The next day, it was back to business as usual. I hit the gym early and got into work by nine, calling hello to Chloe at the tasting counter as I made my way down to the cellar. Now that the inn was open again, and I knew we’d be busy with tastings and tours all day—all week, actually.

My assistant, Mariela, was already in the lab, and I waved to her as I headed for my office. When I opened the door and saw my desk, all I could think of was Sylvia naked on it with my head between her legs. When I shut the door behind me, all I could think of was fucking her against it. When I tried to focus on the day ahead and what I had to get done, she refused to get out of my head. When I closed my eyes, I swore I could smell her skin.

I was sitting there in a stupor, staring at the surface of my desk and trying not to get an erection, when someone knocked on the door.

“Yeah?” I called, shifting in my seat.

Sylvia poked her head in and grinned. “Hi. I’m officially here working upstairs but I wanted to say good morning.”

“Good morning.” Her smile made it hard to breathe for a second. “You’ll be busy up there today.”

“Chloe says we’re totally booked. I’m a little nervous.”

“You’ll be great.”

“Thanks.” She gave me one last smile before disappearing, and a moment later, Mariela knocked on the open door.

“Hey. How was your Christmas?” she asked, leaning against the frame.

“Good. How about yours?”

“Great. Ready to get started filtering the riesling?”

I nodded, glad for the distraction. “Let’s do it.”

As predicted, the day was hectic in the winery—tons of guests coming in and out all day to look around, taste wine, purchase bottles to take home. Many of them wanted to chat with me, and I spent a good amount of time answering questions and explaining our process. Chloe and Sylvia were swamped at the counter, but every time I stole a glimpse of her, Sylvia had a huge smile on her beautiful face and was chatting away easily with customers, telling them about growing up on the farm, and talking about our wines. I couldn’t imagine how many bottles she’d sell by the end of the day.

At one point in the afternoon, I noticed Chloe was alone at the counter and wondered where Sylvia had gone. A little later, I checked my phone and found a text from her apologizing for leaving so fast and explaining that she had to check on the kids and take care of dinner at the house. At seven o’clock, I was back at my desk trying to clear out my email inbox when she appeared in my office doorway, a smile on her face. “Hi.”