Champagne and Daisies

by SJ McCoy

  “It sounds perfect.” At least, it sounded logical. If he was honest, what sounded perfect to him would be sitting in on Chelsea’s Monday morning meeting right now. Listening to her talk—in Spanish as well as English, feeling a part of the family that she’d built there, taking part in the good-natured banter, even if he was the subject of amusement most of the time. Now he was back in the main Hamilton-Groves offices, the difference was stark. This place still had a positive atmosphere—people were warm and friendly—but it just wasn’t the same.

  “Are you sure?” Cameron raised an eyebrow, bringing him back to the moment.

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “Is it strange being here, instead of at Zosca, with Chelsea?”

  Grant smiled, there was no point trying to hide it from her perceptive big brother. “Yeah, it is. Chelsea seems to have affected me with her ways. I just need to get back down to business. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’m on the ball.”

  “I’m not worried. You’re sharper than most, even with your head in the clouds.”

  Grant laughed. “I’m not that bad, am I? I’d always heard that love could do strange things to a guy, but I’m holding it together.”

  Cameron grinned. “So, you’re there? You two are in love?”

  Grant pursed his lips. “I don’t know about that. About the two of us. I can tell you that I’m in love with your sister.”

  The door opened while he was speaking, and Mary Ellen stood there. Her jaw dropped, and the tray of coffee cups slipped out of her hands.

  “Oh, dammit! I’m sorry.” She rushed to get paper towels to mop up the mess. Cameron went to help her, and Grant watched helplessly. That had been pretty dumb. He probably shouldn’t have told Cameron that he loved her—not before he told Chelsea herself—and he definitely shouldn’t have told Mary Ellen, not that he’d intended to.

  When the mess was cleared up, Cameron got to his feet and smiled at Grant. “You’re the only guy I know who can make Mary Ellen lose her cool.”

  “I didn’t lose my cool. I just … Oh, okay. I totally lost it.” She stared at Grant. “You’re in love with her?”

  He nodded. There was no point denying it now.

  “And you haven’t told her?” asked Cameron.

  “No, he damned well has not! And what I want to know is why.” Mary Ellen looked pissed.

  Cameron laughed. “Err, calm down, would you? I don’t think that’s something you have a right to demand the answer to. That’s between Grant and Chelsea, right?”

  “I’m sorry,” she looked suitably contrite, but Grant smiled.

  “Don’t be. I want to know the answer myself. I should have told her weeks ago, but there was so much else going on. First, I was the bad guy, then she’s had so much on her plate with the transfer of ownership.”

  “And why didn’t you stay to help her with that?” Mary Ellen’s frown was back.

  “Hey, don’t blame me. She didn’t want me.” He turned to Cameron. “She and your dad thought it was better if I moved on. Which also contributed to me not wanting to tell her yet.”

  “I can see that,” said Cameron.

  “I can’t!” Mary Ellen folded her arms across her chest. “The poor girl doesn’t know where she stands. The two of you are dating, and she’s doing her best to implement everything you left her with at Zosca, but she’s on her own, as far as she’s concerned.”

  Grant frowned. “She’s not on her own. We’re together. I hope we’re going to be together forever.” Damn, why was he spilling all his secrets here?

  Cameron grinned at him but didn’t get chance to speak.

  “And why are you telling us this, but you haven’t told Chelsea?”

  “Because I don’t want to rush her. Because she’s got so much on her plate.”

  Mary Ellen shook her head. “Men can be so dumb.”

  “What’s dumb about it?” He really didn’t get it.

  “You honestly don’t know?”

  “I have no clue.”

  “And neither do I,” said Cameron with a puzzled look. “So, go on, enlighten us.”

  “She’s in love with you!”

  Grant grinned. “She is?”

  “Totally, but since you didn’t want to stay at Zosca, she isn’t sure if you feel the same.”

  Grant made a face. “I did want to stay at Zosca. Her dad thought it was better if I left; she agreed. I didn’t get a say in the matter. I just did as she wanted.”

  “That’s why you’re dumb. It isn’t what she wanted. She wanted you to stay.”

  “Why didn’t she say so?”

  “Why didn’t you tell her you love her?”

  Grant’s mind was reeling. “You’re saying she loves me and she wanted me to stay and work with her?”

  Mary Ellen nodded.

  “Wow! I guess I really am dumb because I didn’t pick up on any of that.”

  “Fair enough. But what are you going to do about it now you do know?”

  Grant looked at Cameron. He shrugged. “I’m not going to hold it against you either way. If you want to stay here while you and Chelsea work things out, that’s great. If you want to go back to Zosca, then I totally understand.”

  He looked at Mary Ellen. “I’m not so understanding. You can work here, or work there, but please, for God’s sake, at least let her know how you feel.”

  “Right now?”

  She nodded. “Preferably yesterday.

  He looked at Cameron. “It’s up to you. If you want to go, go.”

  Grant’s heart was racing. Should he? Could he barge right into her meeting, drag her out of there and tell her that he loved her? He shook his head slowly. No. He could, but he’d rather do it right.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Mary Ellen.

