Page 99 of Blush
“Are you saying you want my help?” she said, her pulse racing.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and they faced each other ina way that felt both intimate and adversarial. “I’m calling a production meeting for later in the week. I’d like for you to attend.”
Leah felt breathless. It was the first acknowledgment, in her entire life, that he took her seriously. She was finally not the little girl at his knee, but a person who had something to offer in her own right.
At least, she hoped she did.
“I’ll be there,” she said.
Vivian cut through the water with sharp, determined strokes. It was impossible to cry while swimming. In the pool, she felt almost normal; the hammering of her heart was from exertion instead of despair. She had a set course in front of her: just back and forth. Move her arms, move her legs. That was all she had to think about. That was all she had to do.
But even the rhythmic laps couldn’t quiet her mind. Leonard had slept in a guest room, and she hadn’t seen him all morning. She didn’t know what he was thinking about her; she didn’t know what he was thinking at all.
Twenty minutes in, she switched to the breast stroke. During one of her laps toward the house, through the blur of her wet goggles, she saw what she thought was Leonard approaching the pool. She felt even more buoyant; he wanted to spend time with her. He would forgive her. But as he drew closer, she realized it was not, in fact, Leonard.
It was the baron.
Furious, she swam to the shallow end, keeping herself submerged in the water from the neck down and pushing up her goggles. The baron was dressed in a button-down shirt, slacks, and loafers without socks. His phone was in one hand, a bottle of mineral water in the other.
“I want some privacy,” she said. “Please leave.”
Possibly the only upside to making her confession to Leonard was that the baron no longer had anything over her. She didn’t have to put up with his harassment.
“That’s not very hospitable of you,” he said, sitting on one of the lounge chairs.
“Fine. Then I’ll leave.”
She climbed out of the pool, rushing to grab a beach towel and cover herself. “You know what’s been bothering me all these weeks?” she said, tightening the towel into a snug wrap. “I’m looking back and wondering why on earth I was interested in you for even a minute.”
“Now, now, Vivian—nastiness isn’t becoming on you. Perhaps you need a vacation. Where would you like to go?”
“I’ll tell you whereyoucan go...” Movement at the back of the deck near the house caught her eye, and she saw Leonard making his way toward them.
The baron followed her gaze and stood.
Vivian’s pulse began to race. Leonard had seemed so weary lately, but she immediately saw the determined set of his jaw, a certain spark in his eyes.
“Leonard,” the baron said, his face pulled into a tight smile. “Don’t tell me you’re done working for the day. I’m sure those grapes need your attention.”
Leonard grabbed the baron by his collar and punched him squarely in the face. Stunned, the baron staggered, and Leonard stepped forward to shove him into the pool. Vivian instinctively jumped away from the splash of water.
She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing, but after the initial moment of shock she felt a flood of relief. Leonard might be down, but he wasn’t out. He was still a fighter.
“Are you out of your damn mind?” the baron sputtered.
“No. But you’re out of a vineyard,” Leonard said. “Get the hell off my property. Security will see you out.”
The baron climbed up one of the side ladders, shaking water out of his eyes.
“You’re ruined, Hollander,” he said. “This place is finished.”
Leonard’s response was to summon their security team, waiting forhis cue nearby. Two men took the baron by each arm. He shook one of them off, muttering something about assault charges.
When he was gone, Vivian turned to her husband.
“Fifty years together, and you can still surprise me,” she said, smiling and hoping he might find some lightness in the moment.
That he might find it in his heart to continue loving her.
