Risking Her Heart: A Contemporary Romance Novel Read online

  “I Googled your vineyard before I came.”

  Drake raised his eyebrow. “You did, huh? If you read most of the articles, they said how dedicated I am to my vineyard, but when we met, you seemed surprised to see me.”

  Livvie bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t think you’d be here, I guess,” she said, shrugging one shoulder.

  “Where did you think I’d be?”

  Again, Livvie shrugged. “Anywhere but here?”

  “Olivia, where did you think I’d be?”

  Livvie swallowed hard. “On your private yacht with some actress or model.”

  Drake laughed. “First of all, I don’t own a private yacht. I could if I wanted to, but boats never did anything for me. And second, why would I be with some actress or model when I could be here with my little raffle winner? When I could be with you, Olivia?”

  The laughter stopped, and Drake became serious. He looked at her with those penetrating eyes again. Tension surrounded them once again, but this time the tension was definitely sexual.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I judged you.”

  Drake grabbed both of her shoulders. “Olivia, don’t judge me again. I could understand if a so-called actress or model did. In fact, I’d expect it. But not from you. I don’t want you judging me.” Drake shook her lightly.

  “Why?” Livvie whispered.

  Drake paused but remained holding her. “I don’t know,” he said softly, then he released her arms and walked farther into his vineyard.

  He hadn’t grabbed her hand, and Livvie missed his touch. She couldn’t understand why he was so upset. With the two choices he’d given her last night, how could she not judge? He was a strange man.

  Livvie had to practically run to keep up with him. He was tall with incredibly long legs. And she was only five foot three. So she did the only thing she knew to do. She grabbed his hand. He didn’t push her away. Instead, he gripped her hand tighter and slowed down. The tension eased off of him, and she felt more than relieved.

  “So what made you choose this land? You didn’t finish telling me.” Livvie asked.

  “When I first started working on Wall Street, I had this client who liked fine wines. Whenever he wanted to talk business, he’d make me fly here to Napa to meet him. At first, I found it a nuisance, but as the visits became more frequent, I started to fall in love with Napa. I think it had more to do with the fact that I was tired of living in Manhattan. I never had any privacy in New York. Everyone always seemed to want something from me, and since almost everyone I knew lived in New York, I couldn’t avoid anyone. But here I could be private. I could be myself, and no one seemed to expect anything from me.”

  Livvie could relate to that. It was the exact type of relationship she wanted with a man.

  When they passed a picnic table, Drake released Livvie’s hand and sat down. She felt uncomfortable standing, so she sat opposite him with the table between them. She wished the table wasn’t there, and they could sit closer. Drake seemed different amongst his vines than he had at dinner last night. She liked this Drake better. He was real and down-to-earth. She could only imagine what he’d been like when he lived in New York City. Probably an arrogant asshole, she thought. But that wasn’t fair of her. Maybe he put a wall around him to protect himself. She had a wall like that, too. Maybe it came in a different form, but it was still a wall.

  “I understand why you like it here,” Livvie said, trying to fill the silence.

  “Do you like it here?” Drake looked directly into Livvie’s eyes as if her answer was important.

  “I do.” Livvie paused and smiled at him. “It’s beautiful and peaceful.” She briefly closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh, Napa air deep into her lungs, savoring the feeling. “And I feel alive here.”

  When she opened her eyes, Drake was still staring at her, as if she was someone special. She believed she was special, too, even though she was going through a difficult time.

  “So you didn’t finish telling me why you chose this particular piece of land?”

