Champagne Kisses
He held up his cup. “To a great assistant, whose help this week has been invaluable.” “To your family, especially the elders,” Marissa replied, her tone more serious than Donovan’s. “Whose vision made this day, and this moment.” And just like that the moment shifted. Her words produced an awareness of who they were and where they were and what they both felt but continued to deny.Donovan’s eyes darkened as he drank in her countenance, focusing on the lips that she licked when nervous, like now. Her eyes searched his as well, noted the fast beat of his heart evidenced by the throb in his neck. She broke the stare and took a nervous sip of wine.But Donovan wasn’t willing, or able, to let the moment go so quickly. He leaned over, slowly, as if dealing with a skittish mare that might bolt from sudden movement, and placed the lightest of kisses on her forehead.“That was beautiful,” he said, his eyes travelling once more to her lips before looking back at her. The moment was gone, but for both of them…the memory lingered.
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Passion is the sparkâ¦
An heir to Southern Californiaâs most fabled vineyard, Donovan Drake works as hard as he plays. Betrayed by love in the past, the consummate bachelor prides himself on never committing to one woman. But Marissa Hayes isnât just any woman. And Donovan has just two weeks to show the guarded, voluptuous beauty exactly what sheâs been missing.â¦
Love is the flameâ¦
Falling for her boss is number one on Marissaâs list of donâts. But from the moment she experiences Donovanâs intoxicating touch, her heart tells her something else. Slowly but surely, his seduction is breaking down her defenses. Is their passion as fleeting as her brief stay at Donovanâs fabulous resort? Or have they found a love as timeless as the finest wineâstrong enough to withstand anything, even a threat from Marissaâs past?
He held up his cup.
âTo a great assistant, whose help this week has been invaluable.â
âTo your family, especially the elders,â Marissa replied, her tone more serious than Donovanâs. âWhose vision made this day, and this moment.â
And just like that the moment shifted. Her words produced an awareness of who they were and where they were and what they both felt but continued to deny. Donovanâs eyes darkened as he drank in her countenance, focusing on the lips that she licked when nervous, like now. Her eyes searched his as well, noted the fast beat of his heart evidenced by the throb in his neck. She broke the stare and took a nervous sip of wine. But Donovan wasnât willing, or able, to let the moment go so quickly. He leaned over, slowly, as if dealing with a skittish mare that might bolt from sudden movement, and placed the lightest of kisses on her forehead.
âThat was beautiful,â he said, his eyes traveling once more to her lips before moving back to her.
The moment was gone, but for both of themâ¦the memory lingered.
ZURI DAY
snuck her first Harlequin romance novel at the age of twelve from her older sisterâs off-limits collection and was hooked from page one. Knights in shining armor and happily-ever-afters filled her teen years and spurred a lifelong love of reading. That she now creates these stories as a full-time author is a dream come true! Splitting her time between the stunning Caribbean islands and Southern California, sheâs always busy writing her next novel. Zuri makes time to connect with readers and meet with book clubs. Sheâd love to hear from you, and personally answers every email thatâs sent to [email protected].
Dear Reader,
Do you know the history of champagne, how it is created through the second fermentation of the grape, which produces carbonation? Or how originally only the sparkling wine produced in the French region of Champagne was legally permitted to label their drink as such, which is the reason some popular labels to this day refer to their bubbly as âsparkling wineâ?
Thanks to the Benedictine Monks in the Abbey of Saint Hilaire, near Carcassonne, who in 1531 filled their spare time creating a drink that calmed the mind as well as quenched the thirst, we enjoy a drink often associated with milestones and celebrations.
So please join me as I raise my glass in a toast to Donovan Drake, an heir to Drake Wines Resort & Spa, and Marissa Hayes, the woman Papa Dee calls âhis even change.â I believe that youâll feel as I doâ¦they deserve each otherâs love!
Zuri Day
Thank you, Glenda Howard! You know why.
And Samuel Lewisâ¦you know why, too!
Of diamond dreams and champagne kisses,
Can one really have that which one wishes? I say yes, itâs up to you⦠To believe and act to make these dreams come true.
Contents
Chapter 1
Four months earlier
âLetâs go down the road and have a drink.â Drake Wines Resort and Spa co-owner and executive, thirty-two-year-old Donovan Drake, eyed his prey with a serious expression, barely stopping himself from licking his lips and releasing a groan in anticipation of how the evening might end. That was if he had his way.
His targetâs eyes twinkled with humor as she contemplated the remark. âYouâre asking me to leave one of Southern Californiaâs most coveted resortsââ she waved her hand around the room ââfeaturing award-winning vineyards, to go somewhere else for a glass of wine?â Donovan smiled. The woman sitting across from him had a point. For the fifth year in a row, an assortment of Drake Wines had placed first in several categories at the Monterey Wine Festival, the California Beer and Wine Festival, the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival and the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. The latter had led to an unprecedented six-page spread in the prestigious Food and Wine Magazine, a fact that had delighted his sister and director of PR, Diamond, whose wedding announcement and subsequent celebration had placed him near this dark-chocolate morsel.
