The Winemaker
Page 16
26
Conner
“I can’t believe this is really happening.” Lena grinned over her shoulder at me as she pushed open the door to the Rusty Spoon. “We’re really doing this.”
I couldn’t help matching her smile. “I think you’ve said that a time or ten.”
“I can’t help if I’m excited.”
We’d been together most of the morning, and we hadn’t had a single disagreement. I let her have her silent freak outs, waiting patiently for her to realize this really was the best thing.
“Well, believe it, kids.” My grandfather followed us in. “Lena, I know Conner is experienced in starting up new businesses, but you still need to get used to that top-of-the-world feeling.”
I gave him a shut-up look, but he pointedly ignored me.
We found an empty table along the wall, and I took a seat, using the menu I knew by heart as a distraction.
It didn’t work.
Lena cocked her head to the side, studying me. “You work for the family business that’s been in operation for generations. What new business have you started?”
“It’s nothing,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to keep the fact that I made artisan wines from her. I sold them to some of our distributors, but I didn’t do it for the money. It just … it felt like mine, something that didn’t belong to anyone else. Probably like this business idea had felt like hers before I stepped in.
With a sigh, I lowered the menu. “Specialty wines.”
She pursed her lips, and it was obvious she had no idea what I was talking about.
Luckily, I had my grandfather there to spill all my secrets. He slapped a hand on my back. “Conner grows hybrid grapes in part of the vineyard and then makes them into wines you can’t get anywhere else with various flavorings and alcohol contents.”
She lifted her eyes to meet mine, and I was left stunned by the depth of them. “You make wine yourself?”
One corner of my lips curled up. “You thought I was just an empty suit, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” She hid her smile behind a menu.
The waitress came, and we all ordered greasy burgers, the kind I rarely ate, cheddar fries, and milkshakes. It felt like the kind of thing to get for a celebration.
When three chocolate shakes were set in front of us, I lifted mine. “A toast.”
They both followed suit.
“To our new partnership.”
Lena nodded. “To us.”
As I sipped my milkshake, I took the chance to steal a look at her. She’d dressed up for our meetings today. In place of her overalls or dirty jeans, she wore a knee-length black skirt that showed off strong legs. Her sky blue shirt was simple, with a V-neck and cap sleeves. And her hair swept across her shoulders in soft waves.
She was beautiful.
Whether she wore overalls and braids or a skirt and makeup.
How had I never truly looked before?
“Do I have something on my face?” she asked.
“What?” I shook myself out of my trance.
“You’re staring.”
Both she and my grandfather were looking at me now, the latter with amusement in his eyes.
“I wasn’t staring.” Brilliant, Conner. Brilliant reply.
She suppressed a smile and nodded seriously. “I completely believe that.”
When her eyes shifted away, I wondered if she too was thinking of the other night, of how our excitement turned into something else. Something that was probably a mistake.
The waitress returned with our food, and we all busied ourselves clogging our arteries. After a few minutes, Lena leaned in. “Do you feel like people are staring at us?”
I let my eyes scan the diner. She wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Chapman and Mrs. Peterson sat in the corner, whispering to one another, their eyes on us. At the table next to them, my cousin Jake ate alone, staring at us with a furrowed brow, as if trying to figure something out. He nodded in greeting.
All around us, folks enjoying their lunch stole glances our way.
My grandfather laughed. “They’re definitely staring. It isn’t every day an Ashford and a Contreras breaks bread together. Even rarer yet is when they do it with smiles on their faces.”
“We aren’t smiling.” Lena took a giant bite of her burger.
I nodded. “She’s right. This is a serious business lunch. No smiling allowed.” What had gotten in to me? No smiling allowed? When did I suddenly forget how to be the calm, collected Ashford? Now, all I did was make a fool of myself in front of the one woman I wanted to impress.
For business purposes, of course.
“Conner, can I ask a favor of you?” Lena suddenly didn’t sound so sure of herself.
“Anything.” And I meant it. I’d gone from wanting my brother to stay away from Lena to not being able to stay away from her myself.
“The news of our official partnership will get out soon, but can we try to prevent that for as long as possible?”
“Embarrassed to be working with me?”
She laughed at that. “Not anymore. But my parents … they’re not okay with this. I haven’t told them it’s a done deal, that I made the decision. They made their feelings very clear.”
How was it possible my father put up less of a fight than her parents? I could see the strain in her eyes, how she wanted her parents' approval. But it wasn’t the same way I needed my father’s. No, I wanted to impress him. Lena just wanted her parents’ support.
I reached across the table and brushed a featherlight touch over the back of her hand. “Of course.”
My grandfather’s sigh made us both look at him. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “You know, I’ve always fought against this feud between the families. My father believed in it, and I’m afraid he instilled that belief in my son. Me … I wish I hadn’t hidden my friendship. Maybe if we’d been open, much like you and Carter, Lena, we could have ended all of this before it infected another two generations.”
