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“So what happened?”
“One day in late July, I finally weaseled my way into a meeting with the head sommelier here at the time. I was walking down the hall toward his office when Leon came barreling out of his father’s. Plowed me right over. And the moment he landed on top of me and looked into my eyes…it was one of those meet-cute moments you see in movies, you know? I couldn’t look away. The entire world faded away around us. If his father hadn’t come out to see what the commotion was, I’m sure I would’ve kissed him right then.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No,” her mom said, smiling again. “I let him go in for the first kiss.”
“And when was that?”
“The next night!” she said with a gleeful laugh and clap of her hands. “The next day, he tracked me down in the tasting room and asked me if I wanted to join him for a sunset picnic on the vineyard. How could I say no?”
How, indeed. We grew more grapes now than we had back in the eighties, but the rolling hills beyond this building still had to have been lush with vines back then. You could see the water on both sides of the peninsula from our perch up here, which would’ve made it a truly romantic spot for sunset.
“That was the first of many,” my mom continued. “Before I met Leon, I always thought that whole ‘when you know, you know’ stuff was just bullshit. But…it’s real, and it happened to us. We were saying ‘I love you’ before the end of our first month together, and we were married by Christmas.”
I’d known their romance had been a whirlwind, but I’d never bothered to ask the particulars of it all. Still, photographs of their wedding day were displayed all over each of our homes, and while it might not seem like it, their winter vineyard wedding looked nothing short of magical.
Although, I had some idea of how perfect the day had been since Chloe and Logan had chosen to have their own wedding at the winery last Christmas. The snow-covered vines, the twinkle lights, those opaque little igloos set up outside for people to enjoy the season without suffering frostbite—it had all been a dream.
“Howdidyou know?” I blurted. I couldn’t imagine that, knowing without a doubt that you’d found the other half of your soul in another person, knowing implicitly that you were meant to share your life with them.
“I felt it right here,” she said, placing a palm over her heart. “Everything felt right when I was with him. Easy. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than in his arms. And the day we got married, and every time we brought another one of you girls into the world…I fell in love with him all over again. He’s been there, holding my hand for every up and down. I couldn’t do life without him.”
Once again, that wistfulness settled over her face, and I smiled in response, my eyes going misty. It was a beautiful sentiment, and such a rarity to find your soulmate—especially that young. At twenty-eight, I was well past the age my parents had met and gotten married, and I didn’t have high hopes for my love life going forward. Running a multi-million dollar company consumed nearly all of my time. Carving out an hour or two a week for dating seemed impossible and, honestly, wasteful.
Mom rose to her feet, but I remained seated, and she didn’t question me. Though I was chilled, I wasn’t ready to head back upstairs and face the firing squad—Calvin—just yet.
“I, for one, am thankful you and Daddy found each other,” I said. “Although I could’ve done without the eight thousand siblings.”
My mom threw her head back and barked out a laugh. “Your poor father. He wanted a son so bad.”
“It certainly would’ve made things easier,” I grumbled.
She stepped close and settled her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up into her eyes, their peculiar golden hazel so like my own. “No, honey,” she said. “The company is in the most capable hands we could imagine. Your father and I are so proud of you, and we know you’re going to do amazing things.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She patted my cheek. “I know I am. But don’t forget to take some time for yourself. You’re still so young, and I know running the company is a big responsibility, but you have to take care of yourself too. Are you…”
Here we go.
“…seeing anyone?”
“Nope,” I said, the “p” popping dramatically on my lips.
“That’s something you should be making time for!” my mother insisted. “Your father and I aren’t getting any younger, and we’d like grandchildren one day.”
“Don’t worry, I think Chloe will take care of that soon enough.”
My mother waved a dismissive hand. “Forget Chloe. She got her happily ever after. It’s time you found yours.”
She winked and took off, her feet scuffing against the stairs as she ascended. A moment later, the upper door creaked open, a blast of chatter and clinking glasses filtering down to me before it was abruptly cut off again. I remained rooted in place, my shivering shocked into stillness by the image my imagination conjured.
For some ungodly reason, Calvin’s face came to mind. But…nothing about my relationship with Calvin was easy, and I couldn’t help but think that meant I had to keep looking. That my person would find me eventually, and we’d walk off into the sunset together, hand in hand, happily ever after just like my sister and Logan.
Just like my parents.
“What the hell iswrong with you?” Leon hissed when Amara and Lena disappeared from the table.
