Page 107 of Tempt Me

“See you tomorrow,” she says.

She leaves and I take out my phone and call Daisy.

“I was just about to call you,” she says.

“Really?”

“Dad’s on his way home. He asked if you were here.”

My phone buzzes at that moment with a text from my father.

Meet me at the house in five.

He must be taking the helicopter back.

“Okay,” I say to Daisy. “I’ll be there soon. But first, I need to ask you for a favor…”

I arrive at the mansion with my pulse racing.

If Dad wants to meet with me, it can only be about one thing—the board met to vote on my idea.

Sure enough, when I walk into his study, he’s got my proposal spread out in front of him. He leans back in his leather chair and peers at me over steepled fingers.

“Have a seat,” he says.

I take the chair on the other side of his desk.

“I met with the board this afternoon,” Dad says.

“I figured.”

One eyebrow quirks. “We have taken a vote on this proposal of yours.”

I wait. There’s no point in rushing him. But I feel a faint ringing in my ears. I glance out the window behind him, at the rows of vines stretching toward the lodge. I feel a sudden, overwhelming protectiveness over Everton Estate. A connection to it I thought had been broken.

I realize I really, really want the board to agree with me. Not just the board. My father. I’m right, I know I’m right, and I’m not ashamed of my ideas anymore.

“Listen, Dad,” I say, leaning forward. “Alistair said himself that it’s good policyandgood publicity. I think?—”

“The board has agreed to your proposal,” Dad says, cutting me off. There’s a twitch at the corner of his mouth like he wants to smile. For a moment, I just stare at him, stunned.

“They did?” I say.

Dad nods. “On one condition.” He holds up a finger and my stomach sinks. There’s always a fucking catch with him. “You will stay on and oversee the transition. And you will take over the running of Everton Estate as we embark on this new direction.”

“Dad, I told you?—”

“I will allow you to run the estate however you think best. There will be no other conditions—no rules regarding your marital status, no constraints on what you may do with Everton.” He sighs and rubs his temple. “You were right, Caden.”

I give him another blank stare. “I’m sorry, you’re going to have to repeat that.”

“You were right, son,” he says. “I cannot run this winery myself forever. Change is the natural progression of life. I may as well accept it. Otherwise, I risk losing you again.”

Losingmeagain? I repeat his words back three times before they sink in. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard my dad sound like…a dad.

I slump back in my chair. “Who are you and what have you done with my father?”

At that, Dad does finally crack a smile. “I suppose this old dog has learned some new tricks.” Then his expression saddens. “It’s what your mother would have wanted,” he adds. “You, here. With your family. And she would have loved this idea.”

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