Blush - Jamie Brenner Page 0,27

is the right thing to do.”

“What about Javier and Mateo? Have you told them?”

“No. Not yet. I advised Dad to wait until the sale is finalized. We can’t risk losing them when it could take a while for this to go through. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“They have a right to know.”

“Well, Dad agreed with me. Do you really doubt that Dad knows what he’s doing?”

“I doubt that you know what you’re doing. Have you even tried talking him out of this?”

“No,” Asher said. “Because I have no intention of spending the rest of my life with Dad standing over my shoulder, barking orders.”

“So you’re encouraging Dad to sell this place so you can sail off into the sunset with Bridget?”

“Something like that.”

“And what are you going to do for work?”

“Why will I have to worry about work? Do you think he’s selling the winery for peanuts?”

Leah thought about that for a minute. Was her father selling to cash out or selling because the winery was in trouble? If he was in trouble, there might not be money after the sale. Was Asher too dense to realize that?

She thought of the way her mother’s voice had broken when relaying the news. Vivian tried to put up a good front, but Leah knew better.

“Well then,” Leah said, standing up and heading for the door. “Sounds like you’ve got this under control.”

“Always,” he said, grinning. “Really, you should be thanking me.”

“Thanks, big brother.” She knew that her sarcasm was lost on him.

Like everything else she had just tried to say.

Thirteen

The swimming pool had been built during a burst of extravagance in the early 1980s, a time when Vivian and Leonard had remodeled their modest farmhouse home into one of the grandest homes on the North Fork. Vivian had been too busy to use it during those years, except as a backdrop to their famous parties, which were written about in newspapers and magazines.

She started swimming in her fifties, when her doctor advised her to start exercising. After a summer spent doing daily laps, she’d had an indoor pool installed in the lower level of the house to sustain herself during the winter months. As much of a luxury as the indoor pool was, Vivian always counted the days until she could return to the outdoor, Roman-end-shaped pool, with landscaped planters around the perimeter, the entire deck laid with hand-crafted limestone.

After her conversation with Leah, she’d needed the water as much for her mental state as her physical workout. She glided through it, arching her arms to be mindful of her form while going fast enough to clear her head. Her heart beat steadily, her eyes open behind her goggles. She felt herself grow tired and knew the timer on her waterproof watch would soon go off. When it didn’t, when she began to wonder if she could keep going, she swam over to the ladder in the deep end and grabbed hold of the rail. She checked her watch: she still had five minutes to go. Was the stress affecting her stamina?

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Leonard called from the opposite end of the pool, walking toward her.

“Well, you found me,” she said, climbing out and taking off her goggles and unstrapping her bathing cap.

“It’s late in the day for you to be taking your swim,” he said.

“Yes, well, it’s not the only thing that’s a bit off today.”

He ignored the pointed comment, as she knew he would.

“The veranda is full. People are asking for you.”

Vivian reached for the towel she’d left on one of the lounge chairs and wrapped it around her waist. She sat down.

“I’m in no mood to be the charming hostess today,” she said.

Leonard sat in the chair next to hers. His thick white hair was covered by a Hollander Estates baseball cap, and from underneath the brim his dark eyes focused on her. He was deeply tanned, and if she hadn’t been so upset she would have allowed herself to be softened by how handsome she still found him to be. Through all the ups and downs, no matter how difficult Leonard could be, Vivian had always been in love with her husband. And he had always been devoted to her. She knew those were the important things in life. And yet . . .

“Leonard, we cannot lose this home.”

“I know it’s difficult,” Leonard said, his eyes filled with empathy.

“Difficult? It’s unthinkable!”

She’d never imagined it would come to this, and that was