Newly fired from my Manhattan job and fresh off a bad breakup, is it any wonder I got a little tipsy during a wine-tasting road trip and ended up doing snow angels on the winery lawn… in June? Cosimo Grado, the gorgeous, grumpy, Clark Kent look-alike owner, was not amused. He’s even less amused when his brother hires me on the spot for a summer position at the winery. Pretty sure I saw steam on those sexy glasses he wears. But some time away from the city is just what I need to get my life back on track, so I take the job. It’s true. I don’t know anything about wine…yet. I’m not the flighty, spoiled city girl he thinks I am. All I need is a chance to prove myself. But the all-work-no-play Cosimo’s mind is made up. Too bad for him avoiding me is impossible since we’re both living and working on the premises for the next several weeks. And as the summer heats up, so does the tension between us. He’s trying to focus on his new role as the protector of his family legacy. I’m trying to mend my broken heart before returning to my real life in the city. Neither one of us needs the distraction. But one late night in the tasting room and the tension finally bubbles over. Now, I’m falling for my boss and my dented heart is telling me to run.

I’ve had a crush on my best friend’s older brother, Antonio Grado, since middle school. And now that I work for Grado Valley Vineyards, it’s getting harder to keep this infatuation a secret. My biggest problem? I just got scheduled to take a two-week road trip with Antonio—aka Neo—the sexy winemaker everyone adores. Alone. Just me, and him. But I can be professional, right? I’ve had a lot of practice keeping those feelings locked up tight. Until a seductive game of truth or dare and a private stretch limo blows the “secret” part of my secret crush to bits and pieces. But I can’t let a few wine-fueled nights cloud my judgment. There’s too much at stake—my job, my relationship with my best friend, my treasured place within the Grado family. They’ve taken care of me since I was young, and I would never risk losing them. So I’ll lose my heart instead.

The first time we met, he “arrested” me. The second time, he tied my hands behind my back, wearing only a cowboy hat and a thong. Our night together is nothing more than a dare. I told my friends I wanted to kiss a cowboy during a weekend bachelorette party in Nashville, and they took me a bit more seriously than I’d intended. But when my sexy “cowboy” decides a trip to my hometown of Kitchi Falls is just what he needs to clear the cobwebs from his uncertain future, suddenly our intense connection is no joke. My overprotective brothers are less than thrilled with his profession. Even my friends warn me away, insisting big-hearted Hudson is sure to break mine, now that the elusive record deal he’s always wanted is within his reach. I’m firmly ensconced in the Finger Lakes, as part owner of my family’s winery, while Hudson’s dream, to become a country singer, is sure to take him far away from the life I hold dear. When disaster strikes at our family-owned Grado Valley Vineyards, the distance between us grows even more pronounced. Suddenly, my brothers’ disapproval of the man I’ve fallen for is the least of our problems.

He’s a playboy. A certified Casanova a younger version of me would likely (definitely) have fallen for, hard. I would have loved the way Marco Grado looked at me from across the bar. The way he strode over to my friend and I as if he owned the place. As if he owned me. Fortunately, I’ve been burned by enough guys like him to know better now. Especially when he turns out to be the same Marco Grado who co-owns the vineyard neighboring mine. Or more precisely, the vineyard which is mine for the taking if I choose to accept my father’s “gift” of part-ownership in Sunset Vineyards. A choice between giving my father a free pass for all the pain he’s caused or returning to a job I hate means there’s no room for the kind of heartbreak Marco would inevitably bring me if I gave in to his not-so-subtle advances. Advances that are becoming harder and harder to ignore.