Chapter 3
Three
Parker
Jasmin being a part of the appointment is a shock. I almost lost my cool. Hopefully, her sister didn’t see the surprise on my face before I masked it. This can’t go well at all.
“I’m happy you had an opening this week.” Daniela says, pulling my attention away from her sister. “I want to have the wedding in early summer so I need to get the location booked as soon as I can.”
She’s not shy about information. Jasmin wasn’t either. Though, she never mentioned having a sister. I don’t blame her. It’s not like I offered up much about my family outside of my sister.
“Have you looked at other places?” I don’t need to lose this booking, but I’m not sure how this is going to work if things will be awkward between me and Jasmin.
“Nope. This is our first location.” Daniela grins. “Before we get started on the tour, can I use your restroom?”
“Absolutely.” I point to the right. “It’s down that hallway, first door on the left.”
“Thank you.” Daniela makes her way toward the hallway, studying the photos we have hung up on the wall of my grandparents and great-grandparents.
“What the hell is going on?” Jasmin whispers, but it sounds more like a hiss. “You said you were working the event.”
“I was.” There’s no use hiding my position in the winery, especially if they decide to book us for the wedding. “This is my winery. Well, part of it is. Me and siblings have equal ownership.”
“And you didn’t think that was important enough to tell me when I went home with you?” Hurt flashes across her face. I didn’t technically lie to her about anything on Valentine’s Day. I just left some things out.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” I run a hand through my hair and sigh.
“When people find out I own this place, they act weird. Not the people from around here because it’s been a family business for decades, but folks from out-of-town treat me differently.
I didn’t want that to happen. I had a great time with you. ”
“I did too. But that doesn’t negate you not telling me the full story.” She shoves her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “I even told you about losing my job. I was honest.”
She has a point there. I should have been honest, but I was scared and that’s on me.
“Look, if your sister possibly having the wedding here is going to be awkward for you, I’ll show her the worst parts of the property.”
“No,” she sighs. “Give her the actual tour. She deserves that much. If she chooses to have it here, I’ll find a way to deal with it.”
“Awesome. Y’all are talking. It’s important since Jasmin is my MOH.” Daniela claps her hands, and we take a step away from each other.
“MOH?” I’ve never heard that term.
“Maid of honor.” Jasmin crosses her arms. “I hate the acronym. But my baby sister insists on using it.”
“Maid of honor is a mouthful.” Daniela sticks her tongue out at her sister. “MOH is so much easier to say in conversation.”
She’s not wrong, but I’m not going to voice that opinion. The last thing I need to do is upset Jasmin more than I obviously have. I need to change the subject. If they are anything like me and my siblings, they’ll start bickering.
“Are y’all ready for the tour?”
“Yes, please.” Daniela jumps up and down. “I can’t wait.”
These two sisters are so incredibly different.
Daniela is full of energy and Jasmin takes a more relaxed approach to life.
She actually reminds me of Phillip. He doesn’t let much get under his skin.
The only difference is Jasmin looks like she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.
I want to know why, but now isn’t the time to question it.
“If you’ll follow me.” I lead them out the back door. They’ve already seen the front, and there isn’t much out there for wedding scenery. This is the direct path to our back patio, which I personally love. I’ve had so many conversations out here with Piper and Beau after work.
“This is so cute.” Daniela squeals.
“It wasn’t always this nice back here. It used to be a regular back porch. But when we gave customers a space to hang out and have a glass of wine, it was upgraded. My sisters are the ones to thank for that. I don’t have a design bone in my body.”
“It was a good choice.” Daniela studies the space. “It would actually be pretty good for a bridal shower.”
She glances at her sister for input, but Jasmin is typing something into her phone. “I’ve made a note. Is there anything else in this area for us to look at?”
The question is directed at me and I shake my head. “I can take you to the space where a reception can be held. You’ve already—”
“Let’s check out where the ceremony might take place.” Jasmin redirects. I don’t think I said anything wrong and can’t think of a reason for the subject change.
“Absolutely.” I motion for them to walk ahead of me.
Daniela doesn’t wait and pulls quite a bit away from us, her eyes taking in the open land next to some of the buildings. Honestly, we can set up anywhere she wants to have the ceremony. It’s all down to what she likes.
Jasmin is watching her sister, but moves closer to me. “She doesn’t know we’ve met prior to today, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Sorry, I forgot about that.” She’s so different than she was on Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s upset I wasn’t completely honest with her, or something else. Why is she so hard to read all of a sudden?
