First Love - [Bridesmaid's Chronicles 04]

by Julie Kenner

  The cell was empty.

  She heard footsteps and turned to see Wesley walking toward them, his uniform crisp and sharp despite the heat. According to Syd, the officer had a weakness for pie and home cooking. Syd had relayed this news with a wide grin, then casually mentioned Julia's driving and suggested she start keeping a tin or two in a cooler in her trunk. Just in case she got pulled over.

  As it turned out, the one time Wesley had pulled her over, pie wasn't necessary at all. Her innate charm had gotten her off with a mere warning.

  "Hey there, Julia. Good to see you again." His eyes widened suddenly, and a red stain started to creep up his neck. "Oh, God. I didn't mean that. I mean, it is nice and all. But you know. I wish the circumstances were better. That's all I meant. I didn't mean your Pa"

  "Don't worry, Wesley," Roman said. "Julia knew what you meant." He frowned. "But why are you here?"

  Wesley was a state trooper, not a city cop, so the question was a valid one.

  The lanky officer shrugged. "My buddy Arvin made the arrest, and when he found out who the perp was, he called me. Seeing as how I know Julia and all. I'm not here officially, but it's a small town, so they don't mind me being around."

  "Where is my father?"

  "Aw, he was making all kinds of noises about being put in a cage, so they got him in an office." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "In there, actually. Last I checked, he was playing solitaire on the computer and cursing to no end."

  "He punched out a judge and you just shoved him into an office?" Roman asked.

  "Roman! He's my dad."

  "That doesn't afford him special treatment."

  She stared at him. If that was how he felt, then then

  Then she didn't know what. She felt the slow burn of anger start to fill her blood, but before she could lash out at her fiance, Wesley piped in again.

  "Weren't like he was getting special treatment anyhow. Judge already set bail, and Syd and Alex are off at the bank waiting for the wire transfer to come through. So, you know, it's like he's just in limbo. Besides, it ain't like he got arrested in Austin."

  "But he's"

  "A pain in the ass, that's for damn sure. No offense intended, Julia. But he's harmless."

  Roman put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "They've already set bail? That's good news."

  She jerked out from under it, flashed him what she hoped was a scathing look. For just a second, she thought she saw hurt cross his oh-so-perfect face, and then it was gone. She stifled the urge to take his arm and say she was sorry, but this wasn't about Roman, and she'd do well to remember that.

  "Thank you for that, Wesley," she said instead. "It means a lot to me not seeing him behind bars. But how'd you get a judge to set bail so fast?"

  "Judge Strauss did it."

  She blinked. "But wasn't Strauss the one he hit?"

  "That's right. Said if he didn't have the right to set bail, no one did."

  "But but why would he ?"

  Wesley shrugged. "Dunno. But he did." He lifted a hand. "Hey, there's Syd and Alex now." He gestured toward the door that opened into the reception area. "You leave the cash with Irene?" At their nod, he turned back to Roman and Julia.

  "It'll take some time for the paperwork to get finished and filed. Half hour or so. You wanna go in and talk to your dad while you wait?"

  "Yeah. I'd like that." As she moved toward the door, Roman followed. She stopped, looking at the floor as she shook her head. "I'd, um, rather go in myself. Just me and Syd."

  "Oh." She could hear the hurt in his voice, steeled herself against it. Already his perception of her was changing. She could tell just from the way he'd reacted since they got the call. She didn't want to push him all the way over the edge by taking him into the pit with her and seeing just how low Marv could crawl.

  That was most of it. A smaller part of her just wanted to be alone with her pop, to tell him she loved him even if he was the world's biggest asshole. But loving her pop might lower her estimation in Roman's eyes. Another reason she didn't want him inside with her.

  And last, she'd heard the tone in his voice when he'd thought Marv was getting special treatment. They weren't just like oil and waterthey were like nitro and glycerine. Get them close enough, and they'd explode. There'd be plenty of opportunities after the wedding for them to butt heads. No sense getting an early start now.

  Mostly, though, she just wanted to go in alone.

