Love Is Thicker Than Water E-Book

Mary E. Thompson

• Herausgeber: BluEyed Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Family is all he has...

Nothing has felt right for Ryan Wilson since his father died unexpectedly. He’s gone through the motions, but ever since that day, something has been missing from his life. And until he figures out what it is, he knows better than to make any drastic changes. 

Family is all she's missing...

Bella Perry never knew her father. A man her mother spoke poorly of her entire life, she didn’t want to know him. But when fate brings them together, she sees a side of him that her mother never told her about. Kind, loving, and smart. 

Family will never be the same...

The last person Ryan should get involved with is the daughter of his father’s enemy. The problem is she’s the only one who makes him feel like that missing piece is back.

Leseprobe

LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER

RAISE A GLASS, BOOK TEN

MARY E THOMPSON

Love Is Thicker Than Water

Raise A Glass, book ten

Copyright © 2019 Mary E Thompson

Cover Copyright © 2022 Mary E Thompson

Cover Photo (vineyard) from depositphotos, Copyright © AlexGukBO

Cover Photo (couple) from depositphotos, Copyright © gum92

Published by BluEyed Press, All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, businesses, locations, and events are either products of the author’s creative imagination or are used in a fictitious sense. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-944090-52-4

Print ISBN: 978-1-944090-53-1

Created with Vellum

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About the Author

To anyone who’s ever felt lost…may you find your true path

1

Ryan Wilson sat to the side of the party and sipped his wine. He was the only one not enjoying himself, but how could he? The party was to celebrate the second anniversary of his father’s death. As far as Ryan was concerned, there was no reason to celebrate.

The rest of his family disagreed with him, so he sat and watched them enjoy themselves.

He wondered what his father would think of the family if he were there. Two years didn’t feel that long, but two years without the man who made him a man was an eternity. In two years, his brother found love, just like many of his cousins. Some of them had kids. The cousins had officially taken over the vineyard, and everything was different with them in charge. Different in a good way, but different.

Ryan hoped his father would be proud of him, but there were plenty of times he doubted it. He was twenty-eight and hadn’t done much with his life. Yes, he loved his job, and he loved being with his family every day, but his dad always said his greatest achievements in life had nothing to do with work. He hoped Ryan would find love, but as the last of the nine cousins who was still single, he hadn’t done what his father asked.

Wasn’t the first time he let down the man he never wanted to disappoint. Probably wouldn’t be the last.

“Why are you pouting in the corner?” Ryan’s grandmother said. Tina, Nonna to the cousins, was as feisty as they come. At eighty-nine, soon to be ninety, Nonna was the matriarch of the family and lived up to the title. She was a ball-buster, but she loved all of them with her whole heart.

“I’m not pouting,” Ryan argued, wrapping his arm around Nonna’s shoulders. She was nearly a foot shorter than his five-eleven, but you’d never know it once Nonna opened her mouth and told you what to do.

“That look on your face says otherwise. Not enough women here for you?” she teased.

Ryan snorted. “Considering I’m related to all of them, definitely not.”

Nonna chuckled. “Good answer. Want me to set you up? Maggie and Violet have some pretty granddaughters.”

Ryan laughed and shook his head. His grandmother’s cronies were wonderful ladies, but their granddaughters were too close. They were like extended family as far as Ryan was concerned, which made them all off limits.

“I can find my own dates, Nonna.”

She shrugged. “Just trying to help. Your mother worries about you.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. “Nah. You can take care of yourself. None of you have ever had trouble finding someone to warm your beds.”

“Nonna!”

She shrugged again. Her petite frame barely nudged his shoulder. Nonna, like the other women in his family, was small but not thin. Ryan grew up thinking that was how women were supposed to be. Small enough that he could wrap his arms around them and tuck their heads under his chin, but not so thin he felt like he’d break them with one touch. He’d slept with women of all shapes and sized, but the ones he considered hanging onto for longer than a few nights were always the curvy ones.

