Page 12 of The Wedding Toast (The Hamiltons #10)

“I’m not kidding,” said Slade. “There are a lot of good wines around here, but House of St. James?” He shrugged. “Nothing else can compare, can it? It’s old school class – the gold standard – nothing new can match it.”

Reaves’ shoulders relaxed at that. “I need to remember that.” He chuckled. “And as a thank you, I’ll drop you a bottle off next time I’m here.”

“That’d be great,” said Slade. “And it’ll earn you some brownie points with Willow, too.”

Reaves gave him a puzzled smile. “Are you just blowing smoke, or are you seriously trying to tell me that Jacob – who runs Jacobs Estate – and Willow, the COO of DuPont Wineries, two of the biggest labels in the country, would be excited about a bottle from my dad?”

Slade nodded solemnly. “You know I’m not much of a wine guy, but even I know that much. It’s like I said: House of St. James is the gold standard. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I promise I’m not bullshitting you.” He frowned. “Do you seriously not know that?”

Reaves shook his head slowly. “No. But I should probably get it through my thick skull, shouldn’t I?”

“Probably,” Slade agreed.

He looked up, and Reaves checked the rearview mirror. When he saw a delivery truck pulling up behind him, he said, “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Okay, I’ll catch you later,” said Slade. “And I’m going to hold you to that offer of a bottle.”

“Sure,” said Reaves. In his mind, he was making a note to see if he could manage to bring Slade and Willow a case of their own.

When he pulled up behind the house, Reaves was disappointed to see neither of the Range Rovers was here.

He could leave the case of wine at the house, that wasn’t a problem – it’d be good to see Elena – but he’d been hoping to see Jacob.

After what Slade had said, Reaves was curious to see how he’d react to the gift.

He was starting to wonder if he himself was the only one who saw it as humoring his dad.

He was starting to feel a little guilty about it as he carried the case up the steps. He grinned when the door opened, and Elena appeared.

“I thought that was you. Come on in,” she greeted him with a smile. “I don’t need to ask what you’re doing here.” She nodded toward the box. “A special delivery from your dad, no?”

“That’s right,” Reaves said as he followed her into the kitchen and set the case down on the counter. “Where do you want it?”

“You can leave it right there for now,” said Elena. “Jacob won’t want it getting mixed up with anything else.” Her eyes widened. “In fact, we might want to put it straight in his study. It would be too terrible if the caterers got their hands on it.”

Reaves’s heart sank. Did she mean that it’d be terrible if his dad’s wine were served to the wedding guests?

She laughed when she saw his expression. “Jacob hasn’t spared any expense on the catering. But with your dad’s wine, it’s not just the price but the quantity that’s at a premium.”

Reaves gave her a puzzled look, and she looked a little embarrassed.

“Listen to me, sounding as though I know what I’m talking about, using big words like that.

I must have been around these guys too long.

But House of St. James is boutique, no? Everyone loves the wine, but there are only so many bottles every year. ”

Reaves relaxed a little. “That’s true.” He glanced over at the case again. “And Dad did want Jacob to have the 2016.”

Elena grinned. “I can’t claim to know which years are better than the others. All I know is that the few times I’ve tasted it, it’s wonderful – tastes like heaven in a glass.”

She looked around the kitchen as if suddenly concerned that someone might overhear, then winked at Reaves as she added, “Of course, I love all the Jacobs Estate wines too.”

Reaves laughed, but before he could answer, Becca’s mom, Darlene, came into the kitchen looking harried.

“Sorry to interrupt. Is there any chance that you could go and keep an eye on the little girl for a while, Elena? Chuck just called me, and he wants me to come over to the greenhouse. I won’t be long, but I don’t like to leave Zia by herself.”

Elena frowned and glanced over at the timer on the oven. “I really can’t right now. I need to be here when those are ready to come out.”

“That’s okay, I’ll figure something out,” said Darlene. “I thought you’d be busy, but I had to try. I was going to take the girl with me, but she’s so happy playing where she is.”

“Do you mean Ava?” Reaves asked.

“No,” said Elena. “Zia is the daughter of the girl who’s building the arch.”

Reaves just stared. That sentence probably made sense if you knew the context, but he didn’t…

Darlene gave him a sly smile. “You’re not flying this afternoon, are you?”

He took a step back, suddenly feeling wary.

“I know you’re not, because your friend Ollie’s gone to pick Callie up. So…”

Elena came to stand behind her and chuckled. “You’re not busy, are you, Reaves? It won’t be for long, and Zia is such a sweetheart.”

Reaves narrowed his eyes at them. He had told Jacob several times that if there was anything at all he could do to help in the build-up to the wedding, then he was more than happy to – but he hadn’t expected his services to be needed for babysitting.

“Follow me,” said Darlene in a tone that brooked no argument.

Elena winked at him. “You’ll be fine. And when you come back… I’ll feed you cookies.”

Darlene laughed. “You should make the deal that he only gets cookies if he tells you what that little girl names him.”

Elena’s laughter rang in his ears as Reaves followed Darlene back down the steps.

“What do you mean about naming me?” he asked, not entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer.

“I’d explain, but I need to get going before Chuck gets impatient. You’ll find out for yourself soon enough, I’m sure.”

She pointed. “Her name’s Zia. You’ll find her over there, playing under the trees. Her mom is Alara, and she’s by the garage building the arch.”

Reaves didn’t know what to make of that.

“Good luck, I’ll see you later,” Darlene said before she turned and hurried toward the greenhouse.

Reaves looked around as he walked down the path that led to the big garage out back.

He was hoping that someone might spot him – might offer to take over babysitting duties for this little girl.

He wasn’t any good with kids, didn’t have any experience with them.

He liked Ava, but she was the only one he knew.

He straightened his shoulders when the sound of laughter reached him, seeming to come from the trees that lined the path. He still couldn’t see the girl, but he knew by the sound that she was somewhere close by.