  Wesley held the door open, and she went in without looking at Roman. Syd lagged behind, telling something to Alex, and for a moment, it was just her and Marv.

  He looked up, his eyes sparkling with something that might be amusement, might be love. "Well, hell, Princess. I guess your pop fucked up, huh? Not the first time, kid, and it won't be the last."

  And that, she thought as the door clicked shut behind her, pretty much summed up life with Marv Spinelli.

  Roman watched, silently cursing himself as Julia slipped into the room with her father. After a few seconds, Syd followed, and still Roman just stood there, feeling a bit numb about the whole thing.

  "Roman?" Alex pressed a hand on his shoulder. "What's up, man?"

  He shook his head. "I just could've handled this whole thing better." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't think I played the supportive fiance role very well today."

  "There's a history there," Alex said. "You did the best you could. You're probably just as shocked as she was. I mean, Spinelli pushed the envelope here. Breaking the judge's nose was hardly what we call typical tourist behavior."

  Probably true, but that wasn't an excuse.

  A gray government-issue desk was pressed up against the wall, a dangerous-looking desk chair parked beside it. Roman took the chair, balanced so it wouldn't collapse under him, and leaned forward as he rubbed his temples.

  Beside him, Alex hitched his leg up onto the desk and sat there as if he owned the place. "The whole town's buzzing," Alex said. "Get used to hearing about this for a long, long time."

  "That one I already figured out on my own." He took a deep breath. "The truth is, if it weren't for Julia, the whole thing would be pretty damn funny."

  "She's pretty broken up about it?"

  "I think she's afraid everyone's going to paint her with the same brush as her father." A fresh burst of anger ripped through him. "Damn the man. How the hell could someone be so stupid? Punching a judge in the nose? What was he thinking?"

  "I get the impression from talking with Syd that Marv Spinelli tries to think as little as possible."

  "Shit," Roman said, which pretty much described how he felt the last few hours.

  "Herman Strauss is a saint, you know that, right?"

  "He's doing it for Julia," Roman said. "He may not have said so, but I know the man. He likes her. Wants to make this easier on her. I'm afraid, though, that that's just going to make her feel worse."

  "It shouldn't. Everyone in town loves her."

  "The sins of the father," Roman said.

  "Not here. We know better."

  "Maybe we do," Roman said. "I just hope Julia realizes it." He caught the way Alex was frowning at him, and realized he said too much. But he couldn't help it. He was worried. After a fabulous night, today was turning out to be a day filled with nothing but worries and fears. It had been bad enough when he'd had to cancel his appointment with the Barrington Hotel Group's rep. Now he had to add personal worries on top of the business concerns.

  He ran his fingers through his hair, hating the way that she'd pulled away from him once they'd reached the police station. The way she'd looked at him when he'd made that stupid, stupid comment about special treatment. Hating even more the impotence he felt, not being able to fix it for her.

  He hadn't even been able to post bail, to at least make it a little bit right. Syd had already taken care of that, having contacted the new family accountant to wire funds.

  So he couldn't spring Marv, he couldn't change the past, and he couldn't stop th
e inevitable gossip. Everything his fiancee needed at the moment, and he couldn't manage any of it. Hell, he couldn't even be there for her, since she'd politely but firmly asked him to give her some time alone with her dad.

  "Julia loves you, Roman. So much it's embarrassing to the rest of us just to look at the two of you. You're quite a spectacle on the street, you know. The subject of much town gossip."

  Roman managed a tiny smile, which was what Alex had been going for.

  "And she doesn't love you any less just because she wants a few minutes with her dad," Alex continued. "I mean, it's no secret there's a history between your dad and Marv Spinelli. She drags you in there when Marv has his ire up, and it's not going to be a happy scene."

  Roman nodded. "It's like living in a damn Shakespearean tragedy. It's not just our fathersit's our entire families. You should've seen the way he looked at me yesterday. The man would just as soon not share the planet with any member of the Sonn-tag clan."

  "That bad, huh?" Alex frowned. "You know, I only know the basics. What's the whole story?"

