Page 80 of Legs

It was time to keep moving forward and give Jimmy a second chance. “I love you,” I whispered. “So much it hurts.”

He spun me, so quickly I gripped his shoulders to keep from toppling. Tenderness softened the steel in his blue-gray eyes. “I’m sorry. The things I said to you were horrible. I’d take them back if I could. I know you, Ray. I know you’d never use me or side against me. Even thinking how I lit into you makes me sick. I’m not sure I deserve your forgiveness, but I’m done burying my past. It’s part of me. The good and the bad. I want nothing more than for you to be my future.”

God, his sincerity. It coated every word and soothed my bruised heart. A balm I was ready to accept. “It’s okay. I understand. But you ever accuse me of stuff like that again, assume the worst without a discussion, and an apology won’t cut it. This is a one-time deal.”

He straightened, fierceness in the sharp lines of his face. “As it should be.”

We stood like that a moment, and I could sense his need, both of us fighting the pull to grab each other and kiss until we’d erased our pain. My gaze fell to his tie, the silky fabric, wondering how it would feel around my wrists. Maybe a little pain wouldn’t be so bad.

He dug his thumbs into my hipbones, possessive and hot as hell. “Don’t worry, I’ll string your arms up with it later.”

“Presumptuous much?” But the man could read me. And sweet Jesus, the visual. My skin nearly lit on fire.

“Just calling it like I see it. And you, Sunshine, have it bad for me.”

Suddenly parched, I scanned the area for a glass of water. A sprinkler to run through? Then I was picturing a dripping wet Jimmy, and I could barely swallow. “Let’s get back to this contest of yours.”

People milled around, curious glances coasting over us. Jimmy and his ink garnered much interest, as did my revealing skirt and halter top. They could look all they wanted.

He winked. “A blind tasting, of course.”

“Back to where we started?” Our second chance. He nodded, but staying among these people when he could be apologizing in private lacked appeal. “Can this game wait until later? I believe your tongue has more atoning to do. Certain places on my body haven’t decided if you’re forgiven. It could take weeks.”

He chuckled and nestled his hand into the small of my back. “I’ve missed you like crazy, and not kissing you right now, everywhere, is killing me, but I want to do this right. It won’t take long.”

Grudgingly, I yielded. He led me to one of the stations, where I promptly downed a glass of water. That’s when I recognized April in her black slacks and top, pouring wines.

“You won!” My shout had glances flying my way, but I hadn’t seen her since I’d been booted from the contest. We weren’t exactly close, but she’d always been nice, and beating the Schnozinator was no easy feat.

She beamed. “I did. Thanks to Jimmy. If he hadn’t stepped down, I wouldn’t have had the chance.”

“Well, it’s nice of you to help today.”

“Like I said, I owe him. He even got a bunch of my friends work. Vesper closing down left a lot of people in the lurch.”

The club where I’d met Jimmy. Disappointment weighted me. I would have loved to revisit Vesper with him, explain how a mysterious power outage had propelled me to fulfill my wish. I may have questioned the wisp of magic I’d felt that night, but I couldn’t deny it now. I mean, here I was, the day I’d paid my tuition, finally ready to forgive Jimmy and move forward.

Ready for love.

This was the domino of happiness I’d hoped for.

“I can’t believe it closed.”

April rolled her eyes. “The place was a death trap. Blackouts every couple weeks. Electrical problems. They couldn’t afford to fix it.”

She excused herself to serve patrons, and I stared dumbly ahead.

Jimmy slid his hand across my waist. “You okay?”

I wasn’t sure. I’d waffled about the “magical” blackout on and off since my birthday, but the possibility of its legitimacy had led to that horrible butt shot. It had pushed me to enter the sommelier contest. It was why I’d enrolled in school. Believing the wish would knock the rest of my life in order had spurred me on, when all I ever really needed was to believe in myself.

Talk about being clueless. “I’m fine. Just surprised about the club. So…” I looked around, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Magic hadn’t led me here. I’d led me here. “Where’s this mysterious blind tasting?”

He moved behind the table and placed one glass on the white tablecloth. With the same grace he’d displayed in the contest, he poured a mysterious white wine into the crystal—elegant movements for such a rough man. The alcohol swished and clung to the sides, its legs dripping downward. When my father had told me the alcohol bleed left on a glass was known as “legs,” I’d rolled my eyes, sure he was lying. Today their sexy drag left me breathless.

Mischief in his smirk, Jimmy pushed the glass toward me, along with a pen and piece of paper. “One wine. One taste. If you guess the name of the wine and the vineyard, you win. If you don’t, you lose. First you have to set the stakes. Write them down. I won’t look until it’s over.”

“Any limitations?”