Unfortunately, where Nic was concerned, she’d never once done the right thing.
8
Brenna was so tired, her eyelashes hurt. But it had been worth it, she reminded herself as she opened the back door and stepped into the hacienda.
Three days ago she’d been offered some premium Chardonnay grapes that were normally never available for sale. It had meant working the better part of a week from dusk until dawn, which also meant little or no sleep for her. But now that the work was done, she could walk into the fermenting room and see all the gallons of wine she was going to produce. Four Sisters Winery would open with a bang.
The downside was she only had a couple of days until the Pinot grapes were ready, so if she wanted to sleep, this was her day. She’d managed to duck out of the Marcelli Wines office early. Now all that lay between her and fifteen blissful hours in her bed was the distance of the house.
She crossed the kitchen, then came to a stop when she heard voices in the living room. She recognized the Grands, her mother, and her sisters. There was also a less familiar voice belonging to Francesca’s soon-to-be stepdaughter.
Brenna hesitated. While she adored Kelly, she really, really needed to get some sleep.
There was a low murmur of voices followed by loud laughter.
“Hell,” Brenna muttered, walking toward the sounds. She was a sucker for her family.
“Hi, all,” she said as she entered the living room.
Everyone looked up and called out a greeting.
The women were sewing, beading lace for Katie’s and Francesca’s wedding gowns. It was slow, meticulous work that made Brenna’s hands cramp.
“I know you want to help,” Katie said holding up a lace rose.
“I would love to except I’m really busy right now. You know, with extra work.”
She emphasized the last two words, hoping her sister would get it. Katie wasn’t slow-witted, so she must have chosen to ignore the hint. Instead of giving Brenna a break, she simply batted her eyes and said, “Come bond. You know you want to.”
“Yes, stay, Brenna,” twelve-year-old Kelly said.
Brenna could have blown off her sister, but she had a harder time refusing Kelly. Grumbling under her breath that this was her own fault for not slipping up the stairs when she had the chance, she sighed heavily and crossed to the large coffee table. She chose a piece of lace from the pile there, and collected a bag of beads. Katie passed over needles, and Kelly shifted to make room for her on the sofa.
“What are we talking about?” Brenna asked the girl.
“Your mom and the Grands are discussing menus, but Katie and Francesca aren’t saying what they want, which is making everybody else crazy. Not me. I don’t care, but I think Grandma Tessa is getting a twitch.”
Brenna glanced at her grandmother, who was deep in conversation with Francesca. “Why is the menu changing?”
Kelly grinned and her green eyes sparkled with humor. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s just, like, food, right?”
Brenna pulled one of her curls. “You are so not, like, Italian.”
Kelly giggled.
“So are you excited about school starting in a few weeks?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “I’m so totally not. Although my dad said I can have a lot of new clothes because I finally convinced him that styles are completely different here on the West Coast. Francesca helped. She told him it wouldn’t be good for my self-esteem to look like a geek.”
Brenna laughed. “Do we still use the word geek?”
“You guys do, because you’re, well, old.”
“Gee, thanks, brat.”
Kelly grinned. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
“Of course not.”
“Really, Brenna. It’s just you guys haven’t been in school for a while. You can’t know what’s cool.”
“That I’ll accept. You’re going to have to be the one to keep us informed of the coolness factor.”
Kelly nodded. “I can do that. Francesca’s wedding dress is really beautiful. Have you seen the picture?”
“No.” She held out her hand. “Give it up, Sis.”
Francesca passed over a photo torn out of a bride’s magazine. Brenna studied the elegant gown and knew that her twin would look stunning.
“I tried to get her to wear my dress,” Mia said. She shifted and tucked her legs under her. “But she said it was too fitted at the waist.”
“I said we could take it out,” Katie added. “But I’m afraid that would mess up the lines.”
Francesca shook her head. “Even if we could do it, I don’t want to wear Mia’s dress. It’s not me.”
Mia raised her eyebrows. “Is that a statement about my taste? Because if it is, I’m going to remind you that I’m only eighteen and I’m still in college, so by Kelly’s standards, I’m the queen of cool.”
“The only thing you’re the queen of is annoying,” Brenna said mildly.
Mia stuck out her tongue.
“Oh, that’s mature,” Katie said, rolling her eyes.
Francesca smiled. “Mia, your dress is beautiful, but it wouldn’t look nearly as nice on me as it did on you.”
Kelly bounced on the sofa. “Mia, I never saw your dress. Do you still have it?”
“Sure.”
Mia started to put down her lace, but Katie, Brenna, and Francesca all glared at her.
“Don’t even think about it,” Francesca warned.
Mia grinned at Kelly. “We’ll sneak upstairs later, when the wardens are sleeping.”
Kelly nodded happily.
“What about the menu?” Grandma Tessa asked. “We have to decide on what we’re eating.”
“What about burgers?” Brenna offered.
Even her mother frowned at her for that one.
Brenna held up one hand. “Don’t hurt me. I was just kidding. Are you serious about changing the menu just because it’s going to be a double wedding?”
