the wine maker.

Sanjit's smile lifted as her roots slipped into her words. He found it endearing when she got a little flustered, especially around him. She knew how to make him feel the same way. When the words landed in front of him, he blinked once. Then again. He hadn't misheard her, that much was clear. "mujhe tumse pyar hai." He spoke in Hindi, "I love you." He repeated this time in English. "I'm falling madly in love with you, too. I already have." @lailaxmir

Sanjit chuckled, "Yeah, I haven't either." If he was going to break a sweat, Sanjit much preferred it to be at his own pace and in situations that were under his control. Not chasing a dog around the vineyard, but even he had softened to the idea that not everything was in his control over the last year. "Do you have any pets of your own?" Sanjit asked, moving toward the vineyard in hopes of spotting the dog that was eluding them. @le0nxrd0perez

Sanjit's laughter was low in a chuckle at the mention of rivalries. "There is some tension between the current owners of the wineries in Kismet Harbor, but the rest of us are trying to keep the peace. Whatever history is there or isn't," Sanjit shook his head, "I haven't dared to dive into. They say that ignorance is bliss for a reason." And in this instance, Sanjit was willing to continue to be for the sake of the work. Sanjit listened, taking in what she was saying. "That's understandable. I've done jury duty but it wasn't for anything high profile." Many of them were not. "I appreciate your honesty, though." And he was sure her clients did as well. "Wow," he blew air over her lips, "I cannot begin to imagine how many cases are part of that," a saddening thought, quite frankly. "Have you always wanted this career?" Sanjit questioned with genuine curiosity. @zeynepaslan

"I wish I had this kind of talent." Though, Marin had talents in other places. She could look at nearly anyone that walked into the tattoo parlor and tell you on the spot which piercings would work with their anatomy or not. Not something she necessarily bragged about, but, a talent others didn't have regardless. "You definitely have the talent for it." she nodded. "I know that's part of the job, but." she paused, shaking her head. "It's not something I could do." she stated. "I'll happily be the taste tester of any of the recipes you want to put into the world." she admitted. "But you say awhile. How long does it take you to come up with something new?" @sanjitxgupta

"Everyone has their own skills and talents. It's what makes the world go around." Sanjit spoke, "It would take all the fun out of the jobs and passions in the world if we could all do it." At least, that's how Sanjit saw it. When she asked how long it took, he felt his smile grew. She was genuinely interested and he never got bored of talking about wine. "Honestly, it depends." He began, "It's roughly six to twelve months for a small batch, something that would be more homemade and anywhere from one to five years if we want it to be commercially made. But, I'm fortunate to sit on the lower end of the timeline, at least at first. It's get people interested and gives it a sort of novelty that it's not available right away, but gives hope that it will come back later on when we can make more." @marincole

Sanjit loved when Laila teased him. The banter had come so easily between them for as long as they'd known each other but there was something about it now that was more meaningful. "Is that so?" His brow raised for a beat, curiously in her direction. "I will have to keep that in mind," he smiled warmly at her. "You make me happy so I want to make you happy. I'd say it's as simple as that, but I don't want to downplay my feelings for you." Sanjit admitted, "Having you in my life is the best thing that's happened to me in some time." @lailaxmir

Sanjit nodded his head, "I get that. And congratulations on becoming District Attorney." He added with a smile, gaze shifting as he thought he saw a flash of white as well. "Yeah," he answered, beginning to move toward where they saw it. "I wouldn't be shocked if he or she is moving down toward the vineyard. A great place to romp around," Sanjit explained with a quiet chuckle. "Makes it a little more difficult for us, but maybe that's all the more fun." Not that he particularly enjoyed getting dirty, but Sanjit had a feeling the night was going to bring more than he expected. @le0nxrd0perez

Sanjit nodded his head. He'd never been good at sitting still, at least not with dull paperwork. If he was sitting still, he was studying, taking in his surroundings, likely with a glass of wine. He was using it as a learning opportunity. "A couple times a quarter, actually. A lot of times it's local, honestly. But at least once a year, I try to get to somewhere international." It's not like the vineyard was running on a large scale operation income, and he often used his own to travel. "Sometimes that's the way it works out." He responded, "Is it difficult?" He questioned, curiously, "maybe not work wise, but personally, to keep obviously guilty people out of prison?" @zeynepaslan

Sanjit was about to answer but his words were cut off by her following statement, which caused him to laugh. Falling in love with someone else had been a leap of faith that Sanjit wasn't sure that he had been ready to take. His friendship with Laila had started through their respective careers and as it shifted into something more, it hadn't felt all that scary to fall in love at all. He felt safer with her than he had with anyone else in his life. "I'm glad you approve." Sanjit had thought out the day as thoughtfully as he could have. "That's my plan. I'm glad to see it's working." Frankly, life without Laila didn't make any sense to him. @lailaxmir