  "What do you know?"

  "Same thing everyone in town does. Marv wanted to buy Sonntag House. Your dad was going to sell it. Then when he found out that Marv was going to gut it and make it into some monstrosity like all his other motels, your dad backed out of the deal. Marv plunked down the Motor Inn to get back at your dad, and that was that."

  "All true," Roman said. "Except Marv looks to be an Olympic-class grudge carrier. And he's pissed off at the entire family."

  "Just because your dad backed out of a deal?"

  "It's a little more complicated than that."

  "Enlighten me."

  Roman shot a look at the closed door and shrugged. Why not? They certainly had time. "Marv sued for specific performance, right? Argued that there was a contract to sell land, and that under Texas law, Dad couldn't just back out."

  "Right."

  "Well, Marv was right. That is Texas law. And if Dad had entered into a valid contract, then Sonntag House would be Marv's today."

  "I'm not following."

  "A few years before Marv rolled into town, Dad set up a small corporation. He pretty much ran things, but technically, everyone else in the family had an ownership interest. Mom. Kiki. Me. It wasn't anything we thought about. We had family meetings once a year and that was that. Dad ran things, the same as always, but the title to the house was transferred into the company name."

  "And the contract with Marv was with your dad, not the company."

  "Exactly. No big deal if things hadn't gone awry, but once Dad found out that Marv wanted to gut the place, he called in the lawyers. They told him how he'd screwed up."

  "So Marv lost out because your dad screwed up?"

  "Only partially. If it had just been Dad, the court would have decided in favor of Marv out of fairness. The judge would have considered it a technicality the contract was with Dad when it should have been with the company."

  "But" Alex prompted.

  "But the family had been kept completely out of the loop. We thought it was unfair that this New Jersey businessman was getting screwed, but none of us wanted to give up our heritage if we didn't have to, especially when we realized he wasn't going to keep the house as is. We all voted and it was unanimous. And since we each owned twenty-five percent, no one of us could swing the vote. It really was a family decision."

  Alex whistled through his teeth.

  "Marv threw a fit, but there wasn't anything he could do. Judge Strauss ruled that the contract was void since it wasn't entered into by the proper party. He ordered Dad to pay Marv damages, and Dad did. But Marv didn't need money then any more than he needs it now. He was pissed at Dad. Mostly, though, he was pissed at the lot of us."

  "Family holidays are going to be a load of fun for you and Julia," Alex said.

  Roman scowled. "It's been fifteen years. I was hoping the man was over it by now. I mean, he's the one who sullied our view with the Inn. He definitely got the last word, but he's still pissed off. And I hate that Julia has to deal with it."

  Alex nodded sympathetically. "She's a big girl, though. And she's been dealing with Marv her whole life."

  Roman knew that, of course. But that didn't mean it rankled any less. Especially since there was nothing he could do to make it better for her. This was in her dad's head. And that was one place Roman couldn't go even if he wanted to.

  Alex shifted on the desk, then stretched. "The whole situation sucks, but there's nothing you can do about it. How did the trip to Austin go? Business at least you can get your head around. You told me about the Gristali Market fiasco. Were you able to make any headway filling that gap in Austin?"

  "Some," Roman admitted. "But not a lot." He described the dinner with Charles. "Went well, and he's going to put in an order for quite a few cases, but they're a Texas-only operation. Gristali was national. It's still a huge hit." Before his father had called with news of Gristali's breach, Roman had been confident the winery could hang in there by the skin of its teeth. Now, though

  Well, now cash flow was even more sluggish, and they had rent and mortgage payments coming due on various properties the winery held. Some creditors could be pushed back. Landlords and mortgagors were not among them. Cash had gone from tight to strangling, and he needed to find a quick solution.

  "Sure you don't want me to look into rounding up some investors?"

  Roman shook his head. "Not yet. It's a family business and I want to keep it that way. I'm not saying no. But I am saying that's a last resort."

  Alex nodded in understanding. "Got anything else in the pipe?"

