Leila steered the ATV around the bend in the vineyard’s eastern section of merlots, navigating the precarious path between the vines and a steep drop-off on the edge of the mountainside.
She’d always loved this view overlooking the valley, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the ruts in front of her. If she weren’t in such a hurry to find Sam, she might have stopped to snap a couple of pictures for their social media posts to help draw in new customers with the allure of the ripe grapes hanging heavy on their vines, but photos would have to wait.
Sam had been out here somewhere all afternoon, and she had yet to find him to warn him about August, which should make their impending family celebration dinner a real fun time.
Slowing the ATV, she eyed the narrowing pathway and decided to continue on foot. It’d been a long time since she’d navigated these makeshift roads, and she didn’t need to go for a tumble down the mountainside right now, tempting as it was to find a way out of sharing dinner with her fake fiancé.
Leila cut the engine and slipped off her helmet, setting it on the ATV’s seat before wandering along the vines. She had to smile, remembering all the time she’d spent out here when she was growing up, roaming barefoot in the soft dirt and sampling the plump grapes when her nonna and poppa weren’t paying attention.
The sweet scent of ripened fruit sharpened the memories, bringing more clarity. She’d once felt safe out here, happy and carefree. Now the countless issues the winery faced were piling up like rocks on her shoulders, pushing her down, and she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to keep her head above the water.
Her brother stepped out from the vines about fifteen feet in front of her, holding a bunch of grapes up as though inspecting them in the sunlight.
Finally.
Leila rushed to talk to him before she got lost in the memories forever. “Hey.”
Her brother fumbled with the grapes, clearly startled. No surprise there. Her brother had always managed to tune out everything else when he was working in the vineyard. That was why he couldn’t help on the business side of things. Before she’d moved home, Sam had tried—bless him—but he couldn’t focus on details like sales and marketing when he was so obsessed with the chemistry behind pectolytic enzymes and pectins and tannins.
“Hi.” He plucked a grape from the bunch and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Leila approached him, taking a glance at her watch. August would likely show up anytime now for dinner. “We have to talk.”
In response, Sam held up one finger in her direction, still savoring the grape with a thoughtful expression. Though he was three years younger than her, Sam was at least two heads taller and built like a linebacker, though he detested football. His strength came from working the earth, tending the vines, walking the vineyards, and repairing whatever needed to be fixed around here, which seemed to be more and more of a full-time job. Unlike her, though, he didn’t seem to absorb the stress. His large, dark eyes and broad face still had boyish qualities, and his long, sun-lightened hair always lay over his ears unkempt.
Leila stared at him, resisting the temptation to rush him along. He’d never had her sense of urgency, and as much as it drove her up a wall, Sam would have to be eased into this conversation when he was good and ready.
“We’ll have to harvest soon,” he finally said after he finished chewing. “I would say another month or so.”
“Okay.” She hated that her first thought was how much they would have to pay a crew of seasonal workers to walk through and snip the grapes. Lately, everything came down to the money they didn’t have. “I’m sure we can make that happen.” Though once again, she had no idea how. “We can talk about harvesting later. Right now, there’s something else we need to discuss.” She paused, trying to figure out the best way to bring him up to speed on the August situation.
Her brother eyed her, like he was analyzing her the same way he had the grapes he’d been sampling. “What’s wrong?” He let the rest of the bunch drop to the dirt and gave her his complete attention.
“Nothing’s wrong, per se.” She kept her tone light. God, why did her heart get all rattled and wild when she thought about August? “You haven’t seen Nonna lately, have you?” Maybe she should’ve just let her grandmother break the news. At least in Nonna’s presence, Sam would’ve been on his best behavior.
“No, I haven’t seen her since early this morning.” His pensive expression gave way to concern. “Why? Is she okay?”
“She’s great.” And Leila intended to keep their grandmother blissfully happy and unaware of the issues they were facing. “I have to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.”
Heck, she didn’t like August walking back into her life, but there was nothing she could do about his presence now except to retain control of this charade.
Sam’s head tilted, a sign he was listening.
