by Amity Hope
“Well said,” Charles announced as he clapped his appreciation.
Max, on the other hand, looked as if he were trying to shrink in on himself. I knew how he felt.
“What about her?” Veronica demanded as she flicked her gaze my way.
What about me? I wondered. Both Villette and Max visibly bristled while Charles simply cocked an eyebrow at his daughter.
“What about her?” Villette challenged.
“Should she be living rent free as well?”
Villette let out a sad-sounding sigh. “Again, not your concern.”
I wasn’t paying rent. Not for lack of offering. Villette apparently didn’t feel the need for them to know that. I certainly didn’t feel the need to clarify that.
Veronica sniffed haughtily. “What about the winery, then? You’re allowing her, an outsider—”
“Oh!” Villette interrupted. “Now, there is where you are wrong, yet again, I might add,” she muttered. “Holly is not an outsider. We’ve seen far more of her than we’ve seen of any of our grandchildren.”
“I would be darn careful what you say about her,” Charles warned.
“I was simply going to say,” Veronica hotly retorted, “that it seems rather superfluous to allow her to use valuable countertop space to sell her silly little jewelry.” She turned a sour look Max’s way. “It seems like a poor business decision to me to allow it just because you are dating her.”
“Do you know anything about tourists?” Charles piped up. “Tourists love to be able to buy gifts to bring home to friends and family. If they have the choice between key chains and magnets made in some other country, or handmade, quality jewelry made right here in Harmony Bay, which do you think they would prefer?”
I wanted to hug Charles for coming to my defense. I hadn’t realized that my jewelry, of all things, would be an issue.
“As for business sense,” Villette began with a huff, I could see her chest rising and falling from where I sat, “Max has convinced two more local restaurants to put our wine on their menus. He’s been very instrumental in overseeing the remodeling. He’s helped to design a lovely new brochure. As for Holly, you refer to her as an outsider but this girl,” she said as she tossed a kind smile my way, “has done wonders with the wedding planning. She has an excellent rapport with the caterer and photographer that we use. The same artistic talent that she uses for her beautiful jewelry has been quite an asset when it comes to memorable decorating. Believe it or not, we’ve gotten referrals because of her.”
I didn’t dare look at Max’s aunts. I wasn’t sure if Villette meant what she said or if she were exaggerating to some extent to make her point. When she looked my way with a firm smile, I decided maybe she did mean what she said. I was flattered.
Last fall, I’d begun to help with some of the wedding planning. I’d had a lot of fun with it. To hear that I was doing a good job with something that I loved was a wonderful feeling.
“What have any of you done?” Charles asked, as he pulled me back from my mental wandering. He shook his head at his daughters. “Aside from whining about the injustice of it all, of course.”
“I think,” Villette said in a trembling voice as she held her hand up to her chest, “that I’ve had all I can take of this for one day.”
“Oh, Mother,” Deborah said wearily, “must you be so melodramatic?”
“Thank you for driving all the way out here, Max and Holly,” Charles said as he stood. We were all being summarily dismissed. I, for one, was quite okay with that. Max blew out a relieved breath, obviously quite okay with it as well.
“When will we finish discussing this?” Veronica demanded of Charles. “Because we certainly are not done.”
“We most certainly are,” Villette said. Her usually strong voice sounded suddenly frail. She had not moved to stand yet. “Do you know why? Because you’re vultures. Every last one of you! Just hovering, waiting to reap the rewards of something you didn’t earn. It’s a darn shame! And to think I thought just maybe you were coming for a visit. I should’ve known you had an ulterior motive.” She let out a weighty sigh as her fingers curled against her chest.
Max knelt down next to Villette and put a hand on her shoulder. “Grandma, are you okay?”
She suddenly looked wearier than I’d ever seen her. Usually, she was such a little spitfire. Now, she looked her age. She also looked exhausted.
“She’s just fine,” Deborah said assuredly.
Villette reached for Max’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m quite all right. Thank you for asking. Now the two of you should go home. Try to have a pleasant evening.”
Minutes later, after we’d been ushered out of the house by Charles, we were driving away in Max’s car. We had departed with numerous reassurances from Charles that Max had nothing to worry about. He told us that he planned to send his girls on their way within the next few days.
I couldn’t help but smile as he called them his girls. They were all easily middle-aged and I was sure they were all quite gray under their expensive dye jobs.
As we turned out of the Campbell’s long, winding driveway, I cautiously looked at Max.
As a general rule, he didn’t get mad. He didn’t appear mad now, either. But he was visibly upset. His posture rigid. His expression extremely troubled.
I fought the urge to float some platitudes his way. I knew they wouldn’t help. Instead, I remained silent because I was sure that’s what he needed from me right then.
CHAPTER five
By the time we got home, he had a whole lot to say.
“Can you believe them?” he fumed as he paced across the deck. “Not wanting me to have the winery is one thing. I do understand that. But…” He faded off, as if unsure of how to word his thoughts. Or maybe he was simply unwilling.
