Reserve

By Renee Lee Fisher

**NOTE Book duo, start with this Reserve, then follow with Uncork.**

“We will be friends forever...or will it become more?”

Sometimes friendships become much more...heartfelt connections are unstoppable. Those moments are when we realize why we reserved our heart for so long, because just maybe our heart has found that love worth waiting for.

Four lifelong friends gather every 4th of July at the Sterling Ridge Vineyard.
Their celebration of friendship and relationships seemed quite happy until this past 4th of July weekend getaway.

Jace and Neena are in a relationship that Jace wants out of to be with Sage. Can he break it off?

Sage and Miles are a couple, but Sage wants to follow her heart which takes her away from Miles. Will it lead her to Jace?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renee Lee Fisher
• Release date: Apr 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370963669

Renee Lee Fisher

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Renee Lee Fisher has the passion to put the pen to the paper and WRITE/CREATE. She is truly a romance junkie who loves to tell stories. She has written a variety of romantic works from novellas to novels. Her belief is that everyone should Indulge in LOVE.The first four of The Heartbeat Series of six planned Romance Novels. ROCK NOTES, LOVE NOTES, MUSIC NOTES, FIRST BEAT are completed and available. FIRST BASS and FIRST TASTE are yet to come.The Crossing Series (The Knot Hole, The Passage and The Muse) will take you on an endearing time travel romance from present day to centuries past.If you love a Suspense Romance - read Derailed. It is a sweet suspense that stands alone.Looking ahead, there will be many more romantic scenarios to come.Renee resides in Eagleville, PA with her loving husband Michael of many years and her cats Leo and Lincoln. She love to travel often and engage in meeting new people who provide her with future inspiration for stories.

Book preview

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CHAPTER ONE

Neena was preparing dinner, actually the hard part was deciding what to order, placing the call and awaiting the delivery man to bring the food. Once the Thai order had arrived, she placed it on to the china plates. Plating it on their dishes made it feel more homemade to her. It would appear that she’d spent hours in the kitchen to prepare the dumplings and noodles that were done to perfection. Cooking though, was not one of her favorite things to do. Even less favorable was the cleanup, she feared her manicure would be ruined. She would insist that since she prepared dinner, Jace could clear the table and load the dishes afterward.

* * *

Waiting for dinner to be ready, Jace was rummaging through the spare closet in his apartment he shared with his girlfriend Neena, as he stumbled on an old album. He smiled as he looked down at smiling faces of his young self, Miles, Neena, and Sage, at his last high school game. He sat on the floor and flipped through the pages of the album as he took a trip down memory lane.

Neena silently walked down the hallway of their apartment to fetch Jace for dinner when she noticed the guest bedroom door was open and the lights were on. Curious, she decided to take a peek. As she poked her head through the door, she saw Jace on his knees smiling down at a book.

What’s got you so amused? she asked joining him on the floor.

Jace looked up unable to stop smiling and said, take a look, it’s us, all of us. You, me, Sage and Miles.

Neena burst into laughter as she looked at a picture of herself in her cheerleader uniform with a hairdo she must have thought was fashionable back then, Jace in his football jersey all smiles because he’d won, Miles with his nerdy glasses and Sage with those horrible braces. Their clique was like the infamous high school clique seen on television. Jace was the handsome football player everyone loved, Miles was the clever one that helped with tough assignments, and Sage was that quiet, not so noticeable girl that just happened to be in the group, and also, she lived opposite Jace, so they practically grew up together. As for Neena, she was the cheerleader; and everyone knows the cheerleader is usually the hot one.

We were goofy teenagers you know? I can’t believe I made the team looking that fat, Neena said.

Jace widened his eyes, babe, there was not an ounce of fat in your body then and there still isn’t any now, he said pecking her cheek. Neena smiled back as she patted the spot on her skin where Jace had landed his lips wondering if she’d need to powder up again before dinner.

Hey remember this? Neena asked as she spotted a photo of all four friends at the lake not too far from the Sterling Ridge Vineyard.

Yes! How can I forget, this was right before we all went off to college, the 4th of July holiday. We promised to begin our tradition to meet every year on that date at the vineyard no matter what.

Yes, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that promise thus far, she responded as they stored away the album and went to have their dinner.

* * *

Jace, Neena, Miles, and Sage had been friends since Elementary School and continued into High School. They had lived close to each other, attended the same schools and been in some of the same classes up until it was time for college.

