“Here I am.” I plastered on my best hostess smile and hoped she didn’t see right through it. “Is there, ah, something I can get for you?”
Betty patted my arm, regaining my attention. “I was just coming to tell you that the quiches are almost out.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks. I’ll get one of the girls to bring some more out.”
“Mhmm, that’s a great idea. And also, he went upstairs to see his mother.”
I blinked at the quick change of topic. “Who did?”
A sly smile curved Betty’s lips. “Don’t you try that with me, young lady. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”
I opened my mouth to deny her claim, and she looked toward the hallway leading out of the tasting room.
“He was a heartbreaker at seventeen, but now?” Betty leaned in as though imparting a state secret. “That boy grew into all kinds of tall, dark, and delicious.”
Betty fanned her face as she continued to look down the hall, as though Noah would reappear at any moment. I, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to get out of there for the exact same reason.
“Uh, I’ll take your word for it.” I went to pull my arm free and make a run for it, but Betty was a step ahead of me. She tightened her fingers around my wrist and leaned into my side. All the while, her eyes were glued to the doorway.
“You two were so in love back in the day. There was never a minute one of you was without the other.”
No kidding.
“I really thought you’d end up married, you know? Have a couple of kids together, and one day run this place. It just seemed like destiny. Until…”
Yes…until. That was the problem with this little story. It held up really well, until that part right there.
“Betty?” I gently removed my arm from her grip, and this time made sure to move out of her reach. “I’m going to go and get some more of those quiches moving out of the kitchen. I’ll catch up with you a little later?”
“Of course, dear. Don’t let me hold you up.”
With a final smile in her direction, I made a quick dash through the door and hightailed it into the kitchen, which, I was happy to note, was empty. After the door swung shut behind me, I leaned against it and breathed a sigh of relief.
This was insane. My stomach was a wreck, and my hands? I held them up in front of me. They were shaking like leaves on a tree. I needed to pull myself together if I had a hope in hell of getting through the next couple of hours. But until then, maybe I could hide in here for a few minutes.
Pushing off the door, I made my way over to the fridge to get the next tray of finger food for the oven, then I heard movement from the wine cellar. Thinking it was Bree trying to sneak that bottle of scotch again, I headed over there to stop her at the pass.
I pushed through the door, and just as I was about to give my well-practiced speech about underage drinking, my eyes landed on a broad set of shoulders that definitely did not belong to Brianna Chamberlin.
The cellar door clicked shut behind me, and when the man turned to see who had entered his space, the breath I’d finally gotten under control once again lodged itself in the back of my throat.
Good God, the glimpse I’d gotten of Noah earlier was nothing compared to him standing in front of me with a wine bottle in his hand, and as much as I hated to admit it, Miss Betty was right. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and delicious, and when those rich caramel-colored eyes found mine, I had to reach for the door handle just to be certain I wouldn’t fall at his feet.
“Laurel Anderson.”
My heart all but stopped at the sound of my name in that smooth, seductive timbre, and my fingers tightened on the handle.
“Hi.” Brilliant. After all these years, that was what came out of my mouth.
A smile slowly curved his lips, as though he knew I was tongue-tied, and I wanted to kick myself—or him—for it.
“Hi yourself.”
I swallowed and tried to remember that somewhere inside my head I possessed a brain. Now if I could just locate it, that would be fantastic. “I, uh, I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“No? Everyone else in town seemed to.”
“Well, you know how it goes. You can’t rely on everything you hear.”
“Ah. So you heard—you just didn’t believe it.”
“I didn’t really think about it either way.” Liar. “I’m sorry for your loss, though. Harry was—”
“An A-grade bastard?”
My eyes widened at the cool edge to Noah’s voice. It was a tone I’d never heard from him before. But then again, I didn’t know this man, so I had no point of reference.
“That seems harsh, huh?”
“It seems…” Noah’s eyes locked on me with an intensity I felt all the way to my bones. “Honest.”
He shifted the wine bottle from one hand to the other, then he held it up by the neck and asked, “A good year?”
I focused on the label, a 2012 Pinot Noir. “It was a great year.”
Noah nodded and turned the bottle around so he could look at it again. “And you should know, or so I’m told. You manage this place now.”
I wondered who had told him. His mother? Or one of his siblings? I’d never imagined a career in the wine business, and I certainly hadn’t imagined one here at his family’s winery. But circumstances had left me little choice, and now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“I do. I’m also the head sommelier.”
Noah let out a sound of disbelief that made my spine stiffen. I was good at my job—damn good at it.
“I hope that won’t be a problem for you.”
“A problem?” Noah shook his head. “No. I was just thinking how
