Page 91 of Growing Into Love

“I don’t know why I chose that job.”

“It made me so angry,” Jaz says, grinning. “I kept thinking you needed someone who loves animals and the outdoors.”

“Funny how I ended up with exactly that sort of man,” I say.

The sun begins to set, streaks of vibrant pink and melted gold lighting up the evening sky. This day has been like something out of a movie—I feel as if I’m walking in someone else’s life. Surely mine can’t be this picture perfect.

And yet, as I gaze at the man sitting beside me and he smiles and squeezes my leg, I realize that it is.

This life is real, and it’s mine.

It’s almost time to head back to the Thorn and Rose for dinner so I ask Daisy where the loos are.

“Oh, I’ll show you,” she says, leading me into the lodge. There are lots of photographs on the walls, from black-and-white, to sepia-toned, to seventies vibe, to the present.

“Is this your family?” I ask.

“Yup,” Daisy says. “The whole Everton line, dating back to the 1800s.”

It reminds me so much of the photographs Virgil put up in the Inn at Oak Hill, the history of the Wright family.

“My family’s farm dates back to the 1800s too,” I tell her. “I work there but I’m about to start my own horse sanctuary on the property.”

The wine has loosened my tongue, and Jaz’s commitment is making me giddy. I want to be friends with everyone I meet.

“Oh cool!” Daisy says. “Have you been to Shady Glen?”

“Isla took us over before we came here. It’s lovely.”

“It is,” Daisy agrees. Then she sighs. “So, you get it. The pressures. I mean, I love working here, and I love my family but sometimes…”

Her voice trails off. I think of how Declan boxed me in all these years, of how Virgil was estranged for so long, how no one ever talks about Mum.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Sometimes it feels like nobody wants you to change.”

“Exactly,” she says.

The most recent family picture features Daisy and what can only be her parents and siblings. I see similar features though she’s the only blonde besides a young man with an impish expression. “Wow,” I say. “You’ve got a big family.”

“Tell me about it,” she says. “I’m the youngest of five. That’s Quinn, my oldest brother—he’s in France now, he works in private security. He hasn’t been home in years. That’s Siobhan,” she points to a stunning auburn-haired woman with a cutting smile. “She’s a lawyer, lives in the city. And those are my twin brothers, Alistair and Finn.” She points to the impish man and the rather solemn looking bloke beside him.

“Do you all get along?” I ask.

“For the most part.”

I chuckle. “It’s the same in my family too.”

She grins.

There’s a very pretty woman who looks a lot like Daisy but with vibrant red hair. I assume it’s her mother. “Does your mum work at the winery as well?”

Daisy’s face falls and I know instantly I’ve said something wrong.

“She died,” she says quietly.

“Oh god,” I say. “Daisy, I’m so sorry. I’ve put my foot in it.”

“It’s okay,” Daisy says. “It was five years ago. Just…I miss her still. I miss her a lot.”

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