Free About That Kiss by Jayne Addison

didn’t wake either one of us up.”
    “Don’t tell me I broke the mood?”
    Teddy laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. We’re always in the mood.”
    Nick grinned. “I’ll call you back in the morning.”
    “Quinn just banged me in the head with a pillow.” There was a chortle in Teddy’s voice. “She wants you to know we were not doing anything. I was talking rock and roll to her and she was telling me about a ballet she wants to see. What are you doing with yourself in Greenport?”
    “My brother is getting married here, and I bought a newspaper. I’ll tell you all about it some other time.Right now I need a favor from you. It’s a big one. Feel free to say no.”
    “Go ahead. I’ll say no if I feel the need.”
    “There’s a rock singer. His name is Eddie DeMarco. He’s opening up at a place called Gillie’s in Westhampton tomorrow night. I’d like him booked on a West Coast tour. Can you arrange it?”
    “Is he good?” Teddy asked.
    “I have no idea,” Nick admitted.
    “Let me guess,” Teddy bantered. “There’s a woman involved and this guy is muscling in.”
    Nick groaned. “Exactly.”
    “They never have any idea how much we guys suffer over them.”
    “Am I stepping on your toes?” Nick asked.
    “Yeah,” Teddy laughed. “But I do remember a few times I stepped on yours. What are friends for?”
    “Can you do it?”
    “Sure. I know plenty of joints on the West Coast. How soon do you want him gone?”
    “Yesterday,” Nick answered comically.
    “I’ll catch his act tomorrow night.”
    “I don’t want him knowing it came from me.”
    “Gotcha.”
    “Thanks, Teddy,” Nick said, as Diana walked into the kitchen.
    “Night, pal.” Teddy rang off.
    Nick hung up on his end.
    “Was that your friend Teddy?” Diana asked, taking a container from the refrigerator.
    “Uh-huh,” Nick said uncomfortably.
    Diana poured herself a half a glass of juice. “Do you want some?”
    Nick shook his head.
    “I remember we went out with your friend Teddy and his wife once. They’re very nice.”
    “Yes, they are.” Nick raked his fingers through his thick hair. What were the chances of her remembering that Teddy was a music-business agent and promoter?
    Diana downed her juice. “Now I think I can sleep. Good night again.”
    “Good night.”
    Nick stood there debating whether or not to call Teddy back and cancel out.

Chapter Five
    “B etween yesterday and today, I’ve got some really great material,” Joy said animatedly, looking over at Nick from the passenger seat of the sports car he’d leased the day before to replace the car he’d rented at the airport.
    Nick smiled. “I didn’t think it was going to do much for the story to include a winery that hasn’t marketed a single bottle yet, but I take it back. It was a stroke of genius on your part. You’re really good at this.” He’d had his first opportunity to watch her do an interview. And she’d bowled him over.
    “Thanks. I love when it happens this way, when you get material you haven’t expected.”
    He could see that she’d liked his compliment. “Those in-depth questions of yours got right to the heart and soul. The owner here has a really colorful past. It didn’t look like he was going to be forthcomingat all, but you worked away at him without him even knowing he was being handled, and you got him to open up.”
    He hadn’t yet turned the key in the ignition. They were finished for the day. The winery was closing, and it had just started to snow—lightly—the first snow of the season.
    “I know the pictures you took for me today are going to make the story much more than it is,” Joy said. It was even tougher than she’d expected, to keep herself in a business frame of mind around him. “I think it’s important that people understand all that a winery owner has riding on his business. A sizable investment can be wiped out by the whim of a bad winter or too much rain.”
    “Or too