Something in the Wine by Jae Page B

Her mother stuck her head around the easel and grinned at Annie. “Or are you dating someone new? It’s high time you did, darling. How long has it been since Patrick broke up with you? A year?”
    Annie picked up an empty palette and stared at the remains of dried colors. “Three,” she mumbled. “And I was the one who broke up with him. Besides, I’m not dating Drew.” She hesitated, then decided to tell her mother about her plan to trick Jake. “Although Jake tried to set us up. You won’t believe the prank he pulled on me. He—”
    “You know how he is. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it,” her mother said. “Have you seen the tube of magenta?”
    Annie’s shoulders slumped. Without saying another word, she went in search of the demanded color. “Here.” She handed over the tube.
    “What are you bringing to the wine tasting?” her mother asked while she opened the tube and squeezed paint onto her palette.
    “Bringing?” Annie furrowed her brow. Drew had told her not to bring anything, so she had given it no further thought. But maybe her mother was right. Bringing a hostess gift was the polite thing to do. The question was just: what could she bring Drew? A bottle of wine, her usual gift, was out of the question since Drew owned a winery. “I have no idea.”
    “You can’t show up empty-handed. Does your new friend like art?”
    Annie mentally rolled her eyes. Her mother always thought everyone was—or at least should be—interested in art. In Drew’s case, though, she was right. “I think so. Drew’s even a fan of yours.”
    Her mother laid down her brush. Now that they were talking about art, her attention was fully focused on the conversation. “Then why don’t you take one of my prints as a gift? I have one that fits perfectly for a wine tasting.” She went to the little storage room next to her studio and rummaged around for a moment before she reappeared with a framed print.
    It was one of her mother’s landscape paintings. Slivers of ice glinted on vines her mother had captured on canvas.
    “Isn’t it a little over the top for a hostess gift?” Annie asked. After all, Drew was just a new acquaintance, an ally in her plan to take revenge on Jake, not a friend.
    “Nonsense,” her mother said. “If Drew is a fan, go ahead and take the print. Just make sure you wrap it safely and be careful with it.”
    “Of course.” She wasn’t that much of a klutz, was she? “Thanks, Mom. I will.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “If you’re done with the sky, we really should get started on the attic.”
    Her mother picked up her brush. “Give me five more minutes. Ten max.”
    Oh, yeah, sure. Annie couldn’t even count anymore how often she had heard that sentence in her life. She sighed. “I’ll go and get started on the attic. Just come up whenever you’re done.”
    Without looking away from her easel, her mother nodded.
    When Annie—sweating and dusty—climbed down from the now clean attic four hours later, her mother was still painting.
    * * *
    “In three hundred feet, turn right on Taylor Road,” the female voice of Annie’s navigation system said.
    Annie passed a golf course, turned right as instructed, and continued on an empty two-lane road. Vines grew to either side of her, long rows stretching into the horizon, and she wondered whether any of them belonged to Drew. She slowed down to enjoy the beauty of the area for a while longer.
    A large sign announced “Corbin Vineyards and Winery,” and the navigation system led her onto a gravel road that was getting narrower as it climbed up the hills. She steered the car around a bend.
    To her left, the afternoon sun reflected off a small lake. An artificial waterfall pattered down on lotus and water lilies. At the edge of the lake, a large farm-style house lay surrounded by vineyards.
    Oh, how beautiful. Annie stopped the car and stared for a few moments. Part of her wanted to stay and watch the waterfall create