It’s the second time he’s called me princess and I turn my head so he doesn’t see my grimace. There’s no way he could know how much that stings, but I’ll be damned if I let him know it gets to me. Instead, I straighten my spine and lift one of the sconces out of the box, carefully unwrapping it from the protective packaging.
“They don’t cost nearly as much at estate sales. When I said sustainable purchasing was a cornerstone of my work, I meant it. I don’t buy new unless I have to. I’ve had these pieces in storage for almost a year, waiting for the right space to use them. The tables and the matching bar top are still on the mainland, I need to rent a truck to bring them over. But that’s why the dimensions for the bar are so exact. The piece I have for the top is already finished and it’s spectacular. When the owner said he was getting rid of it, I couldn’t let it go to waste.” I’m babbling, I know, but there’s a peculiar light in his eyes, and it’s getting to me. He’s not looking at me with distrust, he’s looking at me with admiration. And that’s a heady feeling.
“What about the rest of the furnishings? Paint, shelving, glasses. We can’t get all of that from estate sales.” He sounds curious, not judgmental, and I fight back a smile, I’m so eager to show him what I can do.
“I happen to know a guy. He’s a distributor for restaurants for dishes and glassware. When I went home, I got in touch with him and asked him to let me know if he comes across what we’re looking for.”
“So, that will be new?”
I move my head back and forth, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Sort of. Yes, they’ll be new, but…they might not be exactly what you asked for.”
It’s his turn to arch a brow at me, and I know I’m on the cusp of losing his agreement.
“You would be surprised how often restaurants get close to opening, only to fold under the financial burden.” I don’t miss the wince he tries to hide, which solidifies my resolve. “Bert has a buyback program where he allows those places to return the products they’ve ordered from him, but at a discounted price. Which he then passes on to me.” I smile triumphantly.
“Why does he do that?”
It’s my turn to wince. But now’s not the time to shy away from the truth. “Because he’s a client of my dad’s.”
At Finn’s scowl, my hackles go up. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not some spoiled brat, some princess who lets her daddy solve all her problems. Yes, my dad handles Bert’s investments. Yes, that’s how I met Bert. But negotiating a deal with him to be able to purchase things for my clients at a reduced cost? That was all me.” I place my hands on my hips at his skeptical expression. “I’ll have you know, it’s not easy as a freelance designer to build connections with vendors, especially not when being cost aware and environmentally aware is so important to me. Okay, fine, I took advantage of a personal connection to someone. So. What. It’s the only time I’ve done it, and I don’t regret it. Now if you’re ready to stop trying to tell me how to do my job, maybe we can move on. Don’t you need to go and squish some grapes or something?”
When I finish my rant, I’m breathing heavily. But Finn isn’t looking at me with that critical eye anymore. Now it seems as if he’s fighting back a laugh. Maybe that should make me mad, but he’s so handsome, even more so when he smiles and that dimple pops out; I can’t hide my own grin.
“Squishing grapes, huh? Is that what you think I do?”
I shrug.
“Come on, Ashley,” he winks when he says my name and I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit it makes my stomach flutter.
“I do a lot more than squish grapes. But even if that was what I did, I can’t exactly squish anything now, in the middle of a snowstorm, when the grapes aren’t even ready to be squished.”
A giggle bubbles out of me. “How many times are you going to say the word squish?”
His answering laugh is far more relaxed than I’ve ever heard him. “I dunno. It’s a fun word, though.”
We smile at each other, and the earlier tension is gone. I’m not foolish enough to believe it won’t come back, we’re clearly destined to rub each other the wrong way. But this is nice. Nice enough that I’ve got the courage to come clean.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t know the first thing about making wine, but,” I pause, and tug my lower lip between my teeth. “I’m really good at drinking it.”
Finn’s eyes darken and his gaze zeroes in on my mouth.
Oh, damn.
Chapter seven
Finn
It takes all of my self control not to reach out and pull that lip out from between her teeth and kiss her. Fucking hell, working with Ashley might turn out to be harder than I expected it would be. It’s certainly not going to be easy with her looking like all of my fantasies come to life. Then again, all I have to do is remember that she represents an expense to the winery that is entirely unnecessary, and I’m less inclined to cooperate. No matter how sexy she is right now.
“Well. When the weather’s better, we can go over to the winery where we’re currently using the machines to make our wine and I’ll show you how it’s done.” Fuck, that came out sounding way dirtier than I intended, and I can only hope she doesn’t read the innuendo that I didn’t mean to say. Granted, in a normal circumstance I would have no problem flirting like that. But that can’t happen with Ashley. I can’t be that way with her.
“I’d like that.” Her soft reply is like a jolt of adrenaline to my dick, which is becoming uncomfortable, trapped in the confines of my jeans.
I feel the smile cross my face at her agreement. And wipe it away quickly. “Cool. Pretty soon we’ll move production here, but we’ll still have to finish the first stage of blending over there. I’ll bottle and age the wine here, though.”
Ashley’s eyes widen. “First stage of blending? Wow. I really had no idea how much work went into wine.” A pretty pink flush comes over her cheeks, giving her an innocent appearance that I wish I didn’t like quite so much. “I’m kind of embarrassed that I’m working on a tasting room for a winery, and am completely clueless about winemaking.”
“It’s okay. Pierre and I will turn you into a pro in no time.” Crap. I need to rein it in. I know how eager I get when I start talking about winemaking, no matter who I’m talking to. If there’s a person willing to listen to me, I’ll go on and on. But I’ve got to keep it in check around Ashley. There’s no point in warming up to her when she’s here to do a job and then she’ll be gone.
