“Thank you.” She studied the resume a moment. “Ah, you were a Cherry Queen.”
I sighed, feeling like I should come clean. “Yes, I was, but they asked me not to advertise it. I put it on the resume because it’s something I’m proud of, but after the show aired, they effectively dethroned me for bad behavior.”
“Really?” Her eyes went wide. “What the heck did you do on that show?”
“I just wasn’t myself,” I said. “I acted a certain way because the producers wanted ratings, and they figured I’d get more attention if I played devious and mean.”
“Did it work?”
I shrugged. “For a little while. But it sure backfired on my life. I shouldn’t have done it, but…live and learn. On to better things.”
She nodded. “I agree. We all make mistakes.”
“There you are.” The deep voice came from the far end of the room, and I looked over to see a ridiculously attractive man walking toward us. I think my jaw hung open a moment before I remembered to close it.
Mia looked over her shoulder at him. “Yes, I decided to sit in here. I didn’t feel like climbing those stairs again and it’s so pretty this morning.”
He reached the back of the couch and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You OK?”
“Yes.” She patted his hand and gestured to me. “This is Skylar Nixon, the friend of Sebastian Pryce. Skylar, this is my husband, Lucas.”
I stood and he reached over Mia’s head to shake my hand. He had dark eyes and hair, worn a little long and shaggy, and a fantastic smile. Christ, what did their children look like? “Very nice to meet you,” I said. “You have a beautiful place here.”
“Our little Provence.” He glanced at Mia. “My family has a vineyard there and we tried to create some of that magic here.”
“Oh, I bet she knows all about that.” Mia’s eyes twinkled. “She’s done her research.”
“Oh?” Lucas looked at me.
“Yes.” I smiled. “I know the location, I know you grew mostly grenache, and I know you got married there.”
“See?” Mia glanced up at her husband and pointed at me. “This is what I need. Someone who looks like this and has the brains to come prepared to an interview.”
“Thank you.” I rocked forward onto my toes, I was so happy.
“Sounds like this is going well, then. I’ll leave you to it. Skylar, very nice to meet you, and you”—he leaned down to kiss her, the back of his hand in her hair—“take it easy.”
“I will.” She reached up and touched his scruffy cheek, and something inside me twisted a little. They had such an easy way about them, you could just tell how close they were, how much they loved each other. I wondered about how they met, and decided if I got the job and we became friendly enough, I’d ask. Lucas waved at me once more before heading out the glass doors.
“Well,” Mia said, getting to her feet. “I suppose I should call your references, but unless I discover you robbed Rivard blind, I’d love to give this a try. The job involves assisting me in various capacities—from running tours to planning events to manning the tasting room to helping with marketing and PR. I’m very hands-on and I’ll train you for that stuff myself, but you’ll have to get some wine training from Lucas and the winemakers here.”
“Sounds great.”
“It pays hourly to start, eighteen an hour, but after three months we can revisit that number and even consider salary. I’ll call your references this week and confirm with you after I’ve spoken to them.” She made a face. “Not that I’m looking forward to speaking with that old bat Miranda Rivard, but I’ll do it.”
I laughed. “Thank you.”
She walked me outside, waving hello to someone watering the flower beds. “How soon could you start?”
“I’m working for my sister right now, but she said she could find someone to replace me within a week.”
“So Monday?” Mia asked hopefully. “Sorry to rush, I just want you to be as comfortable as possible before I have this baby, which is in the fall.”
“No problem,” I assured her. “Monday would be fine.”
“Great.” She held out her hand, and I took it. “So nice to meet you, Skylar. I’m glad Sebastian sent you my way. I have a feeling this is going to work out great.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
• • •
Later that night, Mia Fournier called and told me the job was mine if I wanted it. She said Miranda Rivard had praised my work ethic, performance, and attitude, and even admitted to feeling some regret at having let me go. When Mia heard that, she decided to snap me up right away, and asked if I could come in on Friday to fill out paperwork.
I was at Natalie’s when I got the call, and she and I both squealed and jumped up and down once I hung up. The next day, a sign went in the window at Coffee Darling looking for help, and by Friday evening, she’d already hired a college student who was home for the summer.
Sebastian was thrilled for me, and took me out for dinner at Mission Table the next night to celebrate. When he showed up at my parents’ front door, he presented me with a congratulatory bouquet of honey sticks tied together with a bright pink ribbon. I threw my arms around him and he lifted me right off my feet, laughing in my hair. If he’d have let go, I swear I’d have floated right into the sky.
At dinner that night, I laid out my summer plans, and he listened attentively. “I’m going to bust my butt to prove my worth there, and hopefully negotiate a raise after three months. At that point, I think I’ll have enough saved, and a good enough income, to afford a nice apartment and maybe buy or lease a car. The other thing I was thinking of is offering to rent a guest house from my mother come fall when the tourist season is over. Then I could continue to save and maybe buy something next year.”
“Sounds good.”
Suddenly I realized I was doing all the talking. I eyed him carefully. “You’re awfully quiet tonight.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. What’s up?”
He offered me a slight smile. “Nothing. I had a rough day, I guess. But it’s making me feel better to see how happy you are. I’m glad you got the job.”
“Yes. Thank you so much. It’s because of you, you know.”
He dismissed that idea with a wave of his hand. “Nah.”
“It is! I’m so grateful. And I’m planning to show you how grateful later on.” I swirled my tongue around the scallop on the end of my fork suggestively.
“In that case, I’ll take the credit.”
I smiled, smug and happy. “Good.”
Every day that summer, she was the first thing I thought about in the morning, and the last thing I thought of before I fell asleep, whether she was beside me or not. And as the weeks went by, I wanted her beside me more and more. I missed her when she wasn’t there—her smile, her laugh, her smell, her voice, her kiss, her touch.
I began working full time for my father’s firm in June, and I was doing well. The workload was manageable, challenging enough to be interesting but not overwhelming; I went to the gym most mornings before work and felt physically as good or better than I had in years; and I kept my weekly appointments with Ken, sometimes going in for a last-minute lunch appointment if I felt like the voice was causing my confidence in myself, my work, or my relationship to falter.
Emotionally, I felt more stable than I’d ever felt. The obsessive thoughts weren’t getting in the way of being close to Skylar, and she had this way of getting me to open up without being pushy. She was so honest about herself, so accepting of me, that I found myself talking to her about things I’d never shared with anyone—my favorite childhood memories of my mother, my love for poetry, especially about nature, and how I sometimes envied my brothers their happy marriages and families, even though I’d never been sure about having one of my own. One hot August night I told her how it was more an envy of their faith in themselves—the way they were able to make a decision like getting married or having kids without all the constant second guessing.