  "Yeah. It's not optimal, but it's a possibility. I had a meeting scheduled this morning, actually, but I had to cancel when we got the call about Marv."

  "I'm listening."

  Roman stifled a chuckle. By all appearances, Alex was a laid-back country boygood-looking, with an easy charm and a heart of gold. The man was also a shark where business was concerned, which meant that he was tenacious as hell. Almost as tenacious as Roman himself. If Alex wanted the full rundown on Roman's various business dealings, Roman knew he'd have to either give up the information, or fight a battle to the death if he wanted to hold his cards close to his chest.

  Since he didn't have the energy to argue, he caved. "Michael Barrington," he said. "Recognize the name?"

  "Hell, yeah," Alex said. "The man's about as well-known as the Hilton family, without the media-trap daughters."

  Roman nodded. Barrington kept a much lower profile, but the hotelier had properties all around the globe, with his own fleet of planes to make arriving at the various properties all the easier. If Barrington was on your side, you were golden. For years, Roman had been trying to get an in with the man.

  "Let me guess," Alex said. "He's going to set you up as a featured label in his restaurants."

  Roman shook his head. "That would be a coup. And, no, these days I'm not that lucky."

  "Then what?"

  "Barrington's playing hardball. He features Sonn-tag wines at a few locations, but it's not widespread, and I've been pushing for wider penetration. But he's holding back because there's something he wants from me, and he sees it as a bargaining chip."

  "What does he want?"

  "His own label," Roman said flatly, watching his friend's eyes as the words registered.

  "Your wine, his label," Alex said. "And his money backing it up."

  "Bingo."

  "So what are you going to do?"

  "Well, I sure as hell don't want to do that," Roman said.

  Alex nodded. "That's not what I asked."

  "I know." Roman rubbed his palms over his face, suddenly exhausted. He hadn't managed much actual sleep last night. "I don't want to do it. We're building up to an excellent wine here. The vines are mature, our skill level has increased, I think we're really positioned to break out, and soon."

  "And if you're the source for Barrington's label, you're diluting your own."

/>   "Exactly. Not to mention competing against myself. Best case scenario, we drive each other's prices up. But that's a long shot, and besides, it's only money. I'm more concerned about the vineyard's reputation. I want to produce an award-winning wine, and I want to be recognized for it. I'm not interested in being some winery's ghostwriter. The trouble is, it is all about money. We're stretched to the breaking point, and if I want to continue pushing for a stellar vintage, I need the capital to develop the wine. Which means I may have to come full circle and take the deal so that I've got the money to finance all my plans."

  "I get you," Alex said, and Roman was certain his friend did understand. A few years ago, they'd both left Fredericksburg to conquer the world, and they'd both done exceptionally well, with money pouring in and hot deals at every turn. They'd both slowed down, though. And for the same reasonfamily. Roman's fatherand the family landneeded him. For Alex, it had been his mother's illness that had drawn him back to Fredericksburg.

  And, though nothing formal was in the works yet, Roman knew that the promise of raising a family here with Syd was one of the reasons Alex stayed even though his mom was now well cared for in a facility that knew how to deal with Alzheimer's.

  "What does Julia think?" Alex asked.

  Roman grimaced. "I haven't told her."

  Alex shifted on the desk, everything about his posture telegraphing surprise. "Trouble in paradise?"

  "No, it's not like that. It's just" He waved the words away. Shit, this was hard. He drew in a breath, exhaled. "It's just that she knows I came back to make the winery a success. To build it from the small family business into a nationally recognized producer. What she doesn't know is how much money Dad and I have sunk into it. She thinks I need to bring business in to grow the winery and promote the wine. Not to keep the whole thing afloat."

  "For God's sake, Roman. Why haven't you told her?"

  "Hell, I don't know." He didn't, either. He loved her, he really did. But he hated the thought of coming into the relationship from a position of weakness. "Besides, maybe she already knows. I hear the gossip around town. We bank out of Austin, so no one knows for sure, but this is a small town. Lots of speculation. Especially after the ring situation. Some of it's probably gotten to Julia's ear."