  He smiled at her. “I want to do it properly. We’ve gone this long without knowing how the other feels, one more day won’t make any difference.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean, do it properly?”

  Grant grinned at her, then at Cameron. “Do you know where I might find your dad?”

  Cameron grinned back. “He’s at home today.”

  “Okay.” Grant got up. “Wish me luck.”

  Mary Ellen still didn’t look happy. “What are you going to do?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Chelsea wrapped up the morning meeting and went back to her office. There was so much to do. She was supposed to go over to her parents’ place this afternoon. Her dad and Smoke had taken care of the legal side of things. She was going over there to sign the papers. By tonight, Smoke would own half her shares, and she would own Zosca. She smiled. Her dream was finally going to become a reality. Her smile faded. She wished she could share it with Grant. She sighed. That was just being greedy. She would have Zosca, and she already did have Grant. At least, he was in her life. They’d spent every night together since Gene’s party. He was practically living in the cottage with her. She kept wondering if she should talk to him about giving up his hotel room. It seemed crazy for him to keep paying for it when he never stayed there anymore. She hadn’t dared bring it up. She was still tiptoeing around the fact that she loved him. Asking him to move in might be a step too far and way too soon.

  She sat down at her desk and pulled out a folder. She stared at the numbers, but they just made her head spin. She wished Grant was here. She knew she could just hand it to him and he would work his magic. She was going to have to find the money for the new bottling machine he’d suggested—somehow. The old one was about to give out, and if it did, she’d be in big trouble. A winery wouldn’t go far if it couldn’t bottle the wines! Grant’s suggestion had been to halve the bonus. That would cover the cost of the new machine, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  She checked her watch. She’d have to come up with something, and she’d have to get busy. She needed to get a who
le bunch of things taken care of before she went to see her Dad and Smoke.

  Her phone rang, and she jumped. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Chelsea. It’s Dad. Is there any chance you can come over here now?”

  “Now? I thought we were meeting at two.”

  “That was the plan, but we’ve hit a few problems we’d like to go over with you before we sign.”

  “What problems?”

  “Why don’t you come on over, and we can talk about it.”

  She sighed. “Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She was caught somewhere between irritation and nervousness as she made the short drive to her parents’ house. What could the problem be? She didn’t know, but she did know the problems that were waiting for her back at Zosca. She’d half made up her mind that she’d buy the new bottling machine herself. It’d just be a way of her investing in her business. She knew that was a cop-out, and she didn’t plan to tell anyone that she was doing it, but it was about the only way she could think of to do it—she couldn’t cut the bonus, she just couldn’t.

  She brought the car to an abrupt halt on the gravel in front of her parents’ house, then trotted up the stairs to the huge oak doorway. “Hello?” she called.

  “In my office,” called her dad. “Come on through.”

  She made her way down the hallway and let herself into his wood-paneled office. It’d always reminded her of a library. It was warm and inviting, if rather formal—just like her dad.

  He was sitting in one of the big winged armchairs by the fire, and Smoke was sitting in the other. They both smiled when she came in.

  “What’s the problem?” she asked.

  “It’s not so much of a problem as something we want to run by you,” said her dad.

  She eyed him suspiciously. “What?”

  “Well, Smoke here is investing a lot of money in your success. I want to be sure that he knows what he’s getting himself into—and I’d like to mitigate the risk.”

  Chelsea pursed her lips. This didn’t sound good. “What do you mean? I’m buying you out. You don’t get a say anymore.”

  He smiled. “I understand that, but …”

  Smoke smiled at her. “Don’t get mad, Chels. Hear him out first. I think it’s a good idea. You might even like it.”

  “What?”

  “Well. I know you want to go out on your own and run things your own way, but I also know that you don’t have the experience.”

  Chelsea glowered at him. “No, and I’ll never get the experience if I can’t just get on and do it!”

  He smiled, unruffled by her irritation. “I know. I’m not trying to take anything away from you. I’m trying to offer you some support.”

  Chelsea waited, dreading whatever he was going to say. It wouldn’t be good, she knew it.

  Smoke chuckled. “Don’t look like that. Let him finish.”

  “I don’t want any support.”

  “Not even if it looks like this?” Her dad gestured to the door and called, “Come on in.”

  It swung open, and Chelsea gasped when she saw Grant standing there. “What do you mean?” She didn’t understand.

  Grant smiled and came toward her. “I never wanted to leave Zosca.”

  “But …” she stared at him and then at her dad. “You …”

  Her dad smiled. “Yes. Since you said you didn’t know what was going to happen between the two of you, I thought it better if Grant left.”

  “Why, though?”

  He smiled. “Because I was curious whether absence would make the heart grow fonder. And it appears it has.”

  Grant smiled. “I’m not sure that’s true. My heart was already very fond of Chelsea, but I didn’t listen to it and speak up.”

  She stared at him. What was he saying? And why was he saying it in front of her dad?

  “I knew I loved you before I left Zosca, but I didn’t think you wanted me there anymore.”

  She stared at him open-mouthed. What was he saying? “I thought you didn’t want to stay. You didn’t …”

  He shrugged and gave her a rueful smile. “You didn’t either.”

  She smiled back. “I was scared.”

  “Of what?”