Her mother frowned. “This isn’t for the wedding, dear. This is for the engagement party.”
Brenna glanced at her two engaged sisters. “You’re having an engagement party? When was this decided?”
“A couple of nights ago,” Katie said. “You were otherwise occupied.”
“Do people still do that kind of thing?”
“We do,” Grandma Tessa said firmly.
“It was Katie’s idea,” Francesca said.
Katie sighed. “You are so lying. It was your idea.”
“They were both wantin’ a special celebration,” Grammy M said. “I think it’s a fine idea.”
“Will you be bringing Grandpa Gabriel?” Kelly asked.
Grammy M shrugged as if it didn’t much matter, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Maybe.”
Brenna laughed. Her seventy-something grandmother had found romance with Francesca’s fiancé’s grandfather. The two seniors were forever sneaking out to dinner together and had even planned a cruise in the fall. Grandma Tessa claimed to be appalled that they would share a room without the benefit of a priest blessing the union, but Grammy M simply said that she was too old for sex outside of marriage to be considered a sin. Brenna was thrilled to know that she came from a gene pool that was still interested in the wild thing far into the December years.
“We want something fairly casual,” Katie said. “Maybe a buffet outside with white lights strung all over. Just family and good friends.”
“Sounds nice,” Brenna said.
She looked at her sister as she spoke and saw Katie was watching her carefully. She turned her attention to Francesca. Her twin’s expression matched Katie’s. She could tell they were once again caught up in “poor Brenna not having a relationship.”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Of course you are,” Grammy M said fondly. “Why would you be otherwise?”
Brenna shook her head. How could she convince her sisters that she was completely happy for them? She couldn’t be more happy. As for wanting a relationship for herself…right now her schedule didn’t allow for a lot of boy-girl time. She was too busy trying to make her dreams come true. Besides, as long as Nic showed up every couple of days and made her toes curls, she didn’t actually need the real thing. Fantasizing about him was about twenty times better than any reality with a guy she was likely to meet.
Nope, right now single felt exactly right. Well, except for missing sex.
Three days later Brenna parked in her usual spot at Wild Sea and headed in to check on her wines. Amazingly enough, it was still daylight. Her nonnocturnal visit was due to yet another argument with her grandfather, this one about what wines they were serving at a tasting dinner for the Marcelli distributors in town for a promotional weekend. After asking her opinion, her grandfather had detailed what he thought was wrong with every one of her choices. Rather than throw a temper tantrum—which had been her first choice—she’d made a graceful exit and ended up here.
She crossed to what she’d begun to think of as “her building” and stepped inside.
Instantly the scent of fermentation assaulted her. Brenna inhaled deeply, savoring the changes from yesterday, knowing tomorrow would be different, too. The subtle alterations told her things were going well.
“Knock, knock. Brenna?”
Brenna turned and saw a woman entering the building. Her guest was tall, with thick auburn hair and a model-perfect face. Brenna didn’t know if she should be more bitter about that or the woman’s slender body. Just being in the same room with her made her feel short and lumpy.
She tried reminding herself that while she couldn’t be considered tall, except by the vertically challenged like Mia, she was of average height. If she wanted to be less lumpy, she would have to stop eating the Grands’ cooking.
“Have we met?” Brenna asked as the woman approached.
The woman smiled and held out her hand. “We haven’t been introduced, but I know who you are. I’m Maggie Moore, the chief financial officer for Wild Sea. I work for Nic.”
“Ah,” Brenna said, fighting a sudden blast of jealousy. How like Nic to hire a beautiful woman in a job traditionally held by men.
“If you’re looking for him, he’s not here,” she said.
Maggie smiled. “Actually I was looking for you. I wanted to meet the infamous Brenna Marcelli.”
“I’m infamous?” Brenna asked. “Gee, no one sent me a memo.”
“I’m not sure the title extends past my office. I handle the finances for Wild Sea.”
“I sort of guessed that by your job description.”
“I know about the loan.”
Now Brenna was really confused. “That was a private loan. I didn’t borrow the money from the corporation.”
“Oh, I know. But even Nic doesn’t happen to have a million dollars in his checking account. Once he decided how he wanted to structure the deal, he had me draw up the paperwork.”
Brenna wasn’t sure why she needed to know this. “Is there a problem?”
“Not at all.” Maggie’s smile was friendly. “Like I said, I just wanted to get to know you.”
Brenna wondered what Nic might have told this woman about her. Somehow she couldn’t see him spilling his guts about the past, but then, she’d been wrong before. Was Maggie more than just an employee?
As soon as she asked the question, she realized it wasn’t likely. For one thing, Nic wouldn’t have kissed her the way he had if he’d been involved with someone else. For another, a quick glance at Maggie’s left hand told her that the woman was married.
“How long have you worked at Wild Sea?” Brenna asked.
“Almost nine years.” Maggie grinned. “It’s kind of sad because even though I’m around all this wonderful wine, I don’t really drink it.”