“There is that. Good night, ma’am.” He nodded. “We all need a good night’s rest.”
“You’re right. Thank you, Albert.”
Wheeling Vicki’s bags into the house, I closed the French doors as I heard the beep on the outside door activate the alarms. “Do you want to take these upstairs?”
“No, girl. I want to drink the wine you have chilling, to learn more about your other guest, and to fill you in on some hometown gossip.”
I smirked. “I’m sure our not-wedding made the rounds.”
“You’re old news.”
A laugh bubbled from my throat. “Good.” In the kitchen, I went to the wine refrigerator. “What do you want?”
“What do you have?”
I stood back and did my best Vanna White impression. “Name it.”
“I’ve sworn off champagne. That last glass had me seeing colors for days. How about moscato?”
“I can do that.” I pulled a bottle from the refrigerator and gathered two glasses. “What gossip?”
“First, tell me about this sister,” Vicki said.
Again, I looked toward the office. There was no sign of Lena or Van. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been wondering what was going on in his office—for over two hours. I was relatively certain it wasn’t sex.
“Jules. The sister.”
I exhaled. “Her name is Lena—Lena Montgomery.”
“Isn’t she some big tech person?”
Shaking my head, I shrugged. “I don’t know. She and Van have known each other for a long time. And yes, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Of course, I’m not jealous.”
Fluffing her long brown hair over her shoulders, Vicki climbed up on one of the tall stools at the breakfast counter. “You have no reason to be jealous. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
As I opened the wine, I went on, “She and Van had an agreement that if either of them was ever unable to do their work, the other was temporarily appointed to make decisions in the other’s stead.”
Vicki looked up from her phone with her hazel eyes wide. She turned the screen toward me. “This Lena Montgomery?”
Looking down, I nodded. “Her hair is more auburn and a bit shorter now, but yep.”
“Jeez. Van’s friend is a kick-ass businesswoman. She invested in some start-ups a while back and hit pay dirt. Tech was her first big hit. Now I think her portfolio is diversified.”
After pouring the moscato into two glasses, I handed one to my friend. “I’m shocked you know all this from one photo.”
“I read an article about her once. It was an Oprah feature highlighting some successful women entrepreneurs. Ms. Montgomery has a net worth…” Vicki laughed. “Probably similar to your fiancé.”
“I guess that explains why Van trusted her with Sherman and Madison.”
Vicki choked on her wine. “Tell me he’s changing the name of his company.”
“I honestly don’t care. He’s made a name with Sherman and Madison. It bothered me a little when I first learned where the name came from, but now I just feel sorry for her.”
“She’s cuckoo,” Vicki whispered.
For a long pause we both waited to be sure we hadn’t been overheard.
“What’s this hometown gossip?” I asked.