“I don’t,” she admitted, sinking down on one of the leather sofas. “I love them all and would be lost without them. But every now and then they really get on my nerves.” She fluffed her newly shorn hair. “This would be one of those times.”
He settled on the other sofa. “Fair enough. So did you really want to talk to me about something or did you just need to escape?”
“No. I have an actual thing. When you called to tell me that Jeff’s lawyer had been in touch to formally withdraw the question of the winery inheritance, you told me to think about what I want from Jeff.”
“Did you come up with a wish list?”
“Yes, but little of it is legal. As I already pushed the limits of the law with the taping stunt, I’m not going to try it again.”
“But getting Jeff on tape worked.”
Brenna fluffed the ends of her hair and shrugged. “I guess.”
“He backed off. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Sure. It’s just…” She shrugged again. “Katie was right.”
“About?”
“Francesca. I wanted her help and I’m glad to have the tape, but listening to my husband saying he wanted to fuck her brains out didn’t exactly make my day.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t you doing the talking. I know Francesca would never have anything to do with him, but it still makes me feel weird.” She shook her head. “None of which is your problem. My actual point for having this conversation is to tell you I don’t have a wish list. All I want from Jeff is repayment for putting him through school. You showed me that chart before, remember?”
He nodded. “The state has a schedule.”
“Then that’s fine.”
“I could probably get you more.”
“Thanks, but I’ve been tacky enough for one divorce. Plus, if I’m out for blood, that means I’m still putting energy into our relationship. The whole situation makes me sad and angry and frustrated, but I want to move on. He doesn’t matter anymore. I want to act like that’s actually true.”
“It’s your call,” he told her. “I’ll do exactly what you say.”
She smiled. “Now
“Don’t go wishing for miracles. I’m only agreeable because I work for you.”
Her smile broadened. “So the secret is to pay someone to be my husband and then he’ll do exactly what I say?”
“Something like that.”
After his meeting with Brenna, Zach stepped out of the library and found Katie waiting for him. They’d agreed to try and corner Mia and David before lunch.
“The Grands have already announced lunch is ready,” she said. “We’ll have to do this after.”
“I don’t want to wait.”
“Because you want what you want when you want it?”
“Something like that.” He wanted to get the conversation over. He wanted to know that the engagement was off.
“It’s lunch,” she reminded him. “How long could it take? Besides, they’re already engaged. What’s the worst that could happen?”
He didn’t have an answer for that, but something in his gut told him time was important. If he waited too long, the situation might be unrecoverable.
She grabbed him by the arm. “Listen to me, Zach. Look into my eyes and listen very carefully. You
“You’re right,” he said.
She didn’t look convinced. “Somehow I don’t believe you. Do you promise you’ll wait to talk to them privately?”
He bent down and brushed her mouth with his. Brenna walked out of the library just in time to see.
“Get a room,” she told them with a grin.
Katie leaned against Zach. “You only need a room if there’s tongue.”
“Yuck. Don’t be talking about that sort of thing with me.” Brenna shuddered. “At least not with Zach standing right there. How can I ask any really good questions?”
“I’m leaving,” he said, walking toward the dining room. “You’ll have to have this conversation behind my back.”
“Chicken,” Brenna called after him.
Katie watched him go, then looked at her sister. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. I hesitate to actually admit this, but you were right about taping Jeff. Francesca got what we needed, but I feel weird about it.”
“I didn’t want that to happen.”
“I know. You were trying to protect me, but would I listen?”
“See. If only you’d let me run your life, things would go much smoother.”
Brenna raised her eyebrows. “Because your life is so perfect?”
Katie was surprised by the question. “Things are going really well.”
“You don’t say? So what’s up with Zach?”
“I just-” She cleared her throat. “We’re-” Deep breath, try again. “Things are fine.”
“Uh-huh. So you have no idea where your relationship stands.”
“Not one.”
“And you’re too afraid to ask.”
“Exactly.”
“Ha! And you want to run
Katie wasn’t ready to admit that. “Maybe.”
“Bells?”
“A faint ringing sound.”
Brenna squeezed her arm. “So long as it’s not an alarm.”
Lunch with the Marcelli family was a casual, intimate affair. There was less wine than at dinner, more pasta, and enough salad to make an entire colony of herbivores vibrate with ecstasy.
Zach found himself seated on Grandma Tessa’s left and Colleen’s right, with Katie across from him. While he wanted lunch to end so he could corner Mia and David, he couldn’t complain about the view.
After the food had been passed around the table and the Grands determined that everyone had more than enough, conversation turned to the recent fund-raiser.
“We’re very proud of you, Katie,” Marco told his daughter.
Katie smiled. “Thanks. Weeks of hard work and preparation laid low by a single fish. It’s a little scary to think about. But the family came through for me.”
Grandma Tessa dismissed her statement with a wave of her hand. “We cooked a little, talked a little, you did the hard work.” A sharp elbow jabbed his ribs. “A smart, successful young woman.” Grandma Tessa nodded knowingly. “Surprising that no one has snapped her up.”
Katie briefly closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Zach didn’t doubt that the exact words would have Grandma Tessa reaching for her rosary. He held back a smile.
“It is surprising,” he agreed.
Katie opened her eyes and glared at him. He could read her thoughts-she wanted to know what the hell he was doing, playing along with her grandmother.
He winked.
