done that
before
you announced to everyone that you were going to host the Showdown.” Gabe shook his head. “This is why I told you to wait a few years, to make sure your foundation was laid so you could handle it.”
“The town council approached me about hosting the event, remember? And
this
,” Marc said, pointing to the headline announcing the Showdown, “will shave five years off my ten-year plan. I knew the short timeline was going to be a challenge, but I would have been an idiot to turn them down. They wanted it brought back to the Napa Grand for the centennial, and it’s a chance to really show what the hotel can do.”
“You’re willing to bet everything you’ve built because you want to challenge yourself? And you choose the most high-profile event you can find to do it?” Gabe shook his head.
“A lot of people are counting on this fund-raiser,” Nate said in his most inoffensive tone, which Marc took immediate offense to. The only thing missing in this touching moment of brotherly bonding was the youngest DeLuca. Thankfully for Marc, Trey was in Madrid, selling a hotel chain on DeLuca Wines as their house specialty of choice.
“We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars that this town needs,” Gabe said, as though Marc didn’t already know. The Summer Wine Showdown was elaborate, exclusive, and at a thousand dollars a plate, the dinner and wine tasting raised close to a million dollars every year for the local hospital and schools. Which made it a high-visibility event, and if it went bad, it would go bad under the watchful eyes of every media outlet in the food, wine, and travel industries.
“Did you even think about how this will affect the family if it goes south? Ryo Wines is one of the main sponsors, and the last thing Abby needs right now is her company connected to another disaster.”
Marc wanted to laugh at his brother’s family-first speech. Hell, just last Christmas Gabe had given the family an ultimatum: either welcome Regan and her daughter, Holly, into the family or he’d walk. A hard thing to ask since Abby’s husband, Richard, who had been carrying on an affair with Regan for over a year, was Holly’s biological father. Regan hadn’t known that Richard was married, but the affair had shattered Abby’s world regardless. Now that Regan was officially a sister-in-law and expecting the first DeLuca great-grandbaby, Marc was surprised that Abby hadn’t relocated to one of their Santa Barbara properties.
Not wanting to argue in front of half the town, especially on a topic as delicate as Regan and Abby, Marc picked uphis beer and took a drawn-out pull, making sure that Gabe saw every last drop disappear. Then he licked his lips and considered ordering another one just to mess with his brother.
“I want to see this work,” Gabe finally said. “For everybody.”
“I can do this.” Marc had to do this. It was the only way to prove to his family, and himself, that walking away from his role in DeLuca Wines was a smart move. That he wasn’t that same impulsive screwup he’d been after his parents died. That he’d grown into the kind of man his father would have been proud of.
“I don’t doubt that you will. I’m just afraid that one day you’re going to play it too fast and too risky and end up blowing something important.” Gabe shook his head, then changed his tone—trying for light. “At least tell me you found a caterer.”
“Handled,” Marc lied.
Gabe took one last look at Marc’s beer. “Hopefully better than you handled announcing a dog as a fucking judge.”
CHAPTER 4
S aturday morning, with her eyes barely open, two trays full of pastries in her hands, and a light dusting of flour in nearly every crevice, Lexi pushed through the back door of the bakery. She made her way to her car and managed to locate her keys and pop the trunk, only to realize that there was no way all of the pastries were going to fit.
The grannies were already at the
before
you announced to everyone that you were going to host the Showdown.” Gabe shook his head. “This is why I told you to wait a few years, to make sure your foundation was laid so you could handle it.”
“The town council approached me about hosting the event, remember? And
this
,” Marc said, pointing to the headline announcing the Showdown, “will shave five years off my ten-year plan. I knew the short timeline was going to be a challenge, but I would have been an idiot to turn them down. They wanted it brought back to the Napa Grand for the centennial, and it’s a chance to really show what the hotel can do.”
“You’re willing to bet everything you’ve built because you want to challenge yourself? And you choose the most high-profile event you can find to do it?” Gabe shook his head.
“A lot of people are counting on this fund-raiser,” Nate said in his most inoffensive tone, which Marc took immediate offense to. The only thing missing in this touching moment of brotherly bonding was the youngest DeLuca. Thankfully for Marc, Trey was in Madrid, selling a hotel chain on DeLuca Wines as their house specialty of choice.
“We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars that this town needs,” Gabe said, as though Marc didn’t already know. The Summer Wine Showdown was elaborate, exclusive, and at a thousand dollars a plate, the dinner and wine tasting raised close to a million dollars every year for the local hospital and schools. Which made it a high-visibility event, and if it went bad, it would go bad under the watchful eyes of every media outlet in the food, wine, and travel industries.
“Did you even think about how this will affect the family if it goes south? Ryo Wines is one of the main sponsors, and the last thing Abby needs right now is her company connected to another disaster.”
Marc wanted to laugh at his brother’s family-first speech. Hell, just last Christmas Gabe had given the family an ultimatum: either welcome Regan and her daughter, Holly, into the family or he’d walk. A hard thing to ask since Abby’s husband, Richard, who had been carrying on an affair with Regan for over a year, was Holly’s biological father. Regan hadn’t known that Richard was married, but the affair had shattered Abby’s world regardless. Now that Regan was officially a sister-in-law and expecting the first DeLuca great-grandbaby, Marc was surprised that Abby hadn’t relocated to one of their Santa Barbara properties.
Not wanting to argue in front of half the town, especially on a topic as delicate as Regan and Abby, Marc picked uphis beer and took a drawn-out pull, making sure that Gabe saw every last drop disappear. Then he licked his lips and considered ordering another one just to mess with his brother.
“I want to see this work,” Gabe finally said. “For everybody.”
“I can do this.” Marc had to do this. It was the only way to prove to his family, and himself, that walking away from his role in DeLuca Wines was a smart move. That he wasn’t that same impulsive screwup he’d been after his parents died. That he’d grown into the kind of man his father would have been proud of.
“I don’t doubt that you will. I’m just afraid that one day you’re going to play it too fast and too risky and end up blowing something important.” Gabe shook his head, then changed his tone—trying for light. “At least tell me you found a caterer.”
“Handled,” Marc lied.
Gabe took one last look at Marc’s beer. “Hopefully better than you handled announcing a dog as a fucking judge.”
CHAPTER 4
S aturday morning, with her eyes barely open, two trays full of pastries in her hands, and a light dusting of flour in nearly every crevice, Lexi pushed through the back door of the bakery. She made her way to her car and managed to locate her keys and pop the trunk, only to realize that there was no way all of the pastries were going to fit.
The grannies were already at the
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