“Don’t pretend you don’t. I might not live with you, but I know how you operate. All of you were the same at one point in time.”

Ryan shook his head. The last person he wanted to discuss sex with was his grandmother. His father sat him down when he was barely a teenager and had the talk with him, but his talk was more about how to treat a woman than it was how it all works. At the time, Ryan was too young to let his dad’s words have much of an impact, but as he grew up, he knew every word was truth and lived by the same code. Women deserved respect, especially when they were willing to take their clothes off for you.

“I need a dance partner. Since the rest of your cousins are taken, how about you take me for a spin?” Nonna suggested.

Ryan wasn’t in the mood to dance, but he couldn’t deny his grandmother. He nodded and offered her his hand. Nonna took it and followed him to the cleared area they were using as a dance floor. An old slow song played through the speakers as Ryan slid his arm around his grandmother and smiled at her.

“Your grandfather loved this song,” she said with a sad smile. “It was one of his favorites. Your father was a lot like him. They’d only met a couple times before Nonno died, but your father and he were so similar it was scary.”

“I wish I’d met him.”

Nonna nodded. “I wish all of you had. He would have loved this. The whole family together. It was what he always hoped would happen. He was the mushy one of the two of us.”

Ryan laughed. “I can definitely see that.”

Nonna rolled her eyes. “I care.”

Ryan grinned. “I never said you didn’t, but I can’t imagine you getting emotional about a lot. You’re a dirty old woman.”

“Hey! Who are you calling old?”

Ryan laughed again. “You’re only proving my point.”

Nonna winked at him. “Yes, well, I got a smile out of you. That’s all I was after.”

Ryan grinned and nodded. She was right. He’d been feeling like shit as the date approached. If things were busy, it would have been better, but the vineyard was quiet in the winter months, and his second job as a volunteer firefighter was quiet, too. It was strange, and it sucked.

Leading up to the first Christmas without his dad, everyone was on edge. His mom cried most of the time, and the rest of the family felt the loss as acutely as they did, but this year was their second Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s without his dad. Two wasn’t as significant as one, so it passed for everyone else like it was nothing. Sure, his mom and brother felt it, but for them, it was a moment. For Ryan, it felt like someone opened him up and scooped out his heart and forgot to give him a new one.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nonna asked, her brown eyes knitted with worry. Her hair had even more gray than the last time Ryan really looked at her.

Ryan nodded. “I’ll be okay. Tonight is tough, but I’ll be okay.”

Nonna nodded, accepting Ryan’s words without question. He’d become more than skilled at lying when people asked if he was okay. It wasn’t a talent he set out to improve, but it was one he’d learned over the last two years. He couldn’t fall apart when his mother was, or when his brother was, or when anyone else was, so he faked it and lied. If any of them knew how hard it was for him to be in that room, they’d sit him down and feed him because for Italians, food fixed everything. All Ryan really wanted was a little quiet.

Ryan finished his dance with Nonna, then went back to the corner to watch the family. He loved his family, but they were too much for him at times. The laughter and joy in the room was starting to get to him. He itched to get a call for a fire, but immediately felt guilty for hoping for a fire. He just wanted to get out.

His phone didn’t ring, and his family didn’t stop talking until late in the night. The ones with kids headed out early, but the others stayed and helped clean up, which meant Ryan was there long past dark. He did his part and helped out, and walked his mom, grandmother, and Aunt Marie to their apartment at the front of the inn the family ran on their vineyard, Amavita Estates.

“Thank you,” Nonna said at the door. She kissed his cheek and took Aunt Marie’s hand, walking inside.

“Thank you for this,” Ryan’s mother said. Jo had aged in the two years since her husband died. Ryan used to see his mother as young and vibrant and barely old enough to have retired. As the youngest of the four Richliano sisters, she could have worked another decade, but the kids were ready to take over. And she was ready to see the country. She and Victor were in New York City when an aneurysm killed him two years ago.

Ryan nodded. “Of course. It’s always nice to celebrate Dad.”

Jo smiled. “He was so proud of you and your brother. I know he would have loved to see the two of you today.”

