Page 25 of The Wedding Toast
“Probably,” Slade agreed.
He looked up, and Reaves checked the rearview mirror.When he saw a delivery truck pulling up behind him, he said, “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Okay, I’ll catch you later,” said Slade.“And I’m going to hold you to that offer of a bottle.”
“Sure,” said Reaves.In his mind, he was making a note to see if he could manage to bring Slade and Willow a case of their own.
When he pulled up behind the house, Reaves was disappointed to see neither of the Range Rovers was here.He could leave the case of wine at the house, that wasn’t a problem – it’d be good to see Elena – but he’d been hoping to see Jacob.After what Slade had said, Reaves was curious to see how he’d react to the gift.He was starting to wonder if he himself was the only one who saw it as humoring his dad.
He was starting to feel a little guilty about it as he carried the case up the steps.He grinned when the door opened, and Elena appeared.
“I thought that was you.Come on in,” she greeted him with a smile.“I don’t need to ask what you’re doing here.”She nodded toward the box.“A special delivery from your dad, no?”
“That’s right,” Reaves said as he followed her into the kitchen and set the case down on the counter.“Where do you want it?”
“You can leave it right there for now,” said Elena.“Jacob won’t want it getting mixed up with anything else.”Her eyes widened.“In fact, we might want to put it straight in his study.It would be too terrible if the caterers got their hands on it.”
Reaves’s heart sank.Did she mean that it’d be terrible if his dad’s wine were served to the wedding guests?
She laughed when she saw his expression.“Jacob hasn’t spared any expense on the catering.But with your dad’s wine, it’s not just the price but the quantity that’s at a premium.”
Reaves gave her a puzzled look, and she looked a little embarrassed.“Listen to me, sounding as though I know what I’m talking about, using big words like that.I must have been around these guys too long.But House of St.James is boutique, no?Everyone loves the wine, but there are only so many bottles every year.”
Reaves relaxed a little.“That’s true.”He glanced over at the case again.“And Dad did want Jacob to have the 2016.”
Elena grinned.“I can’t claim to know which years are better than the others.All I know is that the few times I’ve tasted it, it’s wonderful – tastes like heaven in a glass.”
She looked around the kitchen as if suddenly concerned that someone might overhear, then winked at Reaves as she added, “Of course, I love all the Jacobs Estate wines too.”
Reaves laughed, but before he could answer, Becca’s mom, Darlene, came into the kitchen looking harried.
“Sorry to interrupt.Is there any chance that you could go and keep an eye on the little girl for a while, Elena?Chuck just called me, and he wants me to come over to the greenhouse.I won’t be long, but I don’t like to leave Zia by herself.”
Elena frowned and glanced over at the timer on the oven.“I really can’t right now.I need to be here when those are ready to come out.”
“That’s okay, I’ll figure something out,” said Darlene.“I thought you’d be busy, but I had to try.I was going to take the girl with me, but she’s so happy playing where she is.”
“Do you mean Ava?”Reaves asked.
“No,” said Elena.“Zia is the daughter of the girl who’s building the arch.”
Reaves just stared.That sentence probably made sense if you knew the context, but he didn’t…
Darlene gave him a sly smile.“You’re not flying this afternoon, are you?”
He took a step back, suddenly feeling wary.
“I know you’re not, because your friend Ollie’s gone to pick Callie up.So…”
Elena came to stand behind her and chuckled.“You’re not busy, are you, Reaves?It won’t be for long, and Zia is such a sweetheart.”
Reaves narrowed his eyes at them.He had told Jacob several times that if there was anything at all he could do to help in the build-up to the wedding, then he was more than happy to – but he hadn’t expected his services to be needed for babysitting.
“Follow me,” said Darlene in a tone that brooked no argument.
Elena winked at him.“You’ll be fine.And when you come back… I’ll feed you cookies.”
Darlene laughed.“You should make the deal that he only gets cookies if he tells you what that little girl names him.”
