“Where’d you go?” Naught asked.
“What do you mean? I’m right here.”
“I asked you the same question three times.”
“Sorry. What did you ask me?”
“What are you going to do about Alex Avila?”
“This is crazy.” Alex shook her head. “Where is Eli now?”
“He went to see Joaquin, who convinced him he was panicking over nothing.”
“Why the urgency to talk to Maddox Butler then?”
“That doesn’t concern you.”
“Seriously, Gabe? I’ve been trying to reach all three of you since last night. You couldn’t call me back and tell me there was nothing to worry about?”
“You’re as bad as Eli.”
Alex was furious that she’d spent the whole day worrying that their family was on the brink of bankruptcy, and Eli was on his way to jail, yet Gabe had the nerve to tell her she was overreacting.
“You’re a jerk. You don’t take me or Eli seriously.”
“Tell you what, princess, you start behaving like someone who should be taken seriously, and I’ll start doing it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve been chasing after Maddox Butler since you were a teenager. Don’t you have any pride, Alex? You’re nothing more than his—”
Before he said something she couldn’t unhear, Alex slapped Gabe across the face as hard as she could. “How dare you!”
The side of Gabe’s face was red with her hand print. “Truth hurts you worse than that slap hurt me. If Papa were still alive—”
“You’re wrong, Gabe. You’re wrong about Maddox. How could you, after all he did for our family?”
Gabe shook his head and walked toward the winery. Alex was too stunned to move. Was that really the way he saw her? Was he the only one, or did Eli and Joaquin think the same thing? What about Cristobal? Surely he didn’t share Gabe’s opinion.
“Alex,” her mother called out to her from the back door, waving her cell phone. “Someone is trying to reach you.”
There wasn’t anyone she could think of that she wanted to talk to, but she walked back to the house anyway.
What was she saying to her mother before Gabe drove up? Everything was changing, and none of it in a good way. Maybe it was time Alex made some drastic changes of her own, beginning with getting away from this place for a while.
“Nothing. There isn’t anything to do.”
Naughton shrugged and opened the passenger door of the truck. “We made a lot of progress today.”
“We will tomorrow, too.”
Tomorrow Naughton would call the labor contractor, and hire the workforce they’d need to begin transforming the vineyards.
“We should look for a field manager now, so he knows the vineyards from the beginning,” Naught suggested.
“Good idea. I’ll let you handle the hiring process. Since we’re in the slowest time of the year, I’ll start looking for an apprentice winery manager too.”
“That’s on you.”
“I’ll get a few candidates in line and then we can make the final decision on both together.”
Naughton shrugged again. Hiring people wasn’t his favorite thing to do. Worse, was getting to know them once they were hired. If there was a part of Naught’s job he could eliminate it would be training new staff.
Maddox didn’t mind handling the interviews, but in the case of the field manager, Naughton knew what to look for better than he did.
Maddox was just about to put the truck in gear and leave when he saw Lena walking toward them waving. Naught rolled the passenger door window down.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Nice,” Maddox mumbled.
“What?”
Lena walked around to Maddox’s side of the truck rather than to Naught’s open window.
“Can we talk?”
Obviously she didn’t mean now. Did she? “Of course. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, name the time.”
“No, tonight.”
Maddox guessed Lena didn’t want to talk to both him and Naughton, since she came to his side of the truck.
“We can meet after I take Naught back to the ranch.”
“Let’s meet in Paso Robles.”
“Got a place in mind?”
“Il Conti, in an hour.”
Il Conti was a swanky Italian place just off the main square. He’d need a little more time to get cleaned up if that’s where she wanted to go.
“Give me an hour and a half.”
Lena nodded and walked away from the truck. She wasn’t the happiest person Maddox ever met, but that was understandable. Her mother died, who knew where her father was, and she hadn’t mentioned any other family. Maddox couldn’t imagine being so alone in the world.
“Hornet’s nest there,” Naughton commented.
“What’s worse than hornets?”
Naught laughed.
Rory Calder called three times before Alex decided he must have an important reason for being so persistent, and answered.
“Hey, Rory.”
“Alex, I’m glad I reached you finally.”
“Uh, yeah, about that? What’s so urgent?”
“I’m headed back up north tomorrow and was wondering if we could get together tonight?”
She was about to ask why, but then decided if she was really going to move on from Maddox, she needed to say yes more than she said no. She wasn’t all that interested in Rory, but practice dating wouldn’t hurt.
“Sure, that would be great. Do you want to meet at Stave?”
“I was thinking somewhere further inland. Where are you now?”
“At Los Cab, do you—”
“Great, I’ll pick you up in forty-five minutes. Il Conti good?”
“Uh, okay.” He was as pushy as he was persistent.
What the hell was she going to wear? She didn’t have time to drive back to Cambria, change her clothes, and be back here when Rory arrived. Instead she texted him.
Just remembered I have another meeting in town. Meet you at 6:30.
A meeting on a Sunday? Oh well, shopping qualified as a meeting, didn’t it?
