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“Come on down, just for five minutes. It’s not often we have visitors. Come say hi to Uncle Grant.”
She bounded down the stairs and greeted Grant with a hug. “I’m going to sleep over at Aunt Molly’s tomorrow night.”
Grant picked her up and swung her around. “That’ll be fun for you.” He looked at Grady. “And what are you up to?”
He didn’t get the chance to reply, Ava answered for him. “Uncle Grady’s helping Hannah in the afternoon and then he’s going to take her out on a date.”
Grant cocked an eyebrow. “He is, is he?”
Grady made a face at him. That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to get into with Ava listening.
Ava nodded happily. “Yes! She’s so pretty and she’s a photographer and she goes to the shelter. She’s lovely. And if Uncle Grady doesn’t mess it up, he might marry her, and we can be a family.”
Grady’s heart leaped into his mouth. Where in the hell had she gotten that idea from? He stared at her, but she just smiled at him as if she was simply stating the obvious.
He could tell that Grant was trying not to laugh. But he couldn’t think of a damned thing to say to either of them.
“Come on, young lady. It’s time we got you to bed. Say goodnight to Uncle Grant and I’ll come up and tuck you in.”
As they watched her trot back up the stairs, Grant spoke beside him. “Anything you want to tell me about you and the lovely Miss Jacobs?”
He let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I think I need to spill my guts. Let’s just say we didn’t get off to the best start. And just when it looks like I’m going to get a real chance with her, I find out that she’s not just hot Hannah, who I screwed up with badly, not even just sweet, kind Hannah who formed an instant bond with Ava. No, she’s only Hannah freaking Jacobs! I mean – dude!”
He’d expected at least some form of sympathy from Grant, but he just laughed. “What? You think it’s a problem?”
“Err, yeah! What do I have to offer her? The Jacobs family may as well be royalty, not just in Napa, but in the entire wine world.”
Grant grinned at him. “Are you saying that maybe a girl from a family like that shouldn’t be with a regular Joe?”
“Well, yeah. Maybe notshouldn’t. But I mean, what are the odds? Even if she had some kind ofprincess and the stable boycrush, I can’t see her family going for it. I mean her brother –theJacob Jacobs. I’ve only met the guy a couple of times but …” He shook his head. “I just can’t imagine him being too thrilled about his sister dating a peasant.”
Grant laughed out loud at that. “Remember who you’re talking to?”
“Oh, shit!”
Grant was still laughing. “Yeah. I’m just a peasant, too. And if the Jacobs family are royalty, so are the Hamiltons.”
Grady nodded. “Yeah. I never thought about it that way.” He grinned. “Chelsea’s way out of your league, too. Is that why you’re the only ones who aren’t married yet?”
Grant laughed. “Come on. You know better than that. If the world worked the way you seem to think it does, none of our group of friends would be married, would they? Cameron – the heir apparent to the Hamilton dynasty – married Piper. She flies the company jet for him now, but when they met, she was an unemployed cargo pilot. Then there’s the DiGiovannis – you can’t tell me that they’re not royalty, if you want to talk about the wine world that way. Antonio married Mary Ellen, who comes from suburban Ohio and works as Cameron’s assistant. And Marcos married Molly. In fact, he’s the only one who’s ever looked at things the way you do. He married the kind of woman he thought he was supposed to – a rich Italian – and he ended up divorced and miserable ten years later before he finally got back with Molly.”
Grady sucked in a deep breath. “Wow! I guess you’re right.”
“Don’t guess! Believe me. If you stand a chance with Hannah, don’t let that kind of stupid thinking stand in your way. I don’t know her that well, but I’ve met her a few times; she’s one of Chelsea’s oldest friends. She’s a sweetheart.”
Grady nodded. “I have to admit that I don’t know her that well yet, but she does seem like a sweetheart.”
“She is. And when Ava said that you’re helping Hannah out tomorrow, does that mean she’s roped you into this photo shoot?”
“Yeah. Wait, are you doing it, too?”
Grant grinned. “I am. I wasn’t sure – I mean, posing with puppies for a calendar, that’s cool, especially since it’s for a good cause, but shirtless?”
Grady laughed. “I bet Chelsea talked you into it.”
“No. She told me she’d totally understand if I didn’t want to do it. It was Antonio. You know what he’s like. He wanted to do it and he told me I was a coward if I didn’t.”
Grady laughed. “That sounds about right. Listen, give me a minute to go and say goodnight to Ava and we’ll crack a beer.”
