Just a Kiss: The Single Girls Wine Club (A Wine Country Romance #1) Read Free

the conversation.
    “No, I barely talked to him,” Sarah said. “He's very distracting, let's put it that way.”
    “You’re just not used to anything exciting.” Danica crossed her legs and settled back in her chair. “You’re probably nervous because he’s changing your routine, and he’s so frickin’ gorgeous. I almost lost it the first time I met him, and you know how crazy I am about Michael, so that’s saying something. You’re not used to being around guys.”
    “Lots of guys come into the Vine Café every day, and I actually employ men,” Sarah said.
    Juliet pursed her lips. "Manny and The Egg Man don’t count.”
    “You haven’t taken a day off since you moved here, honey,” Lulu said. “Maybe you should go out and roll around with something besides dough.”
    “Ha! Good one, Lulu!” Juliet raised her glass.
    The four women took sips, relaxing in silence.
    “He has that thing celebrities have,” Juliet said. “It’s what makes them so successful. Try not to get too rattled. Remember, he’s just a person.”
    Sarah put her glass down. “I’m not star struck. I’m just not prepared to have that kind of person, waltzing into my business, ruining everything."
    Danica and Lulu looked at each other. “Ever since you moved to Sonoma, you’ve been using your bakery as a hideout,” Danica said. “You’ve always been shy, but it’s getting ridiculous.”
    Lulu reached over and patted Sarah's knee. "It's just a little change, honey. It might do you good."

     
    The next morning, Sarah didn’t bother parking her Prius. She stopped the car where it landed in the lot. With her keys in hand, she bolted to the side entrance of the Vine Café.
    "Hi, Kitty, let's make it quick. We’ve got a big day ahead of us," she said, shoving the key in the lock. Her blow-dried hair was slicked back neatly, tucked into her scarf. She changed the station from R & B to classical, fired up the ovens, and rushed to get her equipment laid out on her pastry table.
    After finding her idiot ex-fiancé bottom up on the treasured table with Samantha (her friend and accountant), bottom down, Sarah considered leaving the table exactly where she had found them on it, in her San Francisco bakery, but couldn’t bear to leave it behind. She adored the table because it was the last item she and her mother had bought before she got sick. Remembering the day they’d found it in an antique shop in Petaluma, and seeing it now, made her think of how proud her mom would’ve been.
    She grabbed her cell phone and walked through the dark main room of the Vine Café to the large glass front windows. Streetlights lit the shadowy main entrance. The sun hadn’t begun to show its face yet, and her delivery wasn’t there either.
    She hit the direct dial and got an immediate answer.
    “Good morning, in the morning!” Bobby, The Egg Man said, sounding like he’d had at least five cups of coffee.
    “Hey Bobby, how’s it coming?”
    “I’m on my way, Sarah.”
    “No worries, I just got a little concerned.”
    “Well don’t be. You want fresh eggs? I got them five minutes ago,” Bobby boasted. “Yep.” He chuckled. “I’m in the truck now and you’re my first stop. I’ll drop ‘em by the front door.”
    After saying goodbye and hanging up, Sarah scurried to the kitchen, pulled her precious handwritten recipes out of the binder and double-checked the ingredients.
    “Oh Kitty, I’m sorry!” she said, noticing the tabby sitting so sweetly in his usual place by the door, waiting. She quickly put a little kibble in a ramekin. “Here you are.” The purring started the instant she laid the bowl in front of him.
    Sarah felt heat radiating from the ovens and knew they’d be at full temperature in seconds. All she needed were the eggs and Jamie. She didn’t want to start without him but if she waited too long, there wouldn’t be anything ready at six-thirty when she opened.
    She checked again and found the organic eggs from