He lifted his head. ‘You’d do that?’
‘Of course.’ I kissed the tip of his nose.
‘What would you tell them?’
‘The truth.’
He stilled. ‘Really?’
‘I would say, “Family, we owe Satoshi a favour.”?’ I kissed one of his dimples. ‘Because even though Jonah and Sadie are paying for their wedding, there’s no way he’s breaking even on this.’ I kissed the other one. ‘I saw you’re closing the bar tomorrow.’
He buried his face in my neck again. ‘It’s only one day of trade. It’d be a huge pain with a broken glasswasher anyway. Plus, I’d be anxious leaving someone who didn’t know the venue in charge, even if it was Maxi or Carlton.’
‘That’s still a significant chunk of money.’ I went back to combing my fingers through his hair, shoving the feelings it sent bubbling to the surface down as hard as I could. ‘So, I would say, “Family, the least I can do for this lovely man is wash some glasses.”?’
‘You don’t need to, though. Dish pig work is the worst job in hospo. It’s messy, and sweaty, and—’
‘Satoshi—’ I tugged his face up to mine and kissed him ‘—just let me do this for you, okay?’
I slipped off his lap and on the floor. ‘Fiona, no,’ he protested weakly, as I unzipped his trousers. ‘You don’t—’
‘I want to.’ I pressed my lips to his thigh as I drew him out of his underwear. ‘You’ve had a bad day. Let me take care of you.’
He’d said something similar the first time I’d ever gone down on him.Fiona, no,he’d said, as I went to my knees in front of him in an old Frenchman’s grimy wine cellar.You don’t have to.
But he’d been hard within seconds, hand fisting in my hair.Oh god,he’d moaned,oh Fiona, how are you so good at this, oh fuck,and I’d hummed with laughter around him in sheer delight at the thought I could give him so much pleasure.
This time, though, was different. ‘Stop,’ Satoshi said, tugging gently at my hair as it became clear his cock wasn’t going to cooperate. ‘It’s okay.’
I stood awkwardly while he tucked himself away and rezipped his pants. ‘Sorry,’ he said, pulling me back onto his lap. ‘It’s not your fault. Just… you know, long day.’
‘It’s okay.I’msorry.’
‘Hey.’ He caught my chin in his fingers and kissed me. ‘Don’t apologise. Everything’s all right.’
It wasn’t, though. Some little cog in the machinery which had been running so smoothly had come loose, and even though nothing had technically gone wrong, something wasn’t quite right, either.
Chapter SixteenSatoshi
Tasting today: Fernet-Branca, Milan, Italy.
A shot of Fernet is typically called a bartender’s handshake, because it’s supposed to shock you awake in the middle of a long shift. Sometimes, though, it just feels like stepping on a rake.
‘My initial conclusion is that this is a warm climate wine, from a hot, dry vintage.’ I took another sip, let the wine sit on my palate for several seconds, then reached for the spittoon. ‘I’m almost certain it’s grenache. It could be from Lirac or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but I feel strongly that it’s new world, so my final conclusion is that this is grenache from McLaren Vale, vintage 2020.’
‘No, but you’re on the right track.’ Maxi took the sleeve off the bottle and showed it to me. ‘It’s zinfandel from Sonoma.’
I exhaled. ‘That’s not on the right track at all.’
‘Oh, come off it, you perfectionist.’ Carlton shoved me in the shoulder. ‘Most of your working was right – and warm climate grenache and zin are easy to mix up. If you make a call that close in the Young Somm comp, you’ll be in with a solid shot.’
The high street was starting to bustle as we wrapped up, joggers weaving between people grabbing coffee and lining up at the bakery. ‘Thanks for agreeing to have study group at the crackof dawn,’ I said. ‘This is the only window I have this week and I desperately need the practise.’
‘No worries,’ Carlton said. ‘I wish I could cover for you today. Losing a Saturday’s trade is rough.’
‘Yeah, I’m so sorry about that,’ Maxi agreed. ‘But you’re still on to stage at Filigree on Monday night, right?’
The last thing I wanted to do on my one precious night off was work a demanding shift in a fine-dining restaurant, but I nodded. ‘Thanks for getting your boss to let me.’
