cami placed her hands firmly on my shoulders and pushed me away. She adjusted her sports bra so it once again covered her breasts and gave me an admonishing glare.
“Tell me what you want me to do,” she insisted. “Tell me how to help you succeed instead of fail.”
I sighed heavily and ran a hand over my face. “Honestly? I’ll have a better idea tomorrow after we meet with the consultant. I chose a firm specializing in helping wineries become sustainable. But after meeting with my father this morning, I’m scared shitless that this is going to fail.”
“If this dream fails, then it won’t because you didn’t try. I’m not going to sit here and watch you give up before you’ve even started, Garrett.”
I gave her a half-smile. She was so much my better half, and at times, I doubted whether I deserved her love. I held out my hand to her, which she accepted, and we walked back toward the main house.
“I couldn’t do this alone,” I confessed. “I’d never have the courage. But you give me all the strength I need to move forward.”
She tugged on my hand. “We’re in this together, Garrett. Good or bad, succeed or fail.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cami
Garrett was practically bouncing with excitement the day we met with the consultant who would help us put Sorenson Cellars on the path to sustainability. The day started with a good omen: Garrett actually slept in. He wasn’t up at the slightest hint of dawn like normal. Then I caught him whistling! Never once did I think of Garrett Hammond as a whistler. He noticed me gawking at him as he literally danced around the kitchen making breakfast. His pucker faded into a mischievous grin immediately followed by a flirty wink. And then he went right back to whistling.
“What’s gotten into you?” I asked as I followed him out to my car. We still hadn’t picked up a second vehicle, which was also on our to-do list for the day.
“Nothing. Can’t a guy be excited about his dreams coming true?” He slipped his large frame behind the steering wheel and pressed the push button ignition.
“Of course you can! But the other day, you were all doom and gloom when you came home from seeing your father.”
Garrett’s smile faltered just a fraction. That meeting still bothered him, but he wasn’t going to let it stand in his way. “I’ve known Tessa McGregor my whole life. She’s the consultant I hired to put together the plan for making Sorenson Cellars sustainable. I have complete faith in her, and that’s all that matters.”
But Garrett’s confidence in Tessa McGregor didn’t last much longer than their initial reunion.
When we arrived at McGregor & Associates, Tessa greeted us both warmly. She looked effortless in her khaki shorts and neatly pressed chambray blouse. She was deeply tanned, and her blond hair was styled into the perfect topknot.
“I can’t believe you’re really back,” she told Garrett.
“Me neither,” he admitted. “I never thought I’d want to come back.” Garrett glanced to the side and caught my eye. He reached out a hand, which I took in my own, and tugged me until I was firmly next to him. “But my time in the Army is through, and I found something and someone worthwhile to come home to.”
Tessa made a whimpering noise. “Oh my gosh, you guys are so cute! It’s disgusting.”
She ushered us into her office, and we sat down across from her sleek modern desk. She placed her hands in front of her on a stack of papers, and that was when I saw the change in her expression. Her mouth tensed, and her eyes shifted around the room as though she was searching for the right words to say. Finally, she sighed and managed to make eye contact with Garrett.
“Garrett, I need to be honest with you about something.” She looked almost sick with concern. “I’m really sorry, but we can’t help you with Sorenson Cellars.”
“What? Why?” Garrett dropped my hand and sat forward in his seat. “I gave you a retainer.”
Tessa slid a white envelope across the desk, letting her fingers trail away slowly. “I know, and I’m returning it to you.” Garrett’s dreams were slowly circling the drain.
“Why can’t you help me, Tessa? I don’t understand.”
“Your father called my dad.”
“Fuck!” Garrett roared unexpectedly. Tessa and I both flinched.
“I’m so sorry, Garrett. I want to help you, but my hands are tied. You know how powerful your dad is around here.” Tessa looked at me with sympathetic eyes.
“Yeah, I do.” Garrett’s voice was hollow. “I guess McGregor Estates is still leasing the Syrah from my dad?”
“Your dad owns McGregor Estates, Garrett.” I could tell that this news surprised Garrett. He let out a breath, and his dark brown eyes widened in disbelief. “He bought it when my dad was trying to get this place up and running. My brother retained the rights to the name and we get our share of the profits, but Jacob Hammond owns fifty-one percent of us.”
“FUCK!” Garrett’s voice was louder this time, filling the entire room as he stood. He paced the small space. Like a bolt of lightning, his fist shot out in front of his body and connected with the wall, leaving a sizeable hole. “I’ll pay for that,” he muttered as he left the room. Tessa and I both jumped when we heard the front door of the office slam.
Tessa and I stared at one another for a tense moment before she leaned back in her chair. “I really am sorry, Cami. I’d been trying to get Charlie Benson to let me help him for years, but he was too stubborn and too old-fashioned. When I heard Garrett had bought the property, I got excited. And when he contacted me? I was practically over the moon. But Jacob Hammond bailed my family out when we were in trouble.”
