“Oh?” What else could she say?
She looked over at Luke and Avery. They were standing there, chatting and laughing with Taylor, who had just gotten a slice of pizza and seemed to be making fun of Luke to Avery, who was laughing hard.
“Oh yes,” Lauren said. “Anyway, I’m sorry that he had to leave you and Elliot like that; I hope you know I didn’t tell him to quit! But I’m very grateful to have him up here, even if it does end up only being for a little while.”
Only for a little while?
Margot opened her mouth to ask Lauren what she meant, when someone else stepped up to the table. She wanted—she really wanted—to continue the conversation with Luke’s mom, but her professional instincts clicked on.
“Hi!” she said to the newcomer. “I’m Margot Noble, welcome to Noble Family Vineyards. Can I pour you a glass of rosé?”
“I’d love that, thanks so much. I’m Aurora.”
Margot smiled and reached for the bottle of rosé, even though she felt like there had just been a tiny earthquake that only she’d felt. Because this woman in front of her was a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Margot had made it her business to know what everyone who wrote for the food and travel pages looked like, just in case they ever came through the tasting room. And now one of them was here, at the party. She must not have RSVP’d—or done it under a different name—if she had, Margot would have noticed. She’d planned this party, down to the second, but if she’d known this woman would show up, she would have planned it better, done more, made sure they never got off schedule with the pizza, or the tacos, or the burgers . . .
She forced a bright smile on her face and handed Aurora her rosé.
“Enjoy! Here’s what we’re pouring today, and here’s a list of all of our wines for purchase. There’s pizza, and arancini, and empanadas . . . oh yes, they’re just serving them now. More tacos should be available shortly. My brother, Elliot—the Noble Family Vineyards winemaker—is in the barn, if you have any questions for him.”
Did she manage to be friendly and informative and the perfect winery owner and hostess without being over-the-top about it? Maybe. Probably not? Was she smiling too hard? Almost certainly.
She reached for another bottle of wine as Taylor came up to her, two plates of pizza in her hands.
“The pizza is great, boss,” Taylor said. “Luke said he knew you hadn’t tried it yet, so he had me bring a slice over to you before the pizza man is all sold out.”
Margot concentrated on opening the wine, so she wouldn’t smile that goofy smile she knew she got whenever she thought about Luke. Sydney had taken a picture of her last week when she’d been smiling like that.
“That was nice of him,” she said to the wine bottle. “He seems to be making himself useful today—did you remind him he doesn’t work here anymore?”
Taylor laughed and started to answer as Margot looked up. She saw Aurora walking across the lawn in the direction of the pizza, sipping her rosé. She hoped there was enough pizza left for her.
“Taylor,” she said in a low voice. “Do you see that woman over there, in the denim shirt and dark hair? She writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. Make sure she gets . . . I don’t know, our very best service.”
Taylor grinned at her.
“We give our best Noble service to everyone.”
Margot made a face at her.
“You know what I mean.” She looked around. “That reminds me—I have to make sure Elliot knows so he doesn’t disappear or anything while she’s here. I bet she’ll want to talk to him.”
She hoped this didn’t make Elliot revolt. He’d so far been a lot better today than she’d expected, but she knew that couldn’t last.
She put the wine bottle down and turned toward the barn.
“I’ll be right back.”
She turned and looked for Luke again, just as a guy in a white baseball cap gestured too widely and knocked a glass out of someone’s hand. It fell onto the lawn, but didn’t break, thank goodness.
Ah, there was Luke. He was standing over by the table for the Barrel, chatting with Sydney and Charlie. He looked up and grinned at her, and she grinned back at him. He gestured to her, like he wanted her to come over there, but she had to go to the barn to talk to Elliot. She’d come back and find Luke afterward. Wasn’t there something she had to talk to him about? She’d remember later.
* * *