He huffs a quiet laugh. "Careful. You keep talking like that, I might start charging rent."
She takes a sip, holds his gaze over the rim, and sets the glass down like she’s placing a bet.
"Enjoy the wine, Hartman," she says. "We made it."
She turns and strolls toward Rachel and Charlotte without looking back. Beau watches her go, his jaw working, and then takes a long drink from his glass.
"That woman could start a fight in an empty room," he mutters.
Charlotte hides a smile behind her napkin. Lila coughs into her glass.
A warm voice beside me breaks my focus. "They do this every time they're in the same room."
I turn to find Sunny standing at my elbow, her glass of Viognier held loosely in one hand, watching Beau stare after Isabelle with an expression he probably thinks no one notices.
"I could tell. I thought they were going to arm-wrestle over that bottle."
"Try working with Isabelle. She comes back from every interaction with Beau ready to put her fist through a barrel." Sunny takes a sip of her wine, and one side of her mouth curves. "She talks about him often, though. She just doesn't realize it."
"You think there's something there?"
"I think it's a bonfire waiting for a match." She glances at me, and the candlelight from the dining room catches in her eyes. "But don't tell either of them I said that. Isabelle would murder me in my sleep."
"Your secret's safe."
"It better be. I know where you live now."
Gran announces dinner, and Oscar appears to guide everyone to their seats. I notice Gran has positioned Sunny directly across from me, close enough to talk, but far enough apart that we have to make an effort. It's the work of a woman who understands that wanting to close a gap is more powerful than having no gap at all.
Chef Delany has outdone himself. The beef tenderloin arrives on a platter surrounded by roasted vegetables, alongside a wild mushroom risotto that draws actual silence from the table for the first few bites. Oscar pours the Nebbiolo, and I watch Sunny's expression when she tastes it paired with the beef.
Her eyes close for just a second. When they open, she catches me watching and her cheeks flush before she recovers. "That's fantastic," she says, her voice carefully neutral.
"Charlies said it would be a good pairing," Gran answers.
Sunny eyes me, a brow lifted. "He had a fifteen-minute tasting and a lot of nerve."
"Some people are fast learners," I tease, giving her a wink.
Rachel, seated two chairs down, catches my eye and gives me a knowing look over her water glass. She doesn't say a word, but she doesn't have to. My twin has been reading me since the womb, and the smirk on her face says she sees exactly where my attention keeps drifting.
I give her a look that saysmind your business. She raises her glass in a silent toast and turns back to Mason, who's wisely focused on his dinner.
The rest of dinner settles into an entertaining rhythm. Conversation drifts and overlaps, then circles back again. Charlotte has everyone laughing over a story about the previous Twin Oaks owner that somehow involves a runaway peacock and a very expensive garden statue. Diego talks about the upcoming harvest with the kind of quiet focus that makes it clear this isn’t just work to him. Lila mentions she’s thinking about expanding the bookshop, adding space for events.
"You’re gonna need help with that," Beau says, not even glancing up from his plate. "Framing, drywall, whatever you need. I’ve got guys who can handle it."
Lila smiles. "I might take you up on that."
Across the table, Isabelle tips her head, studying him. "You do construction now, Beau?"
Beau looks up, meeting her gaze. "I do what needs doing."
"Huh." She takes a sip of her wine. "Multitalented. Who knew." There’s just enough sass in it to make us pause.
Beau shrugs, like it’s nothing. "Stick around, Isabelle. You might learn something."
Isabelle huffs a quiet laugh into her glass, like she didn’t mean to, then shakes her head.
