Summer in Napa (A St. Helena Vineyard Novel)

by Marina Adair

  The Back Barrel

  Founded on August 17, 1923, with the sole purpose of serving the county of Napa, California, this is the original site of the Daughters of the Prohibition, a nonviolent, nonpolitical women’s society founded on the principles of promoting patriotism, preserving local tradition, and securing the valley’s future through the production, distribution, and consumption of wines, ciders, and spirited beverages of class.

  This town and the DOP had been founded on the same principles that she had infused into her cooking: local pride, strong tradition, and lots of heart. And the DOP was going to take one look at her perfectly baked pork chop and realize that she was the perfect woman for this job. With the perfect menu to honor the return of their most treasured event. And how perfectly her understated elegance would highlight, rather than outshine, the wine tasting.

  Balancing her chafing dish, bag, and cooler, Lexi made her way down the steps and pushed open the door.

  “Hello?” When no one responded, she took a cautious step inside.

  Bumping the door closed, Lexi took in the deep-red carpet, solid mahogany walls, and always-past-midnight lighting that illuminated the narrow hallway, which used to be the entrance to the Back Barrel, and found herself smiling a little. Okay, a lot. Because in the summer of 1923, two events collided that would forever change the future of the women of St. Helena.

  The local prohibitionists, led by Mayor Burnhart, were cracking down and making it increasingly difficult for the men of Napa County to run wine. No wine meant an end to a way of life. So when Salvador DeLuca and Philip Baudouin were forced to dump forty barrels of premium cabernet in the Sacramento River to avoid spending the next forty years on Alcatraz, the women became fearful of what would happen to their beloved town and decided to take action. They formed the Daughters of the Prohibition.

  As fate would have it, a week later, Miss Giannina DeLuca, eldest daughter to Salvador DeLuca and self-appointed sleuth of the newly formed secret women’s society, uncovered that the honorable mayor wasn’t running his prohibition advisory meetings out of the basement in town hall. He was running a gentlemen’s club—complete with illegal spirits and illicit women. He was also running for reelection.

  Mayor Burnhart had congressional aspirations and needed to please the conservatives in Washington while still maintaining a strong voting base at home. Giannina needed a headquarters for the DOP and a place to sell their families’ wine.

  It only took a few months for word to spread and for daughters and wives of vintners across the state to unite, and the ladies of St. Helena created one of the most extensive bootlegging operations in California. And they’d ruled the domestic wine market ever since.

  Smiling, Lexi rounded the last corner, entered the old tavern, and blinked.

  Several times, in fact.

  Because no matter how many times she blinked, the scenery remained the same. It wasn’t the massive mahogany bar that spanned the entire length of the room that caught her attention, or that there were five wine vats the size of small water towers with spigots on the back wall. No, what had Lexi balking was that the room was divided in two, with the junior league and their couture attitudes on one side, and four silvered flappers, one mobster, a fur ball in a fedora, and enough beads and feathers to stage a rendition of “All That Jazz” sitting on the other.

  It was like the DOP version of Family Feud, only with clutch purses and family names for weapons, as the up-and-comers and the old-timers—separated by a podium and Mrs. Moberly, town librarian and the only woman stupid enough to be roped into arbitrating the evening’s event—faced off.

  “Oh, thank God,” Mrs. Moberly gasped, clasping her hands so tightly that her white peplum gloves looked ready to burst at the seams and send the pearl buttons scattering. “The last caterer is finally here, so I call this meeting to order.”

  “Finally?” Lexi asked, her confidence vanishing as she took in the five, not just Natasha, but the five other caterers, dressed to perfection and standing behind their tables, each more spectacular than the last—all of them ready to begin serving. And none of them offering traditional or simple.

  “I was told it started at five,” Lexi said, checking her watch. It showed 4:49.

  “The tasting starts at five,” Natasha cut in. Her table, which was a complete rip-off of last month’s Martha Stewart Living, right down to the loose cherry-blossom petals and dried-fig arrangement, was stunning. Stolen, but stunning all the same. “Food to be served at five sharp, I believe was the rules.”

