“Gianni, I’m being serious.” Her voice took on a desperate tone. “They usually feature people working for big-name wineries or Michelin-starred restaurants. I just want a chance to have that kind of reach. To be seen and heard by a wider audience. But it won’t happen if I can’t get there.”
“Who’s doing the food tonight?” I asked out of curiosity, picking up my coffee and taking a sip.
Ellie shrugged. “I assume Fiona. She loves to cook and throws fabulous dinner parties.”
“Why didn’t they ask me?”
“I don’t know. Not everything is about you, Gianni.”
“Yeah, but the food’s better when it is.”
She rolled her eyes and picked up another glass, getting back to work. “I don’t know why I bother talking to you about this stuff. You don’t understand.”
I was going to argue with her, but she looked so upset I decided against it. Maybe she was worrying for no reason—it wouldn’t be the first time. Ellie liked everything just so. Setting down my coffee cup, I pulled out my phone and checked the radar app, prepared to tell her she was making a big deal out of nothing, just like TV news people did.
But that shit looked bad.
I trusted my instincts, and something about that mass of grayish white moving across the upper Midwest on the screen made my gut a little uneasy. “I don’t know, Ell. I’m not sure you should be on the road tonight.”
“You sound like my dad, who’s texted me twice already from France telling me to cancel.”
“That’s probably a good idea. This storm looks big.”
“Didn’t you just say the news was full of made-up problems?”
“Yeah.” I flashed the screen at her. “But this isn’t a made-up problem. This is a polar vortex.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m not canceling.”
“Ell, I get that the opportunity is important to you, and that you love to disagree with me whenever possible, but it’s not worth spinning out on an icy highway or sliding into a ditch.”
“I’m going.” Her eyes blazed with determination. “The snow isn’t supposed to start until ten or so anyway, and the tasting is at six. I’ll probably be back home in my pajamas with a cup of hot tea before we get an inch or two. I don’t even know why I mentioned it.”
But I heard the shaky note in her voice and looked at my phone again. According to my weather app, Ellie was right and the worst of it wouldn’t reach northern Michigan until later tonight—but that could change. Weather was unpredictable. “I still think you should reschedule.”
“Well, you’re not the boss of me.” She folded her arms. “And if something was this important to you, I know you’d find a way to get there.”
“It’s really that important to you?”
“Yes!” She threw her hands in the air. “I can’t explain it, but I just know that somehow, tonight will change my life. Look, I know this place doesn’t matter to you like it does to me, and Etoile is just a temporary diversion for you while you weigh your next big Hollywood career move, but this is it for me, Gianni. This is my dream and my family legacy, and I want to give it everything I have.”
“Abelard matters to me too,” I said defensively. “Just because I don’t want to spend my life or career in one place doesn’t mean I don’t care.” I made a split-second decision. “I’ll take you tonight.”
The scowl was back. “No. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I’m not letting you drive more than a hundred miles north in a blizzard tonight by yourself, Ellie. In what car?”
“Mine.”
“Your little Honda? That thing looks like a toy. I had Matchbox cars bigger than that.”
“Not all of us can afford a fancy new SUV.”
“My SUV isn’t new or fancy, but it does have good snow tires. I’m driving you.” I stuck my phone back in my pocket like the matter was settled.
Ellie continued to glare at me. “This is you not listening again, Gianni. I don’t need you to protect me.”
“Yes, you do. Remember Tommy Tootag from grade school?”
“What about him?”
“He stole your Scholastic book fair money in third grade.”
“Gianni, you stole my Scholastic book fair money in third grade. Then you gave it back to me because I threatened to tell on you.”
I shook my head. “The money I gave you was mine. Tommy Tootag took yours.”