My eyes kept gravitating back to the hole in the wall. This was a side to Garrett I had never seen before. The sudden outburst of violence worried me, especially when I started to consider his mood from the other day and his excitement from this morning. He was almost manic.
I gave Tessa a tight smile. “We’ll figure something out.”
I stood, gathered up my small leather purse, and Tessa walked me to the front door. When I stepped out onto the sidewalk, I was momentarily blinded by the sun. One scan of the small public parking lot across from Tessa’s office, and I soon realized my car was gone. Garrett had left me. My heart sank, and my stomach felt uneasy. His outburst seemed so out of character, but it made me wonder if my love for him blinded me. Had I overlooked previous behaviors? It was hard to concentrate when all I felt was disappointed.
Stupidly, I pulled out my cell phone and immediately called him, but I knew he wouldn’t answer. He was lost to his anger. So I did what any girl would do when she was stranded in wine country – I looked for alcohol.
The buildings surrounding the town square of downtown Healdsburg were starting to become familiar, and the place was starting feel like home. Since our move, we’d made frequent trips to the small specialty grocery store for provisions. But today, my feet were leading me toward a sign with a colorful thumbprint on it.
“Welcome to Thumbprint Cellars,” a woman with a warm smile greeted me as I approached the bar. She set a small empty tasting glass in front of me as well as a laminated menu. “Let me know what I can get for you.”
My eyes immediately started scanning the offerings. Their wines had deliciously sexy sounding names, and the descriptions were tantalizing. For a moment, I forgot all about the ugliness that had occurred in Tessa’s office until my gaze landed on the name McGregor.
“Oh, you use grapes from McGregor?”
The woman nodded eagerly. “Yep, we sure do! Do you know about McGregor wines?”
My lips formed a tight line. “Not really. I only learned about them today.”
Automatically, the woman scanned the bottles lined up in front of her until she picked one
out. She pulled the rubber stopper free from the already opened bottle and poured out a few ounces of a deep red wine. “We don’t own land; we lease it in several different places, including McGregor. Then we take the grapes and produce our wines off-site. The McGregors grow an amazing cabernet sauvignon that we use in our red blend. Try.”
I swirled the liquid in my glass to open it up as Garrett had taught me, and then I smelled it before taking my first sip. Berries burst on my tongue followed by a bit of earthiness, but it ended smoothly.
“Delicious,” I commented.
“Are you on vacation?” The woman poured me another red without prompting.
“No, I just moved to Healdsburg with my fiancé. He bought some property that he wants to turn into a sustainable vineyard.”
The woman’s smile brightened. “Really? That’s awesome.” She nodded toward my glass. “If you like how that McGregor cab tasted in the red blend, try this one.”
The woman was right; it was just as delicious. I moaned appreciatively and licked my lips. “I think I might like that one even more.”
“I had a feeling you might.”
For more than an hour, my new best friend – whose name was Angie – poured me tastings of everything on their menu and even let me taste some wines that weren’t on their menu. Every time I got to taste from what I called “the secret menu,” she would wink. Between pours, I ate the crunchy breadsticks offered to all patrons. But that wasn’t enough to soak up all the alcohol floating in my system.
“She’s cut off.” Garrett’s voice was as smooth as the cabernet sauvignon I had just finished.
I swiveled in my chair and gave Garrett my best scowl. “No, I’m not.” And to prove my point, I picked up my glass and drained the rest of my pour. Garrett took the glass and set it behind the bar, far out of my reach. I scowled even more.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk,” he commented with a hint of a smirk on his lips.
“Well, I’ve never been stranded before,” I shot back.
“I’m sorry. I needed to clear my head.”
I ignored his excuse and turned away from him. Partners didn’t abandon one another when the going got tough, and that was exactly what he had done. He left me out in the proverbial cold instead of letting me help him.
“You’re mad at me,” he said softly. One hand landed on the back of my chair before he leaned forward to place a kiss just under my earlobe. “Why?”
“I’m not mad, Garrett. I’m disappointed in you. And I’m worried.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” he said too quickly and too smoothly. Before I could push back, his mouth covered mine. His lips were crushed against mine, searing his apology into them and begging me for forgiveness. His hands roamed up and down my back as he pulled me off the chair and against his body.
My thoughts were cloudy, and my body felt heavy, but I knew Garrett needed to explain. I managed to work my hands up between us and push him back. “You can’t just kiss your way out of this,” I said as firmly as possible. “You punched a hole in someone’s wall today!”
“I know.” He sighed. “But I was so angry with my father. His interference is nothing more than revenge.”
“And then you left me,” I pouted. “I walked out of Tessa’s office, and you were long gone.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“You already said that,” I slurred.
Garrett smiled that deadly smile that made me weak in the knees and wet in the panties. He wrapped me up in his arms and kissed the top of my head. “Let’s go home, Cami. I think you’re more than a little drunk.”
“S’not my fault,” I grumbled as I looked back at Angie. I gave her a wave, which she returned before clearing away my glass. “Angie kept giving me the secret stuff.”
