Francesca smiled. “Mia, your dress is beautiful, but it wouldn’t look nearly as nice on me as it did on you.”

Kelly bounced on the sofa. “Mia, I never saw your dress. Do you still have it?”

“Sure.”

Mia started to put down her lace, but Katie, Brenna, and Francesca all glared at her.

“Don’t even think about it,” Francesca warned.

Mia grinned at Kelly. “We’ll sneak upstairs later, when the wardens are sleeping.”

Kelly nodded happily.

“What about the menu?” Grandma Tessa asked. “We have to decide on what we’re eating.”

“What about burgers?” Brenna offered.

Even her mother frowned at her for that one.

Brenna held up one hand. “Don’t hurt me. I was just kidding. Are you serious about changing the menu just because it’s going to be a double wedding?”

Her mother frowned. “This isn’t for the wedding, dear. This is for the engagement party.”

Brenna glanced at her two engaged sisters. “You’re having an engagement party? When was this decided?”

“A couple of nights ago,” Katie said. “You were otherwise occupied.”

“Do people still do that kind of thing?”

“We do,” Grandma Tessa said firmly.

“It was Katie’s idea,” Francesca said.

Katie sighed. “You are so lying. It was your idea.”

“They were both wantin’ a special celebration,” Grammy M said. “I think it’s a fine idea.”

“Will you be bringing Grandpa Gabriel?” Kelly asked.

Grammy M shrugged as if it didn’t much matter, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Maybe.”

Brenna laughed. Her seventy-something grandmother had found romance with Francesca’s fiancé’s grandfather. The two seniors were forever sneaking out to dinner together and had even planned a cruise in the fall. Grandma Tessa claimed to be appalled that they would share a room without the benefit of a priest blessing the union, but Grammy M simply said that she was too old for sex outside of marriage to be considered a sin. Brenna was thrilled to know that she came from a gene pool that was still interested in the wild thing far into the December years.

“We want something fairly casual,” Katie said. “Maybe a buffet outside with white lights strung all over. Just family and good friends.”

“Sounds nice,” Brenna said.

She looked at her sister as she spoke and saw Katie was watching her carefully. She turned her attention to Francesca. Her twin’s expression matched Katie’s. She could tell they were once again caught up in “poor Brenna not having a relationship.”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Of course you are,” Grammy M said fondly. “Why would you be otherwise?”

Brenna shook her head. How could she convince her sisters that she was completely happy for them? She couldn’t be more happy. As for wanting a relationship for herself…right now her schedule didn’t allow for a lot of boy-girl time. She was too busy trying to make her dreams come true. Besides, as long as Nic showed up every couple of days and made her toes curls, she didn’t actually need the real thing. Fantasizing about him was about twenty times better than any reality with a guy she was likely to meet.

Nope, right now single felt exactly right. Well, except for missing sex.

Three days later Brenna parked in her usual spot at Wild Sea and headed in to check on her wines. Amazingly enough, it was still daylight. Her nonnocturnal visit was due to yet another argument with her grandfather, this one about what wines they were serving at a tasting dinner for the Marcelli distributors in town for a promotional weekend. After asking her opinion, her grandfather had detailed what he thought was wrong with every one of her choices. Rather than throw a temper tantrum-which had been her first choice-she’d made a graceful exit and ended up here.

She crossed to what she’d begun to think of as “her building” and stepped inside.

Instantly the scent of fermentation assaulted her. Brenna inhaled deeply, savoring the changes from yesterday, knowing tomorrow would be different, too. The subtle alterations told her things were going well.

“Knock, knock. Brenna?”

Brenna turned and saw a woman entering the building. Her guest was tall, with thick auburn hair and a model-perfect face. Brenna didn’t know if she should be more bitter about that or the woman’s slender body. Just being in the same room with her made her feel short and lumpy.

She tried reminding herself that while she couldn’t be considered tall, except by the vertically challenged like Mia, she was of average height. If she wanted to be less lumpy, she would have to stop eating the Grands’ cooking.

“Have we met?” Brenna asked as the woman approached.

The woman smiled and held out her hand. “We haven’t been introduced, but I know who you are. I’m Maggie Moore, the chief financial officer for Wild Sea. I work for Nic.”

“Ah,” Brenna said, fighting a sudden blast of jealousy. How like Nic to hire a beautiful woman in a job traditionally held by men.