  Drake broke eye contact and looked at his vineyard. “As I was saying, I came here more frequently. Well, not here, but to Napa. The more I came here, the more exhausted I felt. New York was really taking its toll. My client noticed. I remember him sitting down with me and asking me what I really wanted to do with my life. The first thing that came out of my mouth was that I wanted to own my own vineyard and make my own wines. I’ve always liked wine. No, let me correct that; I always appreciated wines, but the idea of creating something from the earth in the most serene place on Earth seemed very attractive to me. And it felt natural. That’s when my friend told me about a large piece of land he owned. He paid me a fortune to invest his money over the years, but I’d never heard of this land. He told me he bought it when he graduated from college but never knew what to do with it. He was a successful real estate developer in the area, but he was burned out in the same way I was burned out in New York.” Drake paused and glanced back at his castle. Livvie followed his gaze and saw workers tending to his vines. Every so often, one of them would wave at Drake, and he would wave back. It made Livvie’s heart flutter, and for some reason it brought tears to her eyes.

  “So what happened?” Livvie asked.

  He cleared his throat and glanced back at her then continued to ogle his land.

  “My friend brought me to see this place. It was empty, of course, and there was no house here, but I instantly fell in love with it. So my friend made a deal with me. He said this land was very important to him. He used to come here and think for hours on end. But he knew this land deserved more than one man sitting alone thinking on it. So he told me what he came up with. Basically, he said he’d sell it to me, inexpensively, on one condition. I’d have to give him a job for the rest of his life. He wanted to change his life, as well, and he believed I could create something special here. He had no interest in owning a vineyard, but since he was knowledgeable about wines he said he’d help me in any way he could.” Drake paused.

  “What did you do? I mean, I know you bought it, but what happened?”

  “I agreed. I bought it first, then I left Wall Street and worked for four months on the toughest but most profitable vineyard in Burgundy, France.”

  “And that was all the training you needed?”

  He laughed. “No, I needed a lot more than that, but the man who gave me this land helped me a lot.” He paused as if debating whether to continue. “And he still does. I’d be lost without him.” He winked at Livvie. “And you know him, as a matter of fact.”

  “I do?” His wink had made her feel all sorts of crazy things.

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Well, who is it?” Livvie playfully hit his arm.

  “Mr. Birkshire.”

  “Mr. Birkshire?” Livvie was so surprised that she leaned back without thinking. She had forgotten she was sitting on a bench, and she lost her balance and fell all the way onto her ass, landing in the dirt. She had never felt more mortified in her life.

  “Olivia Collins, what am I going to do with you?” Drake stood over Livvie with his hands on his hips. He bent down and grabbed her arm to help her up but then stopped. Instead, he lay down next to her on his side, facing her.

  “You know, many women have thrown themselves at me over the years, but I’ve never had a woman throw herself down on my beloved vineyard.”

  “Drake!” Livvie playfully punched him in the arm again.

  “Are you hurt?” Drake asked.

  “No, I don’t think so.” She laughed.

  Drake lifted up her right leg and moved it. Then he did the same with her left leg.

  “What are you doing?” She stopped laughing as Drake’s touch was bringing back darker images as it had earlier.

  He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, still turning her leg in different directions.

  “Making sure my little random raffle winner isn’t hurt.”

  He took off her sandal and moved her ankle in circ
les. Then he pushed his thumb into her ankle and farther up her foot. Moving back and forth. Then his other hand joined in the deep massage. His fingers were firm, and his touch started to feel sensual. She clenched her vagina, and the muscles in her pelvic region contracted.

  “Your random raffle winner isn’t hurt,” she said while holding back a moan.

  Drake didn’t respond. He laid her foot gently on the ground and then took off her other sandal and resumed his torture. Livvie closed her eyes. Having her feet rubbed was one of her favorite things. When she was employed and she would get a pedicure, she used to pay them extra to massage her feet longer. But this felt different. When Drake stopped touching her feet and moved his hand higher to her calf and then above her knee, she opened her eyes.

  “Drake. You told me you wouldn’t touch me.”

  “But you could be hurt. I’m making sure you’re okay. Isn’t that what a good host is supposed to do?”

  “No. And it was my fault, so I promise I won’t sue you,” she said jokingly.

