Page 24 of Love You Truly

“It’s not about funds. It’s about scarcity of resources.”

“Land,” I confirm.

Archer nods. “Look at this map and you’ll see that all the available land where we can either grow grapes or buy them is accounted for. None of it’s for sale and only the smallest growers have fruit we can buy.”

“Can’t we just cobble together a handful of small players until we have what we need?” Jax asks. Seems logical enough.

Archer takes a long sip of coffee. “You really want to juggle the finances on thirty small batch vineyards?”

“Thirty?” Jax swallows hard and grimaces.

“And we need to stay within our appellation so we can keep selling the same product at the same standards.”

“Maybe it’s time to branch out. Maybe we get into a different appellation and market it like a special edition. Peej can make a big push in that direction with the media. We make it a good thing instead of a bad one.” Beatrix always makes her ideas sound so logical and convincing that I’m ready to take out a pen and sign on the dotted line.

It falls to my more persnickety brothers to come up with all the reasons she’s wrong. And they always do.

“If we go outside to other regions, the soil is different, the microclimates are different. It’s not just about producing a special edition wine. It’s about knowing what we’re doing. I’m just getting my brain around the wine making here. I can’t add another appellation to my plate, or my brain’ll explode.”

He’s taken on the lion’s share of responsibilities since the five of us took over all the day-to-day running of the business from our father. His Alzheimer’s made it impossible for him to stay at the helm, and I’m grateful Archer jumped in with both feet.

“Is there an option three?” I ask.

Archer points at a few blank areas on the map. “Here and here. This is the land that could work if we can work out a deal with the owners somehow.”

I feel a pit in my stomach when my brain catches up, and I realize that one of the properties on the map is owned by the Rutherford family. Mallory’s parents are a couple of the original San Francisco natives who moved to the area and turned a small farm into an enormous one, but they’re notoriously against growing grapes on their acres of land. And they’ve turned down multimillion dollar offers to sell.

“So we’re trying to get into business with the Rutherfords?” Beatrix asks, turning her attention to me. “Hey, did you ever end up going out with Mallory?” Beatrix asks, tapping a pencil against the map right in the spot where the Rutherford property lies. I had the poor judgment to mention it to my siblings that Mallory texted to ask me out a couple weeks back, and now they’ll never forget it.

“No, not yet.” I feign disinterest as my stomach roils with discomfort. I could tell her about my upcoming date with Mallory, but I don’t want to. I’m not sure how I feel about the scrutiny when I’m fighting to keep her from taking over my every waking thought. It makes no sense after the little time I’ve spent with her, but she’s under my skin.

“Well, maybe you should,” PJ suggests. When I meet her eyes, I find her studying me with a serious expression.

Jax smirks and takes a slug from his coffee cup.

I fidget with my cup, which I’ve already drained, wishing I had something to distract everyone from their sudden fixation on me.

“You’re suggesting I take her to dinner and try to convince her to sell us some land?”

“Doesn’t just have to be talk.” Jax winks.

“Doubt he wants your sloppy seconds,” Archer says. A jolt of anger pierces my chest. I know it’s just locker room banter, and they probably expect me to join in, but I can’t.

“I’ll meet with her and see where her thoughts are.” I shrug and lean toward the middle of the table to refill my coffee. This doesn’t have to be a big deal. I can float the question over dinner and report back that she’s not interested in selling. No reason to make an issue out of it or let them know I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the woman since I kissed her.

“Who owns this land?” I point at the other large space.

“It’s parkland. Getting the government to sign off on commercial use might actually be easier than getting the Rutherfords to agree to sell, but first things first.”

I nod. First things first.

And the first on my list is deciding what restaurant to go to with Mallory.

CHAPTER 10

Mallory

“Who does this?”

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