Page 33 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RETT

The last of the chairs hit the hardwood floor with a thunk .

Now he remembered why he had never scheduled another paint and sip.

The setup and teardown was a giant pain in the ass.

Hours that should be spent going over things for the party the following weekend were instead spent lugging dusty easels out of the barn and all the way to the tasting room. But it would be worth it to help Jade.

Across the room, Jade was securing canvases on the easels he had just set up. Elaine said something to her, and she laughed. She wore a rust-colored sweater and jeans that she had spent a full ten minutes de-furring upon arrival.

She didn’t look any worse for wear after the news broke about Nate. She wouldn’t get involved with him now that he was single again, would she? The very thought raised his hackles.

There had been a moment—nothing but a moment—after Alexa had dumped him when he’d contemplated rekindling things. It had been their first Christmas broken up, and everyone had gathered at a rented house in Aspen for the holiday.

Their hands had closed over the punch ladle at the same time. A look had passed between them. Something had felt unfinished. Alexa, who had been several cups of punch deep, had looked at him with clear meaning in her eyes and walked purposefully into the empty basement.

He had walked over as if in a dream and had one hand on the knob before snapping out of it. Maybe his brother was a cheater. But he wasn’t. He had almost let the call of the familiar compromise everything he believed in.

But Jade wasn’t weak. She hadn’t even given up on her dream despite overwhelming evidence that she needed to move on.

Her question from earlier drifted to the front of his periphery. What was his dream?

Ever since his grandmother died, he had been laser-focused on the success of the winery. He had given everything he had to this place, and still they were just treading water. Did he even deserve a dream when he couldn’t succeed with a business someone had hand-delivered to him?

That wasn’t to say that the winery wasn’t a dream itself. There was such beauty in the claret color of a fresh batch, a sense of pride from watching people enjoy the literal fruits of his labor. Every day had something amazing in it.

The tray of pastries on the far wall caught his eye. He had stayed up for hours the night before, perfecting each gold-dusted macaron. There was something deeply pleasurable about fiddling with a recipe until he got it exactly right. Baking was a lot like winemaking. It was science.

But baking wasn’t a dream. The Finger Lakes were lousy with bakeries. There was no market for a new one. Besides, he couldn’t very well betray the existing patisseries in Hammondsport. Ted would never shake his hand again if he bought the business next door and started hocking croissant fraises.

“I thought I was supposed to be the one freaking out.” Jade’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“I was just thinking about my homework,” he said with a smile.

“Good. I look forward to a full report. I’ve been doing mine too. Did you know that you can make a right turn at a red light?”

“Sure. Unless you’re in the city,” he said.

She frowned. “Shit.”

“How are you feeling about tonight?” He ran a hand down her arm. A flush instantly crept into her cheeks.

“I think it’ll be fine. I practiced at home—uh, at Margie’s.” She showed him a picture of a canvas with pumpkins beneath fall leaves.

“It looks great. You can do this.”

She gave him a flat smile like she didn’t really believe him.

“Do you want a glass before everyone gets here?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said immediately.

As soon as he poured her a glass, the front door opened and in walked the book club. He barely had a second to enjoy the way Jade’s eyes closed at her first sip, like she was tasting with her full body.

“Ladies,” he said. “Welcome. I hope you’re ready to paint.”

Jeanette wandered up and squinted at the bottles of wine on display. Mildred swiveled until she found Jade, then she whispered something to Ethel. As suspected, they were here primarily to spy.

Rett poured Jeanette a glass of semi-dry Riesling while Ethel and Mildred approached Jade. Ethel handed something off to Jade, but he couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. Probably interrogating her. It wouldn’t be the first time they had meddled in his love life—or lack of one.

More people trickled in until all twenty seats were filled. When everyone’s glass was full, Rett strode to the front of the room. Jade’s shoulders shook. He stood beside her and put one arm around her.

The book club straightened up and leaned forward.

“Thank you all for coming tonight.” He glanced around the room. There were a handful of unfamiliar faces, but most of the attendees were townspeople and local business owners. An old friend who carried his wines at their charming string of bed-and-breakfasts in Seneca winked at him.

Hmm. That would be a good opportunity for Jade to practice networking. He filed the idea in the back of his mind and continued.

“For those of you who haven’t met her yet, this is Jade. She’s a remarkably accomplished young artist from Manhattan, and she also has amazing taste in wine.”

A couple people laughed.

“Let’s make her feel welcome.” He clapped and applause broke out.

Ethel put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Her dentures shot out and bounced off the canvas.

“Take it away,” he whispered in Jade’s ear. With one last squeeze of her arm, he left her to sink or swim.

And swim she did. Beautifully. Though her movements had been halting and unsure when she first stood in front of the group, within minutes, she’d settled into her role as teacher and the paintbrush moved like it was a part of her.