  But as Drake moved farther up her thigh, Livvie’s pelvis raised on its own. And that’s when she knew she was in trouble. She quickly sat up and moved his hands away. She didn’t want to make a big deal about this, especially since she was having the best morning of her entire life, but she knew if she allowed this to continue, soon, she would no longer be wearing her sundress. Livvie laughed, but the sound came out as more of a giggle. Carly giggled like that whenever she was around some guy she had a crush on. Livvie had always hated that sound. But it did get Drake to stop touching her. She lay back down and peered up at him. He seemed to be deep in contemplation. If only she could read his mind.

  “It seems my little random raffle winner loves my vineyard as much as I do, and she can’t seem to get enough of what I own.” Drake interlaced one of his hands with hers and moved to her side. With his other hand he grabbed a handful of dirt and dropped it between his fingers on her legs. The feeling of the dirt over her naked legs caused Livvie’s heartbeat to escalate.

  “Do you need to feel my vineyard on your body?” Drake picked up more dirt, but this time he let it slip through his fingers onto her neck. Livvie felt the pulse in her neck increase as well as the pulse in her clitoris.

  “Do you need to feel me so badly that the only way you think you can, is by feeling something I own all over your body?”

  Livvie swallowed hard as she looked directly in his lust-filled eyes. Her body felt as if it was on fire.

  He picked up more dirt and dropped it on the lower part of the V on her sundress, where her cleavage was showing. Technically, he wasn’t breaking any rules because he wasn’t touching her, even if it felt as if he was. It was driving Livvie crazy. As the dirt hit her cleavage her nipples hardened, and Drake was staring at them.

  He picked up more dirt and allowed it to fall on her thigh, right where her dress ended. She opened her legs slightly, wanting something she knew she shouldn’t have.

  “Drake,” Livvie pleaded, even though this was starting to feel wrong.

  Drake continued the torture. “You’re afraid of me, Olivia. You’re afraid of how you’d feel if I touched you, if I caressed you like my small part of the earth is doing.”

  When he poured the dirt on her other thigh, Livvie’s pelvis raised, along with the alarm in her head.

  “Drake,” she whispered again. “This feels so good, but after our discussion last night should we be doing this?”

  Drake stopped what he was doing and stood. “No, Olivia, I gave you my word I wouldn’t touch you in places that only a lover would touch. But I didn’t say I’d make it easy.” He looked over at the workers. “I’ll see you back at the house.” Without another word he left Livvie and walked toward the workers who were calling his name.

  Livvie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her body was still pulsing from the touch of his dirt on her naked skin. At least her dress remained on. His dirt felt so sensual on her body, she couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if he actually touched her. Well, that wasn’t true. She could imagine; she just didn’t think it was a good idea.

  Livvie grabbed onto the bench and slowly stood. She wasn’t hurt, but she was a little embarrassed. She brushed the dirt off her body the best she could. What would the workers think if they saw her like this? Knowing there was nothing she could do, she ran her hands through her long hair and raised her chin a little higher. And as she walked through his vineyard and passed him and the workers, she pretended not to notice them. But she did, and as their eyes followed her she knew they thought she had fucked their boss. However, the only eyes she cared about were those that belonged to the man she couldn’t have. She had to stay strong, because her heart couldn’t take another unhappy ending. The task should be easy, considering the man could be overbearing and unbending. Unfortunately, she’d also learned that there was a side to him that wasn’t arrogant. A side to him that was humble and kind.

  Chapter Five

  The walk back to her room was dreadful. It had been nice, spending the morning with Drake, especially as she could be completely herself around him. She didn’t have to pretend to be someone else as she had done so frequently in the past with men. Zach had wanted her to be all Hollywood, so that’s who she was when she spent time with him. And her first love, Liam, had wanted her to be the perfect girlfriend and eventually his perfect wife who would say the right things and always make him shine. She’d hated all of it.