“It’s um…well…it has to do with August.” Ugh, why was it so hard to say the man’s name?
A tic worked through her brother’s jaw, so she rushed ahead. “Remember how I told you about the partnership with Kingston?” From the very beginning, she’d kept Sam as informed as she could so she would have an ally.
“Yeeeaaahhh.” He drew out the word with a menacing grumble.
“Well…” Leila shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying to manage the sudden weakness in her knees. “Forrest Kingston sent August out here to oversee our operations for the fall.” She patiently waited for Sam’s cursing to pass and then continued. “But the real problem is we had to tell Nonna we were engaged so she wouldn’t find out the truth about the partnership.”
“Engaged? To that dito nel culo?” The old Italian phrase had always been their poppa’s favorite insult. “No. No way.” Sam had a knack for cutting off entire conversations with that razor-sharp edge in his voice. “He had his chance and messed it up a long time ago.” Sam looked around them. “Is he still here?” His hands pulled into fists at his sides.
Leila stared him down. “He’s not here now but he’s coming for dinner.” The thought of sitting across from August for an entire meal made her stomach churn, but it was too late to back out of this arrangement now. She would simply have to power through. Much like when she’d been twenty years old and it had become clear that August wasn’t coming back for her. She could still see the looks of sympathy on acquaintances’ faces when she would run into them at the grocery store in town. You doing okay, sweetie? well-intentioned people would ask. Of course! she’d answered as though auditioning for a play. I’ve moved on.
She had moved on, which meant this whole situation didn’t have to be a big deal. “This is the best way to deal with August,” she insisted. “We have to keep our friends close and our enemies closer right now. Nonna and Poppa think we’re engaged, so I need you to be nice to him.” She wouldn’t be able to pull off this charade without Sam’s help.
“Nice to him?” Her brother’s face flushed like it always did when he got indignant. “You want me to be nice to him?”
“You have to be supportive,” Leila said firmly. “You have to treat him like a member of the family. For Nonna and Poppa.” That was how they’d both get through this—by focusing on their grandparents. “August is our best chance to fix things here. I can use his knowledge and experience to our benefit.” As much as she hated to admit it, she’d read up on him. She’d seen his accolades in those wine magazines. “He’s good at his job, and we could use the help.”
“I don’t trust him.” Sam crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “Not after what he did to you. I can’t trust him.”
“I don’t trust him either.” When she had looked at August, something in her iced over, freezing her heart. “But this arrangement is our only option right now.” And she would be careful. She wouldn’t be fooled by the man again.
“Fine,” Sam mumbled as he walked past her. “But he’d better not get the wrong idea about you and him, or I’ll have to set him straight.”
“He won’t get the wrong idea. Trust me.” And neither would she. Leila hurried to catch up with her brother.
By the time she made it back to the ATV, Sam had put on the spare helmet and already had the engine running. She pulled on her helmet and climbed on the back, and he blitzed them up to the barn much faster than she would have dared.
When they crested the top of the hill, a very familiar truck came into view. It was a good thing she wasn’t driving, or she might’ve swerved off the path.
How long would her heart take a dive every time she saw August?
Sam parked the ATV next to the barn, and August walked over to meet them as they climbed off.
“Nice to see you, Sam.” To August’s credit, he didn’t cower, even though her brother must’ve had a good fifty pounds on him.
“I’m not a fan of this arrangement,” he informed August as a greeting.
The man simply nodded as though he understood. “I would imagine you’re not.”
Sam moved in a step closer, but August still held his ground. “Don’t screw it up, or I’ll have to screw you up. Got it?”
August accepted the threat with another nod. “Got it.”
Her brother walked away grumbling and left the two of them standing on the sidewalk in front of the barn alone.
“Nice to see he’s still a people person,” August said when Sam had made it out of earshot.
Leila shrugged. “He doesn’t pretend.” And sometimes, that was better.
Speaking of pretending…“Is your family coming?” She couldn’t even imagine what Mara must think about this whole plan.
