“It is,” Caleb agreed. “Puts my cabin to shame.”
“No,” Hannah said immediately. “Your cabin is beautiful, too. It’s very... you.”
Caleb laughed. “I’m not sure that’s a compliment, considering you’ve seen my bare cupboards.”
“Oh, it’s a compliment,” she blurted. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so...” She hesitated, then ducked her head, a faint flush warming her cheeks. “At peace.”
“I’m glad,” Caleb said.
They continued along the stone path, the air fragrant with herbs and wildflowers. Bees drifted lazily between blossoms, adding to the tranquility of the vineyard.
Hannah found herself slowing without meaning to, reluctant to reach their destination too quickly. She wanted to enjoy this moment, walking beside Caleb through the lush vines, and hold onto it as long as possible.
“You’re glowing,” he whispered.
She turned to him, startled. “What?”
“The sunlight,” he said, just as quickly, and she wondered if he’d meant to say it at all. “It’s caught in your hair.”
A flush of heat spread across her cheeks at the simple compliment. She wasn’t used to being noticed in that way, as someone who might glow or shimmer or catch the light. She’d always been practical. Useful. The person who kept things running rather than the one who inspired poetry.
“Oh,” she managed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.”
Caleb’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer before he looked ahead toward the house. The expression in his eyes made her heart beat a little faster, a little harder, as if it were trying to reach through her ribs toward him.
To distract herself from those thoughts, she focused on the house and how perfectly it sat within the landscape. It didn’t impose upon it, but nestled within it, as if it had grown there rather than been built. Flowering roses climbed the walls, and terracotta pots overflowed with herbs and flowers.
“This whole place feels like another world,” she said.
“That’s exactly what they wanted,” Caleb replied. “A place where people can be transported away to another world.”
They reached the front door, its weathered wood inlaid with decorative ironwork. Caleb knocked, the sound echoing beyond the stout wooden door.
Hannah stood beside him, aware of his presence in a way that felt both new and somehow ancient. She’d known him only a short time, yet being close to him felt effortless, as if her body understood something her mind was still catching up to.
No footsteps came. No voices.
“That’s strange,” Caleb said, frowning slightly. “They should be here.”
Hannah glanced around, noticing the empty drive for the first time. “Maybe they had to go into town?”
“Maybe.” He stepped back, eyes lifting toward the second-floor windows, unfocused. “I don’t think anyone’s home. Let me try calling.”
Caleb stepped a little to the side as he made the call, his voice low as he spoke to his uncle. Hannah didn’t catch every word, but she caught enough — the apology, the sense that plans had shifted without warning.
She watched his expression as he listened, the way he nodded, the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he glanced back at her. Something about it all felt slightly strange. Too convenient, perhaps. Her practical mind stirred, ready to catalog the inconsistencies, to ask questions that might pull the moment apart.
She shut it down.
Not because it wasn’t there, but because she didn’t want it to be. Not today.
She was tired of questioning every good thing that happened to her, always looking for the catch, the hidden cost.
Instead, she let herself take in the house again, the warm stone, the sunlit vines stretching across the slope beyond, the quiet hum of life in the valley. The way the air seemed to invite her to breathe more deeply, to linger.
Caleb ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “They were called away unexpectedly,” he said. “They said we’ve got free rein of the vineyard. And if they’re not back in time, the wine order is already packed and waiting in the storage room. My uncle told me where to find the key.”
“I’d love to explore some more. If you have the time to spare.” She held her breath as she waited for his answer. There was a chance she would never have this kind of opportunity again. It wasn’t every day she was given the run of a secluded vineyard.
