Page 6 of Champagne and Daisies

Rodney winked. “And you’d rather not spend it with your cousin?”

She laughed. “You know I love him, but yes. Tonight’s a girls’ night.”

“Very well. Let me check your table … and his.”

She chuckled as she watched him make his way through the restaurant toward the terrace out back. He was no doubt checking if the coast was clear. If Antonio spotted her, he might ask her to join him. He had that very Italian habit of always trying to draw everyone together into one big gathering.

“Hey, you. Sorry I’m a bit late.”

She turned to greet Mary Ellen. “Wow! Look at you. You weren’t joking about wanting to wear something sparkly and sexy, were you? You look fabulous.” She was wearing a gold dress that hugged her figure and shimmered as she moved.

Mary Ellen smiled and pushed her hair back over her shoulders. “I feel a bit silly, but yeah. It’s been so long since I got all done up.” She eyed Chelsea. “I was worried I might have overdone it, but I needn’t have worried. Look at you!”

Chelsea batted her eyelashes. “Oh, you mean this old thing?” She ran her hands down over the bright red minidress she’d dug out. It wasn’t sparkly, but it was definitely sexy.

“Are you looking for a rebound?” Mary Ellen raised an eyebrow.

“Nah. You told me to wear something sexy, so I made an effort.”

“Well, looking like that, I think the odds of a rebound finding you are pretty good.” Mary Ellen frowned. “Anyway, are you going to tell me what happened? Why you’re single again?”

Rodney reappeared at that moment. “If you’d like to sit outside, a very nice table just became available.”

Chelsea grinned at him. “You mean he left?”

Rodney pressed his lips together and nodded his head slightly. “I’m confident that you’ll enjoy your meal. However, you may wish to dance elsewhere this evening.”

Mary Ellen gave her a puzzled look. She’d explain later. Poor old Rodney was trying so hard to be discreet.

“Thank you, Rodney.” They followed him outside to the table with the best view of the whole valley.

~ ~ ~

Grant followed Antonio upstairs into the nightclub. His old friend grinned at him. “What do you think, huh? It’s not a bad little place if I do say so myself.”

Grant laughed. “Come on. You don’t do modesty well; it doesn’t suit you. This place is amazing.” It really was. Grant wasn’t normally into nightclubs, but this place felt good. It was elegant but felt laid-back. The dance floor was huge and spilled outside onto an upper terrace which had a wonderful view of the valley. “When I was reading about what’s new around here, Muse got a mention as the best place to see and be seen. It didn’t mention you, though.”

Antonio smiled. “I told you. I don’t make a big thing about it.”

“Is there a reason for that?” He knew Antonio well enough to find it strange. He’d have expected him to claim the glory of having opened Napa’s new favorite night spot.

“I suppose, if anything, I’m trying to keep the focus on my business achievements. The folks think I’m a playboy. They only ever get to hear about the wilder side of my life and forget about everything I do with the winery.”

Grant chuckled. “You mean you want them to see you as all grown up and serious now, like Marcos?”

Antonio shot him an evil look. “All grown up, maybe.”

“How is Marcos?”

“He’s doing wonderfully, as always. Going from success to success. There’s even talk of him coming over here for a while.”

“Wow. I thought he’d made his home back in Sicily and that was it.”

“So did I. So did he. Anyway,” Antonio made his way to the bar, “what are we drinking? Tonight’s not the night for getting into all of that serious stuff. Tonight’s for having some fun.”

At the rate Antonio was drinking and flirting, it seemed he was indeed serious about having fun. Grant shook his head as he watched his friend lead a pretty brunette out onto the dance floor. The way they were moving together suggested that they’d both like to be doing more than dancing just as soon as they possibly could.

Grant took a seat and looked around. Maybe he should be thinking the same way. Antonio was right. He hadn’t gotten laid in a long time. Maybe that was what he needed. He used to enjoy that lifestyle. It was fun. Nobody got hurt. Maybe he should find himself a sweet little thing with a hot little body who was interested in having some fun with him. If he didn’t do it tonight, who knew when he’d get a chance again. When he was working, he was working, and he started on Monday. It’d be weeks before he’d allow himself to get out and have fun again. The first few weeks of a new project always had him consumed by his work. He took a sip of his wine and chuckled as he watched Antonio dance. He didn’t need to work his charms on the brunette; she was all over him.

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