“Listen,” he said, his smile waning. “Min told you about how Sunset hasn’t played nice with us, or the neighboring vineyards. When I learned who you were—”
I cut him off. “I should have introduced myself. Honestly, I just wasn’t ready. And came into the brewery because we’re not in competition there.”
“We’re not in competition anywhere. We make totally different wines and have different sales models.”
“Except now you have a VIP Wine Tour on the lake.”
He grinned. “We do. So maybe we’re a little bit in competition. But Sunset Vineyards Wine Cruise is well established. We have one boat, one cruise. And no plans for additional ones. We can work together more often than not.”
“I agree,” I said. “Apology accepted.”
“I didn’t apologize.”
“You did.”
“Didn’t.”
Marco raised his glass. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one.”
I raised my own. “I have a feeling it won’t be the only time. But cheers.”
ELEVEN
marco
I hadto see her again.
I ran into Rae twice in one day on Monday but nothing since. Coming awfully close to asking Shaun earlier when she usually clocked in at the gym, I finally decided against it. That reeked of desperation, and if there was one thing I’d never been, it was desperate for a woman.
The brewery was hopping, so I should have been pleased. And I was. The only problem? My head wasn’t here. After sitting with her for nearly two hours on Monday, Rae told me more about her family. About how much she despised law school and the sinking feeling that, even after five years of practicing, she still didn’t like being an attorney. Only a truckload of debt had kept her from getting out earlier. And I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“Hello? Marco?”
Hudson waved his hand in front of me.
“Yeah sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you heard from Rochester yet about next week’s batch?”
“Not yet. I’ll give them a call in the morning.”
“Another great night. You've gotta be stoked,” Hudson said as he poured a beer. “And now we should have enough staff to rotate weekends.”
We hired a new bartender this week which was great. “I just wish my parents were fully on board.”
Although they came for the opening weekend, and my mother couldn’t have been prouder, Dad didn’t say much except “congratulations” and “looks good.” I knew he wasn’t a fan of adding the brewery, but after it was built, I figured he’d change his tune.
Of course, it had been my idea, not Cos’s or Neo’s. So that made a difference.
“Are you hanging around tonight?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I’m meeting Natalie at the Taphouse at nine.”
“Natalie. Natalie. Nope. Can’t place her.”
“She came on the boat a few weeks ago. Blonde. Used to be an Eagles cheerleader.”
“Ahh, that one.”