Read Online Intoxicating by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online

earthquake that turned him on.
    Kiara shoved that thought aside. She didn’t have time for Wyatt Jordan and the strange, unwanted attraction she felt for him.
    The first person she saw was her Grandfather Romano. His shock of thick white hair was mussed, but he did not look alarmed. He’d come from the visitor center with a trail of bug-eyed tourists following behind him.
    â€œIt was not such a big one,” he said. “A few broken bottles. Some cracks in the walls. Not like the quake of ’89. We lost half our vineyard in that one.”
    â€œFelt pretty big to me,” mumbled a pale elderly woman leaning heavily on a cane.
    â€œHow can these people live in a place where the earth shakes willy-nilly?” asked her companion.
    â€œWe live here,” Grandfather Romano said, sweeping his hand grandly, “because there is no more beautiful place on earth to grow grapes.”
    â€œThere’s Napa,” Wyatt said to Kiara.
    Kiara snorted. “Idyll is far superior to Napa.”
    â€œAccording to the Romanos.”
    â€œYou like Napa so much, go intern there.”
    At that moment, Maurice appeared from the main house, his wife Trudy coming up behind him. “We’ll round up the interns, enlist their help inspecting the vineyards,” he said.
    â€œI’ll check out the refrigeration unit,” Kiara offered. “Grandfather, please take our guests into the tasting room. Have Grandmamma put out a cheese tray and open some wine. Free samples for everyone.”
    A cheer went up from the crowd.
    The earthquake wasn’t her fault, but the guests would remember how she’d turned their negative experience into a positive one. Yes, it would cost some money, but good PR went a long way, especially when the bulk of their profits came from onsite sales.
    Kiara strode across the well-landscaped grounds, alert and searching for signs of damage. Wyatt kept up with her, stride for stride. The guy was about as easy to get rid of as bedbugs, but what surprised her was the warm rush of gratitude that winnowed through her. It felt nice, having someone at her side.
    Are you freaking kidding me? Nice? Since when have you ever needed nice?
    Right. What was she thinking? She’d just fired the guy for being too forward. Kiara grimaced.
    The minute they stepped into the refrigeration room it became immediately clear that something was amiss. A horrible rattling noise was coming from one of the machines.
    â€œOh, dear.” Kiara rushed forward.
    â€œSounds like the compressor,” Wyatt said.
    Kiara groaned. “That’s going to be expensive.”
    Wyatt stepped to the back of the unit, bent over and inspected the undercarriage. She shouldn’t have been staring at his butt. She had far more important things to be thinking about, but she couldn’t seem to stop her gaze from tracking up the length of his long legs to where his backside was cradled snugly in his jeans.
    Enchanted, Kiara caught her bottom lip up between her teeth. She was so focused on his gorgeous ass that when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, she jumped.
    Wyatt raised his head. “You okay?”
    â€œMy phone.” She pulled the cell phone from the pocket of her apron.
    Wyatt went back to inspecting the refrigeration unit.
    â€œHello,” she said into the phone, her gaze still trained on Wyatt. There ought to be a law against looking so damned sexy.
    â€œKiara, it’s your mother.”
    â€œDid you feel the quake in the city?”
    â€œWe did. It was a little unsettling. Flashbacks to 1989.” Her mother chuckled. “But really not that bad. We heard on the news that there were some minor mishaps. Nothing major. How’s Bella Notte?”
    Kiara cast a glance at the refrigeration unit. She didn’t want to upset her parents. They were in San Francisco for her father’s checkup following a rigorous course of chemotherapy. Besides, this was nothing. A