MacKenzie Dienes's life isn't
perfect, but it's as close as she could ever hope to get. Her marriage to Rhys,
her best friend's brother, is more friendship than true love. But passion is
highly overrated, right? And she loves her job as the winemaker at Bel Apres,
her in-laws' vineyard. So what if it's a family business and, even after
decades of marriage and incredible professional success, she's still barred
from the family business meetings? It's all enough...until one last night spent
together leads to an incredibly honest—and painful—conversation. Rhys suggests
that they divorce. They haven't had a marriage in a long time and, while he
wants her to keep her job at Bel Apres, he doesn't think they should be married
any longer. Shocked, MacKenzie reels at the prospect of losing the only family
she's ever really known...even though she knows deep in her heart that Rhys is
right.
But when MacKenzie discovers she's
pregnant, walking away to begin a new life isn't so easy. She never could have
anticipated the changes it would bring to the relationships she cherishes most:
her relationship with Barbara, her mother-in-law and partner at Bel Apres,
Stephanie, her sister-in-law and best friend, and Bel Apres, the company she's
worked so hard to put on the map.
MacKenzie has always dreamed of
creating a vineyard of her own, a chance to leave a legacy for her unborn
child. So when the opportunity arises, she jumps at it and builds the Vineyard
at Painted Moon. But following her dreams will come at a high price—one that
MacKenzie isn't so sure she's willing to pay…
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Chapter One
“Not that what you’re wearing isn’t great, but the party
starts in an hour.”
Mackenzie Dienes looked up from the grapevine she’d been
studying, her mind still on the tight clusters of small, hard grapes that
would, come late September, be ripe and sweet and ready for harvest. Between
now and then, she would monitor their progress, willing them to greatness and
protecting them from danger, be it mold, weather or hungry deer.
She blinked at the man standing in front of her, tall and
familiar, with an easy smile and broad, capable shoulders.
“Party?” she
asked, letting her thoughts of the vineyards go and remembering that, yes,
indeed, it was the evening of the annual Solstice Party, hosted by the
Barcellona family. As she was a Barcellona, by marriage if not by name, she
would be expected to attend.
Wanted to attend, she reminded herself. It was always a
good time, and Stephanie, her sister-in-law, worked hard to make it a perfect
night.
“The party,” she repeated, her voice slightly more
panicked this time, then glanced down at herself. “Crap. What time is it?”
Rhys, her husband,
shook his head. “You really don’t listen when I talk, do you? We have an hour.
You’ll be fine.”
She pulled off her gloves and shoved them into the left
front pocket of her coveralls, then stepped behind Rhys and gave him a little
push toward the flatbed truck he’d driven out to the west vineyards.
“You say that because all you have to do is shower and
get dressed. I have to do the girl thing.”
“Which takes you maybe ten minutes.” He put his arm
around her as they hurried toward the truck. “Happy with the grapes?”
“I think so,” she
said, glancing toward the healthy vines growing on either side of them. “We
might have to do some thinning in a couple of weeks, but so far, so good.”
As they slid onto
the bench seat of the old truck, he glanced at her. She smiled, knowing there
was a fifty-fifty chance he would call her out on her thinning statement. He
was, after all, the vineyard manager. Technically all the decisions about the
vineyard were made by him with her input, but not her instruction. As winemaker,
she managed the grapes from the moment they were picked until the wine was
bottled.
But at Bel Après, areas of responsibility often
overlapped. Theirs was a large, boisterous family in which everyone had
opinions. Not that Mackenzie listened to a lot of other ideas when it came to
her wines, although as Rhys often pointed out, she was very free offering hers
when it came to his work.
He drove along the dirt path that circled the vineyard,
stopping by her truck. She slid into the cab, then followed him back to the
family compound. The main road leading into Walla Walla was thick with tourists
who wanted to enjoy the longest day of the year. She merged into the
slow-moving traffic, doing her best to keep from glancing at the clock on the
truck’s dashboard as she inched along.
Vineyards stretched out on either side of the road, flat
on the left and rising toward the hills on the right. Bright green leaves
topped sturdy trunks that had been carefully trained to grow exactly as she
wanted them to. The rows were long and neat, and the spaces between them were
filled with native grasses that held in moisture and protected the roots from
the heat.
Looking at her healthy crop kept her mind off the fact
that she and Rhys were going to be desperately late.
Twenty minutes
later, she followed him off the highway onto a less crowded secondary road—a
back way home. Five minutes after that, they parked the trucks by the
processing buildings behind the big tasting room. Rhys had already claimed one
of the golf carts the family used to get around. She slid in next to him and
they took off toward the center of the property.
Bel Après Winery and the surrounding land had been in the
Barcellona family for nearly sixty years. Rhys and his siblings were
third-generation. The original main house had been updated several times. When
Rhys and Mackenzie had married, Barbara, Rhys’s mother, had suggested they
build themselves a house close to hers, rather than commute from town. Eager to
stay in the good graces of her new mother-in-law, Mackenzie had agreed.
A large two-story
home had been built. Barbara and Mackenzie had decorated every room, the act of
choosing everything from light fixtures to doorknobs cementing their affection
for each other.
