I stand from my chair on the back patio and hurry toward him. “Roscoe!” But then a loud bang on the other side of the fence startles us both.
Rhonan’s head pops up on the other side, locking eyes with me as he kicks the fence again. Roscoe jumps back, peers up at Rhonan, and begins to bark.
“What are you doing?” I call over the fence.
“Trying to traumatize your dog so he stops digging under my fence,” Rhonan says flatly.
A spike of irritation cuts through my surprise. “Excuse me?”
“It’s better than getting electrical wire that will shock him,” he retorts, crossing his arms over his chest.
My stomach drops. “You would do that?”
“I’d prefer not to,” he says, unbothered. “But I don’t want him thinking he can just go between our yards.”
“I’ll add that to the list of things to include in his training.” We stand there, staring at each other before I relent and give in to the need to get away from him. “Come on, Roscoe.” Snapping my fingers, I get Roscoe’s attention and prepare to leave, but Rhonan’s voice stops me.
“How’s the wine?”
Pausing, I glance down at my glass and then back to him. “It’s wonderful.”
“Is that the cabernet?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s usually where I steer people if they want a red that’s not too heavy.”
“I like it all, actually. I used to go wine tasting all the time with…” Suddenly, it becomes very clear that I’m sharing too much, especially with this man who’s made it very clear that we are not friends.
“Was there an end to that sentence?”
I sigh. “Look, you’ve made it pretty clear you want nothing to do with me, so we don’t need to do this.” I turn back toward the house.
“I was just asking about the wine,” he says.
“Why?” I twist back to face him.
“Because it’s from my family’s winery. I’ve helped harvest those grapes and run events on those grounds. I take pride in that place, Vienna.”
“Oh.” Hearing him speak about his family’s legacy hits me square in the chest, and seeing the sincerity in his eyes just makes me want to know more about this man.
There’s a pain lurking in his eyes too, though. A pain you don’t recognize unless you’ve carried something similar.
Rhonan brushes his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry about last night. Seeing you at the winery just caught me off guard, and my sister—”
“You know,she’sthe one who called me over to your table. She seems nice.”
“My sister is one of the best people on the planet, but she doesn’t know how to keep her nose out of other people’s business.”
“You’re lucky to have her. Trust me.”
“Only child?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Do you ever feel like you missed out on something because it was only you?”
His question catches me by surprise, but I answer it. “Sometimes… But my friends felt like the siblings I never had.”
