Chloe Blake - A Taste Of Desire

After a long moment, Nicole spoke on autopilot. “So, this is the wine cellar.”

His nod was slow, and he had a sad look in his eyes. “This was the wine cellar.”

Her heart twisted. “You have a lot of furniture down here. Did you do tours?”

“We had plans for tours and tastings, as well as a sustainable dining experience in the future. Everything was to be farm to table, from the wine to the produce—we had just started a garden. My neighbor, Bruno, has a free-range animal farm. He would have provided the meat.”

“Free range?”

“Meaning they have shelter but no cages. He has acres, and the animals roam freely within his land borders.” He chuckled. “They’ve been known to get spooked and break out on days like this. After a particularly bad storm, we found a herd of his cows grazing on our lawn.”

Nicole thought of New York during a storm. The subways slowed, cabs were impossible to find and umbrellas were instruments of death to pedestrians who couldn’t bob and weave. Maybe being in a wine cellar with a handsome man wasn’t so bad, especially when he laughed like that.

“How often do these storms happen?”

“Four to six times a year, I’d say—mostly when the seasons change. Nina, my wife, was good at planning for disasters. Hence the blankets.” His gaze stayed on the table for a minute. Then he jumped up and grabbed a leather backpack from the floor. He took out a wrapped sandwich. “How about some food? It’s a Bauru—roast beef, tomato, mozzarella and pickles on French bread. A classic Brazilian sandwich. We can share.”

She hadn’t realized she was hungry until he mentioned food. “Sounds delicious. Do you always carry lunch in your bag?”

“Only if I know I’ll be busy. I’ll warm it for us. There’s a lightly stocked kitchenette with a hot plate through that archway.”

“Nice. It’s like a combination wine cellar and bomb shelter. Our buyers will definitely be into this.”

Destin lowered his gaze and swallowed whatever he was going to say. He just smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted something important,” she said quickly.

He glanced at the cask room, then to her. “No, just cleaning it out.” There was a strain in his voice that said otherwise.

He wasn’t ready for this sale, her instincts told her. It wasn’t the first time she had come up against reluctant sellers. But something was different. She couldn’t put her finger on it; maybe it was because of the tension between him and Elliot at dinner the night before, but something was off.

He placed the sandwich on the table and fished in his bag again. He gripped a bottle of water and a Red Bull in one hand. “And I have these.”

“You really are a lifesaver.” She reached for the water and he slid it across the table. She twisted off the cap and drank deeply.

“You need to save some of that.”

She stopped and pulled the bottle from her lips. “Why?”

“We may be here a while.”

“How long is a while?”

He strode to the stairway door and pulled it open. Magnus, thinking his master was leaving, sauntered to his side. The rain was a roar, and the humidity was palpable. Destin closed the door and turned toward Nicole.

“I can hear it,” she said. “It’s bad. I hope I have damage insurance on that car.”

“I hope you do, too.” He grimaced. “We may be here overnight.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you joking?” She looked around. “Where would we sleep? And I have clients tomorrow afternoon.”

His eyes changed. “That quickly?”

“Yes. That’s why I needed a tour today.” He looked shocked, or rather, devastated. “You don’t look happy.”

He blinked, then turned his back to her. His voice came out in a half whisper. “I am. Of course I am.”

She wasn’t convinced. “Destin, you can voice your concerns. The transition is always difficult for the seller.”

Destin turned and fixed a cold blue gaze on her. “I look forward to the sale, Miss Parks. The faster the better.”

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