“It’s one of Tristan’s,” she says. “He’s one of our main suppliers.”
Tristan’s business has gone from strength to strength. From one wine bar to six across London, he’s even looking at opening a club. His distribution business, however, is where he’s currently making his money.
“Last time I saw him, he said it was in the pipeline.”
I remove the foil from the top of the bottle before using the corkscrew to lever the cork out. It comes with a pop.
I look up to find Kat watching me. She motions to the table and the glasses.
I half fill each before passing one to Kat.
Our fingers brush as she takes it, tingles of electricity snaking up my arm at the connection. Her pupils dilate at the contact, and something inside me shifts.
I’m not the only one affected.
“Thank you.”
We clink glasses, and I swirl the wine around the glass.
“This is one of my favourites,” I say, raising the glass to my nose and inhaling the bouquet.
“Mine too,” Kat says, taking a sip.
There’s another pause.
Kat motions to the daybed, and we both sit down.
I take a sip of my wine, allowing the taste to explode on my tongue.
We sit in silence for a moment.
“I know I’ve apologised a lot this week, but I’m sorry I didn’t get you involved from the beginning. Caleb is right, you and your company are the best qualified to work with us on the project.”
I stay silent.
“I don’t usually let my personal life get in the way of my business decisions, but?—”
“Where I’m concerned, you can’t help it.”
I turn. Kat is watching me over the top of her glass.
“No,” she admits, surprising me.
Her lip curls and her nose wrinkles. “I shall have to thank Caleb for making me see sense.”
I chuckle. “Leave him to stew. He’ll hate not knowing if his meddling was successful.”
Kat’s eyes widen, and she lets out a bark.
“I still can’t believe youbelievedhim?”
“I admit, I was a little surprised, but often desperate times.”
“When did you realise?”
“After I read the brief. Everything in it told me this was your baby.” She turns, her eyes locking on mine. “Michael confirmed my suspicions when I called to speak to someone about my questions. That’s when I confronted Caleb, and he confessed to being a little free and easy with the truth.”
“Why go to all this trouble? Why follow me here?”
