Page 45 of Twin Babies For The Grump

“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you more about something anyway,” I say, ushering him out of the house. I briefly pause at the top of my front steps, glancing to the side and watching the last of the winery workers leave. The sky is dark above us, but the fairy lights allow for a clear view.

I can’t spot Tess, which is a shame, but one of my dogs is stretched out beneath a stone bench. I’m sure the other is nearby, preparing for another mischief.

Chuckling, I follow Beau out to his car; it’s a large SUV, fit for the dogs to be carried around in, or several cases of wine, or whatever else Beau might need to transport.

I climb into the passenger seat and wait for Beau to get in upfront. “Alright. You wanted to ask me something.”

“You said marriage,” I tell him, rolling down the window and throwing my arm out the side.

Beau glances at me from the corner of my eye. “And you want to askmeabout it?”

“You’re the one that brought it up,” I say. “Is it something that you’ve ever thought about?”

Beau pulls out onto the long, winding dirt road. His tires spin on the loose dirt as we make our way down toward his winery. “For you? No. For myself? Also no.”

“No?”

“No! I like this, the single life. No one stopping me from my travels,” says Beau. “I can leave when I need to, or when I want to. And you, my friend, have never struck me as the marriage type! But you did not strike me as the type who would come back home, the type who would have a family. If it is something that you wish to do, you should do it. What is stopping you?”

That’s a very good question.

Whatisstopping me? All of the cards have been dealt, and it looks like I have a winning hand. And fate put me here for a reason, so I suppose that it’s about time I start listening. And it’s not just that I think it’s fate. I want this kind of life.

“I think you’re right, Beau,” I tell him. “There isn’tanythingstopping me.” Confidence swells inside of me. “I think that I might ask Tess to marry me.”

“Good for you,” says Beau, with a grin. “Owen Bale, starting a family!”

Chapter Twenty

Tess

“Tess,”saysOwen,assoon as I step into the winery the next day. “I want to speak with you for a moment.”

“Okay?” I question, moving toward him. He’s in the main break room, with Macy sitting at the table behind him, a breakfast of chicken salad and cranberries spread out in front of her on the table. “What’s going on?”

“Read this,” says Owen, giving me a piece of paper that he’s printed off.

My eyes scan it, taking in the lines of neatly printed lettering. It's straight and to the point, an announcement that there will be a new, official, manager of the winery.

And it’s going to be me.

Wide-eyed, I look back up at him. “Are you kidding?”

“I’m not kidding,” says Owen, with a laugh. “I wanted you to read it first. Make sure that you felt up to taking it on long-term.”

“Of course, I do,” I tell him, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

“I thought so. You’ve been the acting manager for a while now, and I’ve seen how everyone here respects you. I want you to take on the role long-term,” says Owen, taking the paper back from me. He hangs it up on the announcement board of the winery break room, for everyone to see.

I step over to stand beside him, so I can read it again. It seems almost surreal. When Owen’s father took me on as his apprentice a year ago, I thought that that was going to change my life. And it has, just not in any of the ways that I would have expected.

My pinky finger extends. I’m standing close enough to Owen that it brushes over the side of his hand. He gives me a smile, amused, and then heads out of the room.

“I can’t believe it,” I say, with an awed shake of my head.

Macy snorts. “Yeah, I can’t either.” She stands up, tossing her half-finished salad into the trash bin, and then heading past me. “What a big surprise.”

The sarcasm is dripping from her words. I don’t understand why Macy is acting like this, but I’m not about to stoop to her level. I let the other woman leave the break room without commenting on it, and then I get back to my actual work, starting the day as the official manager of Delia Winery.

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