Page 17 of Taken With You
“Just for a few weeks. I bought a winery.”
“Wow. I thought Dylan was pulling my leg.”
“Nope.” Both Logan and Dylan knew how much he preferred a good artisan ale or a stiff whiskey over a glass of red. “I figured it was time for me to make good on that promise I made back at our reunion.”
“That’s what I needed to hear. Both Dylan and I were starting to get worried about you.”
Garrick inwardly sighed. “So this is a check-in call.”
“Yeah, and don’t you complain about it. It’s almost a year to the day since our college reunion. If you hadn’t fulfilled your promise, Dylan and I were sworn-oath-obligated to drag you back to the rugby field for another heart-to-heart.”
Garrick winced. Last year, he, Logan, and Dylan had wandered from the banquet room of their college reunion to convene on the rugby field of many happy memories. There, Garrick had discovered that Dominic’s death hadn’t been the only terrible loss the three of them shared. Moonlight and whiskey had made it easier to talk. By the end of the night, they’d all vowed not just to keep better tabs on one another, but also to honor their lost loved ones and take positive steps forward.
“I know I’m the laggard,” Garrick said. “But I fulfilled the promise in time.”
“You did, Mr. Master of The Universe. It’s a brilliant idea to resurrect Dominic’s dream.”
Garrick’s ribs tightened and his gaze drifted back to Amanda. Dominic would have fawned over Amanda during the interview as she glided through the Cedar Ridge facilities and laid out their plans for renovation. Dominic would have dove deep into the process, plumbing her intellect and sharing ideas. Dominic would have stood right next to Amanda during the whole of the interview.
Dominic would have been atruebusiness partner, not just the money behind the brains.
“Hey, Garrick.” Logan spoke against a background of echoing voices, probably in a hall of the emergency room where he worked. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Listen, Dylan and I got your back, for whatever you need. This is such a great way to honor Dominic’s memory, even if you would have preferred to run a craft brewery.”
“Hell, I know better than to run the place. I brought a partner into the deal.” Garrick pushed away from the trellis post he’d been leaning against as the reporter finally got in the car to drive away. “I hired a master vintner. She’s…incredible.”
“She?”
“Yeah.” Garrick hesitated for only a moment. If love-struck-Logan knew about Amanda, maybe his old friend would stop making check-in calls. “Her name’s Amanda Karlson.”
“Is that a growl I hear in your voice?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He cleared his throat as Amanda finished waving to the receding car and then turned toward the veranda. “She’s my partner, thus off-limits.”
“You’re dodging the question. And I know what you sound like when you’re on the prowl. Wait.” Logan choked on a laugh. “Her picture just came up in a search. What lovely creature is this?”
“Your sister,” Garrick said pointedly, a tease he used on his friends whenever they came too close to cracking him open.
“Beauty and brains. A potent combination.” Logan made a glottal sound. “And I thought you kept your business associates at arm’s length.”
“Gotta go, Logan.” Amanda’s footsteps on the veranda stairs refocused his attention. “I’ve got business to discuss.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.”
Garrick cut off Logan’s laugh by ending the call. He slipped the phone into the inside pocket of his suit and turned to face Amanda. She’d worn lipstick today. It made her mouth look as luscious and glossy as a wet strawberry.
She approached and planted a hip against a rail. “He promised to come back for the opening,” she said, tilting her head to where the dust kicked up by the reporter’s car now settled.
“I’m not surprised.”
“You should be,” she murmured. “If they really do give us two photo features, then we’ve made the big time.”
“That writer won’t miss another opportunity to speak to you, that’s for sure.”
“Did I monopolize his attention?” She pulled off her sunglasses, and he saw the twinkle in her eye. “You weren’t exactly the most talkative of owners.”