“No.” August cast a quick glance around before his eyes met hers. “I told my family what’s going on, though, so they won’t mess anything up.”
For some reason, the news didn’t bring her any relief.
“But they’ll probably steer clear of us for the most part.” The words were borderline apologetic. “My mother is about as thrilled as Sam that I would lie to your grandparents.”
“We can’t think of it as lying.” She’d never lied to Nonna and Poppa. She’d never had to. With her parents divorcing when she was young, and her mother and father too concerned with living their own lives to worry about children, her paternal grandparents had raised her and Sam. They’d always encouraged openness and honesty, and she rarely worried about telling them anything. Until now. “We have to think of it more like keeping a secret that would hurt them if it ever came out.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to do this. “We’re protecting them. If Nonna found out why you were really here, she would only get anxious. I can’t risk my grandmother’s health going downhill again.”
Sympathy flashed in his eyes, and the familiarity of the look he gave her lifted her heart. It seemed he wasn’t wearing the same mask of indifference he’d had on earlier. Leila inched backward. Where was her shield when she needed it the most?
August seemed to sense her unease and stepped back to give her space. “So…we should probably talk about how we’re going to do this…”
Across the parking lot, the office door opened, and Nonna bustled out. Without thinking, Leila grabbed August’s hand and led him behind the barn to the edge of the vineyard so they couldn’t be seen or heard. She quickly let go of him, but the touch had already made its impact, giving her heart a good jolt.
“It’s like we’re right back in high school sneaking around,” August commented, raising an eyebrow as though he wouldn’t mind revising some of the activities they’d enjoyed doing together back then. Sneaking out here behind the barn into the vineyards with a blanket had been at the top of the list.
Leila flinched internally, the way she always did when one of those buried memories worked its way up to the surface. “We need to run this fake engagement like a business arrangement.” Which meant she couldn’t dwell on their past together.
He crossed his arms, looking skeptical. “A business arrangement.”
“Yes.” She held up her chin, daring to stare right into August’s eyes, letting her resolve take over. “That means no reminiscing, no charming, no flirting. We will focus only on getting the job done.”
The man defied her with a one-sided smirk. “What if I do my best work when I’m flirting and charming?”
He was teasing her, but she refused to let her hard frown budge. “Charm may work with the women you’re used to interacting with.” Lord knew the man probably made a living off schmoozing the wealthy. “But I can assure you, charm won’t work on me or on any of the other women in Silverado Lake, for that matter.” He’d been gone too long. “This isn’t Napa. People around here can see through a facade, so we’re going to have to actually work for results.”
“Okay.” His grin fell. “What did you have in mind?”
“Let me do most of the talking and answering the questions.” They didn’t have time to go over all the details of their fake relationship before dinner. “That way, we won’t contradict each other again.”
“If we treat this relationship too much like business, your family isn’t going to believe us.” His voice dropped a note lower. “They’ve seen us together before.”
He didn’t need to go on. Theirs had been an intense relationship for two teenagers—deeper than most—which was why she now bore such damaging scars. Leila shored up her emotions, cutting them off. “They know we’re both different people now.”
August’s eyes met hers, but then his gaze quickly diverted to the vines behind them. “I never got to tell you how sorry I was.”
She refused to let her expression change. It was hard to apologize when not talking to someone.
“I never explained—”
“Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted. This line of conversation was exactly what they needed to avoid.
“No. Listen.” He raised his hand between them. “I’m sorry I never came back. Things were hard for me after Dad died, and I—”
“Like I said, I don’t want an explanation. Or an apology.” She had to stop him. Stop this. She didn’t want the subtle warmth curling through her at the sight of the concern in his eyes. She didn’t want the feel of her heart fluttering in her chest. “I don’t want to talk about the past, and I certainly don’t need an apology from you.” All she had now—all she could carry forward—was the lesson he’d taught her a long time ago. She couldn’t rely on him. She couldn’t rely on anyone. She stared into his eyes from behind the safety of her walls. “I’m not the same girl you left behind, and you’d best remember that.”