"He's a jack of all trades. I'm lucky to have him."
"Yes, you are." Ramon was good people. Along with Eileen, he gave Mist Hollow its character.
As the night wore on and various people stopped by the table to speak to me about charity work or to Nate about potential business opportunities he clearly wasn't interested in pursuing, I found myself longing to get back to the quiet of the vineyard.
The food was good, and the wine flowed. It was decent, but its flavors weren't as developed as Nate's vintages. Perhaps I was being unfair, but I was now firmly Team Mist Hollow, and nothing would convince me of another winery's superiority.
As I finished my dessert, a delicious chocolate torte, a hand came to rest on the back of my chair. Even before I turned around, I knew it was Garrett. He made my skin crawl.
I set my dessert fork down and turned in my chair to look at him. Across the table, I sensed the tension in Nate's body.
"Garrett," I acknowledged him. "I'd like you to step away from me."
I spoke clearly and without heat at a volume that carried to everyone around our table and beyond. Several heads turned in our direction. Good. I wanted an audience for this.
Garrett's expression didn't change, but his eyes reflected his displeasure.
"I just wanted to say hello."
"I have no desire to speak to you. Please step away."
The table had gone quiet, the people around us no longer pretending not to hear our exchange.
"Juliet, you're making a scene." His voice dropped lower.
"No, I'm merely asking you to step away from me."
He glanced across at Nate, who simply raised his eyebrows. Garrett stepped back.
"We'll speak later, Juliet, when you're in a more agreeable mood."
"No," I said firmly. "We won't."
As he moved away, my knee bounced beneath the table. I hadn't realized I'd been afraid until now. Smiling approvingly, Nate refilled my glass. The woman to my left engaged me in conversation about a vineyard she'd visited in the Loire Valley.
When dinner was finished, the band began to play. Nate offered me his hand, and we got up to dance. Nate wrapped his arms around me, and all thoughts of Garrett Kane were banished from my mind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nate
I'd kept my eye on Kane for most of the evening. He worked the room the way he always did, spending time with all the right people. He was good at schmoozing. I'd give him that.
Juliet had been magnificent when she told him, politely but in no uncertain terms, to get lost. I'd been ready to jump in if necessary, but she'd handled it herself. She was done being afraid of him, and it pleased me to think I'd helped her find the confidence to stand up to him. Though I had no doubt he would try to approach her again, I knew she'd deal with it better than she had before.
Among the items on offer at the silent auction were a weekend at a vineyard in Paso Robles and a private dinner for twelve at a San Francisco restaurant Juliet said she knew and liked. There was also a coastal landscape by a relatively unknown painter that Juliet stopped and stared at with a look of longing on her face.
"Do you want it?" I asked.
"Yes, but I can't ask you to bid on it."
"Of course you can."
Juliet and I had not yet discussed her financial situation. Still cut off from her family's funds, she was relying on me for support, and I knew she hated that.
"Pay me back with the profits from the supper club."
Juliet laughed. "It will take years before we turn enough profit for me to pay you back."
