Page 70 of Drunk on Love

“Hi, Luke,” she said.

“Hi, Luke,” Elliot said. “Come on in. What’s up?”

Luke took a deep breath.

“I’m really sorry to do this to you two,” he said. “But I have to resign.”

He looked at Margot and saw a brief flash of something in her eyes. He didn’t know if it was shock or sorrow or anger or happiness. God, he wanted to know. He turned to Elliot so he wouldn’t betray himself.

“I wouldn’t do this for any other reason,” he continued. “ButI have to help my mom out; she got in a car accident last night—she’s fine, but she has a broken wrist and some sprained ribs, and she can’t work for the next month or so. Her front-desk staff at the inn is pretty new, so I said I’d help her out, but I’m really sorry to—”

Elliot cut in.

“Of course you have to help your mom,” he said.

“Yes,” Margot said. “Of course you have to help your mom.”

She said it casually, with a smile on her face, but it wasn’t that friendly smile she’d given him when he’d walked in the door. It was her boss-to-employee smile.

“We’ll miss you around here, but the rest of us can pick up the slack in the tasting room,” she said.

“If we get desperate, I can help out,” Elliot said.

Luke and Margot both burst out laughing.

“No offense, Elliot,” Margot said, “but that’s a terrible idea.”

“Do you see what I have to put up with here?” Elliot asked Luke.

Luke grinned.

“The thing is... she’s right.”

Elliot sighed. “Yes, of course she is.”

Margot turned to Elliot, a look of sheer glee on her face that almost made Luke laugh out loud again.

“Did he really just say that?” she said out loud.

Elliot either didn’t hear that or heard it and ignored it. He walked over to Luke, his hand out, and Luke shook it.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Elliot said.

Margot nodded at him, but didn’t come over to shake his hand.

“It’s been a pleasure having you at Noble,” she said. She said it in such a formal way, like she’d say it to anyone.

Luke nodded at both of them.

“It’s been a pleasure being here. I’ve really learned a lot from this place.” He turned to the door and winced. “I have to go tell Taylor now, don’t I? She’s going to kill me.”

Margot and Elliot both laughed as Luke walked out toward the tasting room.

Later that evening, after a long day at the inn, getting up to speed on everything and fielding what felt like dozens of phone calls from his mom, he got in the car to drive home. And he could think about only one thing.

Margot wasn’t his boss anymore.

Was she thinking about that? Would she care about this as much as he did?

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