Blush - Jamie Brenner Page 0,85

walked through the pergola in silence. The sun was bright, the moist air redolent of the late-blooming flowers lining their path. She glanced at Leonard, his jaw set in determination.

Leonard could be difficult sometimes, but he wasn’t a hypocrite. He always told her and the kids it was important to do the right thing when it was hard, not just when it was easy. Now he was doing something he felt he had to do even though it felt nearly impossible. She knew he was struggling with this decision. He tossed and turned beside her all night long, every night. He wasn’t eating. It was bad enough to have to sell Hollander Estates—but to sell to a man who’d broken a previous partnership, leaving him in the lurch? If she’d ever doubted that Leonard had any option other than to sell, she no longer did.

They crossed the veranda. The table was set in a color scheme of navy and yellow, with a patterned runner and sunflowers in silver vases. The menu: a kale salad with pine nuts and roasted chicken in a Grand Marnier sauce paired with their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

They reached the front of the winery just as a black Mercedes SUV pulled up. The driver stepped out and opened the rear passenger door.

The man who emerged was thicker than she remembered him to be, with slicked-back gray hair. The baron had aged, but his sharply cut suit, his oversize watch, his wingtip shoes . . . every inch of him broadcast his wealth and privilege. He might not be young and handsome any longer, but he carried himself like a man to be reckoned with.

His pale eyes went first to Leonard.

“Good to see you, old friend,” he said, holding out his hand to Leonard. “What a pleasure to be back chez Hollander.” He turned to her. “Vivian. It’s been a long time.”

The baron scanned her from head to toe in appraisal, not greeting. He nodded, a near imperceptible gesture that said, I like what I see. She shuddered.

“Welcome,” Leonard said. “We thought we’d start with lunch, if you’re amenable.”

The baron smiled, baring his teeth. “Perfect. Lead the way.”

Vivian let the two men walk ahead.

The sparkling, crisp beauty of the day made the meeting that much more agonizing: The sun was bright, not a cloud in the sky. The air was delightfully low in humidity, a gentle breeze blowing off the nearby shores. As they took seats around the table, Vivian kept her back to the vineyard; for once, the view would not bring her joy.

Peternelle cleared away the extra place settings; the baron hadn’t told them ahead of time if he was bringing an entourage.

The tasting room manager filled their wineglasses. Before Leonard could raise a glass to their guest, the baron stood. He took a pointed look around, as if surveying his domain. She realized, with a start, that he was, in fact, surveying his domain.

Leonard paled. It was one thing to know you had to sell, to negotiate dollars and cents with lawyers and to plan a way forward. But it was quite another to see another man stand at the head of his own table.

“To old friends,” the baron said, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It was a disappointment that things didn’t work out those many years ago. But here we are, together again.” With this he looked at Vivian. “I look forward to an arrangement that will satisfy all of us this time.”

* * *

Sadie stood in the doorway of the office, waiting for Mateo to look up and notice her. When he did, she felt the usual frisson upon eye contact. Would she ever get used to being near him, or would his very presence always set her off-kilter?

“Lock the door,” he said. Just the words made her knees go weak.

He left his seat and sat on the edge of his desk. She moved to stand between his knees, and he kissed her.

“You’re late today,” he said. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“My grandparents are having a meeting at the winery,” she said, breathing in the scent of him. “We’re in the clear.”

She had visited the barn every morning before sunrise. They could barely wait to lock the door before shedding their clothes, their touch as perfectly choreographed as that of longtime lovers, but at the same time as raw and potent as the meeting of strangers. Sex with Mateo felt profound. It was life-changing, and it was beginning to