  Meaning Lexi had ten minutes to unload, plate, and present her sample course, which was not deconstructed, modern, or in the least bit interesting.

  “She’ll be ready,” Pricilla said, standing up and giving a decisive nod. Her dress was more giant toilet paper roll covered in scarlet fringe than flapper, but the flask attached to her ankle was authentic and most likely full.

  Everyone knew that the senior league took tradition seriously and, on occasion, pulled out their mothers’ dresses. Lexi had just assumed that they reserved playing bootlegger dress up for special occasions—like Halloween.

  ChiChi bustled over in vintage Coco Chanel, her boa flapping behind her. When she was close enough for Lexi to smell the mothballs wafting off her clothes, she asked, “Are you dating my Marco?”

  The room fell silent.

  Lexi opened her mouth and snapped it closed equally as fast. How was she supposed to answer that? And here, with every busybody in town leaning in, waiting for her to deny the rumors that she had been the one to land St. Helena’s most notorious playboy?

  The plan was to tell their grandmas together, over Friday-night dinner. Not here, with Lexi alone and a roomful of women who either wanted to see them married with babies or on their way to an explosive breakup.

  “Yes. Marco and I are”—she swallowed, hard—“dating.” Did her voice just go up three octaves?

  “You’re kidding,” Isabel Stark said, her eyes wide in disbelief. “I mean, no offense, but I thought that was just a rumor you made up to get out of dating all those losers your grandma set you up with.”

  “They’re not losers.” Lexi felt compelled to defend her tribe of lost boys, and more importantly, her grandmother’s efforts. “And yes, Marc and I are together. Exclusively.”

  Whispers rang out, exactly what she was afraid of.

  “I overheard Penny at the Paws and Claws say she saw Marc leaving her house…in the morning,” someone said, though Lexi couldn’t see who. They were all too busy huddling and gossiping about her.

  “I heard that she already slept with him,” someone else said.

  “So?” Lexi snapped, daring them to say one more word. “Now if we’re done, I’m here to cook.” She smoothed out her crisp white tablecloth. “So if you have any more questions, they’ll have to wait for later, or you could just go to Facebook and read Marc’s post.”

  Reaching under her table, Lexi pulled out the box of decor and flatware that her boyfriend had carried over earlier and dressed the table. She was just finishing up with the napkins when ChiChi opened the chafing dish, which held her pork chops, and gasped.

  “Oh dear—”

  “You followed the recipes,” Lucinda whispered. She resembled a penguin in her vintage black-and-white pantsuit with matching wing tip shoes. Mr. Puffins was striking in a black fedora and tie. But neither of them was giving Lexi the job-well-done expression she had expected. In fact, they all looked horrified.

  “What do you mean, ‘Oh dear?’” she whispered. “You told me that whoever made the best Great-Grandma DeLuca baked chop would win. I made the best Great-Grandma DeLuca baked chop.”

  “We may have overstated our decision-making power with the committee,” Pricilla admitted.

  Lexi’s heart stopped, but her hands kept moving. Pork chop is to be placed two inches out from the center of the plate and at forty-five-degree angle to the wild rice. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that the Daughters of the
Prohibition seem to be in the middle of a revolution,” Pricilla began, glaring at the table of junior leaguers, all clamoring over Natasha’s table, her new Jimmy Choos, her food. “It seems that the junior league sees the Showdown as a chance to modernize, update things a little.”

  “Does Natasha get a vote?” Lexi asked, forcing herself to keep plating.

  “Natasha had to recuse herself since she’s interviewing for the job,” ChiChi said. “And someone of general-member status can’t replace a board member on a night when a vote is cast.”

  “Since Alison Sheehan is big as a vat and on bed rest and Jennifer Logan has bronchitis, they had no one qualified to stand in. So they only have four votes tonight,” Pricilla said proudly.