  “I was scared that if I told you I loved you, you’d think I was nuts. It was too soon.”

  “But it wasn’t.”

  She came back to her senses, remembering that they were in her dad’s office, that he and Smoke were watching, listening. She turned to look at them. “And why are we doing this here, now?”

  Her dad chuckled. “Because we thought it was finally time to intervene because we weren’t sure you’d ever get there by yourselves.”

  Smoke smirked. “Come on, Chels. It’s taken you way too long. At least Grant finally figured it out.”

  Chelsea nodded. She was still a little dazed. “Well, thanks, but what’s it got to do with the two of you and signing the papers and everything?”

  Smoke met her gaze. “Well, after talking with dad, I feel like I need to protect my investment.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I love your wines, but I’m not convinced about your business skills. I’ll feel more relaxed about it all if you have a good manager to assist you.”

  She stared at him. “You’re bringing Grant in whether I want it or not?”

  He laughed. “There is no or not about it. You just admitted you never wanted him to leave. I know you can be a stubborn little mare, so I want you to give me your word that the two of you will work together—and that you’ll listen to him.”

  She glowered at him for a moment, but eventually, she had to smile. “Is this your way of helping me out?”

  He nodded. “It seemed like the two of you might not get there by yourselves.”

  She looked at Grant, and he nodded. She knew they were right. She and Grant had spent all their time together for weeks now, and they’d somehow managed not to tell each other they were in love. Maybe having family who cared enough to intervene wasn’t such a bad thing.

  “So, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I’m prepared to sell you the company, as long as you have a great management team in place.”

  “And I’m saying that I’m happy to lend you the money, with the same conditions.”

  She looked at Grant. “And I’m saying that I’d love to be part of that management team.”

  She nodded slowly. She felt like she was being manipulated somehow, but it all made sense, and the best thing was she was only being manipulated against her own stupidity. These three men who all cared about her were trying to make sure that she got what she wanted. Eventually, she smiled. “Okay. Thank you.”

  She went to Grant and slid her arm around his waist. She didn’t care that her dad and Smoke were watching. He’d just told her that he loved her! This time when he looked down into her eyes, she knew it was love she saw in his eyes. She smiled, and he smiled back.

  “Why don’t you two go and get started? You’ve a got whole new business and a whole new future ahead of you.”

  She looked back at her dad. “What about the papers?”

  “You can sign those tonight. Why don’t the two of you come over for dinner?”

  She looked at Smoke. He nodded. “I’m in no hurry. I’m not leaving until tomorrow. Laura and I will be here tonight.”

  “Okay. Great.”

  Grant took hold of her hand, and they made their way outside. “Do you want to leave your car here?” he asked. “We can pick it up tonight.”

  She nodded and followed him to his car. “Where are we going?”

  He smiled. “First for a drive, then to Zosca.”

  He drove up the valley and out into the hills. His hand rested on her knee the whole time, and she placed hers on top of it.

  When they reached a lookout point, he turned the car off the road and cut the engine, then he turned to face her. “I love you, Chelsea.�
��

  “And I love you, Grant.”

  “I’m sorry I was so dumb. I didn’t get it; I didn’t think you would love me back.”

  She shook her head. “You weren’t dumb. We were both just cautious. I didn’t want to frighten you away. I thought it was too soon.”

  He smiled. “And I didn’t want to frighten you away. I didn’t know if you could love me back.”

  She frowned.

  “Because we’re so different.”

  She laughed. “We are, but that’s part of why I do love you.”

  He reached across and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think we’re going to make a great team.”

  She nodded. “I know we are.” She chuckled. “I’m glad I get to turn to you on all the tough decisions we’re going to have to make.”

  “I’m glad you want to turn to me.”

  She nodded. “I trust you. I know you see things differently than I do, but you understand me.”

  “I do. I understand who are; I understand how you work. I know you’re right in many respects—principles really are more important than profits.”

  “And I know you’re right about cold, hard realities, and I’ll do my best to listen to you.”

  He laughed. “We’re not going to agree about everything. I know that, but I think we’ll be able to compromise.”

  “I do too.”

  He leaned toward her, and she slid her arms up around his neck. He held her gaze as he lowered his lips to hers, and then she was lost in his kiss.

  Chapter Twenty

  Grant checked himself over in the mirror in the bedroom. He looked good. He needed to. He wanted to look good for Chelsea, and he also wanted to look like the kind of guy the Hamiltons would be happy to see their daughter with. He knew he had their blessing. He’d gotten that when he’d driven over there like a madman this morning and barged into Mr. Hamilton’s meeting with Smoke. He’d talked to them—and to Mrs. Hamilton. He wanted them to be happy about this.

  He and Chelsea had gone back to Zosca this afternoon, and it’d been so good. They’d worked together on beginning to implement the changes he’d recommended to her. He hadn’t pushed her about the bottling machine. He’d known she would wrestle with that one for a while, and that she’d probably find some other way to pay for it—one that didn’t include halving the bonus. With time, he hoped that he’d get her to see sense on that, but he didn’t need to rush her. They’d get there—if things turned out the way he was hoping, he’d have the rest of their lives to convince her.