Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Will there be anything else?” she asks, her eyes focused only on Gabe.
“No thank you,” he replies, his full attention never leaving whatever story he’s reading. She offers me and Sylvie a bland smile and heads back to the galley.
Gabe’s head lifts and he glances at my drink with a teasing smirk. “You know that stuff is crap for your body, right?”
I roll my eyes, picking up the glass and lifting it in a mock toast. “Thank you, Dr. Mardraggon. But I’ll take my chances. I was up late last night and need the caffeine.”
Something close to worry flickers over his face and he nods toward the couch. “Why don’t you take a nap?”
“I think I’d rather suffer,” I say with a smile and then turn to Sylvie. “Good drink?”
She shrugs and picks it up, forgoing the tiny straw to take a delicate sip. “Think I can have some more cherries?”
Gabe says yes at the same time I say no.
I pin a hard look at Gabe. “Those are full of sugar and bad for the body.”
Gabe inclines his head with a smirk. “Touché.”
We’ve only been in the air for about twenty minutes and Sylvie is finally starting to unwind from the excitement. She’s been chattering nonstop about everything she wants to show us in Saint-Émilion, including her friends, her favorite shops and most importantly, the château and winery. She’s a child who had utter freedom inside an idyllic lifestyle. She was a girl who ran among the vineyards with her dog on her heels and while I know her life with us will be just as amazing, I find myself drawn to the magic of Sylvie’s enthusiasm.
It makes me immensely grateful that Ethan decided to let her do this. I’m also grateful that my brothers agreed to take over my duties, enabling me to take this trip. Granted, they still grumbled about what an asshole Gabe is every time I ran into them the last few days. But nothing can dampen my anticipation of seeing France for the first time.
“I think I’m going to watch a movie,” Sylvie announces and then reaches over to her backpack. Pulling out an iPad and a set of headphones, I watch as she puts on The Hunger Games. She’s read the books and is now completely obsessed with the movies, having watched them all more than once.
Gabe and I share a smile, a silent agreement of our mutual happiness for this experience for Sylvie. It’s a rare moment of connection and one that does not go unnoticed over how good that makes me feel. I know I should feel guilty for such thoughts, or perhaps I should be chastising myself for getting drawn back to this man in a personal way. But the truth is Gabe and I have rekindled a personal connection that transcends the feud and even our bitter breakup. Sylvie’s obviously the catalyst and I have no choice but to see where this goes.
“Are you interested in going over the schedule of events?” Gabe asks.
I blink at him, a little confused, but then I realize he’s talking about all the things we have to accomplish on this trip.
“Sure,” I reply easily.
“Why don’t you come sit on this side,” he says, pulling his laptop out of a leather satchel. “That way you can see my computer.”
Sylvie doesn’t even look up from her movie as I undo my seat belt. Gabe slides over to the chair closest to the window and fires up his laptop as I take the seat next to him. The smell of his cologne is a little too tantalizing and evokes strong memories of our times together. He still wears the same scent, something I noticed when I fell off Shadow and found him hovering over me in the barn.
“You need to buckle up,” he says, and before I can even think to slap his hands away, he’s fastening my belt.
He’s so nonchalant about it while my pulse races, but then he’s pulling up his calendar and launches into what we have planned for each day, including a tour of the winery and vineyards with Esteban, the general manager. We will also be tasting the various products and meet with the potential investors Gabe has lined up, an impressive feat since this trip was so spur of the moment. Apparently, though, Alaine had been working on this for the last year before her death.
The day after this investor meeting is most important as we’ll be sitting down with the winery’s board of directors to discuss the plans for expansion. They apparently have a big presentation for us to consider and depending on how the investors shake out, it could be something we need to move on quickly.
Of course, none of this is my call but rather will be a joint decision for Ethan and Gabe to make for Sylvie’s benefit, but my brother is depending on me to analyze this carefully to determine if it’s something he can do. He told me the other day that he’ll trust my judgment on this and I almost puked from the added responsibility.