Page 85 of Perfect Pairing
Cal gasped, and Leon barked out a laugh. “You deserved that one, son,” Leon said.
Cal only nodded, hanging his head. “One day, you guys will stop giving me shit for that.”
“Not anytime soon,” I assured him.
“You stay out of this, Wendt,” he said, aiming a finger at me. “You’re not even part of the family.”
Mutely, I stared at him, knowing he was right, though I desperately wanted to weasel my way in, make Brie a part of my family, make her a permanent fixture in the Wendt household.
We could use more of her feminine influence.
“I’m just glad to have all you guys around now,” Leon said to Logan, Cal, and Owen. “This year, you can help me cook for Christmas.”
Early on in my tenure, I learned from Leon that the women cooked Thanksgiving dinner while he was in charge of Christmas—which usually ended with him hiring a caterer.
Last year, that caterer had been me, and I wasn’t being left out this time either.
“I can help too.”
I bit my lips together, as though that would take back thewords. These other guys were father, husband, and brother-in-law, and boyfriends of the Delatou women. I was…the chef at their winery. I had no claim to family time or participating in traditions.
Leon waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. If I want you to cook for me, I’ll just come down to the winery.” Then, as if latching onto some thought, those green eyes narrowed on me—eyes so like Brie’s, it was disconcerting and a bit uncomfortable to hold his gaze. “Unless you’ve got something going on with one of my daughters. You know the rules, Wendt,” he said, pointing a finger menacingly at me.
“Oh, give that a rest,” Cal said with an eye roll.
“You’re only saying that because you’re the poster child for breaking the cardinal rule,” Logan said, elbowing him in the side.
“What about Lawless?” Cal sputtered.
“Owen never worked for me,” Leon pointed out.
“And I wasn’t working for you when Amara and I got together either,” Cal retorted.
“Children, children,” Owen said, waving his arms in asimmer downmotion. “This is a stupid and useless argument. We all know those girls are going to do whatever the fuck they want, and not a single one of us can tell them otherwise.”
“Plus,” I said quietly into the silence that followed Owen’s proclamation. “Amara is my boss now.”
Excited chuckles and exclamations rang out from the other guys, but Leon sucked in a gasp and sat up straighter. “Which one?”
“Which one, what?” I asked innocently.
“My guess is Brie,” Cal said, shooting me a wink.
“God, you’re such an asshole,” Owen said with a disbelieving laugh. “Between you and Delia, I’ve got my hands full with shit-stirrers.”
“You love me,” Cal said with a cheesy grin.
Owen threw a pillow at his head, and the room erupted into laughter.
But all was not forgotten, at least not by Leon, because when everyone settled again, he said, “Isit Brie?”
I nodded, giving him a sheepish grin. “I’m kind of crazy about her, and I’d like the chance to pursue it.”
Leon studied me for long moments, those emerald eyes like laser beams flaying through skin and bone straight to my soul, testing my words for verity.
“You’re adults and you don’t need it,” he said at last, “but you’ve got my blessing anyway.”
“What’s all this?” Dadasked when he padded out to the kitchen late morning three days before Christmas.
