More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [36]
Placing the glass on the counter, she grabbed the stem and rotated it to swirl the wine. Once the wine had settled down, she picked up the glass and sniffed the wine. “Wonderful robust bouquet.”
With more of a slurp than a sip, she finally sampled it. “Exceptional, Hector. You can really taste the berries. Mostly…blackberry?” she questioned.
Hector enthusiastically confirmed her guess. “So, you like?”
Nodding, she said, “I like, a lot. Can I get a case delivered to the restaurant and one bottle for now?”
Glancing in Aidan’s direction as he realized he would likely be the imbiber of the single bottle of wine, Hector glared at him again, but Aidan merely smiled at the man.
With a grumble beneath his breath about wine heathens, Hector stalked into the back room and a few seconds later, emerged with the single bottle, which he lovingly entrusted to Elizabeth. “Enjoy it, amiga,” he said, but all the time he scowled at Aidan.
Elizabeth leaned over the counter and gave Hector a friendly kiss, seemingly unaware of what was going on between him and Aidan. As they exited the tasting room, she met his gaze and smiled. “Ready for that late lunch?”
Aidan shot a quick peek at his watch and realized it was nearly four. “A very late lunch. Possibly early dinner.”
She stopped and checked her own watch. “I’m sorry. Time just seemed to fly. Would you rather return to town?”
He stood before her. She looked so troubled that he needed to ease her discomfort. Cupping her cheek, he ran his finger along the smooth skin there, which had a touch of color—the kiss of the sun from their drive. “I’ve had a great time so far. It’s been…enlightening.”
An odd choice of words, Elizabeth thought as she examined him. He seemed sincere enough about having enjoyed the day so far, and so she said, “All right, then. We’re off to lunch.”
Back behind the wheel of the car, she continued onward to the coast road and turned in the direction of Leonia. As she drove, she alternated glances between the coastline to her right, the road before her and Aidan in the passenger seat. He was looking toward her and then past her to the rugged shoreline.
It took another fifteen minutes or so to reach the spot. Her spot. One free of ghosts.
She had discovered it one day many years back during one of her hedge-veg runs. Pulling the car over to a switchback along the coast side of the road, she parked the Gaston and faced Aidan. “Ready?”
He confirmed, “Ready.”
She leaned into the back of the car and grabbed just a few of the packages stored there and handed them to Aidan. “I just need to get something from the back,” she said.
They both stepped out of the car, but he waited by the front fender while she went to the back. Opening the trunk, she removed the blanket and picnic basket her mother had always kept there for an impromptu stop. She slipped the blanket under one arm and grabbed the basket with that hand. Walking toward Aidan, she offered him her other hand and he took hold of it.
Hand in hand they walked down the grass-covered slope until they were at its rocky edge. Once there, they paused for a moment to appreciate the view. To the left were the imposing palisades and rugged shoreline of Silvershire’s North Coast. To the right, Leonia Bay with the sister towns of Leonia and Tiberia nestled at its foot. In the bay, sailboats and fishermen’s boats travelled to and fro, or put out to sea.
“Beautiful,” he said, but as their gazes met, it was clear he wasn’t referring to the view.
The intensity of his interest created a funny little feeling inside her. Bolstered by that feeling, she smiled at him, took a step closer and cradled his cheek. Beneath her palm there was the rasp of his evening beard and the warmth of his skin. She ran her finger along that beard and then to the edge of his lips, fascinated by them. By him.
She dragged her gaze from his lips and up to his eyes. Against the backdrop of sky and sea, they seemed even more blue than before. “Are you hungry?” she asked, but the question suddenly had little to do with