Arlo, the tech nerd she’d been dating for the past few months, had turned out to be Mr. All Wrong. For a guy who looked normal enough, he overflowed with emotional drama and ended up being both clingy and needy. In short, Arlo was far more than Kelly was willing to deal with. She’d broken up with him two weeks ago and had zero regrets about doing it.
She had enough going on in her life with work. She didn’t need a high-maintenance boyfriend sapping all her energy in her free time.
For now, she was blissfully unattached.
Why, then, were images of Ransom Kressley’s smile infiltrating her thoughts with increasing frequency? It was ridiculous.
She sat up and glanced at her watch. Five more minutes, and she’d head back inside. Eyes closed, she returned to basking in the sun. The squeak of the tasting room door and the sound of footsteps on the gravel let her know she was no longer alone.
She opened her eyes and looked up to see Ransom smiling down at her. Maybe she’d fallen asleep and was dreaming. That seemed the more logical reason why he’d be standing over her with the sun backlighting his thick hair and gilding his broad shoulders that were encased in a blue polo shirt. A shirt Kelly was fairly certain she’d help him choose the day of his shopping spree after Christmas.
“Hey, stranger,” Ransom said, his smile widening as he sank beside her on the bench.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, still not entirely convinced she wasn’t dreaming.
“Some friends wanted to go wine tasting, so I offered to be the designated driver.” Ransom motioned toward the tasting room. “They’ve been tasting,” he used air quotes to emphasize tasting, “since noon. I, for one, am ready for dinner. Any suggestions on places to go for a starving man?”
Kelly grinned. “If the starving man prefers lots of meat like his cavedweller ancestors, I know just the place. It’s in Newberg. Smoked meats that are to die for. Sides of baked beans, mac ‘n cheese, and coleslaw. For dessert, get one of their house-made candy bars.”
“See, this is all good info to know, and it’s making my mouth water thinking about it. Do they have brisket?”
“How do you have smoked meats without it?” Kelly asked and bumped her shoulder against Ransom’s. “Yes, they have brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and chicken, and once in a while, you’ll even find burnt ends there.”
“Okay, I’m totally sold.” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“If they’re packed and you can’t get in, there’s a really good Greek place if you head back toward Portland through Sherwood. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks, Kelly.” Ransom gave her a long glance. “How have you been? Are you still going out with the IT guy from the tech company?”
“Arlo? Nope. Too much drama and crying for my tastes. To clarify, they were his tears and drama.”
Ransom chuckled. “Smart girl. So, what’s next?”
Kelly shrugged. “I think I’ll take a break for a while. We’re heading into our super busy season in the tasting room when I generally work more hours, so I don’t really have time for dating, at least if it requires a lot of mental anguish and preparation for the date.”
“Dates are supposed to be fun, not torture. Maybe you’re just doing it wrong.”
Kelly laughed, aware he was teasing her.
The door to the tasting room opened, and a tipsy brunette in hot pink stilettos and pants so tight Kelly wondered how she could move in them waved at Ransom with an annoyingly high-pitched giggle.
“There you are Ran-Ran. I thought maybe you left us.”
“I’m right here, Aria.” Ransom stood, although he didn’t look excited to rejoin his date. “Are you ready to go?”
“No! Lydia just got a chandalay.” She hiccupped, tossed her unnaturally glossy hair, and went back inside.
—
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