“None of that is true,” a voice said as a petite brunette appeared beside Beth. “I’m Sophie, Oliver’s wife. And that’s Chenin Blanc.” Just like that, Sophie took over their tasting, Liv grabbing herself a glass and sliding onto the empty stool next to Beth.
They worked their way slowly through the list of white wines. Beth’s personal favorite was expectedly the Viognier, but there had been a delightful White Mourvedre that was a close second. Sophie, Beth quickly learned, was more than generous with her tasting pours, and soon enough, she felt that comfortable floatiness of being perfectly buzzed.
“So, Olivia and Oliver?” Pat asked, pouring himself another splash of the Chenin Blanc Sophie had left with them as she went to grab the reds.
Liv rolled her eyes. “Ugh, yes. Six generations of Rousseaus, every firstborn a boy named Oliver. Enter me, lucky generation seven—not a boy. Olivia was close enough. Dad couldn’t let it go; Oliver came along five years later.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Beth caught the flash of a familiar silhouette walking past the window. “It’s Sarah,” she said excitedly, sliding off her stool and moving towards the door.
“Beth, where are you—” Sean started, but she waved him off.
“I’ll be right back,” she called over her shoulder, already halfway out the door before her brain tried to convince her that maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Now that she was standing, she realized she was slightly more tipsy than she had thought. And, she realized with one step out the door, it was still raining. “Sar! Hey, Sarah!”
Sarah, walking quickly past the next shop, stopped and turned, somehow managing to position herself perfectly centered under a street light in a way that made the light cut across her body in broad streaks. She looked like one of those vintage drawings standing there in her trench coat, an expensive messenger bag over her shoulder, and as Beth stepped closer, she caught the glint of gold at Sarah’s wrist—that gorgeous Cartier watch she had started wearing while dating Nell.
“Beth. Hey.” Sarah smiled, her face settling into comfortable recognition.
“Hey,” Beth said, catching up to her and standing a few feet away on the sidewalk.
“You already said that,” Sarah pointed out with an amused grin.
“Oh yeah, I guess I did,” she said airily. There had always been something about Sarah that stopped her in her tracks,making her forget all her thoughts. Like everything just halted to a stop, and nothing else mattered when Sarah’s attention was locked on her. “Are you busy?” she asked. “You should come have a drink with us—Sean, Pat, and me, I mean. Oh, and you can meet my friend, the one with the car!”
“Yeah, okay,” Sarah agreed without missing a beat.
Beth, who was already prepared to need to do a bit of coaxing, was momentarily thrown off by Sarah’s quick acceptance. “No, really, you should—oh? Yes?”
“Yeah. Why not? Sounds like fun.” Sarah shrugged, adjusting the strap of her expensive-looking quilted leather bag.
“Okay then,” she said dumbly, standing there in the rain, looking at Sarah.
“You’re tipsy already, aren’t you?” Sarah laughed, the two of them moving back towards the tasting room as she shot Beth a look that saidDon’t even bother trying to hide it from me, I know you too well.
“Just a little.” Beth smiled, holding the door to the wine tasting room open for Sarah. “After you.”
They reentered the warm, dry space, joining the group at the table in the corner. Sean and Pat both stood to greet and hug Sarah.
“Sarah, this is?—”
“Olivia,” Sarah said, finishing the introduction for her.
Confused, Beth looked between Sarah and Liv. “You two know each other?”
“We do, yes.” A mischievous grin unfurled across Liv’s lips. “And you two?” she asked curiously.
“Ex-wife,” they said in unison. Beth shot Sarah a quick look that Sarah returned, lips pressed together in amusement.
“Liv is my car friend,” Beth explained to Sarah, trying to connect how she and Liv might know each other. “How do you two...” she trailed off at Sean’s chuckle coming from Liv’s right.
“Oh, I was wondering when this would happen,” Sean said in delight, leaning back and sipping from his glass. “Please, by all means, continue.”
She gave Sean a look that said,okay, weirdo,then turned her attention back to Liv and Sarah. “What am I missing?”
Sarah reached for the wine glass in Beth’s hand, draining the last of its contents in one gulp. “You know that extremely short date I went on on Friday? The one I ended early?” As she spoke, her eyes landed on Liv.
Beth nodded, remembering hearing about it from her on Saturday morning when she had swung by the Grumpy Goat during Beth’s opening shift.
“It would have been rude of me not to say anything,” Liv said defensively.
