Page 72

She glanced at Leo, letting her mind drift to the worst possible place. What if Leo had to leave to find other work? What if this magical, beautiful thing between them had to end before it could really even start?

He shook his head. “I am not leaving you. Or your family.”

“Promise?”

He blinked up at her with a wary expression. “Do you?”

She didn’t know how to respond, because in truth, she hadn’t told anyone what she was thinking or feeling. She hadn’t admitted to staying long-term after this harvest. She’d slowly saved the money Otto insisted on paying her, and although it wasn’t truly enough to leave and make it somewhere else, she had left with just as little before.

Yet after everything that had happened, would she want that life? Would she really want to leave her family high-and-dry again? Or leave the man she’d truly ever loved?

Worse: Would the magic betray her again when so much was on the line?

Those questions felt big and heavy—too heavy to carry when she had other, heavier things to worry about. They needed to pull off harvest and begin winemaking in one week’s time. They had a hired crew of workers coming to help them handpick today, and they were already running behind.

She flung herself out of bed, then shimmied on her jeans. “Come on, the sun’s about to rise.”

Leo watched her with questioning eyes as she moved about his room, getting dressed and slathering on SPF for the inevitable day in the beating sun. When she finished, she glanced at him, still in his underwear, still looking perfectly ruffled from her hands that morning. Still looking confused.

She tilted her head with a flirty smile. “Are you coming?”

He squinted his eyes, then maneuvered out of bed. He made his way over to her, placing his hands on her arms. He planted a tender kiss between her brows. “We’re not done with this conversation, okay?”

She bit her bottom lip. “Later?”

He nodded. “Later.”

Klaus Kasner showed up at nine in the morning, like clockwork. They didn’t have a meeting set with him, but Freya had a feeling he would show. She’d announced as much to the family as they sipped on coffee and nibbled on scones before getting in the fields.

Klaus walked up the porch steps in a short-sleeve button-down and charcoal-gray slacks. His hair was perfectly slicked back, and an expensive-looking watch dangled at his wrist. He shoved his Ray-Bans to the crown of his head as he entered the shade of the porch.

Leo watched from the field with his arms crossed and a deep scowl.

Alana approached him, bumping his shoulder. She removed her work gloves and tucked them under her arms. “Whatever you’re thinking, I support it.”

“Murder, actually.”

“Brilliant.” She gave him a menacing smile. “I’ll get the shovel.”

He shook his head. “The audacity of that man to show up today.”

“He’s all about the money,” Alana reminded him. “Sure, I was hoping he had a sliver of humanity in him. But Freya was right. He’s a money-hungry monster.”

Leo lifted a brow in her direction.

She raised her hands in defense. “Her words. I swear.”

“Do you think she’ll be able to convince him?”

They turned their attention back to the porch, watching Freya as her cheeks grew red and her hands moved wildly as she yelled at him. Klaus simply laughed at her display, shaking his head, his stupidly perfect white teeth gleaming even in the shade.

Alana growled. “He’s really enjoying himself. It makes me sick.”

Leo bumped her shoulder back. “How’s your section going?”

“It’s fine. I want to move faster, but some of these workers are fairly new. Hopefully their pace will pick up.”

They watched their hired hands clip perfectly purple and dark green bunches and drop them in baskets before loading them on trucks. One truck was already rolling down the hill to the winery, where Otto was observing the storage of the fruit so everything stayed fresh and cool before they began pressing in a few days’ time.