“Texas hold ‘em?”
“I’m in.” Beau threw the dishtowel on the clean countertop and followed my brother into the hallway.
Ugh! The allure of male bonding had taken over. “Ok, don’t worry about me. We can try the wines later,” I called out, but they were already gone.
I moped all the way to the barn, and returned the glasses and the wines to their original spots. I blew out the last candle before I turned off the light. So far, my hometown date wasn’t going as I had planned.
“Good morning.” Beau was already at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of coffee when I entered the sunny room.
“Good morning.” I smiled and walked to the cabinet in search of my favorite tea. My mother always kept the best stash of raspberry tea.
“London, you missed a good game last night. Beau here is quite the card player. I lost fifty bucks last night.” Austin looked pleased with himself despite his monetary loss.
My brothers had managed to rope Beau into their clan in just one night. They were definitely better at it than me.
“Sorry, I missed it. I’m in the middle o
f this amazing book, Marjorie Morningstar, and I—”
“Hey, Beau, do you want to shoot some hoops? We have a full court behind the barn. Bet you can’t get past my D.” Even my youngest brother, Roman, was part of the testosterone conspiracy.
“You have a court? Yes, I want to play.” I don’t think Beau had noticed that I sat in the empty seat next to him.
“Guys, I wanted to show Beau the vineyards.” Did that sound as whiny as I think it did?
“Oh, like he wants to go look at a bunch of baby grapes instead of play ball. Come on, London. You can take him sightseeing later.” Nash had chimed into the basketball discussion. I knew this battle was lost.
“Ok, I’ll just see you later, I guess.” I waited for Beau to turn down the hoops offer, but he looked excited.
“Cool.” He hopped up from the table. “Whose team am I on?” My army of brothers filed out of the kitchen, taking my date with them.
I sighed, a little too loudly. “Everything ok, kitten?” My father stood in the doorway to the kitchen. He was still in slippers and his long, plaid robe.
“Hi, Dad. Yes. It’s just the guys hijacked Beau and I thought I’d give him a tour of the winery this morning. It’s no big deal.”
My father poured a steeping cup of coffee and sat across me at the table. “Honey, now I know what your mother told me about the project and I heard what you said last night, but it’s all a bunch of BS. You care about that boy. It is as clear as day on your face.”
I wasn’t sure what surprised me more: my father’s perceptive abilities or the fact that he just said BS. “Dad, you’re reading too much into it.” I wasn’t ready for this conversation.
“Look, I’ve been there. I’ve been at this same exact crossroads you’re facing. College graduation is a scary time, but having someone there with you makes it a little easier to face. The world ahead of you must seem like a big black hole—the great unknown.”
“Are you talking about when you and Mother were in college?” It was hard to think about my father being afraid of anything, especially as a young man. He was always so certain.
“I am. I faced the biggest decision of my life when I was your age.” He took a sip of coffee and his eyes were warm and reassuring. “I could have moved out of the state and gone to an Ivy League school when I graduated. But that would have meant I was leaving our relationship up in the air. I knew when I graduated I didn’t want to start my life without your mother in it. I gave up a different career path to have this life with her. I’ve never looked backed—never regretted it once.”
“Dad, that’s so sweet. I’ve never heard you talk about college like that.”
“I’m not trying to be sweet. I’m trying to tell you that we all have to make decisions and sacrifices. You can’t possibly make it through life without facing a tough choice. If you like him, do something about it before the choice is made for you.”
My father sat back in his chair and smiled at me over his coffee cup. I tried to picture him and my mother fresh out of school, completely in love, with their whole lives ahead of them. It was hard to think of my parents as anyone but my parents. The sparkle in my father’s eye told me there was much more their life together than only parenthood.
“Dad, I think I’ve already messed the whole thing up.”
“What did you mess up, London?” My mother entered the kitchen right on cue. “And your cheeks are looking quite pink this morning—something is going on.”
“Oh, nothing. Good morning, Mom. Thanks, Dad.” I kissed my father on the cheek and walked out on the porch before my mother could analyze anything else written on my face. I could already predict the advice my mother would give: stay home and give up acting. I didn’t need her to tell me what to do; I already knew what my heart wanted.
I needed a way to get Beau alone—away from the James brothers. Think, London. What would Victoria do? The mountains sprawled out in front of me. I rocked on the front porch, sipping my tea and devising a plan to separate Beau from the allure of poker, basketball, video games, and action movies. I had a sinking feeling I might not be able to compete with any of that. I had delivered him straight into the hands of the perfect guy weekend. Wait, I had a brilliant idea. A resource that was more powerful than testosterone. Divide and conquer. I pulled out my phone to text Nina.