“Friendship?” I asked. “With who?”
He smiled. “Valentina, of course.”
“Gram?” Lena’s brows shot up. “You and my grandmother were friends?”
“The best. Though, we grew apart when we both married. Then, we had children who insisted our families stay at odds. But before all of that, when we were young, there was no closer pair.”
“Like me and Carter.” Lena’s smile had a fondness in it that twisted something inside me.
“Exactly.” He laughed. “You two always reminded me of my youth. I’d see Carter sneak off, and it brought me back. There was never anything romantic between Valentina and myself, not that anyone would’ve believed us. Most people don’t understand how a man and a woman can be so connected to each other yet not right for each other.”
“I know how that feels.” Lena let out a wistful sigh. “Carter and I … well, sometimes I think we were meant for each other. He’s my soulmate. I love him like he’s a part of me, but I’m not in love with him. I don’t think I ever could be. It would be like falling in love with myself.”
My grandfather nodded. “It’s hard for anyone to fathom that kind of love who hasn’t experienced it themselves.”
I listened to them talk, not interjecting anything myself because they were right. It was hard to understand. I’d always thought Carter and Lena were secretly in love and just not telling anyone. Carter risked so much to be friends with her, to keep her in his life.
He chose her over his own family.
Could it be true there was nothing more than platonic love between them? Just the thought of that opened something up inside me. Hope.
It wasn’t until that moment, I realized I’d been holding on to the idea of Lena and Carter as a way to ignore the feelings rising in me, feelings I couldn’t yet decipher.
Lena laughed at something my grandfather said and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. Her eyes lit up as she grinned. I’d never seen her look so happy, so free.
It was to be a destination.
And no matter my involvement, she’d do it on her own terms. I was only along for the ride.
Lena’s independence astounded me. Despite the lack of support from her parents, the fact that this was a giant undertaking, a huge risk, she forged ahead.
For me, it was an investment. For her, it was a dream.
“Right, Conner?”
I hadn’t heard what Lena asked. “Oh, sure.”
They shared a look, and both started laughing.
“Glad to know you’re paying attention, boy.” My grandfather pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll let you kids finish up.” He patted my shoulder. “Lunch is on you, grandson of mine. Lena, it has been a pleasure. Tell your grandmother I said hello.”
“I will.” She watched him go, a sad look in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I had to know anything that was bothering her, and I wasn’t quite sure why.
“It’s just sad. They were such good friends and drifted apart.”
“You’re thinking about Carter?” I hated how much that bothered me.
“Yes. And no. Also my grandmother. I don’t know, Conner, the idea just makes me sad.”
The bell over the door rang, and Carter strolled in, his eyes finding us immediately. Chatter followed him as he crossed the diner and slid into our grandfather’s vacated seat.
“These anybody’s?” Carter pointed to the uneaten plate of cheddar fries.
“Grandfather’s.” I eyed him, wondering what he was doing there.
“His loss.” Carter shrugged and dug in, barely coming up for air as he inhaled the food.
“Uh, Carter.” Lena waited for him to lift his eyes. “How’d you find us?”
“Oh.” He swallowed a bite. “It’s all over social media. This weird lunch that’s happening.”
“Why would people post about seeing us here?”
Carter stole my milkshake, removed the straw, and downed the rest of it.
“Go ahead,” I said. “Apparently, I wasn’t drinking that.”
Carter flashed me a grin. “Thanks, bro. And to answer your question, Lena, it’s because the Weekly Wine can’t get an issue out fast enough to spread the news. You know, it’s really like spotting a unicorn. Definitely news worthy.”
“What news?” Lena met my gaze.
Carter focused on the fries in front of him as he said, “This weird friendship you guys have now. It’s not supposed to happen, you know. That’s why you’re a unicorn. No one thought you could ever be friends.”
“We aren’t friends,” Lena was quick to say.
“Definitely not.” I sent her a nod in solidarity.
Carter shrugged. “Could have fooled me. Neither of you are particularly friendly, and the pictures on social are all smiley.”
“Pictures?” I rubbed my forehead.
Carter pulled out his phone and tapped the social icon, pulling up the group that was just for residents of Superiore Bay. “You even have a ship name.”
Lena and I both leaned in for a better look. There was a picture of the two of us, my grandfather conveniently cut out. We were laughing about something, and it used the hashtag Selennor. “Selennor?”
Carter slid his phone back into his pocket. “Don’t worry, we’ll come up with a better name.”
Lena groaned and rested her head on her arms. “Seriously, can this town get any nosier?”
“I wouldn’t ask that.” Carter’s entire body shook with laughter. He was enjoying this.
“Why not?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Because the answer to that question in Superiore Bay is yes, we can always get weirder.”
Selennor. The name was awful, but I wasn’t sure the friendship we both denied would be.
27
Lena
I studied the drawings just like the lead architect told me to.
