know,” Olivia said, her expression turning mischievous—a side of her Sabrina thought she didn’t express enough. “Instead of putting up the first dollar we earn here at the tasting room, we could always put up a picture of your divorce papers. Since the loss of Damien is what made this possible in the end.”
Both Sabrina and Lindy let out a shocked laugh. “I suppose we could do that,” Lindy said. “Oh, your parents would have a fit.”
“Don’t worry.” Sabrina waved a hand. “You know that Jamison and Suzanne Leighton are never going to darken the door of this establishment. They have washed their hands of the winery and all it entails.”
“Unless they can get ownership back somehow. You know your parents’ lawyer called me again the other day. Asking if I was interested in selling.”
Sabrina’s mouth dropped open. “I’m completely shocked that my parents would broach the subject of buying something they believe is rightfully theirs.”
“They probably shouldn’t have given full ownership to Damien in the first place. And he shouldn’t have signed that prenup.” The corner of Lindy’s mouth lifted. “Not that I’m sorry about any of it. But why on earth he decided that in the event of infidelity the wronged party would get most of the assets is beyond me.”
“Well,” Sabrina said, lifting her shoulder. “You are the undesirable one. I mean, the one from the wrong side of the tracks. I’m sure that he assumed you would be the one to stray. Or that you wouldn’t be smart enough to know that he had.”
Lindy snorted. “Right. Of course. How could I forget that pedigreed Damien Leighton would never be so foolish as to get caught with his penis in the wrong honey jar.”
The color heightened in Olivia’s cheeks. “That’s descriptive.”
Lindy smiled. “I can be much more descriptive if the occasion calls for it. Believe me.”
“I trust you,” Olivia said, holding up a hand.
Then they all stood there for a moment, taking in their surroundings, and Sabrina suddenly felt wholly optimistic. Perhaps it was the vision of this place bedecked in Christmas decorations. Perhaps it was just being here with these women, determined to accomplish something. Whatever the reason, it didn’t feel as hard as it had earlier today. Right now, it felt possible. More than possible.
Liam Donnelly thought that he knew her. But he knew an insecure girl who had been easily wounded by his rejection. She wasn’t that girl anymore, and she wasn’t going to allow being around him to make her backslide. No. It was time for her to take a step forward. Time to shake it off, and all that.
She was going to make sure this was the best damn opening any business had ever had in the town of Copper Ridge. She was going to knock Liam Donnelly on his ass—metaphorically—with her awesomeness.
And if he was the one who left with a sense of unfulfilled longing after all this? All the better.
“DON’T YOU LOOK FANCY!”
Liam looked over at his sister-in-law, Alison, and lifted a brow as he simultaneously raised his coffee cup to his lips. “Unlike your husband, I know how to dress for the venue.”
Alison smiled and looked over at Cain, who was currently scowling into his coffee. “If I had occasion to put on a monkey suit I would. In fact, I believe I even wore a tie when I married you, woman,” he said.
“Under such extreme sufferance you would have thought that I was asking you to put on a tie and then place your testicles in a jar for me to keep under my bed.”
Cain snorted. “Well. We both know that’s not true.”
“I keep them in my purse,” Alison said, grinning widely at Liam.
“Great. I feel much better now that I know the location of my older brother’s testicles. Why aren’t you two at your own house?”
“There’s an extremely teenage music situation happening,” Alison said. “Apparently, someone has late classes today.”
Liam grimaced. It was difficult for him to believe sometimes that his older brother had a daughter who was closer to being an adult than being a child. Considering the fact that Liam was not in a headspace to ever consider having children at all.
“A paperwork situation is about to be happening with me, so I’m not entirely sure that it’s better than being exposed to pop music.” It was only eight forty-five, but as far as Liam was concerned it was getting late. He and his brothers got up so early to take care of the ranch every day that it was a routine now.
At first, it had fully kicked his ass. He was used to a fairly early routine, but not getting up and outside by five. Now... After all this time, it was just part of life.
A life that felt tangible in a way his previous life had not. And yeah, he pretty much did think of them as two separate lives. When all was said and done, Liam Donnelly felt like he had lived quite a few lives. One of them, once upon a time, had been in Copper Ridge. Had been working at Grassroots Winery. Had involved Sabrina Leighton. And somehow, Sabrina Leighton was involved again.
Just thinking about her made his gut tight. Unfinished business. That’s what it was. Because he hadn’t slept with her back then, and it made him wonder what he had been missing. Especially considering the degree to which she had wormed her way under his skin without him ever getting inside of her.
A subtle thing. A closeness that had occurred in inches. With each bit of confidence and trust she had put in him. He had never told her much about his life, about his past. But he’d let her talk about her own.
About how hard she found it to have friends. How it was tough for her to relate to other girls her age because they were allowed to go to parties and stay out and she wasn’t. There was something about that. About her isolation, her vulnerability that he’d related to.
He sure as hell had never expected to relate to a sweet little rich girl from the right side of the tracks. And yet he had.
“I have to go.” He stood up and nodded once at Alison and Cain before heading out of the kitchen and toward the front door.
He grabbed a black cowboy hat from the peg by the door and pressed it onto his head. There was a strange sense of rightness that settled down to his bones as he did that. As he walked out onto the deck wearing a pair of black jeans, boots, button-up shirt and a black tie. Of course, to his older brother, that was a monkey suit. It made Liam laugh.
It was a far cry from the custom suits he had once worn, but he figured that this was dressing up for a cowboy. Farmer. Rancher. Whatever the hell he was these days.
The hat itself was not custom-made. He had bought it at the Farm and Garden when he had come to town. But in a great many ways it felt a lot more made for him than one of those suits ever had.
He got into his truck and fired up the engine, heading down the long gravel driveway toward the main road that would take him into town. And the whole way he wondered what mood he would find Sabrina in. Whether or not she would have her pretty pink lips pursed together