  “And the senior league shares your views?” A quick glance toward the other ladies had Lexi scooting closer and lowering her voice. “Then we have the numbers. You three, Mrs. Lambert, and Mrs. Moberly.”

  Lexi felt herself relax. Even if all of the Prada mommies chose Natasha, Lexi could still win.

  “That’s the thing, dear,” Pricilla said, and she wasn’t smiling. “Mrs. Moberly can’t vote. She’s not even a DOP member.”

  “Then who’s the fifth vote?”

  All three grannies looked at the door and—

  Oh God, no. This could not be happening. Her luck with this family could not be this bad.

  “Ladies, sorry I’m late. I was just Skyping with my new daughter-in-law,” Mrs. Balldinger sang as she waltzed into the all-in-one saloon and ladies’ club, regal, refined, and ready to ruin Lexi’s life.

  “I had to hear all about the honeymoon. To think that after all this time my Jeffery finally found true love.” Her ex-mother-in-law sauntered past all the tables, poked at Lexi’s flatware, and smiled. “Let the tasting begin?”

  “I messed up,” Lexi said, fiddling with the hem of her pants as she sat on the bottom step of town hall and stared at the sidewalk. “I chickened out and ruined everything.”

  “You didn’t ruin everything,” Marc said, wishing he could do something to help her.

  “I baked a pork chop, Marc.” She dropped her head on her bent knees. “I served a baked pork chop and wild rice for the biggest catering audition this town can remember.”

  Marc wanted to point out that she had cooked what her clients, being their grandmothers, had requested. Learning to balance expertise with customers’ expectations was a big part of finding success in the service industry. She had just gone too far in one direction. She’d figure it out. “I bet it was cooked to perfection.”

  “You could bake a pork chop.”

  “Not to perfection. But I’m more than willing to let you watch my culinary prowess. I am damn sexy in an apron.” When she didn’t so much as laugh, he reached out and put his hand on the back of her neck, kneading little circles in her tense muscles. “They haven’t made a final decision. This could still swing your way.”

  She shook her head. “I should have listened to my instincts and you, but instead I got scared and went with safe. Which means I let down myself and my grandma too.” She lifted her head and, as though unable to meet his gaze, went back to studying the tops of her shoes. “I need to think about moving. Maybe Paris.”

  Joke or not, Marc was surprised at how even the idea of her moving made him feel. Not good. “You got nervous and caved to a client. It happens to the best of us. And I don’t know what they’ll decide or what they’re judging this on, but I do know that nothing could have happened that would be worthy of leaving the country.”

  “Really?” Her head shot up. “Because Natasha knows Jeff cheated on me, I was late so I didn’t even get to present my plates right, then I may have implied that we are having sex, Jeffery’s mom announced to the room that he’d finally, after all these years, found true love, and my dessert course was disqualified because it was baked in a shop owned by a voting member of the DOP. Now tell me how it could have been worse?”

  They were silent for a moment, and she raised a brow. “Marc?”

  “I’m sorry, what? You lost me at the we’re-having-sex part.” He shrugged. “I think that it’s only fair that I be included in this implied sex, since I’ve already slept on your couch.”

  “Are you serious? You know what? Never mind.” She stood in a huff, her hands flapping at her sides, that delectable ass swinging angrily.

  Before she could storm off too far, Marc grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. Linking his arms around her waist and holding her secure, he lowered his voice. “Look, I was kidding. You’re really upset about this, and I don’t know how to make it better, and for some reason that bothers me.” More than he’d like to admit. “So I went for the cheap laugh.”

  Lexi didn’t look amused.

  “This whole boyfriend thing is new to me. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

  “Fake boyfriend,” she reminded him.

  “Whatever.” He grinned, and thankfully she grinned back.

  “You’re forgiven.”

  “Really? Just like that? Because I acted like an ass, and I think you should come to my suite and teach me a lesson.”

