alarmed at the skill and fiendish glee with which my bride jams the knife into the cake. Well, she’s a Ribaldi, so…yeah, I should. My hand drifts down and protectively covers my groin before I catch myself and shove my hands in my pockets.
Sienna’s second cousins, Cesare and Sara, hoover down appetizers at one end of the buffet table, and my cousins cluster around the other end. Our families are gathered in small, awkward clots of fury. We’re really just in here killing time in case Carrie’s in the parking lot, because rushing out of here too quickly would be unseemly.
My bride is standing with her mother across the room, and from the look on her face, she’s getting an earful. Good, because so am I.
“I can’t believe she pulled that nonsense,” my mother says angrily. “Bad enough that you have to marry that woman when Jonathon was the one who pulled the short straw, but you have to live in a barn all summer? April and I spent a lot of time cleaning and decorating the house for them.”
Decorating? The guest house has always been decorated. Why would they need to…
I skewer her with an accusing gaze. “Decorating with Witlocke Vineyard paraphernalia and family portraits on every available wall?”
She smirks a little. “Nothing wrong with showing some family pride, is there?”
“And let me guess, you’ve also got framed newspaper articles from every Witlocke win over the last century? Every first place prize at the fair, every quilting contest, every garden club arrangement? And you left out every article with a Ribaldi win?”
She sniffs. “There weren’t that many.”
That’s not true. The Ribaldis are, I have to admit, better-liked in town than we are, because they’re loudly outgoing, friendly, and some might say – “some” being my family – obnoxiously familiar with everyone. The Witlockes are known for being proper, reserved, and maybe a little judgey. The wins stand at more like fifty-fifty.
Yeah, the guest house would never have worked out. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea for me to stay on the Ribaldi property.” I can’t believe I’m even saying that.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m on the side of ending this stupid feud once and for all. For ninety years, this family has wasted time and money on this ridiculousness, and spent what feels like half their working lives in criminal court and civil court and county jail. I’ve lost count of how much I’ve personally spent dealing with this nonsense, and I’m done with it. So we won’t be sabotaging this deal.”
My mother smirks. “Like Sienna could have done anything about it once she moved in.”
I shift weight off my aching shin and wonder what’s awaiting me when we move into the farmhouse. “Oh, I wouldn’t underestimate her. Ever.”
“Like Sienna could have done anything about what?” my father demands.
My mother’s face melts into a scowl. “Nothing.”
“You’re not trying to sabotage this deal, are you?” He glowers at her. “We agreed that the feud is over and we’re putting it all behind us. Do I need to remind you how much is riding on this?” His hair has gotten whiter. In the year since I’ve seen him in person, he looks like he’s aged ten years. How bad have things gotten?
“Just getting the last word in.” My mother primps her hair and smirks again.
My father turns his attention to me. “Nice of you to step up to the plate,” he says. He doesn’t say the words “for once”, but I can hear them echoing through the air, unspoken.
“The offer to help you automate your systems and improve your efficiency has always been there.” I can’t help myself. My voice has gone defensive and sharp.
And if he had taken me up on my offer years ago, they would have been able to operate in the black and wouldn’t have needed to take these desperate measures to raise funds.
My father’s brows draw together in a scowl. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk to Jamie about some vineyard business.” And there it is. Jamie and Toni stayed in Greenvale and took their places in the family business. I did not.
He’d wanted a son to carry on the family name and the family tradition. My mother nearly died giving birth to Toni and had to have an emergency hysterectomy, so, desperate for a son, they adopted me. But I was never the son they wanted. High school valedictorian, president of our science club,