Page 23 of Cayden

He had been pleased that she was taking an interest and made an effort to teach her.

She knew about the five steps before she even heard it from him. The first step being the harvesting, when the grapes are picked from the vines. Then comes the crushing and pressing to extract the juice from the grapes. The fermentation stage when the yeast converts sugar into alcohol.

The clarification and aging and bottling. She had sat around the dinner table where the entire topic was wine and the making of it. She had caught up with the process and heard enough times that some grapes had been picked less ripe to produce wines with higher acidity. She had listened and made notes, much to her husband’s amusement.

Before she met him, she and her dad had enjoyed a glass of wine bought from the liquor store a few blocks from their home. It never occurred to her to wonder about the arduous process from vines to bottle made ready for consumption.

She had become fascinated enough to do her own research and had been pleased when her husband noticed her knowledge on the subject.

Wine was consumed at every meal and below, there was a vast cooling room with thousands of bottles of rare vintages. She attended auctions and wine tastings, traveling to several places with him while he attended to business.

Putting away the paintbrush, she pushed to her feet and went to get the tray. She had a life or two growing inside her and even if she was not in the mood to eat, she had to. Things were different now.

*****

“Gilchrist seems to be having a hell of a time.”

Cayden’s eyes narrowed as his brother lowered himself into the chair next to him. “What are you doing here?”

Signaling for the wait staff, Clive ordered a glass of blended scotch.

“The same as you.” He nodded towards the group of men having an avid discussion over glasses of the light table wine that was now a household name. “I had finished with my meeting early and decided to tag along.”

Accepting the drink with a murmur of thanks, he lifted his glass in a toast before taking a sip.

“I am perfectly capable of pulling this off on my own.”

Clive nodded equably, ignoring his brother’s querulous tone. “We all know how adept you are at solving problems.” He took another sip and decided to dip his feet in. “Except where your marriage is concerned.”

He was prepared for the reaction and was not surprised when Cayden lurched forward, his face wreathed in fury.

“Stay the hell out of my private life and away from my wife.”

Clive laughed softly and shook his head. “A little jealousy goes a long way in improving a relationship.” He held up a hand when Cayden started to move closer. “Remember that we are in a public place entertaining prospective investors. And I did see that pesky reporter from ‘Tell All, lurking around.

We would not want to give him something titillating to write about.” His face hardened fractionally. “That said, I happen to care very much for Blair, and she is terribly unhappy. I do not what the hell you had to do with it, but my instinct tells me it has something to do with you.”

Cayden clenched his fists under the table, his knuckles turning white. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax and maintain a composed facade. "Blair's happiness is none of your concern, Clive," he said through gritted teeth, "focus on your own affairs and leave us be."

Clive arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Oh, but it is my concern, dear brother," he replied smoothly. "You see, Blair and I have always been close, and I can't stand by and watch you drive her away."

The tension between the two brothers was palpable, drawing the attention of the other patrons in the room. Cayden knew Clive was right about one thing - this was neither the time nor the place for a confrontation. He took another deep breath, trying to calm the storm brewing within him.

"Let's get through this evening without any more drama," Cayden said, his voice low and controlled. "We can talk about this later, in private."

Clive nodded, appearing satisfied for the moment. "Agreed. But remember, Cayden, I will be watching. And I will always have Blair's best interests at heart."

As the evening wore on, Cayden struggled to focus on the discussions at hand, his mind constantly drifting back to Blair and the strained state of their marriage. He knew that Clive's words, though infuriating, held a grain of truth. He needed to find a way to mend the rift between them before it was too late.

He brooded through most of the evening. He had not called her, not wanting to be distracted by their problems. Caruso Vintage was breaking into the mainstream vintage, Table wines, the superb quality minus the exorbitant cost.

Bottles that could be purchased at a local liquor store or be seen in the local supermarkets. And it was his brainstorm, something he was working on along with a team he had handpicked.

His family was well established, had been for more than a hundred years and he wanted something that had his name attached to it. He told himself that it was not because of ego or maybe it was. But he had confessed to Blair that he did not want the position handed to him just because. He wanted to make his own contribution.

Before he met her, none of that mattered. When he started going out with her, the overwhelming love, the raw passion, the need to be with her had planted something deep inside him. he no longer wanted to be the idle rich.

Yes, he went to the office and applied himself because he had been brought up in the wine business and before he could even ride a bike, he had been taught the basics. Wine was in his blood and that was the case for all of them. They could not escape it, even if they had a desire to do so.

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