making his own way in the world of wine—something that Gabe admired, but because of his family name and responsibilities, he could never do.
When the summer ended, Richard convinced Gabe to get him a job at a DeLuca vineyard in Santa Barbara. After Gabe’s parents died, Richard stepped in to help run things down in Southern California. The year Abby graduated from college, she was fresh off of a breakup and Richard swooped in. And when his best friend said he wanted to build a winery with Abby, Gabe had lined up the investors—no questions asked.
“Think about it. Why would we chase off the last person to see him? At least before we get some answers. For all we know, Regan is the key to nailing Richard.”
“You want me to back off?” No way would Gabe let Regan stay here in St. Helena. He’d just gotten Abby home.
“I’m saying we do whatever it takes to find Richard. And if that means capitalizing on whatever is going on between you two, then—” Nate shrugged.
Gabe blinked. “Nothing is going on.”
“Really. Then why are you two straddling the line between eye-fucking and strangling each other?”
Gabe was about to tell Nate to shut up when all three brothers looked over at Frankie’s table. Regan had just taken a sip of her wine and her tongue poked out to lick her lips. Gabe heard someone moan. Unfortunately, it was him.
As if hearing him, Regan’s head snapped up and they locked eyes. There was a charged beat during which neither one broke contact. The longer they stared, the harder it was to remember that this woman had slept with Richard. Then Regan’s gaze dropped to his mouth, jerking back up when Gabe grinned. Making sure to let her know she’d been caught checking him out, he sent her a wink.
Her face folded into a frown and her big blue eyes narrowed. His lowered to take in the silky number she wore, whose top button had come undone, and he saw her swallow—hard.
He couldn’t help but smile. Vixen wanted him. Almost as much as he wanted her.
“Let’s say I give her a reason to stay,” he said, shocked that he was even considering this. “What makes you think Richard still talks to her?”
“A guy doesn’t forget a woman like that,” Nate said.
And that was quickly becoming Gabe’s problem.
“I was sure you’d get it,” Jordan said, taking a long swig of wine. “Juliette said they had an opening, and your work is phenomenal. I don’t understand what happened.”
“Gabe DeLuca happened,” Regan mumbled, then finished her wine in one gulp and seriously considered, not for the first time this week, doing something immature, like sticking Randolph right up Gabe’s ass...
“Regan.” Jordan sat back in her chair, her brows raised, lips pursed in disbelief, reminding Regan of the time she’d been called into the principal’s office for shoving Sarah Carter’s face in the toilet. Sarah had told everyone that the only reason Regan got into St. Joseph’s Academy for Girls was because her mom cleaned the toilets. So Regan wanted to let Sarah see just how clean those toilets were, and that her mom and her career as a cleaning lady were not up for discussion. “I’ve known the DeLucas since I was a kid. They can be stubborn and annoying, but they don’t have a cruel bone in them.”
Jordan had also never slept with their sister’s husband.
“He showed up at every interview, Jordan. Every single one.” Regan worked hard to soften her voice. “I know he’s your boss, which makes it that much more amazing that you still want to be seen with me let alone help me find a job, but the man has it out for me and he won’t be happy until I am homeless and broke.”
“Over a failed marketing campaign?” Jordan scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“Is that what he told you?” Regan had to swallow. She also needed another glass of wine. Maybe the whole bottle.
Why would Gabe have lied?
“Don’t tell me you were former lovers?” Jordan leaned in, eyes wide with interest. “Because if so, I want details. All of them.”
There was no point in lying. Regan had never hidden what she’d done, and her mom had raised her to own up to her mistakes, to learn from them. These women had every right to hear the truth about who they were aligning themselves with.
“We were never lovers.” Although, Gabe had been appearing in some pretty steamy dreams lately. “But what I did wasn’t