Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,62

and braced herself. “Hey!”

Only to see Danny Barba waving behind them. “Hey Toni!”

She released her breath. “Danny.”

“Gorgeous day for a walk, huh?” He slung a backpack over his shoulder. “You headed up to the office?”

“Yeah.”

Danny nodded. “I think Nico and Henry are meeting Ruben right now, but they’ll probably be finished pretty soon.”

“You get that tractor running?”

Danny grinned. “The old one on the hill? That thing’s a relic.”

“No, the one that had the wires cut.” She was slowly walking backward, moving steadily down the hill. “The one where I found the finger.”

“Oh right. The finger.” Danny paled. “Yeah, I just had to fix the safety cable. Haven’t had a problem since.”

Toni nudged Megan. “Danny is Nico’s foreman. He keeps the whole place running, and he’s a far better diesel mechanic than I am.”

“I try.” The man smiled. “Hard to keep track of all the moving pieces sometimes, you know?”

“I’m sure.” Megan scanned the vineyards. “It’s a big place.”

“It is.” Danny tugged on the end of his baseball cap. “You ladies have a great day.” He walked in the direction of the harvesting crew, back into the vines.

Megan kept her voice low. “Was he the one…?”

“I have no idea. Are we being paranoid?”

“Maybe.” Megan slid her sunglasses back on. “But let’s not forget a man was murdered about half a mile from where we’re standing.”

“Good point.”

Nico, Henry, and Ruben Montenegro were sitting on the back patio behind Nico’s office, three open beers on the table in front of them.

Nico raised his hand when he saw her. “Toni!”

Henry didn’t say anything, but his smile felt secret and warmed Toni down to her toes.

“You’re blushing,” Megan said. “Just a little. It’s pretty cute.”

“I’m not blushing, I’m hot. From the hike.”

“Okay, sure.” Megan pressed her lips together. “Whatever you say.” She grabbed her phone from her pocket and took a quick picture. “I cannot lie, I am seeing the benefits of California-wine-country life more and more every day.”

Toni narrowed her eyes. “You mean the three tall, dark, and handsome, slightly sweaty men sitting around a wooden table in the middle of a vineyard drinking cold beers?”

“I’m just saying, if you wanted to promote Moonstone Cove in an advertising campaign, you should definitely mention the handsome sweaty men that come included with the beautiful scenery.”

Seeing as Toni had grown up with Nico harassing her like the annoying little shit he’d been, she was always slightly surprised when women found him attractive. She knew he was; it was just hard to forget the swirlies.

“Have you actually met my cousin before?”

“Nope.” Megan pressed her lips together. “I’ve only heard stories.” She lifted her sunglasses for a second, then lowered them. “Which right now I’m really hoping are true.”

“Ew.” Toni shook her head and kept walking. “Don’t lust after my cousin. That’s just weird.”

“I think you mean understandable.” Megan put on her thousand-watt smile. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Y’all have another beer hiding around here?”

Toni watched Megan proceed to make two men jump for her attention while the third only had eyes for her.

Henry rose and walked over to Toni, slid his arm around her waist, and leaned down to her. “Gonna kiss you now.”

“Okay.”

He pulled back. “That’s it? No lecture about public displays of affection or keeping our business to ourselves?”

Toni shrugged. “I think after last Sunday, the secret is out. Everyone heard me screaming at you, which in my crazy family is as good as a declaration of love.”

“If only I’d known months ago.”

She rose onto her toes and drew him into a sweet and lingering kiss. “Plus it’s Monday, I’m taking the day off, hanging out with my friend, and I can’t even have a beer. You’re my only vice left.”

He smiled. “Feel free to take advantage of me whenever you like.”

“I’ll remember that.” She nodded toward Ruben and Nico, who were standing by the fridge outside Nico’s office. “What’s Ruben here for?”

Henry shrugged. “Nothing too big. Hopefully a little bridge. I wanted some cabernet franc grapes to blend in the Heritage Red this year, and Danny told me that he’d heard Fairfield had some. I convinced Nico that it might be friendly to reach out.”

“No point keeping the winery as an enemy if Fairfield is gone, right?”

“It was never something Nico and I wanted anyway. It’s always better to be on good terms with your neighbors. Ruben’s a good guy. He and Nico have known each other for years, so as long as he’s running things down the road, there’s no reason to feed any