Ryan shrugged. “I’m not much different than I was two years ago.”

Jo huffed a laugh. “We’re all different. Maybe not as much as we’d like, but we’re different.”

“Are you okay, Mom?” Ryan asked.

She nodded and patted his cheek. “Yeah. Just missing your father. He was the love of my life, and knowing I might have a few decades without him is tough. I think it’s finally sinking in these days.”

Ryan sucked in a breath. He knew the feeling. Every day when he walked the vineyard, he looked for his father. Two years wasn’t long enough to erase the man who made the place home for him. Victor taught Ryan everything he knew about running a vineyard. Sure, he went to college and got had a degree in viticulture, but he also learned a lot from his father. By the time he was in college, he knew half of what he learned because of the education his dad gave him. It was impossible not to see him everywhere.

“Anyway, I’ll let you head to bed. You looked tired all night,” Jo said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, honey.”

Ryan hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Mom.”

“Night, honey. I love you.”

“Love you, Mom.”

Ryan waited until she was inside the apartment and the lock slid shut before he turned and walked through the inn. The dim lights illuminated the hallway, but the entire place was quiet. The guests they had upstairs were likely asleep, and with the rest of his cousins gone, the inn was quiet. Just like Ryan had been hoping for all night.

He didn’t want to go home. He shared a house with his cousin, Leo, and Leo recently moved his girlfriend, Sara, in with them. Ryan liked Sara, but the idea of going back there right away was less than appealing.

He walked out of the inn, making sure the door was locked behind him, and drew in a breath of the frigid night air. January in the Finger Lakes was cold. Ice coated the vines, but snow was coming soon. They had a few inches of snow for Christmas, but it all melted shortly after. The green grass wouldn’t last long. A winter wonderland was coming.

Ryan looked toward his house, in the distance, and shook his head. The walk would be good, but he needed more time than that. He turned toward the lake and decided to head that way. Getting in wouldn’t be a good idea, but he always loved the old dock and the big tree near it. It was as good a place as any to sit and think and be alone for a little while.

* * *

Bella Chase sat on the edge of the dock and took a deep breath. The water helped clear her head. She longed to dive in and float around in the dark water, but she could see her breath, and even she wasn’t crazy enough to think swimming in that weather was smart.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her and closed her eyes. It was peaceful there. Quiet. She felt like she could breathe for the first time in far too long. The pain in her chest eased as she sucked in one after another deep breath.

Going home was the right thing to do. Her father was probably worried about her. She almost laughed out loud. Her father. She spent the first twenty-seven years of her life thinking he didn’t exist, and after one conversation, she’d moved in with the man she never knew. Of course, she had nowhere else to go, but she didn’t expect him to open his home to her, or to be so welcoming to her.

Bella laid back on the dock and promised herself she’d go in a minute. It was hard to walk away from the place, even though she knew she didn’t belong.

“Are you okay?” a deep voice came through the quiet, foggy night.

Bella sat up, startled and curious. She was sure she was alone. She turned toward the voice and found a man not far from the end of the dock.

“Are you hurt? Did you fall in the water?”

Bella shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Good,” he said. “Then mind telling me why you’re trespassing?”

The harsh edge in his voice sent a shiver down her spine, the kind of shiver she hadn’t felt in far too long. She liked men who took charge, mostly because then she didn’t have to think. She spent her entire life letting everyone else take care of her, and old habits were hard to break.

“I was just enjoying the moonlight. I didn’t realize it would be a problem,” Bella lied. She knew it was a private vineyard, and even though it was open during the day for tastings and meals, she understood that being out there at night wasn’t okay. Neither was wandering around a vineyard. At least, that’s what her father told her.

“This is private property. Unless you’re a guest of the inn, you shouldn’t be down here. Even guests are asked not to wander the vineyard. The vines are delicate.”

“You sound like you know a lot about it,” Bella said, turning on her flirtatious tone. She knew how to make men forget she wasn’t supposed to be doing something. And even though she couldn’t see the man in front of her, she could tell by his voice he was young, maybe close to her age.

