AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Willow laughed with him. “You haven’t. But that’s okay, I know it.” She checked her watch, and then came into his office from the doorway where she’d been standing. She pulled up the chair across the desk from him with a grim smile. “Now, we put our heads together and see how we can solve this little problem.”
Bentley nodded and gave her an apologetic look when his phone rang. “Sorry, I just need to take that.”
“Go ahead. I’ll just be here, scheming.”
Bentley wasn’t sure how he felt about her sitting there while his assistant connected him with the florist. He’d asked her to get them on the line earlier, but they’d been busy.
His sister watched him with a smug smile on her face as he ordered a dozen red roses to be delivered to Alyssa.
“And you don’t think her mom will suspect something when those arrive?” she asked when he hung up.
“She’s told her mom that she’s seeing someone, she’s even said that I live here in Napa. She just hasn’t told her about the family connection. I did think about not sending the flowers, but I’m not going to let her mom stop me.”
Willow smiled at him. “Good for you. Although … I hate to say it, but maybe you could come up with something a little more original than just the generic dozen red roses?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “I know. It doesn’t look like I put much effort into it, does it? But I racked my brain. I couldn’t come up with anything. I kind of hate Jacob right now.”
Willow laughed. “Oh, the cornflowers? Yeah, I have to hand it to him. The way Becca described it, his proposal was awesome. And from what Hannah says, the Jacobs estate is going to be completely decked out in cornflowers for their wedding. He has the groundskeepers hard at work on it.”
Bentley made a face. “I know. He’s so proud of himself, he even told me about it.”
“So, you’re just going to have to think a bit harder. Come up with something of your own. But anyway, sorry, I sidetracked us. What are we going to do about her mom?”
Bentley shook his head. “I’m damned if I know.”
“Well, this is where having a devious-minded sister comes in handy. How about this? How about you invite them both for the weekend?”
Bentley frowned. “Did you miss the part about her not knowing who I am? About how she’s not going to be happy with it?”
“No. But you’re going to need to get past it somehow. I reckon you could do worse than by impressing her.”
“Do you really think that she’s going to be impressed if I invite her to Mom’s house?”
“No. I expect you to impress her with your good self before she realizes who you are.”
Bentley frowned. “Go on, tell me more. I can tell by the look on your face that you’ve already come up with something.”
Willow leaned her elbows on the desk and smiled at him. “There’s an event this weekend – an open afternoon, and then a dinner. The chamber has some of the Argentine growers over for an exchange week. If we go, they’ll all be fawning over you – you’ll be the biggest of the big shots there. That should give Julia a good impression of you.”
Bentley had to smile. “That’s not a bad idea. From what Alyssa’s told me, Julia is all about social standing.”
Willow grinned. “I know. We had a bit of a girl talk. You’re just too polite. It sounds to me more like her mom’s a social climber. And I know for a fact that Alvaro Martinez is here as part of that group. Far be it from me to play matchmaker, but …”
Bentley laughed out loud. “You can’t be serious? That man is on the hunt for a woman every time he’s here. He wants to take an American trophy wife back with him – he seems to think that would make him the king of Mendoza.”
“Perhaps an English trophy wife would work just as well?”
“We’re not seriously trying to fix her mom up with a man who’d marry her and whisk her away to another continent, are we?”
Willow laughed. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. And you know what? From what Alyssa told me, her mom would be happy about it.”
~ ~ ~
Alyssa was less thrilled about the flight to Napa this time. Having her mum sitting next to her took away a lot of the enjoyment. It didn’t take away all of it, though. She was still on her way to see Bentley.
She still wasn’t convinced that this was a great idea. She would rather have found a way to ditch her mum for the weekend.
“Isn’t this great, Lizzie?” her mum asked as she looked out the window. “You’ve really fallen on your feet with this guy. I wish you would’ve told me more about him before.”
