seconds.
‘I’m a modern, self-sufficient woman who doesn’t need a man to carry stuff for her or lecture her on road safety!’ Jess told him as he opened his front door and stood back to let her precede him.
Progress? One step forward, six back...
‘Yeah, yeah—blah, blah. Just get inside the house, Sherwood, and stop being a pain in my ass,’ Luke told her—and wondered if he had enough wine on the estate to take the edge off the frustration he felt when he was around this woman.
Probably not.
FOUR
Early the next morning, Luke stood with Owen on the veranda of his house, two massive Rhodesian Ridgebacks lying at their feet. Both men held hot cups of coffee—a welcome relief after the freezing temperatures in the lands.
Owen lifted his mug at the magnificent Dutch-gabled manor house directly across from them. ‘You’ve got to admit it’s one hell of a building.’
Luke nodded. ‘My ancestors were quite determined to make a statement that this was Savage land and that they mattered. Except for my father a seven-bedroom manor house wasn’t spacious enough. So he ordered the building of my house as a smaller guest house.’ Jed had also converted the carriage house into an office block, installed a gym, Jacuzzi and steam room, refurbished the tennis court, relandscaped the gardens...
‘All on borrowed money,’ Owen commented.
‘Yep—money he didn’t have and St Sylve couldn’t generate.’
After his father’s death Luke had immediately sold anything that wasn’t nailed down—excluding the family silver and furniture—to pay off his father’s debts. The money received had barely made a dent in the debt he’d inherited along with St Sylve.
Frankly, it would have been cheaper to buy his own wine farm...oh, wait, he had . He’d bought and paid for his own inheritance. If he added up all the money he’d poured into the estate over the years, servicing the debt and the interest, he’d probably paid three times what it was worth.
‘My father was intensely concerned about the image he portrayed. It didn’t matter that he was on the verge of losing everything. As long as the illusion of perfection was maintained he was content.’ Luke shrugged. ‘Sometimes I feel like going beyond the grave and slapping him stupid.’
‘Can I come too?’ Owen asked.
‘Who is going where?’
Both men turned quickly, and Luke’s cup wobbled as he saw Jess standing in the doorway of his house, dressed in jeans and low boots, her face mostly free of make-up and her hair pulled into a messy knot.
Luke felt his stomach clench and release.
After he’d introduced her to Owen and they’d exchanged some small talk, Owen glanced at his watch and excused himself. Luke thought that he needed to get back to the lands too, but he felt reluctant to leave Jess. It wasn’t good manners just to leave her on her own, he told himself... lied to himself.
‘We need to get your stuff into the manor house. I switched the electrics on; you now have lights but it’ll be a couple of hours until you get hot water.’
‘Thanks.’ Jess wrinkled her nose. ‘I’ll do that later. I want to explore St Sylve, if that’s okay.’
‘Sure.’ Luke shrugged. ‘I’ll give you a tour. What do you want to see?’
Jess shrugged. ‘Everything.’
‘Everything?’
‘I know the cellars and the buildings. I want to see the lands and the vineyard and the orchards.’
‘Okay.’
Luke stepped into the house and deposited the coffee cups on the hall table. Yanking down a heavy jacket from the rack behind the door, he handed it to Jess, thinking of how icy it could get on the bike. He pulled on his own battered wool-lined leather jacket over his long-sleeved T-shirt and stuffed a beanie into one of the pockets. In the shadows of the mountains the temperature could drop rapidly.
‘If you want to tag along, I need to check on how far along my staff are with the pruning, then I need to go across the farm to check on repairs to a
‘I’m a modern, self-sufficient woman who doesn’t need a man to carry stuff for her or lecture her on road safety!’ Jess told him as he opened his front door and stood back to let her precede him.
Progress? One step forward, six back...
‘Yeah, yeah—blah, blah. Just get inside the house, Sherwood, and stop being a pain in my ass,’ Luke told her—and wondered if he had enough wine on the estate to take the edge off the frustration he felt when he was around this woman.
Probably not.
FOUR
Early the next morning, Luke stood with Owen on the veranda of his house, two massive Rhodesian Ridgebacks lying at their feet. Both men held hot cups of coffee—a welcome relief after the freezing temperatures in the lands.
Owen lifted his mug at the magnificent Dutch-gabled manor house directly across from them. ‘You’ve got to admit it’s one hell of a building.’
Luke nodded. ‘My ancestors were quite determined to make a statement that this was Savage land and that they mattered. Except for my father a seven-bedroom manor house wasn’t spacious enough. So he ordered the building of my house as a smaller guest house.’ Jed had also converted the carriage house into an office block, installed a gym, Jacuzzi and steam room, refurbished the tennis court, relandscaped the gardens...
‘All on borrowed money,’ Owen commented.
‘Yep—money he didn’t have and St Sylve couldn’t generate.’
After his father’s death Luke had immediately sold anything that wasn’t nailed down—excluding the family silver and furniture—to pay off his father’s debts. The money received had barely made a dent in the debt he’d inherited along with St Sylve.
Frankly, it would have been cheaper to buy his own wine farm...oh, wait, he had . He’d bought and paid for his own inheritance. If he added up all the money he’d poured into the estate over the years, servicing the debt and the interest, he’d probably paid three times what it was worth.
‘My father was intensely concerned about the image he portrayed. It didn’t matter that he was on the verge of losing everything. As long as the illusion of perfection was maintained he was content.’ Luke shrugged. ‘Sometimes I feel like going beyond the grave and slapping him stupid.’
‘Can I come too?’ Owen asked.
‘Who is going where?’
Both men turned quickly, and Luke’s cup wobbled as he saw Jess standing in the doorway of his house, dressed in jeans and low boots, her face mostly free of make-up and her hair pulled into a messy knot.
Luke felt his stomach clench and release.
After he’d introduced her to Owen and they’d exchanged some small talk, Owen glanced at his watch and excused himself. Luke thought that he needed to get back to the lands too, but he felt reluctant to leave Jess. It wasn’t good manners just to leave her on her own, he told himself... lied to himself.
‘We need to get your stuff into the manor house. I switched the electrics on; you now have lights but it’ll be a couple of hours until you get hot water.’
‘Thanks.’ Jess wrinkled her nose. ‘I’ll do that later. I want to explore St Sylve, if that’s okay.’
‘Sure.’ Luke shrugged. ‘I’ll give you a tour. What do you want to see?’
Jess shrugged. ‘Everything.’
‘Everything?’
‘I know the cellars and the buildings. I want to see the lands and the vineyard and the orchards.’
‘Okay.’
Luke stepped into the house and deposited the coffee cups on the hall table. Yanking down a heavy jacket from the rack behind the door, he handed it to Jess, thinking of how icy it could get on the bike. He pulled on his own battered wool-lined leather jacket over his long-sleeved T-shirt and stuffed a beanie into one of the pockets. In the shadows of the mountains the temperature could drop rapidly.
‘If you want to tag along, I need to check on how far along my staff are with the pruning, then I need to go across the farm to check on repairs to a
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