And now, I was freaking out.
Full-on, I can’t do this, freak out.
My hands shook as I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself. They were just drawings. Not brick and stone. We could still scale it back. A lot. I paced to the tiny bunkhouse kitchen to pour myself another cup of coffee.
It was just too much, more than I could handle on my own. What was I even thinking when I dreamed this place up?
Dreaming. That was what I was doing. I flipped to the last page of the construction documents and shook my head. I didn’t recognize these buildings. They served no purpose that I could name. I went back to the first page and studied the plans again.
Did we really even need a bed and breakfast? Wouldn’t that take business away from the other local B&Bs? I just wanted to create a destination. A year-round experience where people could come apple picking in the fall, maybe do a little shopping in the general store and take a hayride with their kids. And in winter, they could come ice skating, pick out a Christmas tree, and sip hot chocolate and apple cider. In the spring and summer, my place would be where people went when the beach was too crowded, or when the rain brought everyone into town for shopping. It didn’t need to be anything more than that.
I rolled up the set of documents and put them back in the tube. Grabbing my keys and my travel mug, I headed out the door before I could second guess myself.
Grams didn’t like it when I rode my moped at night, but this was important. I had to talk to my partner before things went any further. There was me being scared and cautious, and then there was me being smart and cautious. I wanted to be the latter.
My old moped started to shake just as I reached the apex of the enormous bridge that stretched across the bay. I could always count on her to get me to the top, but it was always touch and go there for a minute or two. I eased her down the other side at a slow pace to give her a break.
Even in the darkness of the late hour, I could still see Ashford Estates sitting high along the cliffs opposite the bay. It occurred to me then that I had no idea how I would find Conner on such a big estate. Did he live in the house with his father? Or did he have a place somewhere on the grounds?
Anyone in Superiore Bay knew where the gates to the Ashford Estates were located, but few had been inside those gates—at least few of the sort of people I knew.
I paused at the base of the bridge, pulling to the side of the road.
Lena: I need to talk to you. I’m coming over, but how do I get past your gigantic golden gates?
Conner: Are they gold? I never noticed. The guest passcode is 091421. Come find me in the barn near the house, you’ll see my car.
Lena: Be there in five.
Conner: Okay, but stop freaking out before you get here.
“I am not freaking out.” I pushed my moped back onto the street and made a right at the light to head up Oceanside Drive. “It’s called being practical, you over-privileged brat.” My moped sputtered and skipped as I coaxed her up the hill to the gated entrance of the estate. I really hoped there weren’t any more hills between here and the barn.
“Ha! They are gold.” I pulled up to the high gates, leaning over to punch the code into the box, but it was all digital and sophisticated.
“Access denied,” the AI voice said.
“Come on, what do you want from me?” I muttered as I parked and leaned over the box.
“Oh, you want a face scan? Really?” I rolled my eyes and looked down at the sleek looking box, making a face at it. “What, you Ashfords think this is the Pentagon or something?”
“One moment while I check with the family.” The voice sounded like something straight out of a movie where artificial intelligence took over the world.
“Please
say your personal code. Mr. Conner Ashford is expecting you.”
I scowled and rattled off the numbers Conner had given me.
“Thank you, you will be greeted shortly. Please proceed to the barn, and do not wander the property unescorted.”
“What the actual heck?” I muttered as the gates finally opened. I zoomed through them before Ms. Smarty Pants AI could decide I wasn’t fancy enough to come inside these gates.
The tree-lined drive was beautiful in the moonlight. To my surprise, it wasn’t overly landscaped. The Ashfords had let the rows of giant red maple trees flourish from generations past. It was lovely in the moonlight. Calming even.
I slowed as the long drive led me through the tunnel of trees, taking a deep breath to get my head on straight. I had legitimate concerns about these plans. I just needed to keep my conversations with Conner focused and not let him shove my issues aside like they were nothing.
Moonlight flooded the immaculate lawn beyond the tree-lined drive. I searched for the barn, seeing nothing but the enormous mansion lit up like the fourth of July.
Then, I saw it. It was the fanciest barn I’d ever seen. It looked more like a brick house than a place to keep a few horses. Isolated from the house, it stood nestled in a copse of birch trees. Built of white brick with a steep red tiled roof and exposed beam trusses, it was … adorable. Like the stables at a fairytale castle. There was even a turret.
“Only on the Ashford Estate.” I rolled my eyes and parked my old moped beside Conner’s sports car. The barn even had a paved parking lot and red brick steps that led up to the open barn doors.
Duke came out to greet me, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he skidded to a stop beside me and danced around in circles.
“Hey, buddy.” I scratched behind his ears. “Where’s your dad?”
Duke gave a loud bark and darted back up the steps, glancing behind to make sure I followed.
I grabbed my tube of architectural drawings and my coffee mug and followed the gentle giant. I was perfectly calm and rational. We just needed to scale back on my plans.