I was willing.
“It just doesn’t seem right that they think they can come in and tell your grandparents how they should handle their affairs.” I was sitting on the porch swing, watching him pace.
“Exactly. I get that they’re upset with me. But I don’t like them trying to push Grandma and Grandpa around.”
“Your grandma isn’t going to let them push her around,” I said, trying to reassure him. “She wants you to have the winery. It’s hers to give you.”
“I know. I just don’t want to be the cause of a rift in my family.” He stopped pacing and leaned against the railing, his arms crossed as he let out a sigh and looked at me.
“No offense Max, but I don’t think your family got along all that well before this. If there’s a rift, I don’t think it’s because of you.”
He pushed away from the railing and threw himself down next to me. He looked miserable.
“You know, most of my life, I had no idea what I wanted to do. All through high school, I dreaded college because I had no idea what I wanted to major in. Even after I started, I was floundering. You know? Then I came out here for Christmas, spent some time with Grandpa walking through the vineyard, spent some time with Grandma inside the winery. I talked to the employees and the tourists. Before I knew it, I realized that this is exactly where I wanted to be. If I don’t run Villette Vineyard someday, I have no idea what to do with my life. I moved back here for this.”
There were other vineyards in the area. Given his family background, the experience he was accumulating as well as the degree he was earning, I was sure that any of them would be thrilled to have him. However, it was obviously not the same. He’d had his heart set on the family business for quite a while now.
“I feel like I’m going to have my whole future ripped away before I really even have a chance for it to get started.”
I didn’t remind him that Charles had reassured him that wouldn’t happen. I felt like he needed to vent. I was going to allow him to do that.
He popped back up again. “The worst of it is, I understand what they’re saying. I never expected them to give the winery to me. In fact, I don’t know if I can accept it.”
“If that’s what Villette wants, you might have to accept it. She can be really stubborn,” I reminded him with a smile.
“I know,” he answered with a sigh.
He was quiet for a moment as he turned around to face the waves rolling in. The sky was a clear, soft blue today. The waves quietly crashed against the shore. I found it relaxing and maybe Max did too. He turned to me with a resigned look on his face.
“I guess I’ll just have to wait this out.”
“Probably. The decision is ultimately up to your grandparents. They know how hard you’ve worked. They know how dedicated you are. They know how much you love the winery already. They also know that unlike your aunts, you’d never sell it off.”
He cringed. “I can’t stand the thought of it belonging to someone outside of the family. It would be different if someone within the family was interested in it. But they’re not.”
“They’re just interested in the money.”
He nodded and the expression on his face twisted my heart painfully. Ever since I’d known him, Max had always been the kind of person who looked for the bright side in everything. I wasn’t used to seeing him so dejected. I walked over to him and slipped my arm around his waist. He pulled me in tightly and pressed a kiss onto the top of my head.
“It’ll all work out,” I said. I was sure of it. “Since there isn’t anything we can do about it right now, let’s do something to take your mind off it,” I suggested. I rose up on my tiptoes, putting my lips in line with his neck.
“Like what?” he asked just as his stomach growled. “Dinner?”
I laughed. “Well that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But maybe we could go get something to eat. We can just go to the café. But you are going to leave your phone off. Better yet, leave it here. You need some downtime.” He looked as if he were about to protest. Before he could I said, “No arguing.”
He didn’t argue and after a quick walk, we were there. We had missed the dinner rush and had our choice of seating. I followed Max to a booth that looked out onto the street out front. It had become our booth.
The café was an unusual blend of fifties retro meets the beach. The floors were black and white, checkered tile. The chairs and booths consisted of a whole lot of chrome, covered in turquoise vinyl. The tabletops were white Formica speckled with an inlaid silver glittery look. The walls were aqua with sea life stenciled around the top, bordering the entire dining area. Jellyfish, starfish, sand dollars and anemones primarily made up the border. A large net hung from the ceiling in one corner. It held a plethora of plush, stuffed sea animals. A huge mural of sea life on the back wall coordinated nicely with the border.
The café was always spotless, the chrome always gleaming. The long counter that contained the enormous ice cream selection was busy more often than not. The food was always fabulous.
It was all so…Harmony Bay. I loved this café.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go wash my hands,” I said as Max took a seat. I headed to the back of the café to the ladies’ room. I scrubbed my hands and then used a paper towel to avoid the germ-infested doorknob.
When I rounded the corner that led back into the dining area, my pace slowed. Clarissa was seated on the side of the booth that should’ve been for me. She was obviously working because she had her little turquoise apron on. Her ordering pad and a pen were poking out of a side pocket. She was leaning in, half across the table, cupping her hand over her mouth as she spoke to Max. Clearly, whatever she was saying to him was something that she did not want anyone to overhear.
I let out a frustrated sigh. Luckily, the restaurant was empty enough that there was no one around to notice. It should’ve occurred to me that Clarissa might be working. Most of the time, I wouldn’t mind. In fact usually, I enjoyed her company. Just not lately. It grated on my nerves that I wasn’t gone two minutes and she’d already taken my place.