  She smacked his chest, but he noticed she didn’t try to move off his lap. Instead, she linked her hands around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. “What if I can’t do this, Marc?”

  He ran a hand up her back and tangled his fingers in her hair. “I don’t believe that and neither do you. Because you and I both know that if you lose the Showdown, we’ll find another way. So what is this really about?”

  Her arms tightened, and her face disappeared in the curve of his neck. “When I said we were dating, no one believed me. Not that we are, I mean, I know that we’re not, but to hear it, like they didn’t think I could get a guy like you…” He felt her shrug. “Silly or not, it really hurt.”

  And in that moment, Marc regretted every one-night stand he’d ever had, every woman he’d led on, and every stupid decision he’d made. Because she wasn’t the half of the equation that came up short. He was. But Jeff had left her vulnerable, and Marc had made her an easy target for Natasha. It had never been his intention to make her life more complicated. He had only been trying to help.

  Okay, and he wanted to spend time with her. She made him feel smart and real, and when she looked at him like she had the other night, he felt like one of the good guys. He’d never really been the good guy, and selfishly, he didn’t want that to stop.

  “Hey,” Marc said, taking her face between his hands and raising it to his.

  She took in a deep breath, opened those mossy-green eyes, and bam…he felt her slide into every cell of his body. Despite everything that he wanted to say, everything that he should say, he found it impossible to talk. Maybe if he was able to keep her around long enough, he’d figure out how to become that guy, the one that he was right now with her in his arms.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, and he almost asked her if she was feeling the same thing. Then he noticed her face was pale and her lower lip was trembling. “No, no, no. Natasha and the junior league are coming out. And Mrs. Balldinger is right behind them.”

  She tried to scramble off his lap, but he made it clear that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Selfish intentions aside, he’d set out to help her, and that was what he was going to do.

  “Marc,” she hissed, still jerking around on his lap. “What part of them making fun of me in front of my ex-mother-in-law don’t you get?”

  He might not understand what was happening between him and Lexi, but he got women. And the best way to shut one up was with a kiss.

  “Trust me?” he whispered, fisting his hands in the front of her jacket and dragging her up against him.

  She stared at him for a minute and then nodded, her eyes wide and full of trust, and just like that, Marc knew he was fucked.

  “Thank God,” he mumbled before he captured her sweet lips and dropped one hell of a kiss on her. He felt her breath catch and her mouth stiffen under his.
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  “Play along with me here, cream puff,” he said against her lips. “If you don’t start acting like you want me, my delicate man feelings might get hurt.”

  “I’m not good at this,” she said, turning her head slightly.

  “At kissing?” Marc almost laughed, then realized she was serious.

  “At, well, all of it, I guess,” she whispered, the tears finally filling her eyes, and Marc wanted to beat the crap out of Jeff.

  “I think you just haven’t had the right partner.” He framed her face between his palms and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. “Lucky for us, sugar, I’ve been told I’m a great teacher. So let’s start with the basics, and we’ll work up to second base by the time the crowd gets to us.”

  “That’s fast.”

  “No, I’m that good.”

  “Yeah?” Her eyes dropped to his lips. Hot need slowly filled his chest and sank down to settle in his groin.

  “Oh yeah. Just relax your lips.” He gave a little nip, and she nipped back.

  “Like that?”

  “Just like that and—”

  That was all he got out before her lips started moving against his, and hot damn was she incredible. She was sweet and trusting and sexy as hell. Her lips could drive a man insane. Add to that the way she was pressing her body up to him like shrink-wrap, or the little moans she released when he got it right, but when she opened her mouth and made the first incredible pass with her tongue across his lips he was lost.

  Realizing that this might be his only chance, Marc gave it everything he had.

  Somewhere between her nails clawing though his scalp and her thigh rubbing up against his dick, Marc forgot that this was a game. Apparently so did Lexi, because when ChiChi cleared her throat, Lexi jumped. She blinked up at the crowd that had gathered and then back to him.