When the widowed owner of the Vineyard wine bar decides to take an extended vacation, she leaves it in the capable hands of her general manager, Lindsay, and her daughter, Piper. Piper is, to put it mildly, an uptight control freak, to the extent that Lindsay and some of the other employees at the wine bar call her “Queen Elsa.” Piper has a good reason for it, though – she’s a manager at a financial company, and her ice queen armor is what she needs to be successful in a dog-eat-dog, male-dominated workspace. Piper instinctively dislikes Lindsay because she’s “too friendly” and “she smiles too much.” On top of her dislike of Lindsay, Piper has a lot of complicated feelings around Vineyard because it was her father’s business, and she hasn’t dealt with her grief over his passing. Lindsay is, well, pretty much what Piper thinks of her – she’s generally optimistic and a people person, Piper’s opposite. She’s wonderful with Vineyard’s customers, even the really trying ones, and has tons of ideas for how to attract new clientele. Piper’s holding the purse strings, though, so can they work together to do what’s best for Vineyard?
“This was obviously her sole purpose in life: to kiss this woman senseless, to be kissed senseless by this woman.”
Well, I’m sure you can guess what happens! Piper and Lindsay have a wonderful chemistry with each other, and it’s such a sweet slow-burn romance. From enemies to friends to rip-your-clothes off lovers, they run through the whole relationship span. There’s quite a bit of angst as well, as Piper has a lot of deep-seated grief and anger, from her father’s death to a work merger to her mom gallivanting all over the place, and adding the stress of a new relationship on top of that causes Piper’s ice castle to crumble. This is great for their relationship, but how will Lindsay’s “invasion” play out in the rest of Piper’s life?
Overall, this is a sweet and steamy read, with two people who find that a good relationship blends the best bits of each of them together. Highly recommended, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of Ms. Beers’ books!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.