“I do,” he said gruffly, crossing his arms over his wide chest. He wore a dark coat and jeans with heavy boots. His hair was short and dark, and he was tall. She wished he’d take another step toward her so she could see his face.

Bella stood, surprised at how far the man towered over her. “I’m Bella. I’m new to town. Maybe you could tell me all about making wine?”

“We have tastings available during the day. Whoever is in the tasting room can answer your questions,” he said. “I think it’s time for you to go. How did you get here?”

Bella shrugged. “I walked.”

“From town? It’s a bit of a hike. Especially this late.”

“Should I be worried? Is it safe?”

The guy nodded. “Yeah, Bereton is a safe town. You don’t have to worry about that. The worst that would happen is getting chased by someone’s dog or walking home with people after a night out. Do you want me to call you a ride? We don’t have Uber around here, but there are locals who will pick you up if you need it.”

Bella shook her head. For some reason, she didn’t want him to know where she lived. “I’ll be fine.”

She walked off the dock and stopped when she was next to him. She looked up at him, and he finally met her gaze. His eyes were too dark to see what color they were, but she could finally make out the rest of his features. A straight, narrow nose, full lips, thick, dark hair, and stubbled jaw. He was gorgeous. And not just because she hadn’t been able to bring herself to sleep with anyone since her mom died, but because he was honest-to-God hot.

“I’m sorry about the trespassing. It won’t happen again.”

The edge of his mouth curled up and he laughed. “I doubt that. You don’t strike me as a rule follower.”

She grinned back at him. “You never know. There’s a first time for everything. Maybe I’ll surprise you.”

He nodded. “Maybe you will.”

Bella started to walk away, then paused. “You never told me your name.”

“Ryan,” he said.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ryan. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

He chuckled. “Hopefully not at midnight on my property again.”

She grinned and waved, then walked up the path. She stopped at the side of the inn and looked back at the water, but the tree blocked the view of the dock. She wondered if Ryan was still there.

She shook her head. She wasn’t there to meet a guy. She was there to get to know her father.

She took a breath and kept walking, up the driveway and across Highway 89 to her father’s vineyard, Perry Mount Vineyards.

2

Bella woke up mid-morning the next day. She stretched then stilled, waiting to see if there was movement in the house.

It was odd to her that Albert welcomed her in as quickly as he did. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but he never once questioned her story or its accuracy. All she had to say was she was his daughter, and that her mom was Melanie Chase, and he let her in. No questions asked.

Bella expected a fight. Hell, she went there looking for one. After her mother died, Bella felt lost. The car accident that claimed her life was sudden, and she didn’t suffer, but Bella suffered enough for both of them. She ached for her mother. Right up until she discovered her mother lied to her. For her entire life.

Bella eased her way out of bed and looked around the room she was staying in. Albert said she could stay as long as she wanted, but Bella wasn’t sure. Her home was two hours away, but it didn’t feel like home after her mom died. The people she was close to were her mom’s friends, and Bella wondered if they were all laughing at her. Thinking she was foolish for believing the lies her mother told her.

Even if they weren’t laughing, Bella couldn’t face them. Not now. Not when they’d all try to talk her out of hating her mother.

Bella opened the door quietly and peeked out. Albert’s house was small, but well-maintained. The room Bella was sleeping in was a guest room, but was clearly not used often. Boxes were stacked along the walls and the bed had piles of paperwork when she arrived. He insisted she could stay, but she still felt like she was putting him out.

Bella skipped across the hall to the bathroom. She flushed and washed her hands, rolling her eyes at herself in the mirror. She was hiding from the man she went there to meet. She needed to get over herself.

She opened the door and walked down the hall toward the living area of the house. A large, open kitchen dominated the space. He had a wall of wine that divided the kitchen from the dining room. A family room with a stiff couch and a recliner that Albert sat in at night completed the house. There was a fireplace and above it a TV, but neither were on as Bella walked into the room.