She’d rather have her own car, anyway. There was something about Rory that bugged her. If whatever he wanted to talk to her about got weird, she could leave.
Alex, Alex, his response said. What was that supposed to mean? Alex, Alex, what?
There was a sweet little boutique in town that would have everything she needed, even some sexy lingerie. Not that she needed sexy lingerie tonight, but soon she would, and she wouldn’t want to wear anything with her “new man” that Maddox had already seen her in.
If she was quick, she’d have time for a quick glass of wine to settle her nerves before she met Rory. It had been one hell of a day. The worst part of it was her conversation with Gabe. Followed closely by her conversation with Maddox.
Gabe told her Los Caballeros did have some potential problems with their bond, that as their compliance manager, Elias should’ve caught. If Eli got on top of it, they might face some penalties, but it wouldn’t be a substantial amount, and they certainly wouldn’t lose their bond altogether.
There was more to it than Gabe was telling her, and since he made it clear he didn’t respect her opinion, it was unlikely he’d be straight with her.
Her oldest brother never gave her much credit, but when she was on her game, there wasn’t anything that happened in the central coast wine industry she didn’t know about. If he or her other brothers were hiding something, she’d find out what it was all on her own.
Il Conti was quiet for a Sunday night. Rather than checking in with the hostess, Alex sat at the bar to wait for Rory.
“Hey, Alex,” the bartender greeted her.
“Hey, Jimmy. I didn’t know you worked here.”
“Here, there, and everywhere these days. Trying to get out of the service industry and into my own wine operation.”
&nbs
p; “Do you have land?”
“Nah, that’s part of working myself to death, so I can pick up a few acres and at least get started.”
Jimmy had been winemaker for several small wineries, primarily on the eastside. Alex would’ve thought he’d make more money doing that than tending bar.
“Where else are you working?”
He named a couple other restaurants in town, but no wineries. Something was up with that, too.
“You’re lookin’ smokin’ hot tonight, by the way. Special occasion?”
Alex smiled. “Thanks, Jimmy, furthest thing from it. Just decided a new dress and pair of shoes might brighten my day.”
She picked out a pale peach sleeveless sheath, and nude pumps with three-inch heels. From what she remembered, Rory wasn’t that much taller than she was. Having a little height on him might discourage him from getting too grabby.
“You sure brightened my day, sweetheart.”
Alex smiled when Jimmy winked, but he wasn’t dating material either. It didn’t make sense that he wasn’t making wine anymore, and if he was looking for an investor by way of a girlfriend to help him get his land, she wasn’t an option.
“You’re early.” Rory came up behind her, leaned forward, and kissed her cheek. “Hi, Alex.”
Alex leaned away. “Hi, Rory. You’re early too.” And a little familiar for someone she didn’t know very well.
“What are you drinking?”
“It’s a Pear Valley Charbono. Have you tried it?”
“I’m not big on cult wines.”
Alex would’ve rolled her eyes if Rory wasn’t looking right at her. Charbono was hardly a cult wine. It was produced in small amounts, and somewhat scarce because it was so damn good, not because it was a fad.
The grape had a shared Italian and French heritage, given it was originally grown in the Piedmont and Savoie regions. The direct translation for its official name, Douce Noir, was “sweet black,” and while the wine had no residual sugar whatsoever, it was inky black in color.
“Let’s move to a table, shall we?” Alex was ready to get this dinner over with as quickly as possible, not only to get away from Rory, but also because the longer she was around people in the wine industry, the more she realized she needed a break.
Rory motioned for her to sit in the two-top’s chair, while he sat on the bench side facing the entrance. Two things about that bugged Alex. First, he didn’t make any attempt to get her chair, and second, it was rude not to ask which she’d prefer. She hated sitting with her back to the door.
“So, Rory. What can I do for you?”
The waiter, someone else Alex knew in the valley, arrived to take their order, and just to irritate Rory, Alex suggested they order a bottle of the Charbono.
“I think I’ll stick with something more my style, but by all means, please order another glass.”
“Would you like to hear tonight’s specials?” the waiter asked.
“I’m ready,” Rory said before Alex had a chance to respond.
“Of course we would.” She knew what she planned to order, but Rory was irritating the crap out of her.
Once they’d ordered, he went first. What a surprise.
Alex asked again what she could do for him.
“I wanted to have dinner with a beautiful woman. Does there need to be more to it than that?”
This time Alex didn’t hold back, she rolled her eyes, and laughed. “That might work with a twenty-something twit, but I know better than to think you’d call a little over an hour ago to invite me to dinner if all you wanted was a pretty girl sitting across the table from you.”
“You’re somethin’ else, aren’t you?” Rory laughed, but then something distracted him, and he scowled. “Incoming,” he muttered.
Alex turned around and saw Maddox heading to their table with little miss bottled-blonde trailing after him.
“Rory, good to see you. And Alex, I thought that was you from the back, although I’m shocked. You never sit with your back to the door.”
