VOLKO

Chapter Twenty

Excited for the day ahead I practically jumped out of bed the moment I woke. Still not really knowing where to go for the kitchen, I wandered around until someone noticed the confused expression on my face and pointed me in the right direction.

There I found only Jake eating. His mouth was half stuff with food as he talked to the kitchen staff. They were nice enough to humour him even though I'm pretty sure they had no idea what he was saying.

After I'd finished breakfast and listened to Jake going on about the ball I hadn't been invited to for tonight, I headed outside.

Truthfully, not being invited was a great relief. Robert had made the excuse of it being for business only and he thought I'd found the whole thing boring. Not that he needed to explain, my last ball had been shit, I was in no rush to attend another one.

Instead I'd planned a Cotton evening with Chase, I needed to get the lowdown on his new flame and why he was in trouble with Mr and Mrs C anyway.

Stepping out onto the gravelled drive I half expected to see an eager Marco ready show me around the vineyard. Instead my eyes instantly landed on Rosa and Dean standing by one of the black monster cars that had picked us up from the airport.

They stood nearer to each other than I liked, my stomach dropped at the thought of watching another scene like the one with Victoria. The reaction was stupid, I told myself. 

Rosa must have said something hilarious as Dean threw his head back laughing. Even standing about thirty feet away I saw the shine of genuine amusement in his eyes. I pretended I didn't feel the kick to my gut, especially when Rosa held onto Dean's arm as she released a chuckle herself at his reply.

Just as I turned to head back in, Dean's voice caught me. "So when the time comes I can call on you?"

"I've got your back, don't worry." I paused, waiting for something else to be said so I could understand what they were talking about. "Hey Megan!" Rosa shouted, friendly waving at me. I returned it with my own less enthusiastic one as she left to go inside through a different door.

For some reason, my feet carried me over to where Dean stood as if my body could sense he wanted to talk to me.

"So Robert and I need to attend to some unexpected business in town. We'll need to save the vineyard trip for tomorrow."

"Unexpected. That sounds serious."

"It's not, just some people taking advantage of having Robert here in person." Dean dismissed.

"And you, I'm sure. You seem to be the main attraction wherever we go." My face flamed knowing I'd given away too much. Great, now I looked like some jealous bitch.

"I hadn't noticed." Dean searched my face, before his glaze rested on my lips. I gulped, my mouth suddenly felt very dry and the beating down sun didn't help matters. "It would appear I've been distracted lately."

He didn't have to spell it out, the distraction was me. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen.

"Sorry to break up the ... conversation" Rosa hesitated as she approached us, clearly noting the lack of words being spoken. "But we need to get going. Roberts just coming now." Rosa quickly disappeared into one of the cars after Dean nodded his confirmation.

"See that man over there." Dean pointed to a guy in his early twenties, he stood under a tree probably trying to escape the sun. In some ways he resembled Dean, his eyes continuously switching position. "His name's Will, you need something, you go to him. Alright?" I nodded.