“You’re awake,” Albert said with a smile. He folded his newspaper and got up from his seat at the dining room table. “Can I make you breakfast?”

Bella shook her head. She wasn’t a morning person, and breakfast never appealed to her. She couldn’t figure out how she only ate two meals a day and still wore size sixteen jeans, but she supposed she had her mother to thank for that. Melanie had hips for days and passed them on to Bella the same way she passed on her chestnut hair and ice blue eyes. Her narrow nose, full lips, and heart-shaped face all came from her father she learned.

“I’m just going to get some coffee, if that’s okay,” Bella said.

“Of course! I was going to try to clean out some of the boxes in your room today so you have space for your things. If you don’t mind me being in there. Most of the boxes I can just move to my room or the office. But I don’t want to be in your way if you were going to be in there,” Albert said.

He smiled and ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. The pictures Bella found of him and her mom when they were younger showed a man who looked the same, but almost thirty years younger. He was handsome in that nerdy way that Bella herself never really understood. He wore glasses now, mostly for reading it appeared, but he still had a nerdy look. Pressed pants instead of jeans. Button down shirts instead of something more casual. Like he was always trying to look ready to impress, but fell short in the style department.

“The boxes are fine. You don’t have to worry about them.”

“Oh,” he said, his smile fading.

Bella sipped her coffee. She was already getting a headache. She didn’t know him well enough to know what the single word meant, but he was clearly not happy with her answer. “If you really want to, it’s fine. It’s up to you.”

Albert shrugged. “Well, if they’re not in your way, that’s okay.”

Bella drew in a breath and forced a smile. She stayed on the other side of the kitchen from him, still not sure how she felt about the man her mother said never wanted her.

“Can I ask you a question?” Bella said after a minute.

Albert nodded. “Of course. Anything.”

Bella set her coffee down on the counter and looked at him. She could definitely see the resemblance between them, but before meeting him, she never picked up on the ways she looked more like him than her mother, right down to the way the edge of his mouth twitched impatiently as she worked on how to ask the question.

“Why didn’t you want to be in my life?”

Albert blanched. He pressed his lips together and stared at the table.

Immediately, Bella regretted asking the question. Tears burned her eyes as humiliation sank into her gut. She didn’t really want to know the answer. Just that he seemed happy she was there. If he was happy she was there, why hadn’t he ever made an effort to be a part of her life before?

“Never mind,” Bella murmured. She grabbed her coffee and moved toward the hallway to escape him again. The time she’d been there was filled with enough awkward silences and uncomfortable questions, like what her name was, but she asked the hardest one so far.

Maybe it was time to move on. To accept that her father was being nice to her, but he really wasn’t a replacement for her mother.

“I never knew about you,” Albert said softly when Bella was almost to the hallway.

She froze, stunned in place. He was going to lie to her? Really?

She finally found the strength to turn and face him. “My mother said she told you. She told me you didn’t want me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Was this before or after she told you I was dead?”

Dammit. He had a point. Bella didn’t want to think about how many lies her mother told her. The biggest one of all was that her father was dead, but she only said that after Bella pestered her mom about meeting her dad one day. A father-daughter dance was coming up at school. Bella thought maybe her father would be willing to go, even though she’d never met him. Her fragile ten year old heart thought if she was good enough, he’d be willing to give her a chance. She wasn’t a baby anymore, and she could make her own lunches for school and studied hard and promised not to cry. She told her mom she wanted her to call him and invite him to the dance, but Melanie refused. When Bella pushed, Melanie shouted that her father was dead.

Bella never asked about him again.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you were growing up, Bella. I wish I could have been. I’d love to tell you I would have been a good father, but I don’t know. I’m sure your mother had reasons for not wanting me to know about you, or you to know about me. I wish I knew what they were, but I am happy you’re here now. That I have a chance to get to know you now.”

Bella nodded. She pressed her lips together to keep the emotions inside. They threatened to spill from her eyes, so she nodded again, then turned and rushed down the hall to her room so she could be alone.