“See you later, Angie,” Garrett called out, raising his arm into the air and waving.
“It’s good to see you again, Garrett,” Angie replied.
“You know her?” I asked as we stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Know her? I lost my virginity to her.”
Chapter Eighteen
Garrett
Oliver called while we were driving back home, but I ignored it because I wanted to focus on Cami. She was mad about the hole in the wall and about leaving her behind, but I knew that deep down, the true source of her anger was that I didn’t let her help. I could see that deep in her eyes. She expected me to reach out to her, but I was incapable of asking for anything. My blind rage clouded my vision, and all I could think about was how my father sabotaged me and my dream. When I walked out of Tessa’s office, I didn’t want comfort. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted space to let my anger dissolve into rational thought.
“I had to get some clarity because all I could think about was how my father was punishing me,” I explained as we drove back home.
“I understand,” she murmured.
“I don’t think you do. My father is very powerful, and he usually gets whatever he wants. I made him a promise before I deployed, and not only did I break it, but I also betrayed him.”
“Doesn’t he want you to be happy and successful?”
“Only if it’s on his terms,” I replied.
“Why did you make that promise in the first place if you had no intention of keeping it?”
For being drunk, Cami was asking insightful and serious questions. They made me squirm. “I had a lot of time to do some serious thinking while I was imprisoned. I thought joining the Army had been the first real decision I had made on my own, but I realize it was just a knee-jerk reaction to my father’s expectations. I joined the Army because of him. I promised myself that when I was freed, only two people would dictate my life: you and me.”
Next to me, Cami sucked in a sharp breath. I turned down the road that would eventually take us home, and for a moment, we were both quiet. Until she said, “I don’t want to rule your life, Garrett. Please don’t give me that kind of power.”
I released one hand from the steering wheel and reached across the center console for her hand. “Cami, I give you that power happily because I love and trust you.”
I slowed down, careful not to miss our driveway because it was easy to miss. For a moment, I released her hand, so I could maneuver the car onto the long gravel drive. As soon as I parked the car, Cami was out before I had the chance to cut the engine.
I followed her into the house and stood in the foyer, watching her move slowly around the still unfamiliar surroundings. We had so many plans for the day; I had been ready to conquer the world, and now everything was ruined.
“Are you mad at me again?” I called out to her.
Cami stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and leaned her curves against the frame. “You don’t talk about being imprisoned often,” she said quietly.
I swiped a hand down my face before walking toward her. I shoved my hands down into the pockets of my shorts and rocked back onto my heels. “It’s something I try very hard not to think about because once I open up my mind, it floods with total darkness. Until I find a new counselor to meet with, I want to remain focused on getting Sorenson Cellars up and running.”
Cami reached up and placed her hands on both cheeks. “I understand.” Her words were simple, but the pain still residing in the depths of her eyes told me without a doubt she knew about the darkness too.
She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine before brushing past me and heading to the bedroom. She didn’t push me for more, which both shocked and relieved me.
“Neil is coming home,” I informed her. Looking around our bedroom, it amazed me to realize we owned this adventure together. This was our home, our bedroom, a place where we shared everything and where we created something entirely new. “Oliver called to invite us over for dinner. Are you ready to meet my family?”
“I already met them,” she said softly.
“But I wasn’t here, so it doesn’t really count.”
“
When does he want us to come over?” She walked over to the bed and tugged on the covers, straightening them out. Getting to know Cami’s habits was one thing I found pleasure in, and one thing I knew for certain was she didn’t make the bed. Which meant she was finding little things to do in order to avoid me.
“Tomorrow night.” I walked around to where she stood and placed my hands over hers. She never shut me out, and the fact she was doing it now frustrated me. “Talk to me, please.”
“There are times when I still feel like you’re hiding things from me,” she admitted softly. “I want to know every part of you, Garrett. The dark and the light, the good and the bad.”
“Someday, we’ll have a conversation about the darkness. But not today.”
She nodded her acceptance, but I knew she wasn’t satisfied.
The closer we got to Oliver’s house, the hotter I burned with anger at my father’s betrayal. I tried hard not to think about the setbacks I now faced because when it came to turning my vineyard into a sustainable one, I was now back at square one. But when I caught a glimpse of Neil on the front porch, drinking a beer with Oliver, that desire to reconnect with my brothers began to simmer. He was taller than I remembered, and his body was lean from years of training as an Olympic-caliber swimmer. He inherited our mother’s sandy brown hair but shared the same deep brown eyes as me and Oliver.
Cami grabbed my hand, sensing the rising emotions inside me, and squeezed.
“I haven’t seen him in so long,” I whispered. Turning, I let Cami see the tears that were on the verge of falling. They were from the frustration that I felt and from the overwhelming emotion of seeing Neil again. “But all I can think about is yesterday’s disaster.”
“We can leave whenever you want,” Cami reassured me.
Oliver caught sight of us and started heading our way. He rapped on the driver’s side window, and I pressed the button to let it ease down. “Are you two going to sit in here all night?”
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