good,’ she said, recovering fast. Burying her nose, she inhaled deeply. ‘This is really very good.’ She lifted her chin and wished she could see Nacho to show him her enthusiasm.
‘It’s a deep cardinal-red with bluish purple tones,’ he explained.
‘Young,’ she added, taking another sniff. ‘Full of the scent of ripe black fruit …’
‘And?’ Nacho prompted.
‘And very well balanced,’ she said, sensing his face was very close. Swallowing deep, she tried to concentrate. ‘This is one of the best young wines I’ve tasted this year.’
‘I have another, older wine I think you’re going to like …’
She relaxed as he pulled away, and yet ached with disappointment that he had.
More wine was poured. She heard Nacho take a sip and imagined him savouring the ruby liquid in his mouth. ‘I hope you’re not cheating.’
‘I don’t need to cheat, Grace. Here—taste this …’
Somewhere in the room a clock was ticking as the tension mounted between them.
‘What do you think?’ Nacho prompted, ‘Do you like it?’
‘Yes …’ She straightened up. ‘This is an exceptional wine. It’s older, richer and more complex than any wine I’ve tasted in England. I can detect more than one variety of grape.’ She named them.
‘You have an extremely discerning palate, Grace.’
‘Isn’t that what you’re paying me for?’ she said with amusement.
He liked the fact that Grace stood up to him, but as she went on to describe traces of chocolate and cinnamon, with hints of blackcurrant and cherry, he liked her a lot more. Not because of her expertise in wine, but because of the way his thoughts were turning to ruby-red wine moistening beautifully drawn lips, and drinking from those lips before sinking his tongue deep into Grace’s mouth to capture the last drop, before moving on to lap more wine from the soft swell of her belly.
With his mind happily employed, he spoke his thoughts out loud. ‘Is there anything I can do to speed things up?’
‘If you mean can I guarantee an order now?’ she said, breaking the spell, ‘I’m afraid the answer’s no. I need to know a lot more about your production methods before we can reach that stage.’
He was disappointed in Grace’s businesslike manner. He was more disappointed in that than in the fact that placing an order for his wine wasn’t immediately forthcoming. The Acosta name generally provoked a certain type of response—and delay or refusal was unheard of. But not with Grace, it seemed.
His brooding gaze lingered on her face. She had stood out for him at Lucia’s wedding amongst all the flashy birds of paradise and she was lovelier than ever now. He found her bewitching, and he knew there was steel lurking beneath that calm exterior, making the playing field between them more even. So where he might have stood off at one time, bound by respect and restraint, those barriers no longer stood between them.
‘I can reassure you that so far everything looks very promising,’ she said.
‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he said.
Grace had missed the irony. Or had she? What was hiding behind that composed front? Familiar with secrets, he knew the signs and suspected Grace’s brave front hid a world of self-doubt. It occurred to him then that she must have cried at some point about her loss of sight. She must have railed against her fate. Who had held her when she had broken down in tears? Had anyone? She reminded him of a wounded bird that was determined to survive—which made his recent thoughts seem like those of a cold-hearted predator wheeling overhead.
‘The flavours of this wine are complex, and the aroma is particularly distinct,’ she said, burying her nose and inhaling deeply.
‘On that we’re agreed,’ he said, far more interested in watching Grace now than in tasting the wine.
‘Then why are you frowning?’ she said.
‘Am I?’
‘Don’t deny it. I can hear it in your voice, Nacho.’
‘I’ll have to frown less,’ he said.
When she laughed her soft blonde hair, which had only been loosely held, escaped the band she had tied it up in and came to drift around her shoulders like a gold net veil.
‘Oh, damn!’ she exclaimed, impatiently grabbing her hair as if it was one of her most annoying features rather than one of her loveliest. ‘Let me tie this back.’
‘Leave it loose,’ he said.
Ignoring him, she made short work of the repair. ‘Smile,’ she prompted, hearing the irritation in his voice. ‘These wines are really good. You should be celebrating.’
It felt good to be like this with a woman—making some sort of real contact outside of bed and having her stand up to him for once.
‘In fact, your wine’s so good,’ Grace went on, ‘I’m going to forgive most of your transgressions.’
‘I wasn’t aware that I was guilty of any,’ he said, warming even more to Grace.
‘Well, I’m going to move on to the next part of my evaluation,’ she said.
‘Which is?’ he said suspiciously.
‘Drinking your health,’ she said, disarming him.
They both reached for the same glass at the same time and their fingers touched. Grace snatched her hand away, as if she’d been burned, while his inner voice warned that he was playing a very dangerous game indeed if he wanted to send Grace home, because he could only wish that touch had lingered.
‘This wine would benefit from being in storage a little longer,’ she said, purely business—though she couldn’t know his interest was now drawn to her lips. ‘I can tell you now that we won’t be ordering this one just yet. I’d like to taste it again next year.’
‘Next year?’ he repeated with amusement. ‘You’re very sure of yourself, Grace.’
‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ she said. ‘Do you think I’ll have left Elias by then?’
He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know.’
Grace could be enigmatic when it suited her, and at other times be surprisingly frank. He wasn’t used to mystery where women were concerned. He wasn’t used to them holding out on him, either. But Grace was different. Other women had a straightforward agenda that dovetailed nicely with his. They communicated their messages with a glance—an option that wasn’t open to Grace. Would she use that sort of tactic anyway? Grace was so forthright she was more likely to come straight out and tell him exactly what she wanted.
Could be interesting, he mused as he watched her roll the wine around her mouth.
‘I need a moment,’ she said, feeling for a space on the table to put her glass.
