Tangled Vines: An Australian Rural Romance (4 page)

“It doesn’t matter why I’m here and not somewhere else. All that matters right now is the answer to my question. Are you prepared to let me stay here? In this house with you?”

Could his life get any more complicated? Clearly it could, in the shape of a firecracker of a brunette standing in front of him. He shouldn’t be noticing these things. Shouldn’t be noticing how her eyes sparkled when she talked about the vines he cared nothing about.

How could he say no to someone who was putting her heart and soul into a project? The passion she had for those rows of sticks and leaves couldn’t be denied. And, God help him, he couldn’t say no to her. He knew how chasing a dream could consume you. So much so that you ate, breathed and drank it.

“Fine. You win. You can stay at the house. Do what you have to do. But” —he sent her a look, stopping her from interrupting him— “I don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing. My care factor on those vines out there is zero.”

As her eyes dulled fractionally, he knew he needed to watch what he said around her. They might not mean anything to him, but they did to her. He should remember that.

“Thank you. I very much appreciate you giving me the chance to tend the vines.”

He sighed at the formal tone of her response. This was why he didn’t do relationships. Women could be so sensitive. Not that he was thinking of having a relationship with Jordan—not at all. But having to watch whatever he said so he didn’t piss her off would get tiring quickly. He needed to apologize if he didn’t want her poisoning his food.

“Jordan, I’m sorry if I said something to offend you.”

Her shoulders relaxed in front of him. His apology had done what it needed to do.

“It’s fine. You work in an office,” she said condescendingly. “You don’t know what it’s like to nurture something and be rewarded at the end of all that hard work.”

Now this was more like the Jordan he’d become acquainted with—a smart return, which from an employee at his firm would have Kyle sending said employee back to their desk to pack up their personal items and leave.

Kyle smiled softly. “That’s where you’re wrong, Ms. Hastings.” He paused and walked toward her until there wasn’t much space between them. “There is nothing more satisfying than nurturing a client’s account from a zero balance to a seven-figure balance.” He inhaled, and because he was so close to Jordan, sunshine and soil filled his senses. Smells that represented hope and renewal. Things he didn’t want or need to feel. He didn’t deserve to feel those emotions. But part of him wanted to grasp them. Wanted to, even for a little while, feel free from the constant and comforting emotion of guilt.

Kyle moved away from the temptation Jordan’s scent represented. “I’m going to surf. I’ll see you later.”

Not giving her a chance to respond, he walked out the door. He hoped the waves were rolling in. He could do with a punishing workout. Battling Mother Nature and beating her satisfied him deep in his soul. For each victory on the waves, he felt a sense that he was paying her back for the havoc she’d created in his life.

• • •

Jordan swallowed deeply to clear the dryness in her throat. Watching Kyle stride out of the kitchen, she couldn’t help but think he was running away from her. The thought was so absurd she laughed out loud.

She took another swallow of the water she held in her hand. Excitement built inside of her, fermenting like sauvignon blanc grapes not long after they’d been harvested. Kyle was allowing her to stay with him. She didn’t have to leave her vines. The vines she’d started to retrain to grow and flourish, so they would produce a crop of grapes that would be the start of a new chapter in her life. This first harvest might not be spectacular, but it was hers and hers alone to experiment with, to come up with new flavors and blends. Make something that would be the talk of the wine industry. Perhaps get her a job in one of the bigger wineries as a chief winemaker instead of an assistant.

If only Kyle had taken an interest in the vines when he’d first purchased the property. Or her father had talked to him about putting the extra acreage to good use, planting more vines so she had more grapes to work with. If she could prove to Kyle it would be worth his while, would he be open to increasing his stock?

She was getting too excited and too far ahead of herself. The man had only agreed to let her stay at his house under duress. She knew if it weren’t for her work on the vines, he would’ve kicked her out. Why was a man as sexy and good looking as Kyle alone on Christmas? Where was his family?

“Ugh, stop it. It’s none of your business,” she said out loud, hoping by voicing it, she’d stop obsessing about it.