“If you’re looking for him, he’s not here,” she said.

Maggie smiled. “Actually I was looking for you. I wanted to meet the infamous Brenna Marcelli.”

“I’m infamous?” Brenna asked. “Gee, no one sent me a memo.”

“I’m not sure the title extends past my office. I handle the finances for Wild Sea.”

“I sort of guessed that by your job description.”

“I know about the loan.”

Now Brenna was really confused. “That was a private loan. I didn’t borrow the money from the corporation.”

“Oh, I know. But even Nic doesn’t happen to have a million dollars in his checking account. Once he decided how he wanted to structure the deal, he had me draw up the paperwork.”

Brenna wasn’t sure why she needed to know this. “Is there a problem?”

“Not at all.” Maggie’s smile was friendly. “Like I said, I just wanted to get to know you.”

Brenna wondered what Nic might have told this woman about her. Somehow she couldn’t see him spilling his guts about the past, but then, she’d been wrong before. Was Maggie more than just an employee?

As soon as she asked the question, she realized it wasn’t likely. For one thing, Nic wouldn’t have kissed her the way he had if he’d been involved with someone else. For another, a quick glance at Maggie’s left hand told her that the woman was married.

“How long have you worked at Wild Sea?” Brenna asked.

“Almost nine years.” Maggie grinned. “It’s kind of sad because even though I’m around all this wonderful wine, I don’t really drink it.”

Brenna chuckled. “Does Nic know?”

“Yes, and it really bugs him. He tried to teach me about different wines once, but I kept nodding off during his explanations.” She pointed at one of the vats. “Which explains why I have to ask what you’re doing in there.”

“Making Chardonnay,” Brenna said. “I’m fermenting a portion in oak and the rest in stainless steel. The stainless allows for easier temperature control. Barrel fermenting is more expensive, but it allows me to-”

She broke off and shrugged. “Sorry. I get a little carried away.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m impressed by your enthusiasm.”

“This is important to me. I’ve wanted the chance to run things my way, and now I finally have it. I plan to take all the credit, but I’m also putting myself on the line to take all of the blame if things go wrong.”

“Could they?” Maggie asked.

“Sure. Wine making is as much art as it is science. I pay attention to both.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Maggie asked.

“Most do. But once a winery gets big, it’s difficult to be intimately involved in every step. That isn’t going to happen here.”

Brenna stopped again and sighed. “I did it again.”

Maggie shook her head. “I can see your determination in your eyes. The only thing I’ve ever felt so passionately about is my daughter.” She laughed. “That sounds horrible. I love my husband completely. He’s wonderful, but it’s not the same as loving my child. Does that make sense?”

“Sure.”

Maggie glanced at her watch. “Speaking of Annie, I have to head home so I can spend the evening with her. Daddy has to work late, so it’s girls’ night at home.” She held out her hand. “It was great to meet you, Brenna.”

“Likewise,” Brenna said, shaking hands.

She watched Maggie leave. What on earth had that been about? If she didn’t know better, she would say that Nic’s CFO had been checking her out. But why? He’d already given her the loan. Maggie couldn’t stop what had already happened.

“Not that it matters,” she told herself. But it was curious.

Was it wrong to love a grape? Brenna hoped not, because she had a serious case of hero worship for her Pinots.

She stood just off a gravel road, on the edge of her perfectly wonderful four acres. To the west stretched the Pacific Ocean for as far as the eye could see. To the east were the foothills, and tucked in between was paradise.

She knew there were those who thought that land this incredible would be wasted on something like grapes when dozens of million-dollar homes could have been built here, but Brenna considered those kind of people not only shortsighted but lacking a soul.

She crouched down by a mature vine and studied the well-shaped clusters.

Did it get any better than this? The grapes had ripened evenly. They were plump and rich in color. She could smell the promise of their flavor, and when she picked a single grape and bit into it, she actually moaned. Another day, maybe two, and then they would be ready to pick. She was going to kick butt with this harvest.

As she stood, she heard something in the distance. She recognized the rumble of a motorcycle, but even as her body went on alert and her thighs heated, she told herself that hundreds of people rode motorcycles on this narrow coastal road and that she was a fool if she allowed herself to think it might be Nic. It was the middle of harvest, for heaven’s sake. The man had better things to do than ride up like some leather-clad sex god just to jump-start her motor.