Jerry stood. “Sorry, have to hit the men’s room.”
Nice move, doorknob. But I had some moves of my own, and this wasn’t the last of me today.
“Sure thing,” I said, my smile as forced as his now. I stood, grabbed my laptop from my desk and walked to the door. Jerry was about to reach from behind me to open it when I stuck my hand out and grabbed the handle instead.
I didn’t need him to open the door for me.
I needed him to treat me with the respect I deserved as a human being and his future business partner. But first, I needed to eat.
And I knew where to go.
SEVENTEEN
marco
“She what?”I asked Min.
I’d been here for an hour, every chair on the deck full. Hudson strummed a Kenney Chesney tune on his guitar, my sister hardly listening to me as she stared at him like it was the first time she’d heard him play.
“I said, Rae was over yesterday for lunch.”
Our kitchen in the Wine Barn was small, but enough to serve sandwiches and basic food in addition to the charcuterie boards.
“And you didn’t think to tell me this sooner?”
Still nothing. I never got her number, she’d laughed when I asked for it Saturday night. ‘I already fell for dinner,’ she’d said. And I guessed she was serious about staying away from me.
“Why would I tell you?”
In addition to the whole family who always made it a point to free up Wednesday nights after closing time, there were a handful of other friends here too. On a summer night like this, with both wineries and the brewery shut down for the night, it was easy to kick back even with the million things I had to do. Most of my duties as VP of Grado had remained, and on top of the brewery, it was getting a bit much.
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. For obvious reasons?”
Brooke laughed at something Cos said across from us. He really got lucky with that one. Brooke mellowed him out, just what my brother needed.
“Such as?”
“Seriously Marco?” Min took a sip of wine. “I need to spell it out for you? Clearly you have the hots for her. And unfortunately, I think she’s attracted to you. Which does not bode well for her.”
Time to seriously piss off my sister. “Why do you think that? Did she say something to you about me?”
“Ugh.”
Min was so predictable.
“You’re harassing my girl again, aren’t you?” Hudson had finished his song and was now standing in front of us. He reached down to take Min’s nearly empty glass. “Refill?”
“Yes please.”
He winked at her before nodding to me. “Need another?”
Hudson and I were the two beer drinkers of the family, and now that we had our own brew there was an unlimited supply on property.
“I’m good,” I said.
“Hudson, will you please talk to my brother?”