By the time the week finally loosened its grip on them, both Lesley and Denisse were more than ready to disappear from the city.
They had agreed over dinner that the weekend belonged to the vineyard. No meetings, no hurried mornings, no endless traffic crawling between buildings. Just two days surrounded by open land, fresh air, and the familiar scent of grapevines warming beneath the sun.
Denisse felt the difference long before they reached the house.
With the windows cracked open, the city gradually gave way to winding country roads. The air grew cooler, carrying the earthy scent of soil and leaves. Rows of grapevines appeared along either side of the road, their heavy clusters of fruit hanging between the green foliage. Denisse lowered her window a little farther and breathed it in.
She had missed this.
Lesley turned the car onto the familiar driveway and slowed as the house came into view.
"Home," Denisse murmured, more to herself than to Lesley.
Lesley smiled and pulled to a stop in front of the house.
They had barely stepped out of the car when a familiar voice rang across the driveway.
"There's my favorite sister! Lesley!"
Denisse froze halfway through reaching for one of their bags.
Drake stood near the front steps, grinning at Lesley like he'd been waiting specifically for her arrival. Lesley laughed, already shaking her head.
"Oh, wow. Traitor."
Drake only grinned wider, clearly pleased with himself.
Denisse shut the car door with exaggerated offense and pointed at her brother.
"May I remind you that I am your biological sister, Drakey? And you're even more excited to see Lesley than me."
Drake's grin widened.
"Why? Do you have a Lambo I can borrow and take for a spin?"
Denisse's mouth fell open.
"Excuse me?"
Lesley covered her mouth, but the laugh escaped anyway.
Drake shrugged, entirely unrepentant.
Denisse crossed her arms.
"Oh, don't forget that I'm still the one who gets to decide whether you get a sports car for graduation."
The smugness disappeared from Drake's face.
His eyes widened.
For one glorious second, Denisse watched him remember exactly who held the power in that particular situation.
Drake cleared his throat.
"Oh."
Denisse lifted an eyebrow.
He immediately straightened and flashed her an innocent smile.
"I'm just joking. Welcome back to our home, my beautiful and hardworking sister."
He walked toward her before she could respond, quickly taking the bag from her hand.
Denisse narrowed her eyes at him.
"Much better."
Drake gave her a satisfied nod and carried the bag toward the house.
Beside them, Lesley shook her head, laughing under her breath.
"You two are really impossible."
Denisse looked at her, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face. She stepped closer and slipped an arm around Lesley's waist, drawing her gently against her side.
"Come on," she said, leaning into her. "Let's get inside."
Lesley glanced at her, then at Drake already disappearing through the front door with their luggage.
"Before he asks you for a Ferrari?"
Denisse laughed.
"Don't give him ideas."
Together, they followed Drake into the house, leaving the quiet vineyard stretching peacefully behind them.
As soon as they stepped inside, the familiar warmth of home settled around Denisse.
She barely had time to take in the polished floors and the faint, comforting smell of coffee drifting from the kitchen before Drake called out, "Mom, Dad, they're here."
Her gaze moved toward the living room.
His father sat comfortably on the sofa with a newspaper spread open in his hands, one arm resting against the back cushion. A cup of coffee steamed on the table beside him. Her mother sat on the longer sofa nearby, a bowl of fruit beside her as she worked through a pile of apples and oranges, the soft scrape of the peeler filling the room.
Both of her parents looked up.
Her mother's face brightened immediately, a smile spreading across her features as she set the fruit aside and rose from the sofa.
"You two are early. I thought you'd arrive this afternoon."
"Lesley was too excited to come back here," Denisse said, grinning.
"Aww, that is so sweet." Her mother pulled Denisse into a warm hug, squeezing her before letting her go. Then she turned toward Lesley, her smile widening.
"Come here, sweetheart."
Before Lesley could say anything, Denisse's mother stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her.
Lesley laughed softly and returned the hug.
"I was," she admitted. "Your cooking is worth getting excited about."
Her mother laughed, clearly pleased by the answer.
"See? I knew you had good taste."
She gave Lesley another affectionate squeeze before slipping her arm through hers and tugging her toward the kitchen.
"I'll cook you a delicious breakfast. I'm sure you haven't eaten yet."
"We haven't," Lesley said, allowing herself to be led away. "And I've been looking forward to this."
Denisse watched them, a laugh escaping her as her mother practically stole Lesley away from her.
Lesley glanced back over her shoulder, her expression somewhere between amused and apologetic.
Denisse only shrugged, grinning.
"Traitor," she mouthed.
Then she put a hand over her chest and called after them, "What about me, Mom? Am I not getting breakfast too?"
"Just continue peeling those fruits, honey," her mother called back without even looking over her shoulder.
Denisse stared at her retreating mother in disbelief.
"Mom! Not you too." She pointed toward the kitchen. "I am your daughter. Are you playing favorites now?"
Her mother simply waved a dismissive hand before disappearing into the kitchen with Lesley.
Denisse let out an exaggerated gasp.
Her father, who had been quietly watching the whole exchange with an amused smile, finally lowered his newspaper.
"Just let your mom," he said. "Maybe she's excited about having an additional member of the family."
Denisse glanced toward the kitchen.
Lesley was already standing beside her mother, listening as she talked, and every so often Denisse could hear her laugh.
She smiled despite herself.
Then she turned back to her father.
"But I'm still your favorite, right, Dad?"
She crossed the room and wrapped both arms around him, squeezing him tightly.
Her father chuckled and set his coffee down before returning the hug.
"Of course. No one can replace my baby."
"Good." Denisse leaned closer as though sharing something important. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll take this secret to my grave. Drake never has to know."
Her father laughed and shook his head.
"You're impossible."
