AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why does he bother asking?” said Beau as he pulled a hoodie over his head and stepped into his sandals.
“He’s your best mate,” said Press.
“Sod off,” Beau said over his shoulder to his brother as he ran to catch up with Cru.
“Have you heard from Brix?” Zin asked.
“Hell no,” I said, laughing.
“Glad to hear it,” he muttered.
“Addison is good for him,” said Press. “Did you hear he let Cru bring in the rest of the harvest?”
Among our group of friends, Brix was the worst when it came to being a workaholic. Or he had been up until Addy was accused of murder and he’d basically walked away from the winery altogether to help exonerate her. I hoped once they were married—and I had no doubt they would be—he wouldn’t go back to working the number of hours he had been.
“Did you hear Tryst gave him a five-thousand-acre parcel of land adjacent to his ranch in Alamos?” Zin asked as we walked to the restaurant.
“I did. Early wedding present.”
“I looked. There’s no more land for sale down there. Lucky bastard.”
I agreed. Tryst’s ranch was a magical place I wished I made time to visit more often. While I loved the land I’d bought in See Canyon, if Tryst offered me a trade, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Not that he ever would.
As for working too much, I was probably considered the biggest slacker of our crew. I worked my ass off when I needed to, but I didn’t look for something to do during the slow times of year in the wine business. Now was one of them. The growing season was over. Grapes had been harvested and crushed. There might be some bottling to do, but it would be sporadic. My plan had been to use the time to help get my house finished. Now, most of my attention was focused on finding Luisa Reeve. And on Seraphina. Mostly on Seraphina.
I was a man obsessed, and considering it was for the second time in my life, I wondered if I should talk to someone about it. Not Brix. He deserved uninterrupted time with Addy. I wasn’t sure my dad was the best option either. Or my brother.
Later, once we’d finished breakfast, I’d call Tryst. While he was Brix’s uncle, he’d always been a surrogate to me too.
“Where’d you go?” Zin asked, nudging me. “I ordered you a coffee since Barb couldn’t get your attention.”
“Sorry.” I shook my head and studied the menu, although I already knew what I’d order. As soon as Cru mentioned Huck’s, I’d been craving their Cajun omelet. It was packed with andouille sausage, shrimp, onions, and peppers, then topped with Creole sauce.
I wondered if Seraphina liked Cajun food. “Shit,” I said under my breath.
“What?” Zin asked.
I shook my head a second time. “Seraphina Reeve.”
“What about her?”
I lowered my voice, not wanting everyone else at the table to hear me. “I spent yesterday afternoon with her.”
“She’s hot. I’ll give you that. Kind of a bitch, though. And what was the deal with her bidding on you at the bachelor auction?”
“She wanted to get me to help find her sister.”
“Why didn’t she just ask?”
“Because I wouldn’t return her phone calls.”
“You probably had a good reason.”
“She threatened to prosecute Brix if Los Caballeros didn’t disband.”
I expected a different reaction from Zin when he sighed and sat back in his chair. “Not the first time William Cooley tries to sic someone on us. Won’t be the last either, unless he gets voted out. Which, by the way, I don’t see happening any time soon.”
“Why’s he got such a hard-on about us?”
