From Chapter One
Nikki Sands was going to die. She squirmed, knowing that her eyes were dark with fear. Her stomach tightened into a knot, making her feel like she was about to heave as a barely audible sound escaped from her lips—like a faint cry for help. She did the only thing a woman in her position could. She smiled. The two men she had feelings for walked toward her: Derek Malveaux, her boss, and her maybe, kind of, boyfriend Andrés Fernandez.
She snapped her attention back to the group of people in front of her, pouring another taste of wine for each of them, and recommending a recipe for an appetizer that would match the wine. This time with the Malveaux Estate Syrah, also known as Shiraz. “The nice thing about the Syrah grape,” she said to some of the many people she’d spoken to that day, “is that it pairs well with just about every kind of food.” She received nods and praises from the folks tasting the wines. “The chef has paired the Syrah with what is called a Pissaladiere, which is a French style white pizza. Feel free to take a copy of the recipe.”
Nikki pointed to a pile of cards with various recipes created for the day’s event by the vineyard’s chef, Georges Debussey. She tried hard not to look at Derek or Andrés, who had now joined the small audience. Hopefully the damn tremor in her voice was unnoticeable.
With voiced approval from the group, she finished up. “I’m sorry to say, ladies and gentlemen that’s all I have. If you would like to order any of the wines you’ve tasted here today, please go into the gift shop, where you’ll find a table with the discount prices. We appreciate your coming out to Malveaux and hope you will enjoy the wines. If you’d like to go back and re-taste any of today’s wines, feel free; and don’t forget, the spa and hotel are offering half price for the weekend for accommodations and services.”
“And,” Derek Malveaux added as he and Andrés neared the table, “remember that tonight is the opening of Georges on the Vineyard. We’ll look forward to having you.” He flashed his brilliant smile at them, his blue eyes lighting up his face.
The group walked through the courtyard of the new Malveaux Inn and Spa, set on the back forty of the Malveaux Estate and Winery where Derek, the owner of the vineyard, had been convinced by his brother Simon to build the mission-style boutique hotel and spa. They had been in operation for a little over a month now, but the opening of the restaurant had been behind schedule due to interior decorating conflicts.
Derek faced Nikki. “It looks to be going well,” he said. “I ran into Andrés here and told him that I knew where you were.” He gave Andrés a friendly, guy kind of pat on the shoulder.
Nikki smiled; knowing the quiver at the corner of her lips had to be giving her away. They’re just men, not anything out of the norm here. But talk about opposites. And, because she was either weird, demented, or probably a combination, and truth be told it had been quite some time since she’d shared her bed with anyone--not that just anyone would do--she craved both of them. What the hell was wrong with her? Derek was as blonde and golden as if he were straight out of a Tommy Bahama ad, and about the most down-to-earth man she’d ever met. Andrés, well, luscious would fit nicely. Lusciously passionate, artistic, sensually dark all the way to the brown, almost black eyes that the Spaniard, at that moment, had turned her way. Not good. How to weigh charming and grounded against luscious and creative? “Great. So you decided to stop by, then?” Nikki asked.
“I did. I want to be certain we were still planning on dinner esta noche. I couldn’t reach you by cell, and I have to go take care of some business in the city for a couple of hours,” Andrés said. “So, when I saw Derek finishing up a tour of the hotel, I asked him to help me find you.”
“I had it turned off, my cell, because I’m working. I can’t take calls when I’m doing a tasting.” Did she sound like a dope or what? Confidence. Exude confidence. “Yes, yes. We are on for tonight. You betcha. I know it’ll be wonderful. Georges Debussey is a master. I’ve eaten at his place in San Francisco, and the food is divine. And the cookbook he’s been working on with Derek is going to be great.” She looked at Derek. “I took notes for the wine information for the book. Georges is a little nutty.” She shrugged. Right now she got the distinct feeling that she was looking a little cuckoo herself, rattling on and on, but she couldn’t stop. It was as if she had to fill the air with something. “And the poor designer. I caught her walking to the car last week in tears because he wanted something different for the drapes and she just let it all go on me, telling me she didn’t think she could do it and that her kid has been sick with the flu and that she’d have to work overtime to get it all done. I thought she was going to kill him.” Take a breath. “In fact, I have a meeting with Georges at the restaurant here in a little while, because I got a message that he wanted me to come into the kitchen and talk about the wines and what they would work with tonight. I just hope he doesn’t yell at me. With that temper of his.” Shut up. Shut up. For God’s sakes quit rambling. She realized both men were watching her as if she’d landed from another planet. She couldn’t help wondering about it herself.
