Page 59 of Cognac & Cornflowers

“But what?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, I’d love to be one of you, but you don’t know me yet and you don’t know if … how long … Jacob and I haven’t been together for very long and you don’t know …”

Molly’s laughter cut her off. “Oh, we know.”

“What do you mean? You know what?”

“That you’re one of us now. That you’re going to be one of the gang. Sure, some of us have known each other all our lives, but not all of us.” She nodded at Mary Ellen. “Mary El’s a relative newcomer. And I think Piper’s coming later; we’ve only known her for a couple of years. But you need to get used to the fact that we’re family.”

Becca looked around at the three women, who were all smiling at her. She’d love to be friends with them. She hadn’t had the kind of friends who felt like family since she left home. She still saw some of her high school friends when she went home, but those close bonds hadn’t lasted, for the most part.

Mary Ellen laughed. “Molly means that we’re as close as family – you know, the kind of friends you’d choose as family if you could. Not just that we’re related by marriage now.”

“Oh! That’s right, of course, you are.” Becca had met Mary Ellen’s husband, Antonio Di Giovanni, that night at Jacob’s house, and she knew that Molly was married to his brother, Marcos. “It didn’t even click that you meant real family.”

Molly laughed. “And if the other two ever get here, they’re related by marriage, too. Piper is married to Chelsea’s brother, Cameron.”

Becca nodded. She didn’t like to admit it, but she’d done some reading up about all the big wine families. Chelsea and Cameron were Hamiltons – one of the other major winemaking dynasties. Well, maybe they weren’t dynasties, but to a girl from small-town Kansas, it sure seemed that way.

She gave Hannah a puzzled look. “But you’re not related to any of them, are you?” She was half expecting to hear that they were all cousins or something.

Molly laughed. “Think about it. That’s why I’m saying that you might as well get used to being one of us – to being family.”

Becca just stared at her until it finally clicked what she meant. Hannah was Jacob’s sister. She swallowed.

Hannah put a hand on her arm and smiled. “I know it’s early days for you and my brother, but I’ve honestly never seen him like this before. He’s so in love with you.”

Becca felt the heat in her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say. She loved that Hannah seemed so pleased but …

Mary Ellen smiled at her. “How about we move on? You don’t need to feel like you’re in the hot seat the first time you come out with us all. We just want you to know that you have a whole bunch of friends now – if you want us.” She turned back to the others. “And are we going to eat, or what? I’m starving. I’ve been saving myself for tonight.”

Becca was grateful that the conversation moved on. It felt awesome that they were so welcoming, but at the same time, she felt like she’d need to grow her friendships with them, not just flick a switch and have instant friends because she was with Jacob. She couldn’t even let her mind go near what they meant about her becoming family.

~ ~ ~

Jacob paced the study. He’d stayed at work until Elena had called to say that she was leaving for the evening and Becca had gone out. His meeting had finished at six, but he’d stayed at the office anyway. He’d wanted Becca to go out with the girls and wasn’t sure that she would if he was home.

He chuckled to himself and took a sip of Cognac. He seemed to spend more of his time making sure that things were going well for Becca than he did anything else lately. It felt right, though. He wanted her to be part of his life going forward. If that was going to happen, she needed to be happy – not just with him, but with her life here in Napa. He knew that she loved her job, but he still remembered the feeling of dread that had settled in his stomach when she said that she might have to admit defeat and go home to Kansas.

She didn’t have the same financial pressure as she’d had before. But if she was going to be happy here, she needed to build some positives into her life – not just eliminate the negatives. She needed friends and she needed some fun.

He stopped in front of the windows. So did he. He blew out a sigh. Hannah had been right when she said that he didn’t have any friends anymore. Technically, he still had his old friends. It was just that he didn’t make the time to see them – or even to talk to them anymore.

He reached for his cell phone, which was charging on the bar. He could remedy that right now. Growing up in Napa as a member of one of the big winemaking families had given him a ready-made circle of friends. He might have neglected those relationships since his parents had died, but he knew that they were still strong. At least, he hoped they were.

He didn’t have to scroll far through his contacts before he reached the name he was looking for. He pursed his lips when he realized that his old friend’s number was close to the top of the list alphabetically – not because they’d spoken recently.

It shocked him when he checked the details and saw that the last time he’d called Bentley was more than six months ago. He hit the call button and waited.

“Greetings, Mr. Jacobs. What can I do for you?”

Jacob laughed. “Greetings Mr. DuPont, and honestly? Not a damn thing. I was just … just calling to say hi.”

After a few moments of silence, Bentley said, “Oookay. Hi.” Then the phone beeped, and the call ended.

Jacob laughed and called again.

“Hello?”

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