He didn’t follow. She knew he wouldn’t. It was how she wanted it. She was alone. And even though she had a dad for now, she knew it wouldn’t last forever. At some point in time, she was going to have to figure out what the hell she was doing with her life.

One day.

* * *

Ryan sat in the back of the rig as they wove their way through the streets of Bereton. He was hot and sweaty and dirty, but he felt good. Damn good. He smiled at Matt, another one of the volunteer firefighters he worked with, and the goofy ass look on his face.

“What’s so funny?” Matt asked.

“You. What the hell’s wrong with you?”

Matt flipped him off. “I’ve been up twenty-four hours. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“New baby giving you hell?” Ryan asked.

Matt nodded. “Natalia is a saint, but this one is taking a toll on her. I think she might finally be done.”

“She doesn’t want to go for five?” Ryan asked.

Matt shook his head. “Fuck, I hope not. I can barely keep up with three. Now with four, we’re going to be lucky if we survive. I don’t know how I can keep doing it all.”

Ryan’s brows drew together. “Are you giving this up?”

Matt shrugged. “I don’t want to, but money’s always tight and I don’t have time for a third job.”

“But you love this,” Ryan said, baffled at what his friend was saying. Matt was one of the first friends Ryan made when he decided to join the Bereton Volunteer Fire Company. Matt used to be a firefighter in New York City, but Natalia wanted to raise their family in a small town, so they sold everything they had and moved to Bereton. At the time, they were just talking about having kids, but four kids later, Ryan could understand the struggle.

“I do,” Matt said. “I want to keep doing this, but we just have to see. You’ll understand when you settle down. If you ever settle down.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. It was a running joke between them that Matt was the old man and Ryan was the young stud who couldn’t be saddled. Matt was younger than Ryan’s older brother, Henry, but he and Natalia started having kids in their early twenties. By the time he was Ryan’s age, Matt had two kids with a third on the way.

“I like things the way they are.”

Matt grinned. “Yeah, yeah. Hey, how did everything go the other day? I haven’t seen you since.”

For a second, Ryan thought Matt was asking about the mysterious Bella. Then it clicked that he was talking about the party for his dad and the pain came back in a flash.

“Not easy. My family wants to celebrate, but I keep thinking he died without ever finding proof that Perry stole from our family. My dad swore it, but Perry insists he never did anything. I just wish I could bring him some peace.”

“Something tells me he isn’t the only one who needs that peace,” Matt said. “What’s to stop you from digging into it again?”

Ryan shrugged. “I don’t even know where I’d look. If he has something, I wouldn’t think it’d be out in the vineyard. He’d have it hidden. And I have no way of getting onto his property and searching. Not to mention it isn’t legal.”

Matt shook his head. “Don’t get arrested. But what about going through your dad’s stuff. Maybe you can find something there. Something he missed. You’re a fresh set of eyes.”

They paused their conversation as they helped unload the gear from the rig. Once everything was stored and cleaned and ready for the next emergency, Matt turned to Ryan again.

“You need this. And I think your family might, too. Perry did what he could to make your father look like he was crazy. He told anyone who would listen that your father was trying to set him up. I don’t blame you for still being pissed and wanting justice. You should get it.”

Ryan nodded. He knew Perry tried to ruin his dad, but Victor was well respected in the community. It didn’t stop Perry from trying. Then the asshole had the nerve to show up at Victor’s funeral. Henry almost didn’t make it through his eulogy when he saw the man there, again, making himself look good in front of the community when Ryan’s family had no choice but to stand by and let it happen.

“I need to talk to my brother and my mom. If I’m going to do anything, they need to know about it. I don’t like people thinking my father was the one who lied all these years,” Ryan said.

“If you need anything, let me know,” Matt said.

Ryan chuckled. “When do you think you can help? You already said you don’t sleep.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, well, I’d figure something out if you needed me.”

Ryan grinned. “Thanks. For now, go home and get some sleep. Morning will come far too early.”

