“Anyway,” she went on, waving a hand in the air, “I don’t want to talk about that. But I did want to tell you that I had such a nice time last night, and I hope I didn’t talk your ear off.”

“Not at all.” I studied her hands for a moment, imagining those pale, graceful fingers wrapped around my cock.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had a heart-to-heart with a friend.”

Knock it off, asshole. She’s talking to you. She’s calling you her friend.

I forced myself to look her in the eye. “Same here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I might have gone a little overboard with the sharing.”

“If you did, I did.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t at all. I was glad you told me those things. I mean, I’m so sorry you went through them, but I’m grateful you trusted me enough to talk about them. It made me feel less alone, like I’m not the only one still making mistakes and tripping on the path to wherever it is I’m going.”

I swallowed more whiskey. “You’re definitely not the only one.”

“Good. Any time you want to talk again, I’m here.”

I could think of plenty of things I’d rather do than talk with her, but I kept my mouth shut.

“So what are your plans for this week?” she asked brightly. “Since the inn and winery are closed, you’ve got time off, right?”

I nodded. “More or less.”

“What will you do? Go visit family?”

“No, I’m not planning any travel. I’ve got some projects around the house I’ve been putting off, but I’ll also probably come into work.”

“Work!” She looked at me like I was nuts.

“There are things that have to be done or checked every day, and I gave my assistant the entire week off, so . . .” I shrugged. “I need to do them.”

“Do you want help?” she asked, sitting up straighter in her seat. “Maybe you could teach me . . . some more things. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the winemaking at Cloverleigh, and I really enjoyed the lesson on tasting the other night. Plus I told Chloe I’d fill in while she’s short-staffed in the tasting room next week. I’d be happy to come in and assist you during the next few days—if you need the help, I mean.”

What I needed was for her to get out of my head, and spending more time with her—especially without other people around—wasn’t going to help whatsoever. But she looked so eager, I couldn’t bring myself to say no. “Uh, sure.”

Her face lit up. “Great! I’m excited. And it will be such a good distraction for me too.”