Veronica offer her hand with a warm smile. Felicia took it, her smile more predatory than friendly. When he and his brothers had first moved to the winery, Felicia had set her cap for Tate. When Tate had proposed to Colette, Mike became the object of Felicia’s machinations. He usually dodged her whenever possible. But now he was happy to have an excuse to stop talking about the bed.
“And who are you?” Felicia asked Veronica, shaking her hand. She’d come with Henry Warren, a city councilman who owned a sporting goods store.
“I’m Veronica Callahan,” replied Veronica, innocent and unsuspecting. “I’ve just arrived at the winery.”
Felicia looked her up and down and reacted as she usually did to competition. She stiffened visibly. “Really. In what capacity?”
Mike saw an easy and instant solution to the problem of Felicia. He didn’t stop to think about it twice. “She’s the love of my life,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning closer. “Veronica, this is Felicia Ferryman, our mayor.”
Veronica gazed at him for several seconds, clearly trying to figure out what he was doing. He waited for her to denounce him as a liar.
She turned to Felicia instead. “Hello,” she said mercifully. “It’s, uh, so nice to meet you.”
Felicia intently scanned Mike’s face, then Veronica’s. “You hardly ever leave the winery,” she challenged suspiciously. “Where on earth did you meet?”
“We—met before he came here,” Veronica said, turning to him for corroboration, a flicker of panic in her dark eyes. “I’m from...Los Angeles and... around there.” Her voice fell a little as she named the city, as though afraid it wouldn’t work into whatever Felicia already knew about him.
Felicia pounced. “I thought you came here from Dallas.”
Mike nodded. “I did. We met when she was visiting a friend.” That, at least, was true. She’d been in the B-and-B to have tea with Colette. If Felicia presumed that friend had been in Dallas, that wasn’t his fault....
Felicia looked hurt, but he’d have bet his stake in Delancey Vineyards that it was disappointment rather than pain. She took Veronica’s hand and tapped her naked third finger. “No diamond,” she commented. Then she freed Veronica’s hand and focused on her eyes. “So, you followed him here?”
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