at Bel Après, she could, but she wouldn’t be part of the family anymore. Not after the divorce. Bruno was offering her the moon. She smiled. A painted moon, but a moon all the same.
“I’m in,” she said, shaking his hand. “Let’s do this.”
* * *
Three days later, Mackenzie was drowning in paperwork. Her potential business partner hadn’t wasted any time getting the process started. She already had a partnership agreement, a preliminary sales offer for Herman and the first of what she would guess were going to be dozens of survey reports.
She’d emailed a copy of the partnership and purchase agreements to her business lawyer but was determined to review them herself. To that end, she had a stack of sticky notes and a legal pad next to her so she could figure out her questions as she went. To switch things up, she also had the divorce settlement to go through—oh, and in her spare time, a winery to run.
It was a lot to deal with, but also exciting. Lately she’d been waking up at four and reading for a couple of hours before starting her day job. After work, she rushed through dinner to spend several more hours in her office. At Bruno’s suggestion, she’d purchased a small lockbox in which to keep all the paperwork—no doubt the smart thing to do, but it made her feel guilty every time she put all the various files away.
About seven, Rhys knocked on her half-open door. “Hi. I haven’t seen you much in the past week or so. I thought I’d check in and find out how things are going.”
He looked good, she thought with a twinge of sadness. Tall and strong. Steady. Rhys had always been steady. She didn’t miss him romantically, but she regretted what had been lost.
She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She slid a pen close and said, “Unless you want to talk weather and the divorce, you’ll have to sign this first.”
Her soon-to-be ex-husband stepped forward and scanned the NDA, then started to laugh. “Seriously?”
Her natural instinct was to tell him no, of course he didn’t have to sign it. She trusted him—if he said he wouldn’t tell anyone, he wouldn’t. But her lawyer and Bruno had been very clear. Without an NDA, no one found out anything.
He grinned as he signed, then took the seat opposite her. “Someone’s been giving you good advice.”
“I hope so. Lawyers are expensive.”
“But necessary. So what’s going on?”
She drew in a breath. She and Rhys might be splitting up, but she respected his opinion. “We’re looking at Painted Moon.”
His eyebrows rose and he gave a low whistle. “Herman’s property. That’s a beauty. Great land. Quality, established vines. Make sure you confirm the water rights. No water, no business.”
She smiled. “That’s what I thought.”
“Are you going to make an offer?”
“We’re considering it.” She held several papers. “My partnership agreement with Bruno. The lawyer’s looking it over right now.”
Rhys’s humor faded. “I’d offer to read it, but that isn’t my place anymore, is it?”
They looked at each other, then both turned away. She spoke first.
“Speaking of the divorce, I’ve gone over the settlement agreement and it seems okay. I’m waiting for a final approval from Ramona, but I don’t anticipate any problems.”
He shifted in his seat. “Once we file, it’s ninety days until everything is final.”
“Assuming we don’t contest it.”
He looked at her. “That would be like fighting. We never fight.”
“I know.” That was part of the problem. They hadn’t had the energy to fight about anything. And without that energy, there wasn’t any passion or drive.
Their marriage had been like the conversation they were currently having. At this point in a breakup, other couples would be casting blame and throwing accusations like knives. Not them. They were sensible and rational. Logical. They were both moving on and soon everything they’d had would be a memory.
Somehow that realization was the worst thing of all. Shouldn’t sixteen years together have left a few visible scars?
“We need to tell my mom about the divorce, Mackenzie,” he said. “You can keep the rest of it from her for as long as you’d like, but letting her know about us splitting up should happen soon.”
“I agree.”
“I can do it.”
He was giving her an easy out—because he was the kind of man who did that sort of thing.
“I’ll tell her,” she said slowly. “I have a meeting with her tomorrow. I’ll give her the news then, both about