A Toast to Murder

by Michele Scott

  Marco ran the spa at Malveaux, so Simon was busy being the stay-at-home parent. The arrangement worked out beautifully, and Nikki was overjoyed to see her two best friends settled and happy. Violet had been the blessing Nikki and Derek hoped she’d be, and now they were hoping for a little blessing of their own.

  “You loving the hair, or what, girlfriend? You’re over your little tizzy, right, because I almost so did not come visit you this morning. I was praying you’d retracted the claws.” Simon picked up his coffee cup.

  She flashed him her best fake smile. “I love it.” She hissed at him and brought her hands up in the shape of claws.

  “Your hair is brilliant. You look stunning and everyone in that church is going to think you look stunning as well. Now finish up the coffee, Miss Soon To Be Walking Down The Aisle, and let’s go and get your nails done. They look atrocious. Ooh, and don’t do that hissing claw thing ever again. Creepy.”

  Nikki looked at her hands. Doing her nails was not something she did on a regular basis. She found it tedious, but Simon did make a good point. They were stubby and needed some care. “I can’t. I have to take Derek’s friends on a tour around the winery first.”

  Simon pouted. “Hmmm. Me thinky you not too happy about that.”

  She pointed at him. “You thinky right.”

  “So who has shown up so far for the wedding of the century?” Nikki told him. “Ah. Yes, the frat boys and their sorority girls have arrived. I see the dilemma, especially Tristan’s other half.”

  “Savannah? Yeah, what is her deal? She’s a world class bi—”

  Simon brought his hand up to stop her and pointed at Violet. “Listen up, if you wanna be a mama, you need to clean up that mouth of yours. Maybe I should wash it out with some soap.”

  “Sorry, but the woman is not nice, and she did not have a problem being rude to me. And get this, that party boy Kenny, who I just don’t like at all, why Derek is still friends with him . . .” She shrugged. “Well, last night when we came back from dinner—without Savannah, who had begged off, claiming a migraine—the two of them were lounging in the pool, having drinks. And I think those two were up to no good. She just seemed a little too defensive of that Kenny guy and a little too interested in him.”

  “Interesting. But you have no time for snooping through the lives of the boring and moronic, and for once murder seems to be escaping you, so let’s go with that.”

  Nikki frowned. “So, do you know anything about Savannah? You did call her boorish and a moron. Interesting terminology.”

  “No.” He looked away.

  “You are so lying to me. Simon. Spill.”

  He brought his hands to his chest and gave her his totally offended look. “I am so not lying.”

  “Yes, you so are. Why? What do you know? You better tell me. You’re going to tell me. I am Violet’s godmother.”

  “Oh, sure, go and involve the baby, why don’t you! Why don’t you twist the knife and guilt me a little more, Snow White? Hmm, I do miss the dark hair, but I can’t go back to calling you Goldilocks. You need some locks for that. We need a new tag, babe, a new nickname for you.”

  “Simon!”

  “Okay, fine. I don’t want to tell you this because you are only going to get yourself all worked up and be all anxious, and you are getting married this weekend, but whatever. Savannah has always had a thing for my brother, or at least she did. I don’t think Tristan knows, but Derek told me once a few years ago, before you came here, when Derek was married to that psycho piece of work, that Savannah tried to hit on him.” Nikki’s eyes widened. “See, now don’t do that. Do not do that! Don’t freak out. You’re going to freak out on me, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not going to freak out on you. I am not. I promise, but there’s more to it, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me? You’ve already spilled, now spill the rest. Maybe I’ll let you wear the tails. Maybe.”

  He sighed. “You’re ruthless. Derek is going to kill me. Okay. When they were in college, Savannah chased after Derek for a long time, and he repeatedly turned her down. One night, drunk and stupid, he kind of . . .”

  “He slept with her?” she shrieked.

  Violet stopped banging on her Winnie-the-Pooh piano and turned around, a frown on her face.

  “The baby, Nikki. No, he didn’t sleep with her, but she kissed him in a drunken stupor. He didn’t fall for her slutty little antic. She was already dating Tristan, who was totally in love with her.”