Miles could be pegged as one of those work-obsessed, constantly driven individuals. He was a 5’11 frame, thick brown hair, wore dark rimmed glasses with a normal build. Miles loved his job so much that his life revolved around it. His leisure activity was wine tasting, visiting vineyards or attending a grape festival for maximum fun. Sage was the only reason he came up for air. She had a taste for fine wine which doubled as an eye for good investment. This made him very fond of her. After business school, Miles returned to San Francisco to take over his father’s wine business, his love for wine made it the logical thing for him to do. Their work places were close in distance, so he picked her up on his way to work and dropped her off as well at the close of the day, often sharing dinner and a lot of conversations about wine. This routine developed into a relationship that was now a few years old and counting.

Sage had grown into a beautiful 5’7 blonde, with captivating hazel eyes, a curvy figure, ample breasts that you couldn’t miss, and pearly white, perfectly straight teeth that made her smile seem to light up a room. She had always had a genuine love for animals, when she was young she would always hide stray animals in the backyard of the house, much to her parent’s disapproval. So, it was little wonder when she became a devoted veterinary nurse in the area.

Neena had stayed back in San Francisco for a while after college. Shortly after she won the local pageantry and decided to move in with some college friends in Beverly Hills in order to pursue a career in modeling. Beverly Hills was where the top shots in the field pitched their tent. It was where she was reunited with Jace, who didn’t return to San Francisco after their 4th of July hangout.

Jace had a busted knee in his final year at college that ended his hopes for a professional football career. After finishing college, he decided to move to Beverly Hills. Jace stood 6’3’ and had short blonde hair. One could get completely lost in his deep ocean blue eyes. They were captivating. His stunning good looks and charm got him a few small modeling jobs here and there, but he finally settled for a career serving the community with joining the fire department. As a young child he was always excited to hear his uncle talk about his career as a chief fire fighter. To Jace, it was the only job that could give him the same adrenaline he had while on the football field. He loved the thrill of being a fire fighter and the nobility and joy that came with rescuing helpless people and saving homes and buildings. With Jace and Neena stuck in the town together, they saw their friendship grow.

Both were delighted to have crossed paths in Beverly Hills, and so every now and they would meet up for lunch or drinks. It was relieving for them both to have someone from their roots in a town where there were really no real lifelong friends or family. Neena soon had a fall out with the friends she stayed with. They were in the habit of stealing her beauty products and they never owned up to it. A heated argument ensued and Neena was desperate to move out and find another apartment. Jace offered to have her stay at his until she was able to settle down and get her own place. But that was never to be, as Jace soon started to fall for her. Their friendship blossomed as roommates and he began to see how beautiful her auburn hair was, how pretty her blue eyes were, and how lovely her slender frame stood. A couple of late night movies, hands brushing here and there, eyes meeting now and then, eventually led to lips locking and ruffled sheets. Relationships were born within the close friendship circle of four.

* * *

All four of them had dated different people growing up, but their circle stayed tight, and they always joked about not being able to date each other. But when Neena and Jace disclosed their romance to Sage and Miles, they also informed them of their relationship as well. The circle of four seemed to be better cemented. Perhaps we all will walk down the aisle on the same day, Neena joked.

That’d be great, and there will be no need for a maid of honor, or best man, because we will be there in that capacity for each other, Sage added. Miles and Jace just laughed at the ideas the ladies were bringing up. That was their last reunion at the 4th of July holiday hangout at Sterling Ridge Vineyard.

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CHAPTER TWO

The next summer season arrived quickly. It was the second day of July and the 4th of July holiday was approaching. Again, this year, they all prepared for their return trip to Sterling Ridge, a beautiful, well-cultivated vineyard on slightly hilly ground close to the lake. It had many two-bedroom cabins for tourists’ and visitors. Miles was familiar with the owner of the vineyard due to the nature of his work and as regular 4th of July visitors; the largest two-bedroom cabin closest to the lake was always reserved for them. Looking forward from the cabin was an amazing view of the lake. Looking out of the French doors, the backdrop was perfect rows of vines abundant with grapes.

* * *

I hope you are well packed, Sage asked Miles as she put her final items in her small luggage bag.

Yes, I am, but I just need to leave a few instructions for Nadine at the office. A few days away feels like too long. You know how it is with my staff, they never seem to function well in my absence, he replied with an apologetic smile.

Sure, just make sure you don’t travel with those files, Sage answered wondering if he would be able to tell the difference between a work trip and a leisure trip.

Sage, I’ll need to come online to check up on the progress report for the new branch, but I promise I won’t be so much into work at the vineyard, Miles told her.

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