Every swipe of color brought her closer to her dream of returning to the art world.

It was exactly what they both wanted. So why did the thought of her returning to the city churn his stomach?

An hour later, Jade put down her brush. “And there you have it—a fall pumpkin patch. Thank you all so much for coming tonight. Don’t forget to leave a review for Rhodes Vineyard on Yelp before you leave.”

Rett tilted his head. A prickle of irritation flared. Why the hell was she pushing Yelp reviews? That wasn’t one of his core goals this quarter. In fact, he barely ever checked the winery’s online reputation. Word of mouth was a much more powerful tool.

“Any questions?” Jade asked.

Jeanette’s hand shot into the air, and Jade hopped down from her stool to help her. A couple people came over for a refill while their canvases dried. When everyone seemed satisfied, he ducked out from behind the counter and strode over to Jade.

“It’s time to practice your networking skills,” he said with a hand on her arm.

“What?” she asked.

“Firm handshake, look him in the eyes, ask about his bed-and-breakfast business.”

“But—”

He steered her in front of his friend. “Vince! It’s been awhile. This is Jade.”

“So nice to meet you.” She extended a hand to Vince and shook it firmly. Good girl.

“Rett said you’re in the hospitality industry,” she continued. “It must be a busy time of year for you.”

Someone rang the bell at the counter, and Rett turned toward it. As he bagged up a few bottles for a customer, he caught a glimpse of Jade pointing at something on Vince’s painting. It seemed to be going well. Maybe she didn’t need as much help as he thought.

Eventually, people took their canvases and began to trickle out.

“Bye, Rett. Let’s do this once a month,” Mildred called on her way out. “I want to paint a library next time.”

He smiled, but he didn’t really feel it. There wouldn’t be a next time.

He busied himself by packing up the easels and dragging them across the vineyard five at a time. When he came back from his final trip, Jade lifted her head.

“I did it,” she said.

“I knew you could. You didn’t tell me you have a natural talent for schmoozing.”

“How do you think I got into my gallery when I was twenty years old?” she asked. “I’m not entirely hopeless. Just mostly hopeless.”

“Not hopeless,” he said sternly. “By the way, why were you asking people to leave Yelp reviews?”

“Have you not looked at the reviews of the winery online?”

He shook his head. The winery was critically acclaimed by some of the finest sommeliers in the world. What did he care what some people with too much time and internet access had to say?

She typed something on her phone. “I was asking for reviews to counteract all the bad ones. I don’t know what happened two Februaries ago, but people were pissed . You might not want to see these.”

He held his hand out, and she gave him the phone. There were a handful of one-star reviews, all left in the same couple of days. A few people criticized the wine while others complained about the “surly and unprofessional vintner.”

The date jumped out—February 17 th . The week after his grandmother had passed, and his first week in charge of the winery. Flames of anger kindled.

“These really dragged down your average,” Jade said. “You’re at three point five stars. When I’m looking for someplace new to go, I avoid anything that’s less than four stars,” she explained. “I think this is part of the winery’s problem. Do you have any idea what happened?”

Who the hell was comfortable criticizing a grieving man? Let alone on the internet for everyone to see? No wonder the winery was suffering. Was he supposed to sling chardonnay with a smile when they had just buried the matriarch of his family?

He huffed a frustrated sigh. “My grandmother died the week before.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip and tucked her phone away. “Well, if we can incentivize people to leave reviews after their tastings, I really think we could drive your average back up. Maybe if you offered a ten percent discount with proof of a review?”

“I don’t need advice on how to run my business,” he snapped before he could stop himself.

She shrunk back like he had shouted at her. Regret hit him instantly, but before he could take a breath to apologize, she waved a hand in the air like it wasn’t a big deal.

“You’re right. It’s not my place. Well. All the supplies are packed up,” she reported. “Any chance you want to hang out? You can quiz me on street signs or talk to me about dividends.”

Rett hesitated, a yes on his lips.

There was a final portion of his unspoken dream, one he had given up on when Alexa left. A wife, a family, someone to share this life with. He had pushed it to the back of his mind for years now. But something about Jade had brought it back to the forefront.

It still didn’t matter though. All of this was temporary. And if he couldn’t pull the winery out of its flatline, how could he support a family? If he didn’t find a way to boost sales, his grandmother’s legacy would be tarnished forever and his parents—and his brother—would never let him forget it.

“I’d love to. But I have a lot of work to finish up.”

“Oh. Okay.” Her face fell for a second, then was replaced by a neutral expression. “Are we still on for tomorrow?”

“Yes. That reminds me.” He ducked behind the counter and pulled out a gift bag. He handed it to her. “Don’t open this until you get back to Margie’s.”

“Mysterious. I like it.” Her smile was back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She left before he could offer a ride home.

Tomorrow night, he would remind her what she deserved. With any luck, she would steer clear of Nates in the future.