Page 50 of Bordeaux Bombshell
He laughs. “No, no. I don’t know if you know this. She and Lauren are huge readers—romance readers, to be exact. Sophie is a writer herself, although she’s never finished a full book. She often reads for her author friends, though. She was dreaming up ways she could help indie authors with things like editing and covers—” He stops and shakes his head. “We’ve been married for half a decade, and she still won’t spend our money on herself, but she is happy to spend it on others. Anyway, I think if she didn’t feel responsible for Sunshine, I could convince her to go for it. Maybe start a small press.”
There’s a funny kind of lightness building inside me. I’m not sure what to call it. It’s an emotion I don’t know if I’ve ever truly felt before. It might be…trust?
And with it comes the need to put all my cards on the table for Theo to see. I desperately want what I think he’s offering, but I need him to understand the full picture of what it would mean to me.
I swallow hard. “I don’t know how familiar you are with the dynamic in my family over the last few years, sir. But you could say it’s been tense. When I first went to France, it was only supposed to be temporary. Two or three years to gain the kind of experience that just doesn’t exist in America. I always intended to come back and take over the Ridge—uh, Sunshine—from my dad one day.”
“And when I bought it for Sophie, I took that away from you, didn’t I?” Theo finishes for me.
I wince. “I left again the night my dad told us about the sale. I was so angry that I swore I was never coming back. But then when my dad had his accident, I had to.”
“Sophie was so worried when you came storming back.” Sutton rubs a hand down his face to pull at his chin. “We all were, to be honest. We had a good relationship with Kel and your parents, even though I felt guilty for chasing you off.”
I interrupt him with a laugh. “You didn’t chase me off. As Sydney likes to remind me, I ran away like an angry toddler.”
He quirks an eyebrow at the mention of Sydney but doesn’t mention her when he speaks again. “I hope you know I never intended any harm. I’m sorry for the role I played in creating that dynamic.”
There’s an ache inside me that eases at his words. An ache that’s been so persistent over the last few years, I forgot it wasn’t normal. Until now. It’s like my lungs are suddenly two inches deeper, and I can draw a full breath again. There’s a suspicious tightness in my throat and a wave of heat behind my eyes.
I try to speak, but nothing comes out apart from a weird raspy noise, which makes me cough. It’s the coughing that causes a couple of tears to leak out of my eyes, I swear.
Theo pushes back from the desk, looking around his office for something while I struggle to get myself under control after the unexpected wave of emotion.
“Where is the damn tissue box?” His growled question breaks through my haze, then a box is thrust underneath my face. “Here.”
I snag a couple, then proceed to blow my nose and wipe at my face.
He takes his seat again, leaving the box of tissues on the desk between us. “I’m, uh, sorry. Jesus, I’m never going to hear the end of this from Sophie. Or Lauren. I swear I didn’t intend to upset you.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I manage a chuckle. “Good thing they’re not here to see. I won’t tell a soul.”
“Thankfully, Lauren is headed to Boston with Alfie at the moment. She’s always the one you should be most scared of.”
Boston. The name makes me wish Sydney were here. I haven’t stopped wanting her to be here since she left last week, but I’ve been doing my best to respect her wishes and leave her alone. I miss her desperately, though, and right now, all I want to do is call her and tell her about the bombshell Theo just dropped on me.
Instead, I clear my throat and shove the damp tissues into my pocket. “Sorry about that. I don’t think I knew how much I needed to hear that until now.”
“Hear what, exactly?”
Pausing, I blow my nose again. “That the legacy I’d been expecting was taken from me.” I go on in a rush, not wanting Sutton to think I’m accusing him now. “I mean, I get it. I’d do anything for the girl I love too. I just didn’t know how much I needed that acknowledgment. It’s been making me feel like I’m overreacting all this time.”
“I think I owe you an apology. It was never my intention to rob you of the opportunity to run the vineyard.” He’s so sincere it strips me of the last bit of the anger and resentment I’ve been harboring toward him.
All of this has me feeling a little wobbly inside. But I take a deep breath and reach a hand across his desk. “Apology accepted.”
We shake, and I settle back into the soft leather chair. “If I’m being honest and not resentful, you’ve been able to invest more into the Ridge than we ever could have on our own. I’d be a fool not to see that. The cabins, the gazebo in the south field, the new bottling system and equipment. Heck, even being able to fly Manon out here after the frost. And knowing that, even though we’ll have a light harvest this year, it won’t mean having to mortgage the land or sell off some equipment to make ends meet? I’d say that’s pretty lucky.”
Sutton stands, reaching to the very back of a shelf tucked behind his desk. He pulls out a framed photo and hands it over. It’s a much, much younger Theo, wearing a too-big suit on his gangly frame, standing beside an older gentleman. He looks vaguely familiar in a wealthy, white businessman kind of way.
“My mentor, Morgan Edwards. He had a lot of flaws, hence why I don’t keep that photo out anymore, but he took a chance on me when I was way too young to understand what a gift it was.”
He shakes his head, taking the photo back to put it away. “You’ve got a better head on your shoulders than I did when he gave me the funds to make my dream come true. I think it’s time for me to pass the proverbial torch. And ifyoudecide to hire your best friend to run the company with you, at least you know he can do the job, unlike mine.”
Not my best friend—he’s so happy running his catering company with Maggie that I could never ask him to give it up. But my best friend’s sister? In a heartbeat.
“So what happens now?”
Theo sits again, clicking his mouse to wake up his computer. “Now we go through these ideas and see what’s most viable tostart. Then we email some people and get the numbers together. Maybe you should give your friend Philip a call, see if he’ll give you a second opinion.”
