“Okay.” Brynna lingered a moment. “I told Sophie I’d go up to the house again, but I haven’t met Gina yet.”
“Soph will understand if you stick around long enough to meet her baby sister.” He nodded to the door. “Speak of the devil. Hey, Gina. Come meet our office manager, Bree Philips.”
A pretty, slender girl with honey-colored braids and a straw cowboy hat came over to the counter to shake Brynna’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Bree.” She smiled brightly, then cocked her head to one side with a questioning look. “Have we met before?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Brynna shook her head.
Gina tipped her hat back, squinting as if to see her better. “Seriously? You seem really familiar to me.”
Brynna smiled. “Well, you’ve probably seen me running around your property. It’s such a gorgeous vineyard and winery. I really love it—and I’m so impressed with all you’re doing to make it better. I hear you’re the one behind a lot of the improvement ideas. I really like the way the brown paint looks on the barn doors and trim.”
“Thanks. I’d love to do even more renovations if my dad would loosen his belt a little.”
Garth laughed. “Dream on, Gina. You should be thankful Leroy is giving you as much freedom as he has.”
“Well, hasn’t it been paying off? I hear that sales are up.”
“According to the books, they are,” Brynna said. “I was just doing a comparison to your profits from last June. This year is much better, and the month is only half over.”
Gina gave them both a high five. “Tell my dad that.”
Brynna forced a smile. “I will ... when I see him.”
“Oh, yeah, he told me he hasn’t even met you yet.” Gina frowned. “What’s up with that?”
Brynna shrugged, focusing on wiping an already clean portion of the counter.
“Well, I’ll get these into the house.” She peered curiously at Brynna again. “You sure do seem familiar though. Sure we haven’t met?”
Brynna shrugged again, but a wave of nerves rushed over her. “Not that I can recall.”
“Well, welcome to the team anyway. I’ll nag my dad to come say hey to you. He’s been super busy lately, but not so busy he should forget his manners.”
After Gina left, Brynna turned back to Garth. “You really handled that big group well. I was impressed.”
“Think you’re ready to take on a group yourself yet?”
“Oh, I don’t know ... I mean, I’m willing, but I doubt I’d be as good as you. You’re a natural.”
“Thanks. It was fun having a young enthusiastic group.” He closed the cabinet with a sigh. “But I have to admit, it made me kind of envious.”
“Envious?”
“Those young couples just out having fun together. Soph and I never got too much of that. We were married so young and had kids so fast, you know.”
“Oh, yeah, I get that.” She frowned. “And another one will be here soon. Do you guys ever go out just the two of you?”
He laughed. “Sounds great. But it’s not easy getting babysitters way out here. Sophie’s grandma helps out in the day sometimes, but she’s not really a night person.”
“Well, I can watch the kids at night.”
“Thanks.” He nodded eagerly. “We’ll take you up on that sometime.”
“No time like the present,” she told him.
“Seriously?” His eyes lit up. “You mean like tonight?”
“Why not?”