The band that Derek hired for the event started playing and saved Nikki. Ah yes, the fluted sounds of Peruvian music and guitar strings filled the air. She reminded herself to breathe again, and this time did so. “Pretty music.”
“It is,” Derek said and looked almost as uncomfortable as she felt. “Well, it’s nice to have seen you, Andrés.
It looks like you’ll be here tonight, so I’m sure I’ll get a chance to visit later on. Right now I need to see how things are running over at the spa.”
Andrés shook Derek’s hand. “Yes. Thank you for leading me to this beautiful woman.”
Derek nodded at the two of them. “Nice work, Nikki. Thanks.”
She watched him walk away. If that wasn’t weird... Sure he was only her boss, but he’d also been her friend over the last couple of years since she’d come to work as the Malveaux Estate Winery manager and his assistant. Then there were those moments when their eyes lingered a little too long on each other, or a joke told between them insinuated something. Something ever so slight, but it was there. Wasn’t it? Could it all be a matter of hallucination on her part? Maybe Derek Malveaux simply enjoyed the art of flirting. She’d given him plenty of opportunities, and he hadn’t grabbed one. But when she’d reached out to Andrés, he’d not only taken it, he’d run with it!
Andrés cleared his throat. “This looks to be going nicely. Are you having a good time?”
She shrugged. “It’s work, you know.”
“Uh, huh. And, Derek? He’s only your boss?”
“What does that mean? Of course, he’s only my boss.”
She tossed back her hair, which lately she’d allowed to grow long and started coloring it a medium brown. She’d done it at first for folly, but then had received a lot of compliments and also found that the old adage about blondes and brunettes were true. Blondes may have more fun, but she’d found in her case that as a brunette people seemed to take her more seriously, and she liked that. Blonde had also been the look she’d clung to when she lived in L.A., pursuing an acting career that flowed about as smoothly as a rollercoaster ride, until she’d finally decided to get off and get a real job. Crossing her arms over her fitted striped blouse, she took a step back from Andrés. Now the job was stable, but the relationship stuff—another trip altogether.
“I’m sorry. He looks at you as if there is more there, and maybe I’m jealous.”
She reached out and touched his shoulder. Strong shoulders and arms, the kind she liked wrapped around her—a man who worked the vineyard. Andrés was a winemaker down the road at Spaniard’s Crest. “There is nothing between me and Derek. Nada. Nothing.” There wasn’t. A wink, a smile, typical flirtation, right? But nothing in terms of it meaning anything. “Okay?”
“Fine.” He made an attempt at laughing. “It’s my nature to be, uh, maybe protective or as you might say in English I have a bit of that green eyed monster lying within.”
“Tell the monster to relax.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “So, you’re going into the city? Why?”
He looked down and then away from her. “Some business.”
“What kind of business?” There was something he wasn’t telling her. She could see it. She’d known him long enough to know that Andrés didn’t lie well or hide things for that matter. In fact, his straightforwardness was one of the things she liked about him. They’d been friends before they’d ever decided to venture farther into this new territory of dating. And, one day he’d laid it on the line for her, telling her that he had feelings for her and wanted to be with her. As much as there had been chemistry and flirtation with Derek, there had been honesty with Andrés. She’d decided to take a chance. And, so far so good.
“Nikki, yoo hoo.” Nikki glanced over to see Derek’s brother, Simon waving at her from the corner of the courtyard. She waved back.
“He would drive me loco,” Andrés said.
“He’s sweet and harmless.”
“If you say so, but he would still drive me loco,” he repeated.
She stuck her index finger into his chest and gave it a slight jab. “He’s my friend. You be nice.”
Andrés shook his head. “I have to go anyway. I’ll see you tonight.”
“You’re keeping something from me, aren’t you? Your business in the city, what’s it about?”
He kissed her on the cheek. “We speak tonight. Go and see your friend. He appears as if he is about to wet his pants.” He laughed.
Nikki glanced back over at Simon who was doing some kind of little dance. She figured it was to the Peruvian beat. For a gay man, Simon had zero rhythm. He waved her over and before she could stop Andrés from leaving to question him further, he headed out of the courtyard. She made her way over to Simon.
“Hi, Goldilocks. I saw you over there talking to your Spaniard. He is so divine.” He puckered his lips and kissed the air.
Nikki smacked him on the arm. Andrés did have a point about Simon being annoying. The one thing about Derek’s brother was, even though she loved him and he’d become one of her best friends in the last year, he really could be as irritating as nails on a chalkboard at times. “Do you like my new do? I think it’s kind of Stingish. He’s so sexy. I bought his new album the other day. You should get it and play it while doing that hottie of yours. It’ll put you in the mood.”
