Oh, my God, this is the best sauvignon blanc I’ve ever tasted.” Beth held up the wineglass as though inspecting the contents. “It’s like magic in a glass.”
Jane sipped from her glass, closing her eyes with obvious rapture. “My favorite is the new rosé Sam made.” She took another lusty sip. “But I can’t decide if I’m having so much fun because of the wine or because this is my first night out with Toby in forever.”
“It’s probably both,” Leila said with a smile at her friends, but her gaze started wandering again. August had been gone too long for her liking. She’d lost sight of him when he and Forrest had left the tent, and she had no idea what was happening.
Her nerves fluttered. Was he talking to Forrest about the other property? What was taking them so long?
“This looks like a great turnout,” Beth said, holding her glass over the bar so the bartender could give her another pour. “Will you and August stay at Valentino Bellas after you get married?”
“We haven’t made a final decision yet.” But she couldn’t help the hope that swelled beneath her ribs. Would they build a life here together if Auggie could convince Forrest to move on? She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
Jane scoffed. “Of course they’ll stay here.” She set her glass aside. “You two will want to be close to family, right?” August’s sister nudged her playfully. “I’m happy to offer free babysitting services.”
Leila pictured August riding Knievel across the pasture. “I do think Silverado Lake is where we both want to be.” He’d never looked happier. “I think your brother has missed the ranch more than he’s let on.”
“That makes me so happy!” Jane gave her a sidearm hug. “Think of all the fun we’ll have!” She started to list all of the things their families could do together.
Leila nodded along but she wasn’t listening. She was watching two shadowy figures march across the parking lot. It was Forrest and August, moving toward the tents quickly, and neither one of them looked happy.
“Excuse me.” Leila started to push her way through the crowd, but before she could get far enough to meet Auggie, he followed Forrest to the edge of the stage where the band was finishing up a song.
The two men were talking intensely, glaring at each other while their words flew back and forth.
“What’s that about?” Jane murmured behind her.
Leila hadn’t even realized Auggie’s sister had followed. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Her friend moved in front of her, trying to clear a path for them. But before they’d gotten five steps, the song stopped and Forrest walked across the stage, waving to the crowd.
A surge of panic stopped Leila cold. “What is he doing?”
A polite applause broke out, even though the man was not supposed to be on that stage.
Leila shared a desperate look with Jane. What the hell was going on?
“Thank you, everyone.” Forrest took the mic and waved, clearly trying to dazzle with his embellished smile. “I’m Forrest Kingston. On behalf of Valentino Bellas and Kingston Family Vineyards, we want to welcome you to the party.”
No. An electric current stopped her heart. He hadn’t just said that in front of everyone. He couldn’t have outed her secret in front of five hundred people.
She held on to Jane’s arm for support.
“What’s happening?” her friend whispered.
She couldn’t answer. She couldn’t even breathe.
“You might be surprised to see me up here,” Forrest went on, plunging her deeper into a nightmare. “But we wanted to wait until tonight to make our exciting announcement.” He let silence fall in a dramatic pause before continuing. “We are thrilled to tell you all that Kingston Family Vineyards has joined forces with Valentino Bellas.”
Murmurs went through the crowd, but Leila couldn’t hear them clearly. Everything slowed except for her heart. No, actually, her heart was trying to leap out of her chest. She frantically scanned the area for her Nonna and Poppa. Maybe they’d already left. Maybe—
“We’ll be taking this fine establishment under the Kingston brand,” Forrest said cheerfully into the mic. “Starting in November, we’ll offer Kingston wines and an unparalleled tasting experience right here at the winery.” He raised one hand and waited for the crowd noise to die down. “And for all you wine club members here, you have nothing to worry about. You’ll be grandfathered into the Kingston Club program at the rates you’re currently paying.”
Jane gasped. “That jerk!” She started plowing forward, shoving her way through the crowd. Leila managed to follow at a slower stumble, looking to her left and right, trying to spot her grandparents. Oh, her sweet grandparents. They shouldn’t have found out like this.
Forrest brought the mic to his mouth again. “In the coming weeks, we’ll be sending out more information on the changes, but in the meantime, we invite you all to celebrate this exciting new development in Silverado Lake. Enjoy the food, enjoy the dancing, but most of all, enjoy the wine!” He raised his glass to the crowd as he cradled the mic.
Instead of applause, a stunned silence sat heavily over the crowd. Most of the people around Leila were looking at her with wide, questioning eyes.
“I can’t believe he did that!” Jane took Leila’s arm and marched her the rest of the way to the stage, meeting Forrest just as he came down the last step.
“What do you think you’re doing?” her friend demanded. “You had no right to make a public announcement like that without clearing it with Leila first.”
The people around them dispersed, like they weren’t quite sure what to do with the scene unfolding in front of them.
“I told you that wasn’t the best way to do this,” Auggie growled from the edge of the stage.
Leila turned her head to stare at the man.
His eyes were wide, pleading with her. “I didn’t know he was going to do that. You have to believe me.” Auggie approached her, his arms held out in front of him.
Not Auggie. She kept getting confused. This was August. August Harding, Executive Director of Acquisitions for Kingston Family Vineyards.
Her heart steeled itself against him, and she backed away. If she even tried to open her mouth right now, a sob would burst out, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Leila did what she had to do.” Jane seemed intent on speaking for her. “This event is proof. She increased the profits, so you can’t say Kingston is taking over. You can’t just go tell all of their loyal customers that!”
Forrest belittled her with an irritated sigh. “August found phylloxera in the vineyards. We have to take that into account when looking at the financials.”
