Prank Date [✔]

Part 7

"Here." Lisa handed me one of the grapes she had picked. "This is one of our Zins."

Lego leaned against my side and nudged with his nose to get at the treat in my hand, nearly making me stumble down the hill. I grabbed for Lisa's arm to keep my balance.

"Lego!" Lisa steadied me, then withdrew her hands and glared at the cat. "Stop it." She turned to me. "Don't give him any grapes, no matter how he looks at you with those soulful eyes of his. Grapes are not so good to cats."

Wide-eyed, I nodded and wiped the bluish grape on my pants before I put it into my mouth. The sweet taste of the ripe fruit exploded on my tongue. I moaned. "This is good." I lifted my hand to lick a drop of grape juice off my finger. When I looked up, I found Lisa's gaze on me.

Lisa cleared her throat. "Just wait until you taste our Zin." She set us off down the hill.

"Did you always want to be a vintner?" I asked. Somehow, I couldn't imagine Lisa in any other profession.

"As a child, yes, but not as I got older. I grew up here, and my father always said I have grape juice running through my veins. But there was a time when I was trying to find my own way, independent of the generations of Manobans before me. I went off to college and got my MBA, not sure what I would do with it once I finally had it-anything but take over the family business. I didn't want to follow the well-trodden paths."

If anyone could understand that, it was me. After it had become clear that Jin's interests didn't lie in music or art but sports and having fun, our parents had set all their hopes on me. They had sent me to piano lessons and encouraged me to try my hand at drawing, but I had no interest or talent in either. As soon as I was old enough to make my own choices, I escaped into the well-ordered, logical world of numbers.

"I almost went into business with Jin when he opened his rock-climbing gym," Lisa said.

"Really?" I stared at her. "I didn't know you were that close."

"Well, we're not best friends, but he's a fun guy to hang out with. And a rock-climbing gym is as far from a vineyard as you can get without entering a convent." Lisa stopped and turned and whistled at Lego, who was digging in the earth.

I let my gaze trail over the vines and then to Lisa's tan face. "Yet here you are."

"Here I am," Lisa said with a smile. "I tried to fit in with Jin and his partying friends, but I never did. So I came home and stopped running from who I am."

Her contentment warmed me as much as the rays of the setting sun. She's bonded to this land. It must be incredible to be so sure about who you are and where you belong.

"Hey, why the sad face?" she stopped at the bottom of the hill and tilted her head to look at me.

I forced a smile. "It's nothing. I'm just glad you're happy with your life."

"And you aren't?" Lisa asked.

"Of course I am," I said. "As I told you before, I love my job." "But life is more than just work, isn't it?"

The wind rustled through the leaves behind us. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I'm sorry," Lisa said. "That was too personal." She gently touched my elbow. "Come on. Let's go to the tasting room."

I gave her a reluctant smile. "You think the wine will loosen my tongue?" I tried not to tense up at the thought.

Laughing, she directed me toward a small building next to the house. "We'll see."