  “Oh my God.” She couldn’t help wondering if Derek had kissed Savannah back, way back when. Yes, it was immature and childish, and jealousy was not a good thing, but she still couldn’t help herself.

  “Now, Nikki, this was twenty-some years ago. You cannot get yourself worked up over this. You can’t. My brother loves you. He is a great guy and so he kissed the wrong girl a bazillion years ago and trust me he can’t stand her any more than you can.”

  “I don’t even know what to say right now. Sure I get it, sort of, I mean college kids party and make stupid mistakes, but what I don’t get is why is he still friends with these people? Particularly Tristan and Savannah?”

  “You know Derek. He’s a good guy. He never wanted Tristan to know about that incident, and he really felt like Savannah had matured and was in love with Tristan.”

  “But then when they came out here, what five, six years ago, she hit on him again? Why wouldn’t he tell Tristan then what a jerk his wife is?”

  “Sure. How do you propose he do that? They have two children. Derek lost his mom and saw what it was like to have a stepmother. My mother. Speaking of, I heard from her the other day.”

  “I don’t care. She’s the least of my worries. I’m more bothered by this information. I have to work this through my brain.”

  “No, you don’t. You have to get ready to get married.”

  That feeling she’d had the night before, the one that made her feel nauseous, traveled through her again.

  As she started to say something else, loud honks from a car barreling up the road and past the house echoed off the golden hills and into the valley of grapes. Nikki’s stomach twisted. “Who in the world?” She peered out the window and spotted a sleek black Lamborghini. Her stomach sank.

  Simon frowned. “I was just getting to that. Remember how I was saying that my mother called the other day?”

  “Oh no. No. Please don’t tell me. No. That’s my worst. Well, one of my worst nightmares come true. Your mother can’t be back here. She is not here. Tell me she’s not here. Simon, please tell me that. That wasn’t her, right?”

  Simon closed his eyes, color drained from his face, and the grim expression he wore gave her the answer.

  Patrice Malveaux was back on the vineyard.

  Five

  EVERYTHING about Patrice made Nikki cringe. She was arrogant, self-centered, manipulative, and plain mean. Nikki had hoped and prayed she’d be gone forever. The last she’d heard, Patrice was back in her home-land of Greece and living large off of the inheritance that Derek and Simon’s father had left her.

  Nikki stared hard at Simon who looked away. “Why is she here?”

  Simon closed his eyes. “She’s Violet’s grandmother, and she wanted to see the baby.”

  “Bullshit,” Nikki said.

  Simon’s eyes widened. “Nikki!”

  “Sorry. I don’t think I just harmed the baby. You are not letting my goddaughter go anywhere near that witch.”

  “Nikki, she is my mother. I know she’s dreadful, but people do change.”

  Nikki rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t believe this. I seriously do not believe this. After what that woman put me through, that you would actually defend her? Mother or not, she’s evil. It’s not like she was June Cleaver to you.”

  “Nikki—”

  “Don’t try to reason with me. I know that’s what you’re going to try to do. And she came back here to ruin my wedding. This has nothing to do with her wanting to get to know her new gr
andchild. If I had to stake my life on it, I’d bet the idea of being a grandma makes her cringe. She is up to no good.” Simon frowned. “You know that I’m right. I find the timing absolutely perfect for her and miserable for me, and I can tell by looking at you that you agree with me.”

  “I-I-I don’t know what to say.”

  “What can you say? Just do what I ask and keep her far away from me. I now have to go and play hostess to people I don’t like, including some one-night stand my fiancé once had.”

  “He didn’t sleep with her.”

  Nikki walked out the door, almost slamming it, but then remembered Violet inside and decided to keep as much of her cool as she could.

  And cool she remained as she approached Derek, who was seated at the large breakfast table at the hotel restaurant with his friends. “Hi, honey, what took you so long? We were waiting. I went ahead and ordered the stuffed French toast for you. I know it’s your favorite.”

  “Wouldn’t be mine,” Savannah chimed in. “I’m sure it’s loaded with calories, and I don’t think I’d be wanting to eat too much before my big day.”

