Page 45 of Blue Hawaiian
Ben, her uptight fiancé, nodded. “No sunrise is worth that much effort.”
A few more people grumbled, and Gabi softened her tone. “Obviously, you can sleep in if you want. But we’ll have blankets, and thermoses of coffee and cocoa, and Hawaiian banana bread. It’ll be worth it, I promise.”
“I can’t wait,” Jess said. “Sunrise on top of a volcano? It should be spectacular.” She squeezed Connor’s leg under the table again.
Getting up at three sounded like a miserable start to the day, but he wasn’t about to disappoint Jess. “Sounds great. I’m in.”
“Me too,” Brody said.
Jess stood up. “If you’ll all excuse me, I need to get ready for bed, since I’ll be getting up in six hours. ’Night, everyone.”
“Let’s catch up tomorrow,” Brody said. “I want to hear everything.”
“How about on the ride up to the volcano?”
Brody laughed. “If you’re awake enough to carry on a conversation. I don’t remember you being a morning person.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Maybe I’ve changed. Ever think of that?”
Connor watched as she walked away, savoring the sight of her rounded backside. Was she wearing black lingerie underneath that dress? He couldn’t wait to find out. “I’d better get some sleep, too, if I’m planning to get up at three.”
“Same.” Brody stood up. “See you in the morning.”
Before Connor could leave, his father’s voice stopped him in place. “Not yet, son. We haven’t finished our discussion.”
Chapter 17
Connor and his father ended up at the Coral Cove, an outdoor bar overlooking the resort’s largest swimming pool. Victoria insisted on joining them, as did Darren.Great.Because what Connor wanted, more than anything, was to be lectured by his father andhis know-it-all siblings.
By now, the pool was closed, but the bar was still open. Couples and small groups occupied the tables, taking advantage of the balmy temperature. Connor found an unoccupied table and his father bought a round of drinks. He let Victoria order a piña colada, but he ordered scotch for the rest of them. Connor slugged half his drink in one gulp, then braced himself for another tirade.
At first, his father kept the conversation light—talking about his golf game, the weather, and the upcoming wedding. He covered everythingexceptConnor’s proposal.
By the time they started their second round, Connor couldn’t stand it any longer. “Well, Dad. Have at it. The rest of the wedding party isn’t around, so you’re free to put me in my place.”
His father frowned. “Lose the attitude.”
“Yeah, show some respect,” Darren said.
Kiss-ass. “No one invited you to this discussion,” Connor said.
“Ishouldbe here. After supervising you for five years, I’m aware of how much your work ethic sucks.”
“Will you two stop?” Victoria said. “I can’t stand this male-posturing bullshit.”
His father took a sip of scotch. “Victoria’s right. Let’s cut to the chase. Darren, I know how you feel about Connor, because I’ve read your write-ups on his performance. And Connor, stop playing the martyr. You knew I’d be angry. Why else would you have left your proposal on my desk like a goddamn coward?”
As much as Connor hated to admit it, his father was right. “It was a bad move on my part. I apologize.”
Darren opened his mouth—no doubt to gloat—but his father held up his hand. “Let me finish. It’s one thing for you to turn your back on your family’s legacy. It’s another to think you can manage a winery on your own. In the five years you’ve worked for me, you’ve never shown initiative. You want to know the truth? If you weren’t my son, I would have canned your ass three years ago.”
Connor couldn’t speak. Though he’d prepared himself for an angry confrontation, the words landed on him like a blow.
His father continued. “Whenever Darren or I gave you the slightest chance to make a decision, you botched things royally. Remember the Santo Domingo Winery in Spain? The one I bought,on your recommendation, only to see it wiped out by drought three years later?”
“I couldn’t have seen that coming,” Connor said. “The drought hit a lot of vineyards in the region. But what about those vineyards in the Willamette Valley? I’m the one who did the site visits and wrote up the proposal. Last year at the annual board meeting, you said they were one of the best acquisitions we’d ever made.”
Darren scowled at him. “The Oregon acquisitions weremyproposal. All you did was travel on the company’s dime and schmooze with the owners.”