Nikki rolled her eyes at him.
“Oh, oh, oh. Wait a minute. What is this? News flash! No!” He ran his hand through his newly platinum spiked locks and made a face. “You and the Spaniard haven’t been playing nasty, have you? What in God’s name is wrong with you? I would have had him swinging on a chandelier by now. My God, you’ve been seeing him for what, two months at least? Goldilocks. I guess I can’t call you that anymore. Hmmm, maybe Snow White. Oh God, why did you change your hair? It’s totally ruined my nickname for you. Anyway, you need to get busy, girl. I hate to say it, but you aren’t getting any younger and some other Miss Thing is gonna come along and get with it.”
Yep. Just like nails down a chalkboard. “My sex life is none of your concern.”
“Hmmm. I think it is. You need some lessons in love, Goldilocks. I’m still gonna call you that. Even with the dark hair thing going on, which I have to tell you is working. Really it is. So, vamp the rest of it up and let’s get that love life in full swing. All you need is a pep talk and there are no two people better to give you the facts of life on what men want and need than me and my Marco.” He shook a finger at her. “Oh yeah, baby. I know you have that innocent thing going for you with those green eyes, your flawless complexion—what do you use on that skin of yours anyway? And your knit sweater sets that add to the girl-next-door image have got to go, because I know lurking behind all of that fluff is a woman, a W.O.M.A.N.”
“Don’t you have to go and give someone a spa treatment or something?”
“Oh God, no. I run the place. I don’t do treatments. I do host the nine A.M. and four P.M. meditation, though. You should come. We can do a visualization thingy. The Guru Sansibaba says that anger is only pent-up sexual anxiety. Once you get in touch with that inner Goddess you’ll be free. Free to fly like the wind, my friend,” he sang out.
“I need a glass of wine. I told you I don’t want to hear that Guru Sansibaba crap,” Nikki replied. The Guru Sansibaba was a New Age kook that Simon and Marco found while on hiatus in Sedona, Arizona. They’d gone in as two materialistic, pompous gay men and had come out as two materialistic, pompous gay men who now believed they could balance people’s chakras and spout New Age wisdom courtesy of their famous guru. Man, if she could ever get her hands around that freakazoid’s neck… However, their return from Sedona prompted them to get more involved at the winery and vineyard, and they’d even come up with the idea of opening the hotel and spa on an area of land where the grapes didn’t grow too well.
“You don’t need wine, honey. You need to get busy with the Spaniard.”
“Can we talk about this later?”
He sighed and looked at his watch. “I think we’re going to have to. Marco has me scheduled for the grapeseed facial.”
“Wait a minute, you’re going to get a spa treatment while people are coming in and out of here like this is a zoo? I’m sure your help is needed.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and squeezed her hand. “Oh Goldilocks, I tell you, it pays to be the boss. There are perks. And, to run a tight ship in the spa, which is my job, I should probably try out the treatments on a regular basis to make sure it’s what we want here at The Malveaux Inn. See you at that meditation; we’ll work through that pent-up angst.” He winked at her.
Blah! Not just nails on a chalkboard, but like the alarm clock on the nightstand sounding off at the crack of dawn, when Jose Cuervo has been the best friend of choice the night before.
Another thought crossed Nikki’s mind. Was Simon so annoying with his suggestions of taking her relationship to another level with Andrés because maybe he had a point? A good one. Was it time to give up her crush on Derek and take a leap with Andrés? Too much introspection to deal with at the moment. She had an eccentric chef to go deal with. Hopefully, things were running smoothly at the restaurant and no one had pissed Georges off on opening day, or vice versa. Georges wasn’t necessarily known for his couth and already a handful of employees who’d originally been staffed at the restaurant had either been fired by Georges or had quit. Napa Valley was basically a small town in the scheme of things and Georges was quickly becoming the topic of choice for the gossip circles. It was one way to attract customers—come to Georges on the Vineyard and meet the quirky chef. From Simon the over-the-top spa director to Georges the crazy chef. Hmmm, one could cross her fingers and hope everything would go off without a hitch tonight, but the knot in the pit of Nikki’s stomach told her it was doubtful.
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The wine country is not only full of grapes and fantastic wineries, it is also spa country. If you’re ever in need of a getaway where you can stay at some of the best boutique hotels and spas in the world, head to the California wine country. It was in one of these amazing places that I came up with the idea for 