  “Do you always say whatever is on your mind? Or do whatever you feel?” Nikki said sitting down.

  All eyes turned to her. “Honey, I don’t think Savannah meant anything.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Savannah said. “I just meant that it wouldn’t be my choice. I like eggs.”

  “Sure.” Nikki smiled. She leaned over and kissed Derek’s cheek. “Sorry. Wedding jitters. You know all the planning and, um, did you know that Patrice is back?”

  “What? Here?”

  Nikki nodded. “Here.”

  “Oh, Patrice. I love her,” Savannah said. “When Nancy and Zach came out with us to see you and Mer—I mean before Mer went a little bonkers—Patrice was such a darling hostess, so conscientious. Right Zach?”

  Zach didn’t reply but took a sip from his coffee cup. Nikki noticed that Tristan bumped Savannah hard on the shoulder.

  “You would love Patrice. Can you excuse me? I need to head to the lady’s room. I’ll be right back. And the French toast is perfect. I’m fortunate to have one of those fast metabolisms.”

  Nikki headed to the bathroom knowing she should’ve kept her mouth shut, but that wench had some nerve. This was not what she’d thought the week of her wedding would be like. She didn’t really have to use the restroom, but rather needed a minute to get her bearings together. While she was washing her hands, Savannah walked in.

  “Nikki, I’m so sorry if I offended you.”

  Nikki sighed. Comebacks were not one of her strong suits. She always tried to be a rational, nice, bite-her-tongue kind of gal, but that wasn’t going to happen this time. Simon’s revelations alone about Savannah made her want to let this woman know exactly what she thought of her and that she was totally on to her. “Actually Savannah, you’ve been offending me ever since you introduced yourself. Considering the way you’ve behaved, your apology is a bit unconvincing.”

  “What?” She brought her hands up to her chest.

  “Yep. You have not once been nice to me in the past twenty-four hours. You’ve actually gone out of your way to be rude to me.” Nikki took a step toward the woman who took a step backward. “I’m on to you. I know all about you and what you’re really after and you disgust me. Here’s the deal, lady. This is my week. My wedding week, and you are not going to ruin it with your snide remarks. I’m going to let you stay here only because your husband seems nice enough and because my fiancé is friends with him. But you need to stay away from me. Got it. Don’t talk to me and if you make one more mean, condescending, awful remark, suggestion, whatever . . .” Nikki took another step toward Savannah, whose eyes widened as she took another step backward leaving her angled up against the stall door. “I will have you escorted off the Malveaux property, and you will never be welcome back here.”

  Savannah laughed. “Please. Derek would never allow that.”

  “I don’t think my husband-to-be would have any problem with it, actually. And I don’t think you want to test my theory. Do you?”

  “Everything okay in here?” It was Jackson’s wife, Lily.

  Nikki turned around with a quaking Savannah behind her. “Peachy keen. Right, Savannah?”

  “Perfect,” Savanna replied.

  “Good. Well the food is here, so the guys thought we should eat and get a move on. I know you have a busy day ahead of you, Nikki. If you need anything, let me know.”

  “Thank you.”

  The rest of breakfast went off without a hitch. Savannah barely spoke, and everyone quizzed Nikki and Derek on the wedding details. Nikki tried not to be a phony, but Derek’s friends were hard to be real around, and it troubled her that this was his crew. In a way, she felt bad for confronting Savannah the way she had, but the woman did need a lesson in couth and kindness, and although she hadn’t delivered it in the nicest way, Nikki wasn’t about to let anything worse happen this week. She’d had enough, between the hair, the friends, and Patrice (who she knew would be another chapter of fun and games this week). For now, she tried hard to focus on the tour around the vineyard.

  Another thing she was having a hard time with was actually having warm and fuzzy feelings toward Derek. They had to have a talk about Savannah. The kiss she could get over. She knew it was childish to be jealous over something that happened years ago. It did still kind of sting though. And according to Simon, Savannah had been flirtatious toward Derek only a few years ago when she and Tristan had visited. Meredith had been Derek’s wife at the time and there was that rule that everyone knew—don’t mess with a married man. More so than all of the past issues that had popped up, Nikki realized that most of her anger toward Savannah was because the woman had been rude and obnoxious toward her, and Derek had not exactly defended of her. She would have thought at the breakfast table that he would have said something to give Miss Uppity her comeuppance.

