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Dalton proved him wrong when he introduced him. “This is Damon. If you haven’t already, I’m sure you’ll see him in the gym. These days, he’s a bartender by night and a physical trainer by day. He’s one of the guys …” He shot a smirk at Damon. “He wasn’t on the teams, but he was a Marine. Damon, this is Xander Jacobs, and this little lady is Tori DuPont, Ria’s daughter.”
Damon grinned at Xander and gave him a chin lift. “Good to meet you.”
Before Xander could answer, a woman came out from the back and joined Damon, greeting them with a big smile. “Xander and Tori! Your mom told me that you guys might come in.” She looked at Tori. “She’s so thrilled that you’re here. Oh, and I’m Taryn by the way.”
“It’s good to be here,” said Tori.
“I know I shouldn’t ask, but do you think you might stay?”
Tori looked up at Xander. He could understand why she was hesitant – if they did decide to stay – and it seemed like they had – Tori would no doubt want to tell her mom about it before she told anyone else.
Taryn waved a hand at them. “Sorry. Ignore me. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Sometimes my mouth runs away with me before my brain catches up.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” said Dalton with a smirk.
Taryn narrowed her eyes at him. “Watch yourself, mister.”
Dalton laughed. “She loves me, really,” he told them.
“It’s true; she does,” said Taryn. “Although what she sees in him, I have no idea. Anyway, you didn’t come in here to listen to us pick at each other. Are you here to eat?”
“We are, but we wanted to have a drink with you guys first.”
Taryn grinned. “In that case, I’m going to tell you something while I’ve got you.”
“What’s that?” Xander asked.
“If you guys are considering sticking around, there’s an opportunity coming up that I think you might be interested in.”
“What opportunity?” Tori asked.
“Have you been to the wine bar?”
Tori shot Xander a quick smile before she said, “We have – that’s where we just came from.”
“Then you’ve already seen that it’s not doing very well. Rachel’s a sweetheart but she has no business trying to run that place. Ian was no better – if anything, he had less of a clue than she does. But that’s beside the point, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of someone who would be a good fit to take it over. There’s no one here in town, but when your mom said that you were here… Maybe I’m getting my wires crossed, but she said the two of you are looking for a fresh start. I know from what she told me about you that you’re both smart and savvy enough to run your own business… And who better to run a wine bar than a DuPont and a Jacobs?”
When she finished, she folded her arms and tilted her head to the side.
Tori looked at Xander, and they both burst out laughing.
“Okay, what’s the joke?” Taryn asked.
Xander looked at Tori and asked, “What do you think?” He was relieved when she nodded.
“We’ll tell you, as long as you …” he glanced at Damon, who’d come back to join them after serving customers. “As long as the three of you swear not to say a word until we tell you that you can.”
They all nodded.
If Xander had any doubts about how enthusiastic Tori was, she blew them away when she leaned forward eagerly.
“We want the wine bar. Please don’t say anything because I haven’t had the chance to tell my mom yet. I really wanted to tell her first, but…”
“We won’t say a word, promise,” said Dalton.
Taryn pretended to zip up her lips and then crossed her heart.
Damon nodded. “You have my word.”