Matt looked tired just thinking about the morning. He turned and headed out. Ryan checked in with their supervisor for the shift and confirmed he wasn’t needed either, then headed up to the bunk room. If he got called in for a fire, or if he was on call, he usually spent the night at the station. Most of his fellow volunteers went home, but Ryan preferred the quiet of the fire station to the quiet of his home, especially when he wasn’t sure his home would be all that quiet.

He settled onto one of the cots and turned onto his stomach. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself when darkness was all he saw. He was almost asleep when the alarm went off again.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Ryan was dragging the next day when he forced himself out of bed for lunch. The best thing about working on his family’s vineyard was the free food at his constant disposal. He knew how to cook, but he much preferred to let his cousin, Zach, do the cooking while Ryan enjoyed the fruits of Zach’s labor.

He trudged to the inn and went through the front door. Andie, another cousin, was at the desk at the front, talking to guests who with suitcases next to them. She smiled at him and held up a finger, so he waited while she finished and opened the door for them to leave.

“Hey,” Andie said happily. She looked almost as tired as Ryan felt.

“Hey. You okay?”

Andie nodded. “Mia is kicking my butt. She hasn’t been sleeping well lately. I should have taken off a year like Cody wanted me to.”

Ryan chuckled. “Alyssa tried to warn you.”

Andie rolled her eyes. “One day I’ll learn to listen. I stopped you because there’s a woman here for lunch. She asked if you were around. I got the feeling she knows you, but I wasn’t sure how well. I told her you weren’t here when she got here and didn’t offer anything else. She still went for lunch.”

“What does she look like?” Ryan asked, wondering who would be there looking for him.

“She’s pretty. Shoulder length hair, a really pretty chestnut color. Blue eyes so light they look like ice. She’s about your age. I didn’t ask her name. She looks familiar, but I can’t figure out where I know her from.”

Ryan shrugged. The description wasn’t ringing a bell for him at all. “I’ll let you know when I see her. I don’t have any crazy ex’s hanging around lately, so I don’t know who this one is. If you hear me scream, call 9-1-1.”

Andie chuckled and rolled her eyes. Ryan winked at her and walked down the hall toward The Drunken Grape. Leo and Kristen were behind the counter in the tasting room and waved, but they were busy since it was a Saturday. Even in the winter, they got plenty of visitors on the weekends to make it worthwhile to have it staffed.

Ryan made his way into the dining room and looked around for the woman Andie mentioned. There was only one woman sitting by herself, but she had her back to Ryan. There was no guarantee she was the one looking for him, but it was possible.

He scanned the dining room once more and didn’t see anyone flagging him down, so he headed toward the woman by herself. If she didn’t look familiar, he would sit at the table just beyond her and she’d never know he was trying to figure out if they knew each other.

She looked up at him when he passed by. Those eyes. Damn. He would have remembered those eyes if he’d seen them before. Ice blue, just like Andie said. He scanned the rest of her face, trying to place her. She was familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Where did he see her before?

“Ryan?” she asked, her plump lips turning up on the edges. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Really?” he asked. “Well, thankfully you did.”

She smiled. “Do you want to join me? You don’t have to, but if you’re not meeting anyone, you can. It’s up to you.”

Ryan nodded and took the seat across from her. She was beautiful. Her eyes lit up when he sat down, and her smile hit him in the chest like a laser. He wanted to reach across the table and take her hand just so he could touch her, but there was only one problem.

He still had no clue who she was.

3

Bella felt like an idiot showing up at Amavita Estates again, but she needed a break from Albert. Since he didn’t have a restaurant, yet he told her, she went in search of food. Instead of turning her car toward town, she drove across the street, remembering she saw a sign on her walk the other night that mentioned a restaurant.

Walking into the inn and asking the woman at the desk about Ryan was stupid, but obviously it was okay since Ryan was there, in the flesh, looking at her like she was better than any of the food on the menu. And it was a yummy looking menu.