  Derek wrapped an arm around her when they were inside the warehouse where the vats were stored. A half dozen large, metal, round tanks fermented grapes into wine, prior to barreling them. The warehouse was chilled, dark and had a cement floor. Particles could be seen floating through the air as a ray of sunshine came through one of the small windows at the top of the warehouse. It smelled of fruit and alcohol.

  As she looked over at Savannah who was coldly staring at her, Nikki couldn’t help but shrink away, thinking, that is a woman Derek once kissed. Jealousy was such an ugly emotion, and Nikki hated feeling it at any level.

  “So those things are filled with wine?” Kenny asked.

  “You got it. These are all 1200-gallon tanks. After stemming and crushing the grapes, the juice is put into the vats, where alcoholic fermentation takes place. It’s the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. After this, the wine is ready to be barreled and aged,” Derek said.

  “Now that sounds like a party. Just open up one of those things and everyone drink up.”

  Derek laughed. “I don’t think so. It’s not exactly wine yet.”

  “It’s alcohol though, right?” Kenny said.

  Lily rolled her eyes. “When are you ever going to grow up, Ken?”

  “Never. Why would I want to do that? It doesn’t sound like any fun. I like women, wine, and wicked fun.” He laughed.

  Tristan slapped him on the back. “Not one to change. That’s what we love about you.”

  Nikki thought she might throw up right there on the spot. She also wondered if anyone picked up on the slight sarcasm in Tristan’s voice.

  “The fumes alone though would kill you. We take measures to make sure no one gets locked inside an empty one. There have been a handful of deaths that way in the area over the years. It’s vital to wear the proper equipment.”

  “I don’t think that would be the worst way to go,” Kenny said.

  “Suffocation?” Lily said. “You think that’s cool, huh, Ken?”

  Kenny gave her a surprised look and so did her hus
band. “God, Lil, when did you get to be such a . . . I don’t know . . . ?”

  “What? Bitch? Is that what you were going to call me?” Lily asked.

  Now this was amusing. Nikki knew she should feel slightly uncomfortable, but she really didn’t.

  “Hey, everyone,” Derek said. “Come on.”

  “No, of course I don’t mean bitch. I’m sorry, Lily. Maybe I should grow up a bit.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  Okay, there was definitely a story here. Nikki knew that the kind of resentment that Lily showed toward Kenny did not simply come from her thinking his behavior was juvenile. Granted it was, but still . . .

  As they walked out of the vat room and started down the pathway to the vines, Nikki noticed Jackson and Lily speaking in hushed tones—the angry kind. Why should she care? She didn’t. Not really, but all of the drama had taken her mind off of Patrice.

  Walking through the Chardonnay grapes with a suddenly subdued group, Nikki’s cell rang. It was her aunt. “Aunt Cara. Hi. You’re here?” she asked excitedly. First good thing to happen all week. Derek put an arm around her and she smiled up at him. “What? No. I . . . Ooh my God. That’s terrible. When? Okay. Yes. Yes. Of course I understand. I love you, too. Okay. Bye.”

  “What is it?” Derek asked.

  She swallowed back the emotion and tried hard not to cry. “Aunt Cara can’t make it. She tripped over her boyfriend’s teacup poodle last night and fell against their nightstand. She broke her leg in three places. And her wrist. She has to have surgery on her wrist in a few days, after the swelling goes down.”

  “Oh, honey.”

  “I can’t believe this. I have to go back to the house.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “No. Finish with your friends. I need some time alone.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded and hugged him. Walking back down to the house, she knew this all had to be a sign. Maybe this was the wedding that was not supposed to happen. Now tears did blur her vision, and then her text messaging rang. She read the message from a blocked number and turned her face heavenward. “You have to be kidding me.” The message read, Do you believe in fate? MAT.