Free You're Still the One by Darcy Burke

look at me like that!”
    George scowled. “You darn kids. Makes me glad I never had my own.” He shook his head, but there was a ghost of a smile haunting his mouth as he went back to the bar. “You want the usual or have you given up beer entirely now that you’re Mr. Wine Guy?”
    Hayden slid onto a stool. “That’s one of the things I missed most when I was over there—the beer just isn’t as good.”
    â€œHa!” George pulled him a pint of Crossbow, an unfiltered wheat beer that was one of their primary brews and Hayden’s favorite. He slid the glass across the counter. “Maybe you should rethink that job.”
    Hayden took a drink and closed his eyes in rapt appreciation. Maybe he should. But he supposed he was since he hadn’t actually committed yet.
    George leaned against the bar and studied him. “What’s France got that we don’t?”
    After one more sip, Hayden set his glass down. “A world-class winery where I’ll be the assistant winemaker.”
    George waved his hand as if Hayden had just told him France had something as mundane as daylight. “We’ve got world-class wineries.”
    True, but Hayden didn’t work for any of them. Winemaker jobs were hard to come by, especially for someone like him. His internship was a good resume builder, but he had a long way to go to compete with the winemakers in the Willamette Valley.
    â€œI have a great house with a garden and an amazing view of vineyards.” He rented a 150-year-old two-story stone cottage that looked like it was straight out of a travel show. What it lacked in a few modern conveniences—a rather small fridge, no dishwasher, and the bathroom off his bedroom was a closet—it more than made up for in charm and ambience. He was living the rustic French lifestyle and loving it.
    George looked unimpressed. “You have a house here, and the vineyards are close by.”
    He did have a house here. The house he’d bought after college and lived in with Bex until she’d left him. Upon leaving that house himself, he’d realized it had been part of the reason he’d been unable to get over her. It reminded him of her, of them, of the plans they’d made and the future they’d lost. He planned to ask Kyle if he wanted to buy it from him since he and Maggie seemed to really love it.
    Hayden took another drink of beer. “There’s a girl in France. That’s a good enough reason to go back, right? Even for you.”
    George folded his arms over his chest. “Ah. Got a picture?”
    Hayden pulled his phone from his pocket and found a photo of Gabrielle. She smiled in the photo, her dark eyes sparkling against the cloudy spring sky, her feet in rain boots because they’d been trudging around the vineyard surveying the bud break.
    Hayden handed the phone to George. “This is Gabrielle. Her father owns the winery where I work.”
    George looked at the picture then gave the phone back to Hayden. “Pretty. Can you communicate very well? I don’t remember you being fluent in French.”
    Hayden laughed. “She speaks great English, actually, but I’ve become quite conversant. It’s hard not to when you live there and hear the language all day long.” In fact, it had been a bit of an adjustment coming back to English twenty-four/seven. He realized he’d started thinking in French.
    â€œShe could always move here,” George said.
    Hayden shook his head. She’d never move away from her family winery, not when she was poised to inherit. And anyway, they were nowhere near that serious. They hung out, they occasionally had sex. It was extremely casual. Perfect for the lifestyle he wanted right now. “She’s locked into her family business.”
    George gave him a pointed look. “So were you.”
    One of the servers, a young woman Hayden didn’t recognize, which felt weird,