A few years later,
Stephanie, the second of Barbara’s four children, had gotten a divorce and
moved back home with her two kids, requiring another house to be constructed.
When the youngest of the three girls had married, the last house had been
added. Only Lori, the middle daughter, still lived in the original home.
All four houses faced a huge central courtyard. Mexican
pavers were shaded by vine-covered pergolas. The extended family used the space
for big dinners and as a kids’ play area. If one of the women baked cookies, a
cookie flag was hung out the front door, inviting anyone to stop by. At
Christmas, a large tree was brought in from Wishing Tree, and for the annual
Summer Solstice Party, dozens of long tables were brought in to seat the two
hundred or so guests.
Rhys swung the golf cart behind the large main house,
circling counterclockwise. Normally he would cut across the courtyard, but with
all the party preparations, he had to go the long way. He pulled up at the rear
entrance to their house and they dashed inside.
Mackenzie paused to unlace her boots and left them in the
mudroom. Rhys did the same. They raced up the stairs together, separating at
the landing to head to their individual en suite bedrooms.
Once in her bathroom, she started the shower. Thankfully,
she’d already picked out the dress she would wear. She raced through a shower.
After she dried off, she wrapped her hair in a towel and dug out the scented
body lotion Rhys had given her a couple of years ago. Why anyone would want to
smell like coconut and vanilla was beyond her, but he liked it.
She walked into the large closet and opened her underwear
drawer. To the right were all the sensible bikini panties she usually wore—to
the left were the fancier ones for special occasions. She chose a black pair and
slipped them on, then went to the second drawer and looked for the matching
push-up bra. When it and the pads were in place and doing the best they could
with her modest curves, she pulled on a robe and returned to the bathroom.
After plugging in her hot rollers, it took her only a few
minutes to apply eyeliner and mascara. She was flushed from the day working
outside, so she didn’t bother with any other makeup.
Her hair took a lot longer. First she had to dry the dark
red shoulder-length waves, then she had to curl them. While the rollers were in
place, she searched for a pair of black high-heel sandals that wouldn’t leave
her crippled by the end of the night.
Those found, she
opened her small jewelry box and pulled out her wedding set, sliding both the
engagement ring and the wedding band into place on her left hand. Diamond stud
earrings followed. She’d barely stepped into her sleeveless black dress when
Rhys walked into the closet, fully dressed in black slacks and a dark gray
shirt.
She sighed when she saw him. “See. You have it so much
easier than me.”
“Yes, but in the end, you’re more beautiful. That should
be worth something.”
“I’d rather have
the extra time.”
She turned, presenting him with her back. He pulled up
the zipper, then bent to collect her shoes. They retreated to her bathroom and
together began removing the curlers.
“We’re late,” Mackenzie said, catching sight of his
watch. “Your mom is going to be all snippy.”
“She’ll be too busy welcoming her guests.” The last of
the curlers was flung onto the counter. Mackenzie fluffed her hair, then
pointed to the bedroom.
“Retreat,” she said, reaching for the can of hair spray.
Rhys ducked to safety. She sprayed the curls into
submission before running into the bedroom to escape the death cloud. Rhys was
on the bench at the foot of the large bed. She sat next to him and quickly put
on her shoes.
“Done,” she said, pausing to reacquaint herself with the
seldom-used skill of walking in heels.
She grabbed her husband’s wrist. “Seven fifteen. Barbara’s
going to kill us.”
“She’s not. I’m her only son and you’re just plain her
favorite.”
“We weren’t ready exactly at seven. I can already hear
the death-march music in my head. I want to be buried on Red Mountain.”
Rhys chuckled as he led the way downstairs. “In the
vineyard? I’m not sure your decaying body is going to be considered organic.”
“Are you saying I’m toxic?” she asked with a laugh as
they walked toward the front door.
“I’m saying you’re wonderful and I’d like us to have a
good night.”
There was something in his tone, she thought, meeting his
gaze. She’d known this man her entire adult life. They’d met over Christmas her
freshman year of college. Her roommate, his sister Stephanie, had dragged
Mackenzie home to meet the family. Grateful not to have to spend the holiday by
herself, Mackenzie had gone willingly and had quickly found herself falling not
only for her best friend’s hunky older brother but for the entire Barcellona
family and the vineyards they owned. Barbara had been like a surrogate mother,
and the vineyards, well, they had been just as magical as Rhys’s sexy kisses.
Now she studied
her husband’s expression, seeing the hint of sadness lurking behind his easy
smile. She saw it because she hid the same emotion deep inside herself. The
days of stealing away for sexy kisses were long gone. There were no lingering
looks, no intimacy. They had a routine and a life, but she was less sure about
them still having a marriage.
“I’d like that,
too,” she murmured, knowing he wasn’t asking them not to fight. They never did.
Harsh words required a level of involvement they simply didn’t have anymore.
“Then let’s make
that happen,” he said lightly, taking her hand in his and opening the front
door.
About the Author
#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives―family, friendship, romance. She's known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages. Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.
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