“Hi, Winnie.”
“You guys look beat.”
“Yeah.” I threw a quick glance at Ellie, who met my eyes and then looked away. “It was quite an adventure.”
Ellie made a noise, something between a snort of disgust and a bitter laugh. “I need a shower.”
Winnie looked at her. “You’ve got time. Des was already planning to cover your eleven o’clock tasting.”
“Is he here yet?”
“Just got here.”
Ellie nodded. “Okay. I’ll check in with him and then go grab a quick shower.”
Winnie turned to me. “My sister Felicity is also here again today if you want to run home and clean up, Gianni. She can handle dinner prep, no problem.”
“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “I really appreciate her pitching in last night. My dad said she was great.”
“She had fun, I think,” Winnie said with a laugh. “It’s been a while since she’s worked in a restaurant kitchen, and she said she’d forgotten how exciting the chaos can be.”
“I’m grateful she was there.” My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it out. “This is my dad calling. Excuse me a minute.”
“Just leave the bottles,” Ellie said with no emotion. “I’ll unpack them.”
Nodding, I left the tasting room and answered my dad’s call. “Hello?”
“You back?”
“Yeah.” I climbed the steps and headed through Abelard’s lobby toward Etoile’s small dining room, which looked out over the vineyard.
“How was the drive?”
“Fine.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
My dad paused. “Tired?” He must have sensed from my tone something was off with me.
“Yeah.” I walked over toward the dining room windows. At night, Etoile was almost entirely lit by candles and wall sconces to keep the atmosphere warm and intimate, but right now, bright natural light flooded the space. “Thanks again for filling in last night.”
“Of course. If you’re short-handed today, Felicity said she could come back.”
“I think she’s here already.”
“Is she?” He laughed. “Dammit. If you said you didn’t need her, I was gonna see if she’d come work for me. I just lost a station chef last week.”
“I might not need her. Depends on who’s able to get here today.”
“Okay, let me know. She might not want a full-time position anyway. We were talking last night, and she’s interested in starting a vegetarian catering company.”
I made a face. “I don’t understand people who don’t eat meat.”
He laughed. “Yeah. It’s a whole other way of life. But plant-based diets are getting more popular, so it’s a smart gamble. I bet she’ll do well.”
“Good for her.” It came out a little grumpier than I intended.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes for a second. “Listen, I gotta go. I’m going to talk to Felicity and see if she can cover while I run home and clean up.”
“Okay. Hey, Mom wants to talk. She was worried about you.”
I grimaced. I didn’t really have time for a worried mom thing right now, but I couldn’t say no. “Okay.”
“Gianni?” My mom’s voice was high-pitched with concern. “You’re back?”
“I’m back.”
“Thank God. I’m so glad you got off the road when you did.”
“Yeah.”
“So what was wrong with your car?”
“Uh, nothing. It started without any problem this morning.”
“Huh.” Silence. “That’s weird.”
It was probably my imagination—or maybe my guilty conscience—but I detected a note of suspicion. “Yes. But lucky. We made it back in time for work today.”
“How’s Ellie? She survive the trauma of being stuck in a motel with you for two days?”
“Barely.”
My mom laughed. “Well, I’m glad you two were together. It would have been terrible if she’d been alone. Tell her to get in touch with her mom, please. Mia is worried about her and says she hasn’t returned her calls.”
That was about the last thing I wanted to do, but I said okay. “I’ll tell her. How are you feeling?”
“Much better, now that you’re home safe. I know you’re all grown up, but I still worry about you.”