Page 144 of Love Among Vines

“This is going to turn things around. I can tell,” Gerald said. “She would have loved it.”

“Thanks, Dad. I better go mingle.”

A string quartet in the corner started playing. The crowd descended on him, but the only person he wanted to see was Jade. Her glass was empty, and she was still laughing with the stranger, who appeared to be squatting and miming something. He was incredibly muscular with a neck the width of a tree. Who the hell was he, and why was he talking to Jade?

Jade glanced at him and excitedly waved. “Rett, come here. I want you to meet someone.”

He crossed to them cautiously and shook the stranger’s hand a little more firmly than was necessary.

“Rett, this is Lindon. He’s a CrossFit friend of mine from the city. And he’s also a food and wine critic for theNew York Times.”

Rett’s head jerked back like he had whiplash. How had she pulled that off?

“Pleasure to meet you,” Lindon said.

“I am so honored to have you here,” Rett said. “Thanks for making the trip.”

“Honestly? It was worth it. This is your first attempt at sparkling wine?”

“After a lot of painstaking research, yes.”

“I would love to do a feature on the winery if you’d be open to it. And maybe take a half-case home if you have a spare.”

Jade was grinning behind Lindon’s back. She opened her eyes wide and stared at him. Right, he should respond.

“That would be amazing. Thank you.”

Having a feature in theTimeswould be huge. Life-changing.

“Why don’t I leave you guys to talk? I see a crab puff that is calling my?—”

At that moment, Chris stepped to the front of the room and clinked his fork against his glass. The room fell silent.

Of course he couldn’t let the evening pass without making it about him.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Chris said, “I just wanted to say I’m so happy to see you all here tonight. My brother has done such an incredible job carrying on the Rhodes family legacy. I would be remiss if I didn’t do what I could to carry on the legacy in my own way.”

He turned to Alexa, who was simpering nearby. With his eyes on her, he slowly came down to one knee.

A gasp raced through the crowd. Shock radiated straight to Rett’s core. Heat flared in his face. Chris was going to propose to Alexa at his party? On the night of his triumph? Absolutely not.

Jade had gone rigid beside him, and her hands were curled into fists.

“Alexa Marie Dumont,” Chris began. He fished a square box out of his pocket and clutched it in his hands.

Tears sprung in Alexa’s eyes.

“I’ve been waiting to do this for two years. I’ve known from the moment we met that you were the girl I was going to marry someday.”

Oh, the moment they met as in that time Rett had brought her home for Christmas? Fucking typical.

“Your laugh is contagious. Your heart is so beautiful, so pure. I love you endlessly. Would you do me the great honor of being my wife?” He cracked the box open, and Alexa gasped. It must have been a big one. Maybe that was the real source of this round of money troubles.

“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you.” She burst into tears, and he slid the ring onto her finger. It flashed under the overhead lights.

Applause broke out. Rett’s parents converged on the couple, clapping Chris on the back.

The shock receded, and in its place rage boiled hot and overwhelming.

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