“From this side of the counter anyway. And as the oldest in this panel, I’m taking the winner for myself.”
“I’ll make you one, Mom.”
“No, no, both the others are terrific. I just have to decide which one to claim. I’ll take the middle one. Middle ground, that’s me. And I can’t believe I’m sitting here drinking a cocktail at, what, two-forty-five-ish in the afternoon. I was going to make bread. And we still have to make dinner.”
“Let’s drink cocktails and order pizza instead.”
Audrey laughed at Morgan. “That sounds … really wonderful. What do you say, Mom?”
“I say: cheers.”
* * *
While the Nash women sat on the patio with cocktails, the Jamesons sat around the dining room table holding their family meeting.
Nell studied her tablet. “All right, last item on my agenda is Après’s specialty cocktail, virgin option, and coffee for the fall, which we’ll introduce right after Labor Day. Morgan hasn’t decided on the cocktail, but assures me she’ll have that for my approval early next week. For the coffee she’s going to do what she calls Coffee Incompearable—get it?”
“Har har,” Liam said.
“It’s a combination of coffee, poached pear, cinnamon, cloves, and so on. I said complicated, then she made me one. I’m sold. I thought we’d bold and italicize the pear in ‘incompearable.’ We can price it at four dollars.”
“It’s clever,” Drea commented. “But she’s a clever woman. We’ve got the Stevenson wedding in October, and the bride’s using pears in her decor. I’m going to ask Morgan to come up with a signature pear cocktail, something other than whatever we use for Après, and nudge the bride toward it. Has she told you what she’s going to offer, Miles?”
“No.”
She hadn’t told him about the coffee either, which didn’t sound like something he’d say “sold” on. But he didn’t doubt it would sell.
They did talk about work, some, he thought, while his mother gave her Events report. But when it came down to it, their time together was … compressed.
That’s how they’d worked it. So far.
He pushed it off, tuned back in, reminded himself this was work, and not the time to think about Morgan.
But wasn’t she right here, in the flowers she’d put on the table Saturday morning?
The table passed from his mother to Liam and fall activities. Nature hikes, photo groups, team building, kids’ weekends, fall packages. And from there to fall landscaping, to fall maintenance, safety checks, seasonal inventory.
Once business concluded, food took center stage. He’d made the pulled pork as requested—a lot of damn trouble in his book, but it spared him from doing anything else for the family meal.
And Morgan was there, too, as she’d told him the Sunday forecast called for a perfect afternoon and evening. So he should use the colorful dishes again. And damned if she hadn’t sat at the counter and fancy folded a pile of napkins, and made another big-ass pitcher of sangria.
“This looks so pretty.” After one look at the table, his mother gave him the eye. “I sense a feminine touch.”
“Apparently, Morgan has a thing about napkins. And sangria.”
“I’m going to try it.” His grandfather poured a glass. “One for you, Lydia?”
“All right. I don’t think I’ve had any since we went to Spain. What’s that, ten years ago?”
“Must be. Don’t know what I think about poached pears in coffee, but this is damn good. Tastes like summer, and it won’t be here much longer. Well, look at that. Rory’s taught Howl to fetch.”
Morgan had, Miles thought. And that damn dog still wouldn’t go after a ball for the one who provided him with room and board.
She was here, in the damn dog, in the stupid napkins, in the flowers on the table. The woman was everywhere.
They ate pulled pork, his father’s coleslaw, his grandmother’s potato salad, corn on the cob his grandfather tossed on the grill.
After, since he’d made the main and that excused him from cleanup, he drew his grandmother aside.
“Got a minute?”
“I hope I have more than one. Let’s take a walk. The grounds look especially nice this summer. You’re the best gardener out of my grandchildren.”
“I guess the landscape training stuck.”
“Apparently.” She put an arm through his as they walked. “I had lunch with Olivia Nash last week. She tells me Morgan’s added to their grounds as well. A Zen frog fountain. You helped with that?”