Page 26 of Come Take Me Now

“Notice anything else?”

I bite my lip and feel a sudden spotlight that burns my cheeks when Robby focuses on me, too. “It’s, um…I have no idea. Just sweet? I thought it would be tart.”

“It’s not a very dry variation.” He smiles and takes a sip from his glass. Enzo elaborates after a moment. “This particular one has aged a few years from the subtle wood undertone, but it has a little cherry and cocoa to it. It’s a bestseller around the holidays.” My eyes grow larger with each descriptor he adds to the wine. “You notice the tannins more at the end.”

The who?

“I thought it was espresso in this one?” Robby interjects.

Enzo swirls and tastes again. “Nope. I changed it. The espresso made it too bitter.”

“Changed our dads’ recipe? That’s bold. I guess you’re the expert now,” Robby adds.

“I have a lot to learn,” I mumble.

“I still can’t tell you anything about whatever Enzo just said, and I’ve been drinking their wine for five years,” Appa tells me.

“So, you guys have been married that long?”

Robby drums his fingers on the table and chuckles. “Hmm, how old is Em? We’ve been married a little longer than that.”

Appa rolls her eyes and laughs. “We’ve been married for about three and a half years. I was in my second trimester with Ember when we got married.”

“Whoops,” Robby adds.

“She was a good whoops,” Appa says. “Luca was planned.”

“Sure,” Enzo teases.

“So, Tilly, tell me about you,” Robby says suddenly.

“Um, like what?” I ask.

“You just graduated, right? What brings you to Napa?” he asks.

I swallow. “Yeah, I just graduated. My dad has lived here since he retired, like I said. I didn’t spend much time with him growing up, but I grew up in Sacramento with my mom and went to college there.”

“How are you liking Napa?” Robby asks. My eyes flicker to Enzo, who is patiently waiting for me to answer, but he could probably guess what I’m thinking—he makes Napa better.

“It’s fine,” I answer.

“You know, I grew up in Georgia and thought LA was the ultimate goal, but Robby convinced me Napa was our real home,” Appa says. Robby grins at her like she’s the best thing on earth, and I can only hope that Enzo looks at me like that in five years. Goosebumps rise along my arms. I haven’t known him for two weeks yet, and I’m already thinking that far ahead. Must be infatuation.

“Um, how’d you guys meet?” I ask.

Appa blushes and takes a sip of her wine. “In college. We got reunited a few years later,” Appa answers quickly.

“To say the fucking least,” Robby says under his breath. Appa shoots him a look but refocuses on the menu in front of her.

Okay, then…

“What do you do, Robby?” I ask to change the subject.

“I’m a software engineer, so I do mostly programming,” he answers. Enzo’s phone buzzes on the table, and he calmly picks it up, scans over the screen, and puts it face down again. I try to focus on Robby as he explains a project he’s working on, but Enzo’s phone buzzing again makes the table shake.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” I say to be polite.

Enzo exhales, picking up the phone again. “I should take this,” he says, pushing back his chair and standing.