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Twenty minutes later, Phoebe and I arrived at the barn on the far left of the property. It had been converted into a venue for weddings and other parties. It had been Sherry’s idea and had paid off big time. The amount of money people were willing to pay to be married at a vineyard was insane. Anything that helped the bottom line I welcomed with open arms and was why I immediately created a new position for Sherry as the event coordinator for the entire vineyard.
“I really am sorry about this,” Phoebe said as we stepped into the barn.
“I’ll tell my family it’s nothing, and we don’t have to pretend here.”
“I didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Parker is here.”
“What?”
“She showed up right after I saw the post. I was literally running out the door, and there she was, sitting in the lobby.”
I took a deep breath, gathering the calm to get through this storm. “We’ll figure it out. We’re a team.” Even if she did get all weird on me after we slept together. Again.
All of my siblings were here, including Sutton, Rhone’s best friend, and Rose’s boyfriend, Wyatt.
“I have Brady on FaceTime,” Franc said, holding up his phone. Brady had been included in our family meetings since he was twelve. Dad invited him that first time, and after that, he was always there as he should be.
“Sorry, couldn’t leave the tasting room. I’m the only one here today.”
“Probably have no customers either,” Chardonnay quipped.
“Does your mouth ever hurt from moving so much?” Brady asked.
“Enough, you two, and thank you,” I said. “Most of you remember Phoebe, and some of you know I was going with her to her sister’s engagement party.”
“We all know,” Sutton said. “Secrets don’t exist in this family.”
“No shit.” I ran a hand through my hair, realizing I should have planned for this. All we needed was one person to find out about our little rouse, and that was the only kindling needed to spread this like a wildfire up the mountain. “I went as a favor for Phoebe.”
Phoebe stood up and rested a hand on my arm, her eyes meeting mine, and without words, asked for permission to take control of the room. I nodded my approval.
“Hi everyone.” She smiled and laughed slightly, but there was an uncomfortable tightness in her shoulders that was highlighted in the way she kept shifting. “I asked Laurent to pretend to be my boyfriend, so I didn’t have to deal with my stepmother and other family members. Thinking back on it now, it was probably silly, but I had panicked, and he was gracious enough to agree. However, when we were at the actual party, he might have let slip that we were engaged.”
“Wait,” Nero said. “So are you? It’s too fucking early to try to figure this puzzle out.”
“It’s two in the afternoon,” Sherry said.
“No, jackass, we’re not.” I shook my head at his lack of couth. If Grandpa was here, he’d slap him upside the head for interrupting a woman and then cursing.
Nero scratched at the scruff on his chin. “Then why the hell did you tell people you were?”
“My stepmother is a bit… much,” Phoebe said. “She was baiting me, saying some things, and Laurent did what he does best. He rescued me.”
“By telling people you were engaged?” Rhone asked this time.
“Yes, to get my stepmother off my back about being forty and single while my sister is engaged at twenty-three.”
I noticed she didn’t say half-sister, but I didn’t say anything. We had more pressing issues at the moment.
“I think it’s romantic,” Sutton said. “Rhone would do something like that for me.” She nudged him with her elbow, and my baby brother nodded. Not that he needed to confirm or deny; we all pretty much knew the answer. Rhone was me twenty years ago, except he wasn’t twenty-two and in college. He was thirty-three and hopeless.
“You say romantic, I say stupid,” Nero said. “But to each their own. Not all of us are cut out for wedded bliss.”
“We’re not actually getting married,” I said.