“Phylloxera?” Leila’s voice gained strength. August had found a problem with the vines and he hadn’t even bothered to tell her about it? “Auggie?” His nickname slipped out again, damn it. From now on, she’d be calling him Mr. Harding.
He closed his eyes and heaved in a deep breath. “I saw it when we were harvesting, but I thought I could—”
“That’s why he’s my right-hand man,” Forrest interrupted. “He knew that little problem would change things for our agreement. We’ve spent the last three weeks working on an acquisition plan.”
“An acquisition plan?” This whole time August had been working with Forrest behind her back? Leila snapped her mouth shut before she choked on a sob.
August came at her again. “No. It wasn’t like that. Lei, I’m on your side. I swear. I thought I could fix everything if I pretended to help Kingston.”
“Fix everything?” Her throat burned. He’d kept things from her. No, he’d flat-out lied to her face. She jolted back and ran right into her grandfather. His arms came around her.
“Poppa.” She struggled to get away. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t face them right now.
“What’s all this about?” Her grandfather demanded, releasing her to Nonna’s care. Her grandfather stood toe-to-toe with Forrest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, getting up on that stage and spouting off a bunch of lies?”
Everyone’s gazes locked on her. They were waiting for a response. Forrest and August and Jane, and all the people who’d lingered on the outskirts of their conversation, including Beth. The faces blurred in front of her, all around her.
“I can’t believe I trusted you!” she shouted at August. “You told me everything would be fine.”
“I know.” He reached for her. “I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t you dare touch me.” Leila pushed him away. “You should’ve told me the truth. Because of you, my family’s going to lose their home. You helped Kingston take it away from us.”
“What?” Her grandmother gasped, and her grandparents closed in on her, the hurt and utter fear showing in their heartbroken expressions.
“I’m sorry.” People still stood around them, listening in, and now everyone would know. Everyone would know how she’d lied. How she’d failed. But she didn’t care. She was tired. God, she was so tired. “I signed a partnership with Kingston. I didn’t know what else to do.” Leila stared back at her grandparents, shutting out everyone else. They were the only two who really mattered, and she’d let them down. “I knew we couldn’t say afloat much longer, so I contacted Kingston.”
“Oh, Leila.” Nonna took her hands. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“You already had enough to worry about.” She closed her eyes, willing the tears to stop so she could explain without falling apart. “You were sick. I thought…I thought I could work everything out so we would hold on to majority ownership.” But keeping the agreement from them wasn’t even the worst thing she’d done.
She shifted her gaze to the man she would’ve given everything to not ten minutes ago. He had managed to reach her heart again, and now she was paying the price. “August…he acquires wineries for Kingston. That’s why he showed up.” She steadied her jaw. “Not because we’re getting married. Not because he cares about me or because we reconnected.” Don’t break. She couldn’t break in front of him. “The whole engagement was a lie.” She’d even been lying to herself.
That was it—the truth in its ugly entirety. “I’m sorry,” she said again. Then she turned away from them all and walked as quickly as she could, her heart finally shattering.
“Leila, wait—!” August called.
“I think you’d better let her go, son,” Poppa said a ways behind her. “Let her be.”
Leila didn’t pause to see if August listened. She walked as fast as she could, blindly maneuvering around people and tables and chairs until she found the darkness of night to hide her. She made her way down the sidewalk to her cottage, choking on the sobs she couldn’t hold back anymore. She’d lost everything in one night. Absolutely everything. Her family and her job and her love—all gone.
She fell against her front door, unable to find the strength to push it open.
After some moments, Nonna came alongside of her. “There now.” She hugged Leila tightly as though trying to shelter her from the pain. “It’s okay.”
“Come here, princess.” Poppa took her in his arms and managed to get the door open, the three of them stumbling into her living room.
“I’m sorry.” Leila dropped to the couch, her face in her hands. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I never meant to lie to you two, of all people.” Uneven breaths stuttered through the words. “I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to fix everything, and instead things got worse and worse.” Her throat ached from crying, from the long, deep fissure in her heart.
“Shhh.” Nonna sat beside her, enveloping Leila in the scent of lavender, offering immediate comfort. “Things aren’t as bad as they seem, dear one. I promise.”
“Things are awful,” she sobbed. “Worse than awful. This place is your entire life. It’s you’re legacy, and I lost it.” Forrest was right. They were already too deep in the hole. They couldn’t take one more setback, especially in the form of phylloxera.
“Come on now, Lei.” Poppa sat on the other side of her. “We never should’ve put all that burden on you. You were on your own. We share plenty of the responsibility for the state things were in when you took over.”
“This is not your fault,” Nonna added. “We’ve done our best, but the truth is, times are changing. It’s harder to keep a business afloat these days. We probably should’ve agreed to that buyout from Kingston last year.”
Their compassion only made her cry harder. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve their forgiveness. “This place means everything to you two.”
“No.” Nonna lifted Leila’s chin. “You and your brother mean everything to us. A place is only a place. Our family is our life.” She brushed an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “You, my dear, are our legacy.”
“And we’re proud of you,” Poppa said gruffly. “You did your best. Especially after the mess we left things in.” He smoothed his worn hand over her hair like he’d done often when she had been a little girl sitting on his knee. “Maybe this was meant to be. Maybe it’s time for all of us to move on and find a new adventure.”
What if she didn’t want a new adventure? What if she still longed for the one she’d thought she and August would go on together?
“I’m sorry there won’t be a wedding,” she murmured, setting off a fresh round of tears.
Her grandmother directed Leila’s head to her shoulder. “Are you sure what you and August had wasn’t real?”
“It felt real.” At least to her. “We talked about making it real.” She had to fight her way out of the dream again. “But I don’t know how to pick up the pieces this time.” Because of what he’d done, she was about to lose everything.