Page 101 of My Grape Crush
What a relief to drive into the winery without a security check or the need to look over our shoulders. But as Dani drives up the hill to drop me off, a hint of sadness creeps in. This is the place where our story started.
It will always hold a special place in my heart.
Parked, with the engine idling, Dani kisses my cheek. “I’ll swing by just before six.”
“You'll be sleeping in my bed tonight, right?” I clarify.
She affects a pose of surprise. “I thought that was a given after weeks of suffering on my shoddy mattress?”
Suffering? Does she mean tangled up and sheened in sweat, breathing deep and calm? The idea of that makes me laugh. “Like I said, I'll sleep on rocks as long as I have the most important things surrounding me.”
She beams back a smile as bright as mine. “Have I moved up the ranking list? Bumped your precious coffee from the top slot?”
I wind my fingers in her hair and gently tug her over the console. She provokes the same reaction, day after day. “You are my new number one, Dani. Now and forever.”
Our lingering sinful kiss would steam windows in winter but gets cut short with a sharpwhack,followed by, “Well, well, well. Look at you two lovebirds.”
We both jump back, startled to see Nicole, who must have wandered up from the vineyards when she saw Dani’s truck.
“Hey there,” I roll down the window, “are you joining us at dinner?”
She leans on the sheet metal with a lazy smile, dressed in her best farmyard duds and face smudged with dirt. “I would, except this grubby little number has a date.”
Dani squeals excitedly, leaning over my lap to say, “Congrats! A local?”
“She manages one of the hotels in Kelowna.” Nicole cuts me a genial smile. “Not as hot as you, mister, but who is?”
“Good luck. And you’ll be at the party?” Dani asks.
Nicole belts out a laugh. “Are you kidding? The biggest ticket in town? I am so primed. And if you don’t mind helping this old grape get Roman-ready, I could use your guidance. Seems I need some help in the fashion department.”
Dani side-eyes me. My grin is just as impish as hers.
Love is in the air, and it’s catching.
“Well, dears, here’s to a great and final Divine Debauchery.” Evelyn raises her wine glass and waits for us to cheer back, but Dani and I falter, caught off guard.
“Final?” Dani isn’t ready to believe it.
Evelyn sips her wine and sets the glass beside a plate piled with BBQ chicken, herbed salad, and roasted yams. Golden hour drenches the patio in warm, magical light and the emerald-hued lake shimmers in the heat waves.
“I took a time out while you two were gone,” she says. “Some good old-fashioned soul-searching. With all the commotion, it felt like the apocalypse was no longer avoidable.”
“But this event is legendary!” Dani’s voice flies to a heavenly register. “It’syou!”
Evelyn smiles fondly at her. “All legends eventually retire. Or get put out to pasture.”
I voice my surprise, just as astonished as Dani. “You’re not giving up Nero Vino, are you?”
“Not yet,” Evelyn assures us. “I have a few more good years in me.”
“But?” Dani asks. Because it’s there, waiting for us.
“Not abut,” Evelyn hedges. “More like an acknowledgment. That living and dying inside my comfort zone lacks verve. A change of the guard can do wonders. And Tomas, irritating shit that he is, does know the land and the business inside and out. And before you lose your cool,” she says to Dani, who is on the verge of doing just that. “He and I had a sit-down after the dust settled. A tête à tête, as they say in France. Heisfamily, after all. The only family I have left. If my poor Hugo hadn’t been run over by that tractor, we might have patched things up sooner.”
Dani pauses, a forkful of salad hovering on her lips. “Is that how Hugo died?”
“I know, tragic. But, yes. Anyway, Tomas and I have decided not only to be civil but work out an arrangement where he can eventually take over.”