As if the universe were answering her wish, the house telephone started to ring. Before Kyle arrived she wouldn’t have had a problem answering it. Now that he was around should she still answer the call? She could take a message—that wouldn’t be overstepping her boundaries, would it?

Not giving herself any more time to dwell on the right and wrong of it all, she picked up the phone.

“Hello, this is Jordan.”

“Hi, Jordan, it’s Shey. Kyle around?”

Jordan choked back a laugh. The universe really enjoyed playing with her. “Hey, Shey. No, Kyle’s at the beach and I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”

Silence stretched across the line and Jordan wondered if their connection had been severed. “Shey, are you still here?”

“Oh yes, sorry. Umm, how was Kyle when he left?”

“He seemed okay. Although he’s not happy that I’m living in his house or even still on the property. Why didn’t you tell me that my dad had to vacate the property? Why wasn’t it in my contract like it apparently is in Dad’s?” Jordan fired the questions off, hoping to finally get some answers.

“Well, umm,” Shey paused and a throat clearing sounded down the line. Jordan had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

“Look,” Shey started again. “I deliberately didn’t put that in your contract.”

“What?” Jordan pulled the phone away from her ear, not believing what she’d just heard. “Why not? Why would you do that, Shey? Surely you’d know Kyle wouldn’t be happy about it. I’m lucky to be here, you know. He was ready to kick me out until I managed to convince him that I had no place to go and that the vines are at a crucial stage of growth and I can’t leave them unattended for that length of time.”

Shey laughed, the sound joyful, in total contrast to the seriousness of the conversation Jordan thought they were having. “I knew you would be perfect for him. I could tell from our phone calls and the way your dad has always spoken about you.”

Had she been transported to an alternate reality? Shey did not just intimate that she
set her up
with Kyle. No, it couldn’t be possible.

“I don’t think I like what I’m hearing, Shey. Are you playing matchmaker? Because if you are, you’ve got the wrong girl. There is no way I’m getting involved with a man at the moment. Geez, I just broke off my engagement, for goodness’ sake.”

“Yes, but how heartbroken are you really about it?”

Jordan opened her mouth to rant that it was none of Shey’s business but quickly snapped it shut. Was she heartbroken about Don or just pissed off because he took the credit for her wine? If she thought about it, she had to admit she was more cut up about losing the award. However, there was absolutely no way she planned on letting Shey know how close to the truth her words were.

“That’s not really your concern, is it?”

“True, but listen, Jordan. Kyle has been alone for far too long. It’s time he had someone in his life.”

Jordan laughed at the absurdity of Shey’s comments. If she Googled Kyle’s name and clicked on the images tab, pages of pictures of Kyle with various women would fill her screen. “Clearly, you don’t know him that well if you say that. He’s always got a woman on his arm. He’s not alone at all.”

“Appearances are deceiving. Don’t believe everything you see,” Shey responded quietly, as if she was in pain. That pulled Jordan up short—was Shey wanting Kyle for herself? But if that was the case, why was she playing pseudo matchmaker?

“Well, I don’t think Kyle will think of me as anything other than an annoying houseguest, let alone a prospective relationship candidate.”

“It may take him a little to work it out, but he eventually will.”

Shey spoke with such conviction that her idea of Shey wanting Kyle flew out the window.

“Why me, Shey? Why me?”

“Simple, really. You’re a strong, independent woman. You’ve got a voice and you’re not afraid to use it. You convinced Kyle to let you stay, didn’t you? You’re not like the countless airheads he has in those photos you talk about. He needs someone like you. Only he doesn’t know it.”

“You sound pretty confident about this. So I ask again, why?”

A long, heavy sigh sounded down the phone. “Kyle is like a brother to me. I can’t tell you everything I know about him; that’s going to be up to Kyle. But let me just say I’ve seen that boy through a wealth of pain. He needs to let go of the pain, but I don’t think he knows how to. I believe you can help him let go and move forward.”

A voice called out Shey’s name in the background. “Oh, that’s my man. I’ve got to go. Don’t back down, Jordan. You’ve got this.”

