about the wedding and showed off her sparkling engagement ring. Her fiancé, Mack, a single dad and CFO at Cloverleigh Farms, was at home with his two younger daughters, but the oldest was there working at the shop.
“Meg, have you ever met Mack’s daughter Millie?” Frannie asked as the pretty preteen blonde waved at me from behind the register.
“Yes, but she was a lot younger then.” I smiled and waved back. “Good to see you, Millie.”
“Will you be around later?” Frannie asked. “I’d love to hang out and catch up.”
“Definitely.” Impulsively, I hugged her again. “I’m so happy for you, Frannie. And so proud—this place is beautiful.”
“Want a tour?” she asked, a little nervously. “I don’t want to keep you, but—
“Of course I do!”
She beamed. “I’ll make it quick.”
After she showed me around, my dad and I had a quick lunch at the counter and then headed back to Cloverleigh. April was there by then, and we had a tearful reunion in the middle of the lobby at the inn. She was crazy busy with the wedding that was taking place that evening, but she said she’d be done by eleven if I was up for a late drink in the bar.
“Sounds great,” I said. “I’ll text Frannie to come too.”
I spent most of the day in the tasting room assisting Chloe, who was short-handed and totally thankful for the help, even though I knew next to nothing about Cloverleigh’s wines. But Chloe was an excellent teacher, showing me how to pour, giving me basic info about each bottle to share with customers, and reassuring me that most people wouldn’t ask very complicated questions—they just wanted to find something they liked.
We were so slammed we didn’t really get a chance to chat, but she said she’d definitely be up for the late night meetup at the bar. “Oliver is in Detroit until Friday, so I’m free all week,” she said, setting out new glasses on the counter for my next group of tasters, who were just coming in from a tour.
I smiled, shaking my head. “I still can’t believe you’re engaged to Oliver. You couldn’t stand him growing up!”
She laughed. “Sometimes we can’t believe it either. But you know what they say about the line between love and hate.” Bringing a hand to her face, she whispered behind it. “Plus the sex is insane.”
“Don’t tell me. I’m way too jealous.”
“I take it things aren’t going well with Brooks?” she asked hesitantly.
“Things are over with Brooks.” I sighed and put on a smile as several middle-aged couples came in and took the seats across from me. “I’ll tell you about it tonight.”
I had dinner with my parents at their kitchen table, basking in the familiarity of my mother’s cooking as well as the surroundings. My dad told me about all his plans for retirement, which would begin right after Frannie’s wedding. “Golf, golf, and more golf,” he said.
I laughed. “What about during the winter?”
“Golf in Florida. Your mother and I are considering buying a place down there.”
“Really?” I looked back and forth between them. “You’d leave Cloverleigh for that long?”
“Chloe’s got an excellent handle on things here, and Mack has assured me he intends to stay on as CFO.” My dad put some butter on his roll under the watchful eye of my mother. “I have confidence they can run things as well as we could—maybe even better.”
Later, as Chloe poured four glasses of Pinot Noir at a high top table at Cloverleigh’s bar, I congratulated her. “So you’re going to inherit the farm, huh?”
She laughed. “Not the whole farm. Just the title of CEO.”
“Well, that’s still awesome. You’ve worked really hard here, and Mom and Dad can see it. I didn’t think Dad would ever retire. He really trusts you.”
My sister’s cheeks flushed, and her brown eyes shone. Although we didn’t exactly look alike, we shared our mother’s wavy brown hair, our dad’s tenacity, and a tendency to go all in when we truly wanted something. “Thanks,” she said. “I have worked hard.”
“Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late.” Frannie breezed up, slipped off her coat, and took the stool between Chloe and me. “I couldn’t get out of the house.”
“Why was that, sis?” Chloe asked, her voice dripping with feigned innocence.
Frannie giggled and blushed, gathering her long hair over one shoulder. “Well, Mack can’t ever get enough. And we have to wait until all the kids are asleep.”
“You were having sex?” I asked, my mouth hanging open.