Page 78 of Geordie

“But you're the manager… you're working that party. I'd be sitting in a room full of strangers watching you entertain your guests.”

“That's true, but I want to do it with you at my side. Host with me.”

“Is this a date?”

“I want to spend time with you, Lily, outside of my apartment. We can talk after, get reacquainted. We used to talk a lot when you lived with me. Aye, it's a date, if you like.”

“Does that mean if I come as your guest, we won't win the bid?”

“You're ever the businesswoman. You can have both.”

I spy Harv coming into the flower section, looking for me. “Then I accept both. I've got to go, we'll talk soon.” I click off.

“Who were you speaking to? And are those flowers for the restaurant? If so, we'll need to stop our regular order with the florist.”

I stand, threading my arm through his, smiling up at my long-suffering partner. “I have good news. We won the bid for the Winemaker's Dinner at MacTavish Cellars. We need to get back to the restaurant to plan a Scottish feast.” He takes my basket, looping it through his other arm.

“The flowers are for my place.” I grin. “No need to cancel our floral order.”

It takes a small army to bring in the boxes of produce into the kitchen, with me in the lead. “I'll be in the office talking to MacTavish Cellars,” I say, heading to my office.

“Once you get the details,” Harv says to my back, “we'll talk to the staff.”

I wave my agreement as I continue.

I punch in Layla's number. “Hello, Lily. I'm guessing Geordie hired you to cater our dinner.”

I laugh, falling into my chair. “Yes, he hired Dalliance to do the dinner, but he asked me to come as his guest.” The line goes quiet. “Layla? Are you there?”

“I am, dear. Geordie has never brought a date to this function. What did he say exactly?”

“I wasn't interested at first. I told him I didn't want to sit at a table all night with strangers while he entertained guests. He said he was inviting me to help him host. I heard myself saying yes before I could process what I was agreeing to. So, I was hoping you could help me?”

“That depends. Is it to help him fulfill his duties as host or to capture his heart?”

“Are you matchmaking, Layla?”

“I've been accused of worse,” she confides. “Why don't I give you pointers on both. First, be yourself, but follow his lead when interacting with guests. He knows them well. Be serious when it's called for and bubbly when needed. Now, to capture his heart you should learn ceilidh, a Scottish country dancing similar to your square dancing. It’s tradition to have the ceilidh after dinner; it’s the highlight of the party.”

I can’t imagine Geordie flitting around a ballroom. “He loves to dance?”

“Geordie learned when he was a boy. He and his cousins attended dance classes through secondary. He says his cousins hated it, but he loved it. I can't speak for Harris, the cousin in Scotland, but Geordie and Lochlan are accomplished.”

Shit, no pressure. “Where can I learn ceilidh?”

“I'll send you names of instructors. The three dances you should learn are the Gay Gordon, the military step, and the Highlander. I'll send you videos from past years. They do these three as a demonstration with some of the servers and anyone else who knows the dances. The Scottish community is surprisingly big here. It's quite a thing. Some people learn the dances just so they can take part. After that, they have a caller, and everyone joins in. It's a lot of fun.”

Chapter thirty-eight

The Highlander

Geordie

We'reinthethroesof non-stop activity since dawn. There's a barn on the property, a relic from the farm that was here before the vineyard. The structure was sound enough to renovate, bring up to code, and we added a few modern conveniences. It sits back in a wooded area with the original homestead house that's a short distance away. Part of the romance of using this space is the evening journey up a lit path to the barn with the warm glow of yellow candlelight at the end, courtesy of flameless reproductions.

The truck bumps along a back path that's used for service vehicles. The phone rings and I punch the button on the panel to pick up. “Everything okay?” guiding the truck around a sharp bend. The scenery back here never gets old.

“Better than okay, three more people showed up to help, and the Dalliance crew just arrived,” Layla says, as the sound of moving furniture and general mayhem comes through the phone.

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