I’d spent too many years in locker rooms being hounded by teammates, coaches, and the press to feel comfortable in the quiet. Not to mention, I was the eldest of seven kids, including five younger brothers, so I’d never really known a moment of peace in my lifetime. That was largely why I spent my weekends locked in my office at the club instead of home alone.
I loved my brothers and sister, and of course all my teammates, but constantly being surrounded by people made it a little difficult for me to relax into any sort of stillness.
As I idly twisted my dad’s wedding ring, which I wore on my pinky, I wondered what he would say if he could see me now, if I could call him up and hear his voice on the other end of the phone. Would he be proud? Offer advice on ways I could improve? Beg me to come home and take over the ranch?
I’d never know, because he’d taken up residence in the LawlessRanch Cemetery a long time ago.
At last, Cal looked up at and cleared his throat, expression unreadable.
“Well?” I prompted.
“I’m…impressed. But also not?” I raised a brow in question, and he continued. “I mean, I’ve seen the work she’s done on the winery’s social media accounts, so I know she’s talented with this sort of thing. But these ideas?” He brandished the presentation. “I hadn’t realized she was capable ofthis. It’s well thought out, the budget is manageable, and the marketing ideas are, for lack of a better word, genius.”
“So you’re saying I should work with her.”
“If you’d asked me that a few months ago, I would’ve told you no. But I’m officially the poster child for judging a book by its cover and it blowing up in my face.”
I snorted. Calhadspent an awful long time choosing only to see the worst in Amara, even after multiple people had told him to give her a chance—myself included. It was nice that he’d finally come around to recognize the shrewd business mind and talented, intelligent woman she was.
But Delia and Amara were not the same.
The stupid, logical part of my brain argued,But what if they were?
If not thesamethen at least…similar. They were sisters, after all.
Fuck. My head hurt.
“Shoot me straight, Cal,” I blurted, my exasperation with this whole situation getting the better of me. I didn’t like feeling out of control, and somehow, in one short meeting, Delia had tiltedmy world on its axis. “Do you think this is a good idea, partnering with her?”
Cal sank back in his seat and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I understand your apprehension. But even as someone who doesn’t give a shit about that stuff, I’ve seen the impact her marketing strategies have had on the winery’s bottom line. And have you seen her personal content?”
“What personal content?”
“Brooooooo.” Cal dragged out the world annoyingly, and I grimaced. He’d been spending too much damn time with me. “After she graduated college and moved back, she bought a fixer-upper and documented her entire renovation process.”
“What does that have to do with opening a distillery?” I asked.
“She’s incredible with marketing, she’s personable online, and she’s definitely got an impressive flair for design. Amara told me she also has a business degree, and she’s been successfully running her own business with brand partnerships and all that shit for years. You could do worse.”
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I need a yes or no answer here, Cal. Make the decision for me.”
I knew what I wanted to do. Iwantedto work with her. What I couldn’t figure out waswhy.
“In my expert opinion…yes, you should work with her. You’d be an idiot not to.”
A lead weight sank into my stomach, but I nodded. I’d do it because I wanted to, and because I trusted Cal not to steer me wrong.
But I had a feeling I’d be an idiot either way.
Monday morning, after a relaxing weekend at my Torch Lake house where I’d managed to shake my melancholia and get my head back on straight, I reluctantly returned to the office. The first item on my agenda was a call to Delia. I’d promised her a response by today, and I was nothing if not a man of my word.
“Hello?” she said tentatively when she answered.
“Hey, Delia. It’s Owen.”
“Hi, Owen. What can I do for you?”
“Would you be able to come down to my office today? Whenever it works for you.”
