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I cleared my throat when I felt emotion welling up.I miss you,I longed to say but couldn’t bring myself to do so. “I should, um, go. Guests will be arriving soon.”
“Of course. Thank you for calling, Press.”
“We’ll talk again soon.”
“I hope so.”
The first personI saw when I came downstairs was Zin. I held out my hand, and he shook it.
“I was out of line,” he said.
“You were. Now, let’s drop it.”
He nodded, and the two of us went into the main room, where my father and brother were seated.
The three ofus collectively decided not to have a traditional visitation or a funeral service. Instead, those who wished to pay their respects were invited to the house this afternoon and evening.
Two days from now, we’d have a private service at the graveside here, on the property, where my mother would be buried. Eventually, my father would be too, in the same way his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had been. When the time came, I expected my brother and I would be as well.
Shortly before I’d purchased the oceanfront estate in Cambria, Beau and I sat down with our mother and father and told them we’d come to an agreement regarding the Napa Valley property. Eventually, it would be passed down to Beau. He would be responsible for the vineyard and winery production, and the property would become his.
That I’d relinquished my rights was concerning to our parents. I couldn’t recall many instances when my mother was as angry with me as she was that day.
“You must stand up for yourself, Lavery. You’ve been this way since Beau was old enough to demand you give him something that was rightfully yours,” she’d said.
I’d argued that I never had the same level of interest in wine-making Beau had, but she didn’t buy it.
Still, my mind was made up, and as far as I was concerned, I wouldn’t change it. I’d requested my parents change their wills in order to reflect what my brother and I had agreed upon, and to the best of my knowledge, they’d honored it.
Even now, as I surveyed the house where I’d spent some of my childhood, although not its majority, I felt no regret over essentially handing my half of our inheritance over to my brother.
Actually, saying I’d given him my half wasn’t remotely accurate. I still managed the business side of our family’s holdings, which were vast and required near full-time attention from a staff who reported to me. I also held a trust passed down from my grandparents that ensured I’d never want for money. As did Beau.
Tonight, it hit me more than at any other time in my life.Money did not buy happiness.It had not stopped my mother’s sudden death. Apart from making sure Luisa was protected by a team of bodyguards, my money could not guarantee she’d never face pain or fear again—the very thing I wished it could ensure.
Hours later,after a parade of people had moved through the house, offering their condolences, telling stories about my mother, eating the food the caterers had prepared, and drinking the wine Beau and my father had made, I sat in a room with my very closest friends in the world.
My father and Tryst were reminiscing about their days with Los Caballeros, while Cru, Cris, Trev, Snapper, and Kick—Brix’s brothers—sat talking with Dalton, Ridge’s only sibling, and Beau.
Brix and Ridge, both away from their wives far too soon after their weddings, sat and told stories with Zin and me. I wondered if, in the back of their minds, they were thinking as much about Addy and Seraphina as I was about Luisa.
While I accepted it was safer for her to be at Butler Ranch rather than here, I missed her—and my mother—so much it hurt to breathe.
16
LUISA
“Imiss you,” I’d whispered, staring too long at the phone after our call ended and wishing I’d been brave enough to speak those words when Press could’ve heard me.
No doubt he would’ve thought it was silly since it hadn’t been an entire day since we last saw each other.
I thought, too, about Beau’s kiss earlier. For so long, I’d yearned for it, and when it happened, I felt nothing.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Jada, who’d offered to spend the night rather than drive the two miles down the road to her own house. Now, she was stretched out on the other twin bed in the room she and I had volunteered to share.
“Beau Barrett.”
She turned on her side and propped her head on her hand. “He’s a player, Luisa. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