“I haven’t ordered yet. I’ve only been here a little while. I did get a glass of wine, though.” Bella had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous, and looking into Ryan’s brown eyes definitely made her nervous.

She couldn’t see him clearly the other night on the dock, but she recognized his jaw when he walked by her. She purposely faced away from the entrance to avoid staring at every man who walked in, but when he walked by her, she knew it was him and blurted out his name before she could stop herself.

“I’m guessing everything is good here, right?” she asked.

He still looked dazed, like he had no idea what she was saying.

“Um, Ryan?”

He shook his head and nodded. “Yeah, everything’s good. Sorry. I was up all night.”

“Oh,” Bella said, a little shocked. She really didn’t want to hear about his sex life. She didn’t even know his last name.

“Too many people fall asleep with their space heaters on, or with candles on, or trying cheap ways to heat their homes. It makes us crazy.”

“Us?”

He nodded and took a sip of the water on the table. “Firefighters.”

Bella felt silly for her thoughts and laughed. “That’s why you were up all night?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah. You didn’t know?”

She shook her head. “No. Sorry.” Bella wasn’t sure how she would have known that, but she wasn’t going to ask.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. There are a lot of guys who are available during the summer, but since I’m basically out of work all winter, it fits my schedule.”

“You’re out of work?” Bella gasped. “Why? What happened?”

Ryan chuckled. “I work in the fields. The vines are dormant all winter, so my job is pretty quiet. I don’t do a lot through the winter.”

“So you fight fires instead?”

Ryan nodded. “Yep. It keeps me out of trouble.”

Bella grinned.

“Oh, hey, Ryan,” the waitress said, walking to their table. “I didn’t realize you were joining her.”

Bella wondered if there was a hint of jealousy or if she imagined it. She tried to tell herself it was all in her head, but the glare the waitress shot her said it wasn’t.

“Yeah, I just got here. It worked out well to sit together.”

“Oh, so you’re not actually together?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, not now?”

Bella tilted her head in question. Was he asking her? She shook her head slowly.

“No. We’re just friends now.”

Bella pursed her lips to avoid laughing. He had no idea who she was. She smiled up at the waitress, who wasn’t wearing a name tag, and said, “Ryan and I go way back. The stories I could tell you about him.”

Ryan’s smile faltered then pressed right back into place. “Yep, old friends. So, can we order?”

The waitress nodded and dug a pen out of her apron. “Absolutely. What can I get you, Ryan?”

“I’ll start with a glass of Riesling, and I’d like the Caprese salad and the linguine and shrimp for lunch. Zach knows how I like it.”

The waitress leaned forward and set her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything is exactly how you like it.”

Ryan nodded, but Bella had to give him a little credit for not checking out the woman’s boobs. She had to be a little younger than Bella, maybe just out of college, and clearly looking to land a man.

When she didn’t turn to Bella after a long moment, Ryan shifted and nodded to her. “Um, can you take my friend’s order, too?”

The waitress laughed like what he said was hilarious, then glared at Bella. “What do you want?”

“I’ll start with a Caesar salad, and have the manicotti for lunch please, with an order of breadsticks, too,” Bella said with a wide grin.

The waitress scribbled it all down then slid her gaze down Bella’s body. She wanted to whither under the insulting look, but she refused to give in to bitchy bullies. Bella had accepted her body, and even though she didn’t always love the way it looked or moved, she knew it was the only one she was going to get and worrying about other people’s opinions of it wasn’t worth it.

“That’s all, Amy,” Ryan said after a minute, handing her the menus.

Amy was all smiles for Ryan again, taking the menus and thanking him before she walked away. Bella wanted to roll her eyes, but she had no idea if Ryan liked women like that. If he did, she was going to write him off immediately.

“I’m sorry about Amy. She’s not usually that bad.”

Bella shrugged. “I’m the one invading your personal life here. Then again, since we’re old friends, I shouldn’t be surprised she’s falling all over herself to get your attention.”

Ryan leaned back in his chair. “Well, you would know I’ve never had too many problems finding a woman to spend my time with.”