The Vineyard at Painted Moon - Susan Mallery Page 0,78
a few blocks in downtown Seattle would go for a lot more—but on the agriculture front, this was Park Avenue, the Left Bank in Paris and the best part of pick-your-city pricey.
There were reasons. The soil, the sun, the wind, all of which combined to create perfect growing conditions for the fruity, full-bodied red wines the state was known for.
Once the deal went through for them to buy Painted Moon, this land would be hers, or at least half hers, which was plenty. She should be excited and giddy and overflowing with ideas. Her head was spinning but not from possibilities. All she could think about was the fact that she was pregnant.
She wanted to ask how it had happened, but she already knew the answer to that. A single night, a single event, had changed everything.
She glanced at Bruno, who was walking beside her. He’d traded in a suit and a white button-down dress shirt for jeans and a dark green polo shirt. He looked good. Tall, with broad shoulders. He was fit and had that air of easy confidence. Maybe he was one of those people who was comfortable anywhere. She wasn’t like that. This was the one place where she felt at home, only she didn’t today. She felt awkward and uncomfortable and scared and confused.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning to look at her. “There’s something on your mind. Usually when we walk a vineyard, you’re studying every plant, hovering over them, practically communing with them.”
His tone was light, but she saw the concern in his eyes. She had to tell him the truth—she knew that. What she didn’t know was how he would react. Was the dream she’d barely allowed herself to believe could happen going to come to an end before it had begun?
“I’m pregnant.”
She had to give him credit, he barely reacted. One eyebrow rose slightly, but that was it.
“Rhys?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Goodbye sex is very powerful,” he said, watching her carefully.
“It was more like we haven’t had sex in years and is this really the death of our marriage.” She looked away. “I only found out yesterday. I still have to see my doctor and figure out what I’m going to do.”
“You’re keeping the baby.”
Not a question, but she nodded anyway. “I have to. I want to,” she amended. “It’s just shocking. Did I spit?”
He tilted his head. “Just now?”
She managed a slight smile. “No. When we were tasting Herman’s barrels. Did I spit? That’s what I remember, but now I have to worry about the baby. You’re not supposed to drink alcohol while you’re pregnant and I’m a winemaker. How is that going to work?”
“You spit every time,” he told her. “It was very elegant.”
“I hope I did.” She fingered a grape leaf. “I haven’t told anyone yet. I barely believe it myself. I have to let Rhys know. I don’t think he’ll be happy.”
Something else she was worried about. They’d never had kids. If they’d wanted to, they could have gotten pregnant a thousand times over. But they never had. Until now.
“Does the pregnancy change anything about the divorce?”
A reasonable question, she thought. “No. Neither of us is going to change our mind.” She looked at Bruno. “Does it change things with you?”
“Do you want it to?”
“That’s not answering the question.”
“I still want to go into business with you.”
“But I’m pregnant. I’m excited about what we can do here, and I want to move forward with the deal. Having said that, a kid is going to change things and I don’t know how. I don’t see myself becoming a stay-at-home parent, but I could get weird with hormones. And I don’t know how much I’ll be able to do the last couple of months of the pregnancy.” She waved her hand. “I’m guessing at all this. I don’t know the first thing about being pregnant or having a baby.”
He smiled. “I’m not worried that you’ll suddenly want to spend your day knitting. I see you more as the strapping on the baby and heading into the fields type.”
“I like that image a lot.”
Thinking about carrying her baby with her as she worked made her feel good.
“We have a partnership agreement,” he said. “I don’t want to change that. You’re the best, Mackenzie. You’ll always be the best. Besides, I like kids.”
His voice was a little wistful. She remembered him telling her he couldn’t have children. Would her being pregnant be difficult for him?