Page 108 of Blush
“Bridget, leave that suitcase there and come with me.” She led her back to her bedroom and closed the door. She handed her a box of tissues and had her take a seat in one of the Georgian armchairs while she folded herself onto the other, just as she’d sat with Leonard when she told him about her indiscretion. She wondered if Bridget had a similar story, if she’d betrayed Asher. Vivian couldn’t imagine any other reason why he would break off the engagement.
“Now, what’s going on?” Vivian said.
Bridget pulled a lock of hair loose from her ponytail holder and began twirling it. “He said he can’t marry me... under the circumstances.”
“Whatcircumstances?” Vivian said impatiently.
“Losing the winery.”
Apparently, Asher wasn’t fooled by Leonard’s show of bravado at the production meeting, either. He anticipated the worst. Only Leah was under the illusion that the winery could be saved, but how long could that last? More urgently, she wondered why Asher broke up with his fiancée over it.
“What does the winery have to do with your engagement?”
“He said, quote, he has nothing to offer me and it’s not fair to drag me down into these problems.”
Vivian was surprised that her spoiled, self-centered son would make such a selfless gesture. But she was upset thinking that Asher believed his only value was tied to the fortune—or misfortune—of his family. As if he had no inherent value and Bridget was just with him for money. Was his self-esteem that low? And if it was, did it explain why he seemed to not even try to keep up with Leonard in the business?
Vivian realized she was guilty of this thinking herself. She’d stewed for months over her belief that Bridget was just a gold digger until, well, until the night of the book club, when she saw another dimension to the young woman.
“I told him that I was totally supportive of him—like, literally supportive. I’m making money from my influencer sponsorships,” Bridget said.
Vivian still didn’t understand what that meant, but nonetheless she got the spirit of it.
“I’m sure he appreciates that,” Vivian said.
“No, he doesn’t. Just the opposite. He said he could never live with the idea of his wife making the money.”
“What?”
Where would Asher get such an outdated, sexist, ridiculous attitude? Looking around the room as Bridget dabbed at her face with more tissues, she found her answer in the family photos arranged on the sideboard. In frame after frame, Leonard stared back at her. Leonard.
Vivian shook her head and turned to Bridget, whose pale eyes were shadowed with smudges of makeup.
“I’ll talk to him,” Vivian said.
She might not have her own mother to go to for advice, but she was a mother herself. And it was time to give it. She never imagined she would willingly be in a position to try to save Asher’s relationship with Bridget Muldoon, but that was exactly what she was going to do.
Leah sat propped up in bed, leafing through the pages ofScruples. She’d gone back to reread the part where Billy realized her store was failing and had to accept an entire new direction from an outsider. At first, Billy thought she’d rather just shutter the whole thing than change course. But ultimately, Billy was her father’s daughter:
Billy began to exercise her father’s Winthrop characteristics: total dedication to a cause, stern self-discipline, the willingness to struggle toward achievement at all costs...
Leah was nervous to tell her father her ultimate strategy for the winery. But while he might be determined to say no, she was just as determined to change his mind.
She would ease into her ideas. First, she’d get him used to the idea of producing a rosé. Then, only after he was totally on board with that, she’d drop the real bombshell: All rosé. Only rosé. A vineyard catering to women.
The only question was timing. When to drop the bombshell?
“Sooner is better than later,” Steven said, climbing into bed next to her.
“How soon?”
Steven pulled the book from her hands and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “He seemed receptive at the meeting today. And you said he’ll be making plans with Chris about tank space soon.”
He was right. Any delay was just stalling. There was no room for fear in this situation. Or, rather, there was no room to act or not act out of fear.
“I’m going to find him right now,” she said, getting out of bed.
“Now? I didn’t meannow...”
