Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“He’s trying to steal my job.”
“Your companies merged. That’s an unfortunate situation, but it’s not something that he had anything to do with.”
“He abuses kittens,” I deadpanned.
My mother shook her head. “You’re trying to find any excuse you can not to like the man.”
“I don’t have to find any excuse; he hands me the reasons on a silver platter whenever I’m in his presence.”
Mom lowered the flame to simmer and took another bottle out of the wine refrigerator. “Do you think Bennett will like the ’02 Cab?”
I gave up. “Sure. I think he’ll love it.”
***
“So did you grow up here? Living at a winery?”
I’d avoided Bennett before dinner by going outside on the porch to play with Sherlock—my mom and Matteo’s chocolate lab. Unfortunately, he found me.
“No. I wish.” I tossed a tennis ball over the porch railing and into the rows of vines. Sherlock took off running. “My mom and I lived in the Palisades area for most of my life. She didn’t meet Matteo until I was in college. I bought him for her for her fiftieth birthday.”
Bennett leaned against the post, one hand casually tucked into his pants pocket. “Don’t let my mother know that. All I got her was a Keurig that she stashed away in the back of a closet to collect dust.”
I smiled. “Growing up, she always said she wanted to go to Italy. I’d just gotten my first job when she was about to turn fifty, so I saved up for a ten-day tour of Rome and Tuscany. Matteo owned one of the vineyards our tour stopped at. They hit it off, and two months after she came back, he had his vineyard up for sale and decided to move to the US to be closer to her.” I pointed to the grape farm. “He bought this place, and they got married right over there on the one-year anniversary of the day they met.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah. He’s a great guy. My mom deserved to meet him.”
Sherlock came running back with the ball in his mouth, but instead of dropping it at my feet, the traitor took it to Bennett. He reached down and scratched his head.
“What’s your name, boy?”
“His name’s Sherlock.”
Bennett whipped the ball back out to the farm, and off went man’s best friend. “So you could’ve mentioned that Bianchi Winery was your family.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you joking? I tried to. Multiple times. But every time I attempted to tell you, you interrupted me to drone on about how you were going to win the account and how much the owners love you. You were pretty cocky about it. Especially this afternoon, telling me my mother was into you.”
“Yeah. Sorry about saying that. I just wanted to screw with you. Rattle your confidence before your presentation.”
“Nice. Very nice.”
He unleashed his charming smile. “What can I say? All’s fair in love and war.”
“So we’re at war, are we? And here I was thinking the better candidate would get the job based on merit, not because the other one sabotaged them.”
Bennett stood and winked. “I wasn’t talking about war. You love me already.”
I laughed. “God, you’re such a pompous ass.”
***
I stayed on the porch to finish playing catch with Sherlock while Bennett wandered inside the house. I was surprised when he came back out with his suit jacket on, a glass of wine in one hand, and his leather portfolio case in the other.
“Where are you off to?”
He extended the glass of wine to me, but when I reached out to take it, he pulled it back and sipped. “Your mom asked me to bring you this on the way out.”
“Where are you going?”
“Figured I’d head home.”
“Should you be driving? My parents tend to pour wine like it’s water.”
“Nah, I’m good. I only did one set of tastings, and I drank them over a few hours.”
“Oh. Okay. But we haven’t had dinner, yet.”
“I know. And I apologized to your parents. I told them something came up, and I had to run.”
“Did something come up?”
“I don’t want to interject myself into your family time. Your mom mentioned you hadn’t seen each other in a few months.”
“Work’s been crazy ever since Mr. Wren died.”
Bennett held his hands up. “I get it. Trust me, my mother would tell you I don’t call or see her nearly enough.”
“You don’t have to leave.”
“It’s okay. I can admit defeat on the rare occasion that it happens. You won this battle, but you won’t win the war, Texas. I’ll let you present your ideas to them undistracted by me.”
I stood. “My mother is going to be so disappointed. She was probably planning on discussing what kind of underwear you wear over dinner to make sure you’re not killing off sperm with tighty whities for the protection of her future grandchildren.”