Maddox shook Rory’s hand, and leaned in to kiss Alex. She thwarted his aim at her lips by turning quickly, so his kiss landed on her cheek instead. “Gorgeous dress, baby,” he whispered before straightening back up.
“You both remember Lena, right?”
Lena stepped forward and greeted Rory first.
“That’s right, your roommate. How’s that going anyway?”
“Better than I ever dreamed.” Lena looked at Alex, but didn’t make any attempt to shake her hand.
“Well, then. Maddox, shall we let these two lovebirds be?” Lena grasped his hand, and led him in the direction of their table.
“That was entertaining.” Rory smirked.
If Maddox wasn’t seated at a table on the other side of the dining room, Alex would excuse herself and never come back. As it was, if she left now Maddox would think it was because of him.
“He doesn’t like to sit with his back to the door either. How did the two of you ever manage to dine together?”
“Cut the crap, Rory. This is quickly becoming one of the most unpleasant evenings I can remember. There’s a reason you wanted to have dinner with me. What is it?”
“Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it. I hear Los Cab is in serious trouble.”
14
“Maddox can’t take his eyes off you, by the way.”
“I don’t care, and it’s none of your business. Back to Los Cab, I know how the rumor mill works around here, Rory. I’ve been part of the Westside Winery Collaborative a long time, and so has my family. You’re a newcomer who’s taking over a winery that hasn’t been in the collaborative’s good graces ever. I suggest you consider leaving whatever gossip you may have right at this table.”
“I’m trying to help, Alex. Calder Wines is in a position to make your family a very attractive offer.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I assure you, I’m not.”
Maddox or no Maddox, Alex couldn’t be around Rory Calder a minute longer. She picked up her glass of wine, downed what was left in it, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
“Excuse me,” Maddox said to Lena, and followed Alex out of Il Conti. She was halfway down the block already and he’d been right behind her.
“Hold up there,” he hollered. “I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy.”
“Leave me alone, Maddox,” she hollered back.
If anything, she picked up her pace, forcing him to run after her. When he caught up, he put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to slow down.
“I didn’t leave because of you.”
“I know you didn’t. I could tell you were unhappy when I approached the table.”
“My day for assholes.”
Maddox smiled. “Present company excluded of course.”
“No, you’re an asshole too. Didn’t let your sheets cool off before you reheated them.”
“If you’re referring to Lena, we’re on as much of a date as you and Rory were.”
“Maybe now since you’ve left her alone at the table.”
“No, not before either. It’s business, and that’s it.”
“Awfully romantic restaurant you chose to conduct business.”
Maddox shook his head and laughed. “What you do to me, girl.”
Alex folded her arms. “Me? Don’t you mean Lena?”
Maddox stopped Alex from walking any further, and spun her around to look at him. If she’d only let him, he could drown in the deep, dark pools of her eyes. He gripped the back of her neck, and held her still. “No, Alex. Not Lena.” He brought his lips to hers, and wasn’t gentle about it.
She tried to move away, but he held her tight, and within moments her arms circled his waist, and her tongue tangled with his. He continued his attack on her mouth, until he was breathless, and wanted nothing more than to take her into the alley, and ravage her. He couldn’t though, for a lot of reasons.
Lena was waiting for hi
m, and as much as he didn’t want to go back to Il Conti, he had to.
He also heard what Alex said yesterday, and gave it a lot of thought. She believed they were bed-buddies, and nothing more. What she wanted, that he hadn’t been smart enough to give her, was romance. She didn’t think he was forever material? He’d prove her wrong. But he had to do it his way, or Alex wouldn’t believe he was sincere, or that it would last.
Maddox pulled back, and Alex rested her head against his chest. “I wish you wouldn’t drive when you’re so tired, Al.”
“How do you know I drove?”
Maddox nodded his head in the direction of her car, which was visible in the lot across the street. He ran his hands down her back until he reached her bottom, and pulled her closer. “I sure do like this dress.”
“I didn’t wear it for Rory, or for you. I wore it for me.”
He laughed. “Not a surprise, darlin’.”
“I need to leave, Maddox.”
“I wish I didn’t have to go back to the restaurant, but I do.”
“I’m on my way out of town anyway.”
“Oh, yeah?”
She pulled back from him and took his hands in hers. “I’m going away, Mad. I haven’t figured out how long I’ll be gone yet. At least a week, but probably longer.”
“Where to?”
“I’m not sure, but when I figure it out, my mom and Peyton will know where I am, and how to get in touch with me. Otherwise, I need some time off the grid.”
“I’m gonna miss you. You know that, right?”
Alex let go of his hands, and backed away. “I’m sure I’ll run into you when I get back. We can’t seem to avoid each other.”
“Bye, Al.”
She blew him a kiss, turned around, and walked to her car.
Maddox would give anything not to have to go back to Il Conti, but he couldn’t just leave Lena sitting there. Something told him this getaway of Alex’s was significant, though.
“Wait,” he called out to her and ran across the street to where her car was parked.
“Maddox, please. Let me go.”
The Truce (Butler Ranch Book 2) Page 12