Denisse laughed along with him, resting her head briefly against his shoulder.
"Come on. Let's have breakfast."
She kept one arm wrapped around him as they stood.
Her father looked toward the porch.
"Drake! Breakfast!"
"Coming!" Drake called back.
Denisse finally let go of her father and followed him toward the kitchen, the sound of her mother and Lesley talking growing louder as they approached.
For a moment, she simply smiled.
Home felt a little different with Lesley in it.
And Denisse liked the feeling.
Later that afternoon, Lesley and Denisse wandered into the vineyard hand in hand, leaving the house and everything waiting inside it behind.
The rows of grapevines stretched ahead of them in neat, endless lines, their leaves stirring whenever the wind slipped through. The earth beneath their shoes was still damp from the earlier rain, and the air carried that clean, green scent of wet soil and leaves. Above them, clouds gathered lazily across the sky, dark enough to promise another downpour but still holding back.
Lesley drew in a deep breath beside her.
Denisse felt the cool air fill her own lungs, crisp and clean compared to the city air she'd grown accustomed to during the week. Their joined hands swung loosely between them. When Denisse glanced over, she found Lesley already looking at her.
"We should spend more weekends here, babe."
Denisse turned toward her, one eyebrow lifting. "Why? Aren't you going to miss spending weekends in the city?"
Lesley smiled and squeezed her hand.
"Well, we're already there for the weekdays. It would be nice if we could escape the city from time to time."
Denisse looked toward the vineyard, taking in the quiet that surrounded them. Somewhere farther down the rows, she could hear the faint clink of tools and the muffled voices of the staff. Otherwise, the estate seemed almost asleep.
"I'd love that," she said. "Fresh air, fresh food, quiet. It's healthier."
"Yup." Lesley glanced around, her smile widening. "And we can do a lot of things, too."
"Like?"
Lesley counted them off on her fingers. "Grape picking. Wine tasting." She paused, then added, "And when the horses your parents bought arrive, we can roam around the whole estate and…"
A slow, mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
Denisse narrowed her eyes.
"And…?"
"You know…"
Before Denisse could ask again, Lesley stopped walking and turned toward her. She slipped both arms around Denisse's waist, pulling her close.
"…Make out in the vineyard."
Lesley leaned in, her lips brushing the side of Denisse's neck.
Denisse's eyes widened.
"Lesley!"
She tried to squirm out of the embrace, but Lesley only laughed, pressing another light kiss against her neck before moving to her cheek.
"Babe, someone might see us."
"So?" Lesley murmured. "You're my girlfriend. I can kiss you wherever I want."
Girlfriend.
The word settled somewhere deep in Denisse's chest.
She had heard it before. They had been official for more than a month now. Still, every time Lesley said it, something inside her shifted, warm and startling and almost too sweet to hold.
Her girlfriend.
Denisse looked at her, at the woman who was standing there with that teasing smile and her arms wrapped securely around her, and for a moment she could only stare.
She still couldn't quite believe this was real.
That Lesley was hers.
That she was, in turn, Lesley's.
Her thoughts scattered when Lesley's lips found hers.
Denisse hesitated for only a heartbeat before giving in. Her hands slid around Lesley's neck, fingers curling lightly at the nape as she kissed her back.
The teasing disappeared.
The kiss deepened, slow at first, then warmer as they forgot about the vineyard around them. Lesley's arms tightened around her waist, drawing her closer until there was barely any space left between them.
Denisse had just begun to lose herself in the kiss when footsteps sounded somewhere beyond the vines.
Then came voices.
"Are you going to take the day off tomorrow?"
Denisse froze.
"Yeah. I have to attend a meeting at my son's school."
Their eyes met.
For one stunned second, neither moved.
Then Denisse pulled away, covering her mouth as a laugh escaped.
Lesley bit her lip, clearly fighting one of her own.
The voices were getting closer.
"Come on," Lesley whispered.
They grabbed each other's hands and ran.
Their laughter followed them through the rows as they hurried away, ducking between vines and glancing over their shoulders like two teenagers caught somewhere they weren't supposed to be.
They had barely made it out into the open when the first raindrop struck Denisse's cheek.
She stopped.
Another landed on her forehead.
Then another.
Lesley looked up.
"Oh, no."
The sky finally gave in.
Rain poured over them.
Denisse laughed, lifting her face toward the sudden downpour. Within seconds, her hair was soaked, dark strands clinging to her cheeks. Her clothes began to grow heavy against her skin, but she didn't care.
Beside her, Lesley was laughing too.
"We should run!" Denisse called.
"Why?"
"Before we get completely soaked!"
Lesley looked toward the distant estate, then back at her.
And smiled.
Maybe the universe was trying to make up for the way they'd first met.
Back then, rain had marked the beginning of something neither of them could have imagined would bring them here. Now, with the vineyard disappearing beneath the downpour and the rain soaking through their clothes, there was something almost perfect about it.
It was messy. Unplanned. Completely unlike anything they could have arranged themselves.
And somehow, that made it all the more romantic.
"Let it rain."
Denisse barely had time to answer before Lesley caught her around the waist.
They stood there in the rain, soaked through, breathless from running and laughing, with the vineyard stretching around them.
Denisse wrapped her arms around Lesley.
For once, there was no one else nearby. No footsteps. No voices. No reason to pull away.
Lesley brushed the wet hair from Denisse's face.
Then she kissed her.
Denisse smiled against her lips before kissing her back.
Rain streamed down their faces as they held each other, neither of them caring about getting wetter. Lesley pulled her closer, and Denisse rested her forehead against hers when they finally broke apart, both still smiling.
The vineyard disappeared into the rain around them.
For a little while, they simply stayed there, wrapped in each other's arms, letting the storm fall.