Page 46 of Trouble Me
When they settled into their seats and their drink order had been placed, Colin leaned back and smiled at her. “I’ve heard a lot about how you’ve taken over the operations of the Madison Ridge location.”
“Well, that is what I was hired to do.” She sipped her water and reached for a slice of bread from the silver wire basket on the table.
“Shane tells me you are turning things around, getting things done while he goes back and forth between here and California.” He shook his head and tapped a finger on the white tablecloth. “It’s tough on him, all the traveling.”
“I know your father being sick is taking a toll on him as well. He tries to hide it,”—she shrugged—“but I see it. I was in a similar position myself not long ago.” The pang in her heart still appeared when she thought about losing her parents so quickly and how she was still reeling from her own issues.
Colin raised a brow. “I figured you knew. Shane speaks highly of you.
Emma sat up straighter. “He does?”
He sipped his water and nodded. “Absolutely. You’re an integral part of the organization.” Colin gave her a pointed stare. “I know he’s left a lot on your shoulders for someone who has only been with us for a month. But Shane has trusted you with the winery from the beginning. And he doesn’t trust easily.”
Her chest expanded with pride, but it was quickly followed by a sickening feeling in her gut. Shane trusted her, and yet she hadn’t been completely honest with him, had she? Even though her reasoning for it was sound in her mind, didn’t Shane deserve to know the truth about her?
She leaned back and stared down at her hands gripped together in her lap. Raising her head, she sent Colin a smile. “I don’t blame him for not trusting easily. Trust takes a while.” Especially once it was broken. Just ask any of the family members she’d screwed over during her active addiction.
Shit, shit, shit. How was she still managing to find trouble?
“Once the rounds of treatment are over though, Shane will stop traveling so much. He's ironed out a good bit of the issues we've had at some other locations he’s juggled as well. He’ll be around more, at least for a while yet, until the renovation is over.”
When their orders arrived, they talked tourism in the area, how they could bring more local flair into the winery, and marketing strategy. Colin was definitely savvier on the administrative side of things. Shane was sharp on all fronts, but it was clear he’d spent more time in the field and knew grapes inside out. Colin’s strengths ran to dealing with things in the office.
When she mentioned it, Colin nodded and set down his fork, sipping his tea. “Shane always had a head for learning the agricultural part of the business. He’s more like how our grandfather always was. It works out well, actually.” He paused as a smile spread across his face. “But he is more like our father in other ways.”
“Oh? How so?” Emma asked, forking up lettuce. She was enjoying the insights to Shane from someone in his family. It pleased her to see that she was coming to know him. Well, it pleased her and it distracted her.
“He was ready to settle in Napa like our father. Shane was never one for jetting all over the place, like me. I love it. Always going somewhere new. But Shane? He’s more of a settle-in-for-the-long-haul type of guy.”
She frowned. “That seems a bit at odds with what he does now.”
Colin nodded. “It is. Now. But before his wife died, he was ready to lay roots around Napa and work at the family headquarters.”
Emma’s blood ran cold. His dead wife? He had been married? Her fingers tightened on the fork in her hand so hard it was a wonder it didn’t bend in half.
When she didn’t say anything, Colin continued, seemingly oblivious to her shock. “Marlene could be wonderful, but more often than not, she was just trouble. Out of the blue, she asked for a divorce, and then died before the divorce had been finalized.” Colin shook his head. “Messed Shane up for a while. Changed him. Now he takes all the jobs that require him to be as far away from California as possible, for as long as possible. The only reason he comes back is to check in on Dad.”
The waiter stopped by, asking if they needed anything else, and leaving the check. Emma, still reeling from all of the new information about the man she was sleeping with, managed to come up with what she thought was the appropriate response to Colin’s word-vomit.
“That’s sad to hear. Shane seems to have bounced back okay, though.”
Colin stopped, staring into his glass before raising his eyes to hers. The sounds of muted conversations and clinking silverware against fine china drifted around them. “He does seem to be in better spirits the last couple of times I’ve seen him. Better than I’ve seen him in the last few years actually.” He eyed her. “I have some guesses on why that could be.”
In spite of herself, hope rose in Emma’s chest. She stomped hard on that hope, though, knowing it had no place in her mind. “Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad for it.” She grinned and winked at Colin, even though she wanted to crawl in a hole, forgetting Shane. “Makes for a better boss if he’s happy.”
He returned her grin. “You know what? I like you, Emma. You’re smart and one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. If you didn’t work for my family’s company, I’d ask you out.”
She shrugged a shoulder, a weight heavy in her stomach. “Another time, another place.”
He held up his hands as though surrendering, but sent her a grin that probably worked well on most women. It was identical to his brother’s, and it had worked on her like a freaking charm. “If you ever decide to take a job elsewhere, let me know.”
In spite of herself, she laughed. Colin had charisma in spades, something it appeared he had no trouble doling out.
Colin paid for lunch and she drove them back to the winery. After a quick tour through the place, he said his goodbyes, taking a rideshare to the local airport. Emma went back to her office and found herself staring at her computer screen again, thinking about the information she’d received during lunch. What she didn’t know was why Colin had imparted all that information to her. But for whatever reason, Colin chose to tell her more about his brother than she thought was appropriate. Emma had no doubt Shane would be pissed. She’d shared seriously personal information with him, and in all of their conversations, he hadn’t said word one about a dead wife, or even mentioned being married.
The bigger question was, what did she do now that she had this information?