I quickly covered the short distance to the booth. I didn’t know what was going on with Clarissa but I didn’t appreciate all of the extra attention she’d been paying to Max. I understood that they were friends. But he and Paige were friends too and Paige was never this…clingy.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” I asked. I plopped myself down next to Max, practically landing on his lap before he was able to slide out of my way. “What are we talking about?” I smiled as I swung my gaze between them.
I was met by a few beats of surprised silence. I had the feeling, yet again, that I was interrupting something. I didn’t like it one bit. The look the two of them shared did not escape me. However, I didn’t feel like pointing it out, either.
“Your jewelry,” Clarissa said the same moment Max said, “A website.”
They shared another look. I fought down a growl of annoyance. “What’s going on?” I demanded.
Crimson started creeping up Clarissa’s neck. It spilled across her cheeks and she bit her lip.
“What do you mean?” Max asked with a frown.
I looked from Max to Clarissa and back again, waiting for a clearer explanation. Or any explanation, really.
“Which is it?” I asked. “And why are you looking so secretive?”
Max cleared his throat.
Clarissa sputtered. “Wh-what?”
“Clarissa was talking about helping me with the website for the winery,” Max explained.
My gaze leveled on Clarissa. “I thought you said you were talking about my jewelry. But why would you be talking about that?”
“We were talking about,” she said slowly, then her eyes sparkled and she smiled, “putting your jewelry on the website.”
“Right,” Max said. “That’s what we were talking about.”
“Wouldn’t that be fabulous?” Clarissa exclaimed. “They already ship wine but wouldn’t it be so fun to be able to add your jewelry to the online gift shop? Just think about it. People all over the country could be wearing original designs that you made.”
Max nudged me and grinned. “It’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
I felt a smile begrudgingly try to make its way onto my face. I gave a small shrug. “Okay, yes, that would be pretty awesome. But why are the two of you talking about it?”
“Because…” Max started but didn’t seem to be able to formulate an answer.
Clarissa beamed at me. “Because I have some experience with website design.” She glanced at Max and he nodded his agreement. “Max had mentioned expanding the website during class the other day. That got me thinking,” she paused and frowned as she glanced at Max, “I mean, I know it’s not really any of my business, but it got me thinking that as long as they were expanding the website, they might want to consider adding your jewelry to it.”
Max blinked at her as if that was the first he’d heard of it. I narrowed my eyes at him. He pushed a smile onto his face.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. He turned to me. “What do you think?”
What did I think? I thought something else was going on here. For just a moment, I debated saying so. I glanced at Clarissa. She was looking at me expectantly with a big smile on her face. The smile seemed so sweet and innocent. Surely, nothing troublesome could be going on. Right?
I tried to push the nagging feeling away. Instead, I concentrated on the conversation at hand.
“I guess selling my jewelry on-line would be nice,” I admitted. I did like the idea. But shouldn’t the website concentrate on the wine? I could only imagine what Max’s aunts would think. I didn’t get the chance to mention it because Max seemed anxious to change the subject.
“I really am starving,” he announced.
“Well,” Clarissa said as she popped up, “I need to get back to work. Are you two ready to order?”
I moved to the other side of the booth and we both ordered our usual. A bacon cheeseburger, no pickles, no onions, no mustard with a side of waffle fries for Max. A chicken Caesar wrap and a side of fruit for me.
“Add two butterscotch
malts,” Max decided.
“Got it!” she proclaimed with a cheery smile before she bounced away.
“So is she going to be helping with the website?” I asked.
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it.”
“I thought you were talking about it just now?”
“Well, yeah but we didn’t really get very far. I don’t know,” he said as he leaned back in his seat. “It was just an idea in the initial stages. You know what? I’d rather not talk about work right now.”
I couldn’t agree more.
“Let’s talk about Valentine’s Day,” he suggested.
He grinned and one dimple dug into his cheek. My irritation suddenly dissipated and I smiled back. “What about it?”
He took a break in the conversation while Clarissa placed our malts in front of us. When she scampered away, he picked up where he left off.
“It’s going to be here before we know it.”
I nodded. I was acutely aware that my days to find the perfect gift were quickly dwindling.
“I know we haven’t really talked about it but I have everything all planned out.” His sweet smile suddenly turned smug.
It was a look he rarely wore and seeing it now, in regard to the current conversation, was really endearing.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
He shook his head and leaned back in the booth. “It’s a surprise. And I wouldn’t even tell you that much but I just didn’t want you to go plan anything.”
“Max,” I whimpered, “you know I don’t have the patience for a surprise!”
He shrugged, not looking the least bit contrite. “Well, this time, you’ll just have to deal with it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, already tossing ideas around in my head. A ‘surprise’ sounded more involved than a simple dinner out.
“Oh! Are we going to a bed and breakfast?” I asked.