All's Fair In Love And Wine

Chapter 1-2

Sara Donovan muscled the box of wine she bought into her tiny apartment and knew she was going to regret the choice to buy so much. She barely had enough space for herself in her new home, and adding a box of wine on day one was not good planning.

But really, what did she need in life? Wine was always a good addition to a room.

She set the box on the floor near her fridge and opened it. She grabbed bottles until she found the one she was looking for and put it in the fridge. It was the only thing in there, but that was okay. She’d do some shopping eventually.

Her new apartment was furnished, which was the only way she could live there, and it was clean. It was considered a one bedroom, but the bedroom was behind a temporary wall, so it barely counted. Still, she didn’t mind. It was all hers for a few months.

And then she’d move on again.

Her landlord, Tom, left an envelope of menus with places that would deliver on the kitchen table, so Sara sat down and flipped through it. She was debating between Thai and pizza when her phone rang.

“Hi, Dad,” she said without looking at the screen.

“Hi, honey. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you, Dad?”

“Good, good. What time are you going to be home?”

Sara sighed. “It’s not going to be for a while, Dad. What do you need?”

“I lost my glasses again. You always know where they are.”

Sara smiled. Her father was amazing, but he was forgetful. Like losing his glasses, and forgetting his daughter moved out the day she turned eighteen. Almost twelve years ago. She hadn’t stayed in one place for longer than two years since, and none of them were in the same town, let alone the same house, as her father.

“Have you looked in the kitchen, on the table?”

His solid footsteps thundered through the phone. Papers shuffled, no doubt bills he was behind on. She made a mental note to check his accounts later and pay what she could.

“They’re not here.”

“How about the night stand?”

More thundering footsteps, faster this time. The bed squeaked when he sat on the edge. “Nope, not here either.”

Sara sighed. “Dad. Did you check your head?”

He laughed. “I told you you always know. They were right there all along. Thanks, honey. See you soon.”

He hung up without another word and Sara stared at the blank screen. She loved her father, but he never paid attention to anything. His glasses weren’t the only thing he lost.

Sara shook off the melancholy thoughts and went back to her menus. She couldn’t decide between them because both meant she’d be alone in her new apartment that didn’t feel like hers yet.

She grabbed her keys and headed for the door. There was a diner not far from her apartment and greasy food sounded good. Maybe a cheeseburger. Or grilled cheese. Or really anything with lots of cheese.

She stepped inside and breathed deep, enjoying the scent of meat sizzling on the grill and grease filling the customers. The din of silverware on plates and conversation made her smile. She wasn’t alone. Not for the moment.

“Table for one?” the waitress asked.

Sara nodded, but someone stepped up next to her and said, “Make that two.”

Sara took a step away from the guy. He was cute, but she wasn’t accustomed to having dinner with complete strangers. Sleeping with them was okay once in a while, but that didn’t involve questions and talking and someone trying to get to know her. That was just n***d skin slapping together and letting the beast out once in a while.

“I’m Peter. And I hate eating alone. I’ll buy your dinner, and Denise can seat us in her section so you know someone is watching my every move.”

Denise lifted an eyebrow at them then focused on Sara. “He’s as harmless as they come, but I will be watching. I’m friends with his mom, and trust me when I say if he steps out of line, he’ll regret it.”

Sara looked at Peter and smiled. “Fine. And thank you. I don’t plan to order a salad, though.”

Peter scoffed. “As if you could get a salad here.”

Denise whacked him with a menu. “Hey, we have salads.”

“Yeah, taco salads. It hardly counts.”

Denise rolled her eyes and turned to lead them to a table. Peter gestured for Sara to go first then followed her. She felt oddly comfortable with him, even though it’d only been a few seconds. She didn’t get the feeling he was staring at her a*s, which was good. And she didn’t think he was hitting on her. Another good.

How was it possible she met two nice guys in one day?

Denise took their drink orders and left. Sara watched Peter from under her lashes, hoping he didn’t notice. He was cute with blond hair and matching eyebrows. His eyes were a moss green color that made him look a little exotic. His gray shirt stretched across a broad chest and curved over wide shoulders and strong biceps.

“So, are you going to tell me your name or just stare at me all night?” Peter asked, lifting his gaze to hers.

Her cheeks heated, but she shook it off. “I was thinking about just staring at you all night.”

Peter chuckled and went back to his menu. “Well, then, enjoy the view.”

His words reminded her of Leo. It wasn’t fair to Peter to be thinking about Leo, but they weren’t on a date.

“Obviously, you live around here. Do you still live with your mother?”

Peter smirked. “No, I don’t. Although, I’m close to my mom. My whole family, actually. They’re insane, but I love them.”

“So, what do you do?”

Denise interrupted them with drinks before Peter could answer. She took their orders and was gone again in seconds.

Sara took a sip of her sweet tea and shook her head. Not nearly sweet enough. She grabbed the sugar on the table and added three packets, stirring quickly and taking another sip.

“We don’t really know how to do sweet tea around here. Are you from the south?”

Sara shook her head. “I lived there for a while. Got hooked on sweet tea. And you’re right. This is not sweet tea.”

Peter sipped his water and studied her. “Not from the south, likes sweet tea, no accent, beautiful and funny, and I’m guessing just moved to town.”

“What are you doing?”

“Listing all the things I know about you. Since you won’t tell me your name, I have to keep track of everything else.”

Sara grinned. She smoothed a hand down her plain white tee and debated sharing more of herself with Peter. He reminded her a lot of Mark. Mark was her best friend growing up. They dated for a week and realized it was weird because they knew too much about each other. Besides her father, he was the only person she kept in touch with from home. Mark had a ranch and a wife and a few kids and was living his dream.

Everything Sara didn’t have.

And didn’t want.

“My name is Sara,” she finally admitted.

“Well, now, was that so hard?”

Sara smiled. If he only knew.