Page 4 of Love Among Vines

Rett glowered. He already knew what was coming.

“Your father and I met the loveliest girl last week. You remember my director?”

“I do,” he said.

“It’s his daughter. She’s funny and smart and in school for film. I think you’d really hit it off.”

He bit back a deep sigh. Was this the sixth or seventh time that his parents had tried to fix him up after the breakup? There was no time for romance. If he took his hands off the wheel atthe winery for even a minute, everything would come crashing down.

“She sounds great, but I think her presence would make the woman I’m seeing feel awkward.”

The lie was out before he even had time to process it.Shit. Now he was going to have to make up a lie for why this imaginary person wasn’t at the party. Unless he could hire someone?

“You’re seeing someone?” The delight in Teresa’s voice was so visceral it was like he had announced he was running for President of the United States. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure she’ll be there, though. She’s pretty busy.”

“I see.” She didn’t sound convinced.

He racked his brain. Who around town would have a friend or niece that his parents hadn’t met? Surely there was someone he could ask to the party. Anything was better than making some poor woman fly five thousand miles only to be disappointed.

Gravel crunched in the driveway. He glanced out the window. Elaine and Todd, married wine enthusiasts who had been at Rhodes even longer than he had, turned into the lot.

“Oh, look at that,” Rett said. “Speak of the devil. She showed up with coffee. I’d better go. I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”

“Enjoy your coffee date,” she teased.

“Thanks. Love you.”

He hung up the phone before he could dig his hole any deeper. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He didn’t have time to hunt down a fake girlfriend.

“Morning,” he said when Elaine and Todd opened the door.

“Morning. Let me get that, boss,” she said with a smile.

“I’m almost done.” Rett shelved another bottle.

Todd shook his head. “Did you even leave last night? Or did you sleep in the back room?”

“Very funny.” Rett smirked. “Not only did I leave, but I had time to grab dinner from the Tavern before they closed.”

“They close at ten,” Todd said flatly. His collared shirt was a little wrinkled, but Rett wasn’t going to say anything.

“I’m telling you, if you don’t slow down, you’re going to have a heart attack by thirty-five,” Elaine said. She took a bottle from Rett’s hand and shooed him away.

“You say that like I have a choice,” he said.

“You’re the boss. No one is making you work twelve-hour days, seven days a week. Why don’t you take a day off? A week, even?” She slid the case away from him before he could protest. “You know we could handle things.”

He turned his attention to another row. One by one he rotated the labels. Now he was being heckled by his employees. Why was it that no one seemed to grasp the enormity of the situation?

Probably because he hadn’t told them exactly how troublesome things had become. If sales didn’t improve by the end of the year, he was going to have some difficult decisions to make.

But that wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t.

“I’m headed to the barn,” he said without answering her question. “Give me a call if anything comes up.”

“What’s going to come up? We’re not even open for another hour,” Elaine called as the door closed behind him.

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