"Especially with me. If I'm not right I don't want to know." Marin admitted, eyes shifting from her wine glass to the other. "I'm on a roll." she beamed, a nod of her head to indicate how happy she was to be right. "I think green apple with wine works fantastically." she nodded. "I'm not one that's too familiar with ciders; don't get me wrong I'm not a prude. I love drinking as much as the next person but memorizing flavors and drink titles isn't something I care about." she shrugged. "I do know though, this is good. Really damn good." @sanjitxgupta

Sanjit chuckled at the woman's words. He understand the want to be right and to not know otherwise. "You are." He nodded his head in agreement. Even when people were not necessarily right, Sanjit enjoyed listening to what they tasted. Wine was a different experience for everyone and that was something that he found great pleasure in. "It comes a little too naturally to me with the job and all," he laughed softly once more. "I think it's just second nature to me now." He admitted to her before nodding his head. "Thank you." Sanjit expressed his gratitude with a smile. "It's new this year, actually. I've been working on it for a while." @marincole

Sanjit's laughter was soft. "Maybe not all of it. I do have some experience in making other's happy." And with Laila, he wanted to make sure he was always happy. While he knew that was technically an impossible feat, he was very intentional about everything he did for and with her. The grin on her face was worth every moment it took to plan the day for them. "Oh, you mean like our dinner reservations actually being a cooking class for the both of us?" His brows wiggled in her direction, "A private cooking class, nonetheless." It paid to be close with the others in town, especially in the industry. @lailaxmir

Sanjit nodded his head, "Hopefully he or she is just looking for a handout rather than looking to add to a renovation bill." The man joked, though inside he was serious about the matter. Not that it couldn't be afforded by the vineyard, he knew that it was preferred if that was not an unexpected expense. "How long have you been in town?" Sanjit questioned, making the assumption based on the man's words that he hadn't been around all that long if he was trying to get to know as many people in town that he could. @le0nxrd0perez

"Agreed." Mass production of most items meant that there was quality loss. There was a lack of attention to detail, but he understood that the industry of many markets needed mass production to sustain. He was lucky, that he was able to find a vineyard that didn't need that and could still thrive. Though, he knew that the vineyard was generational and likely had not started off so easily. "It is a lot of collaborating with people." The woman was intelligent, that much was obvious to him. She had a depth of knowledge that most didn't. "It's a part of the job that I enjoy a lot." He said with a slight nod of his head. "I don't mind sitting behind the desk, sometimes. But I much prefer to be on the go, having my brain work and figure out the next move for the wines." He raised his brows, impressed once more by the brunette. A quiet chuckle passed over his lips, "I can only imagine. How did you get into that line of work?" @zeynepaslan

Marin let herself nod as she took another sip, letting the liquid linger for a moment as if trying to taste again, wanting to lock in exactly what it was she tasted. "I know the point isn't to be right." she shrugged. "But I find a bit of satisfaction in knowing that I was anyways." she laughed. "Definitely get what you mean tough, the green apple is the most powerful and obvious flavor. If we're being honest I don't think I would like it as much if that flavor underneath didn't help dull it down some." she paused. "Wait -" she paused, giving a sniff test and another tiny sip. "It's rose, isn't it?" she smiled, more confidently this time. "I'm probably wrong because it's not the type of wine I would imagine has rose in it, but, I think that's what makes it work. It's unexpected." @sanjitxgupta

Sanjit's laughter was soft with her words. "There is a lot of satisfaction in being right." That was a notion that the wine maker could appreciate. As she brought up rose, he felt his smile grow. "Correct again," he offered the congratulations in his tone. "Green apple is very much a cider flavor," he admitted, "but, I wanted to try to make it into a wine. To make it so we could have the flavor but it not be overwhelming. Rose does a good job at making it a bit more muted but not completely erasing it altogether." @marincole

"Perfect, eh? I don't know that someone winging it should be considered perfect." He smiled back at her, not wanting to let her go in the moment. His arms settled around her waist in the moment. Moments like these were ones that Sanjit never imagined he'd be having. Hearing things like that, from Laila, still caught him off guard. "Good," he continued to smile, "I'd hate to find out you were settling." He grinned at her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "After breakfast, a walk along the beach, Then there's the massage appointment with our names on it, dinner reservations." He paused, the curl of his lips growing. @lailaxmir

Sanjit shook his head, "Honestly, could have been brown. Maybe with some white." The dog had been fairly quickly, likely knowing it wasn't anywhere it was supposed to be. "Appreciate it," the corners of his lips tugged upward as the man suggested that they go look together. "I don't mind dogs, really," he felt like he had to clarify as he took a step in the direction that he thought the dog went, "I just don't need him or her getting out into the vineyard and getting into grapes." His head shook at the thought. The guilt that would follow an incident like that would be carried by Sanjit for quite some time. "Sanjit," he told the other, "I don't think we've met before." @le0nxrd0perez