Shey hung up before Jordan could say anything else. Slowly, she replaced the receiver and stumbled over to the nearest chair, convinced she’d entered the twilight zone.

The sun beat down on her back. Jordan wiped a trickle of sweat away from her brow. Kyle hadn’t returned, and for that she was grateful. Even though she wasn’t looking to be attractive to him, she certainly didn’t want him to see her as a limp, wet rag after spending the day working on the vines.

She twisted the wire and sat back on her haunches. Another row completed and the sight of the vines reaching out to grab the sun’s rays filled her with a sense of accomplishment she’d never felt before.

Jordan looked her watch: time for a shower and then a lie down on the couch before she had to start making dinner. She planned to keep up her end of the bargain she’d made with Kyle. She wasn’t the world’s best cook, but she could hold her own in the kitchen and make decent food.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll get sunstroke.”

A shadow descended over her. She enjoyed the brief respite from the sun’s strong rays. Looking up at Kyle as he stood over her, Jordan was convinced that when she closed her eyes to sleep tonight, his bare chest would be the main feature in her mind.

She scrambled to her feet, feeling at a disadvantage with him towering over her. “I’m wearing a hat and sunscreen.” She bent and picked up the plastic bottle she’d laid under the shade of the vines. “And I have a water bottle. So no chance of me getting sunstroke.”

“Still, I think you should come inside. It’s too hot to be outside working.”

He was the one who wanted her out of his hair and now he was worried about her. Talk about a contradiction. Unless, of course, he was worried she’d sue him if she got sick.

“I have to work outside, Kyle. The vines don’t grow indoors, you know. But I don’t mind the heat. And I was about to head inside anyway.”

He crossed his arms, the sunlight glinting off the light sheen of moisture on his bulging biceps. “Right.”

Jordan brushed the sand off her pants. “Well, if it’s okay with you, I am going inside now. I was thinking of taking a shower, but I’m happy to wait if you wanted to go first. I know how the water pressure can drop when both showers are running.”

“No, it’s fine, you take the first shower.”

Their conversation was stilted and polite. If it remained this way, the time they spent together was going to drag.

“Okay, thanks. I was thinking of doing steak and salad for dinner. Will that work for you?”

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “I plan to go out so you can have whatever you like.”

Jordan bristled at his brusque tone. “Fine, then. I’ll see you in the morning, I guess.” She turned on her heel and headed toward the house. A slight feeling of disappointment tried to make itself known, but she pushed it away. She should be grateful Kyle was going out. It would mean she could heat up the leftover spaghetti instead of going to the trouble of cooking something. That had been her original plan when she’d cooked the pasta dish the previous evening.

“Jordan, wait.”

She stopped but didn’t turn around.

“Do you want to join me for dinner?”

That made her turn around. The last thing she ever expected to hear coming from Kyle was a dinner invitation. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Jordan didn’t want the invitation to be given out of sympathy. She knew Kyle wanted to be alone. Hadn’t he drummed that into her the twenty times he told her to leave?

“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.” Kyle stepped closer to her. She could see the faint trace of sand and salt from his time at the beach. His hair was sexily mussed, and she wanted to reach out and run her hands over it.

The thought made her step back quickly. This was not a man to get involved with. He could be more dangerous to her than Don had ever been. Kyle had a power and strength that drew you in. Made you feel confident he could handle anything and that you’d be safe with him. Those qualities had been sadly missing in her ex-fiancé. Surprising how distance away from a person you were supposed to have loved enough to want to marry made you aware of the things missing in the relationship. Things you hadn’t noticed because you were so desperate to belong. And that was what she had wanted and needed.

“Jordan, do you want to have dinner or not?” Kyle’s voice stopped her thoughts with the immediacy of the pause button on a Blu-ray player.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Yes. Yes, I would like to have dinner with you, Kyle. Thank you.”

He nodded. “Right. Good.”

A moment of awkward silence descended on them. Jordan rolled her water bottle between her hands.

“Well,” she started. “I’m going to take a shower. Shall I meet you in the kitchen around six-ish? Do you need to make a reservation?”

“Where we’re going it won’t be a problem to get a table, and six is fine.”