  Her parents had raised her to be a wife, but she didn’t blame them. Livvie graduated from an Ivy League university, and she loved to write, but her main goal in life was to get married. When things with Liam went sour, she’d decided to move to Los Angeles, yet still, that voice inside her head said she needed to find a man. So she’d dated this guy Jared, who meant nothing to her. And then she’d met Zach, who cheated on her, so once again, she’d become Livvie, and she wanted it to stay that way. However, she was terrified. Drake was trying hard to charm her. And he’d made himself very clear about the fact that he wouldn’t make her choice easy for her.

  Livvie opened her bedroom door and ran to her bathroom. She took off her dirty dress and turned her shower on full blast. She closed her eyes and allowed the water to soothe her. What would happen next? She hoped she wouldn’t succumb to Drake’s charm, and she’d stay true to herself. It had taken her months to become Livvie again after breaking up with Zach, and she had no intention of ever being anyone else in order to please a man. No man was worth it, including Drake Morganthal.

  She wasn’t opposed to marriage. In fact, she wanted to marry, eventually. She just didn’t want to be someone who she was not.

  Once clean, Livvie pulled on the white terry cloth bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She still felt edgy after the hot shower. The only way she’d feel better was if she called Carly, the only person in the entire world who understood her.

  Barefoot, Livvie found her purse and rummaged through it to find her cellphone. Taking a deep breath, she sat on her bed and turned it on. Carly would likely be so mad at her. Livvie was supposed to call when she arrived, but then she’d met Drake, and she hadn’t been ready to explain everything. But now it was crucial. How would she stay here for another six days if she felt so torn?

  Her phone lit up, indicating that it was switched on. She waited to see how many unanswered messages she had received. There were four voice messages and three texts from Carly, plus one call from her mom. Livvie was infuriated to see ten voicemails and fifteen texts from Zach. Each text was in caps, screaming at her for failing to return his calls.

  Asshole. He would have to wait.

  The text that intrigued her most was from her old producer’s assistant, Liz. Her job was to assist the producer, but she was also in charge of communicating with everyone involved in the television show. And she had apparently never taken Livvie’s name off her contact list because she still received updates on the show.

  Most of the updates were negative, usually
informing everyone that the show would soon be cancelled because of poor ratings, but this text started with two words: Great News!

  With a trembling hand, she clicked on the message and began to read.

  Great News Cast and Staff! Thanks to the new writers, this month’s ratings are sky high. The producers and the network are super pleased. Everyone keep up the great work! XO, Liz

  Livvie read the text repeatedly. When they had first notified her that she was being fired, she had called her parents and started crying, which was so unlike her. Livvie had never been one to cry, especially in front of other people. Her parents had told her not to take it personally because she wasn’t the only one to be fired. That was true, as five other writers were also fired, and they were all told that the company was bringing in a brand new writing staff to shake things up on the show.

  Nevertheless, all the other writers who’d been fired had immediately found new jobs, with other television shows. Everyone except Livvie. Her agent had sent her resume and writing samples to all the same shows, and they had all rejected her. Lately, even her agent had stopped pushing for her. The last time they’d spoken, her agent had said they would try again in a few months. But Livvie was giving up all hope.

  The only thing she loved doing was writing, which had helped her to be financially independent and successful. But now she was spending all the money in her savings account, and it was passing through her hands like water. Los Angeles was a super expensive place to live, but that’s where most of the writing jobs were located.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced down and saw that Carly was calling. Inhaling deeply, Livvie pressed decline. There was no way she could talk to her best friend now. If she heard Carly’s voice, Livvie would burst into tears. She felt like such a failure. She was becoming obsessed with a famous playboy who only went for celebrities. And the one thing she loved more than anything in the world, she had failed at. The Drake Morganthals in the world didn’t matter, nor did his beautiful castle or vineyard. In fact, nothing mattered. Her parents had trained her to be a good wife. But Livvie had trained herself to be a writer. She always wrote, and now Raven’s Edge was doing better than ever—without her. Were her exes all doing better without her, too?