“It’s fine.” She waves away my apology. “I just don’t want her to get any ideas.”
“About what?”
“Trying to set us up or something like that.” She thinks for a second and shakes her head. “Well, not her specifically, but she’d let it slip to our mom and that wouldn’t be good.”
“Is she overbearing?”
“More like she thinks I need to be with someone to be happy and fulfilled.” Another head shake. “She doesn’t understand how people like us can be okay with how we live our lives. She thinks because she found happiness when she was young that everyone needs to experience that type of relationship.”
Wow. I don’t even know what to say. My mom has meddled in my life, but only when it came to school stuff. She never tried to influence my personal life. The only people who have done that are my sisters.
“Jasmin!” Daniela’s voice scares the both of us and we move apart from each other. The only problem is I don’t see her.
“Where did she go?”
Jasmin shrugs. “You’re the tour guide. Shouldn’t you know where your clients are at all times?”
“My sister is going to kill me,” I mutter under my breath. “She’s probably behind the buildings. Follow me.”
We move between two of the buildings. The one on the left is where we hold events like the Valentine’s Day one. The one on the right is where we bottle the wine. There’s another one on the other side of that, but it’s mostly storage.
“How did I not realize there were more buildings out here?” Jasmin’s voice is right behind me.
“They are hard to see when it’s dark. Plus, my sister made sure the lights pointed away from it during the event. When I say she has an eye for this stuff, I’m not kidding.”
“You should be happy some other company didn’t scoop her up.” She hurries to walk beside me. “Though, I think this kind of falls under your territory.”
“The wedding planner in town tried to, but she refused. Family duty and all that.” She has a point about it being my responsibility now. “I’ll have to get my sister to show me the ropes when it comes to setting up. Or, I can always hire it out.”
“That cuts into profits. You’d be better off figuring out how to do it yourself.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” She laughs. “But I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
At least she’s being nice to me now. Some of that camaraderie we had last month seems to be coming back.
Daniela is sitting in the distance when we leave the cover of the buildings. “What is my sister doing?”
“It looks like she’s taking in the sights.” I can’t really blame her. We have some of the best views in the county.
She must hear us approach because she turns toward us. “It’s about time y’all got over here.”
“Sorry about that.” I hold up my hands in surrender. “Totally my fault.”
“Why are you sitting in the grass?” Jasmin approaches her sister and holds her hand out to help her up.
“Trying to see what the view will be like for guests.” She lets Jasmin pull her up to stand. “I don’t need to see anything else. This is where I want to have the wedding. This spot specifically.” She pulls her hands to her chest. “Imagine what this will look like at sunset.”
“Are you sure?” Jasmin asks. I think she might be trying to deter her sister from having it here. Not that I blame her. Things could get awkward with us. “It’s going to be summer and hot. Plus, you haven’t even seen the reception area.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s perfect. And if what you said about the event space is true, then I’m all good.”
Thank God. The last thing I want to tell my sister is that I lost our first potential client, and now I don’t have to.
“We can actually go look at that now if you want.”
“That would be awesome.” She claps her hands together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so animated before.
“Depending on the size of your guest list, we can fit a lot of tables in there.”
Daniela is walking beside me, and Jasmin is on the other side of her. She’s doing everything she can to put physical distance between us.
“I don’t think it’ll be too big.”
Jasmin snorts. “Are you kidding? You’ll be lucky if Mom doesn’t invite every person she’s ever run into at the grocery store.”
Her sister shrugs. “I think we’re good. You said the space was amazing, and I trust your judgement.”
I say nothing for a few moments to make sure Daniela is firm in her decision.
When it doesn’t look like there will be any argument, I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Okay, we can head into the office and get the contract ready. We also have some resources for local flower shops and a wedding planner if you choose to go that route.”
“Perfect.” Daniela has an extra bounce in her step. “I haven’t decided what direction I’ll go in those aspects, but I’ll definitely take your recommendations.”
“Awesome.” We make it back to the main house, and I lead them to the office. My sister is sitting behind the desk when we come in. “This is my sister, Piper. She’s the head of our social media, and pretty much the office manager.”
“Nice to meet you both.” She clicks the mouse a few times before standing up. “I’ll get out of the way so you can discuss your wedding. Parker, can I talk to you for a second?”
What in the hell could I have done now? I secured an event. There’s no reason she should have a stern look on her face. “I’ll be right back. You can look at these in the meantime.” I hand them the information for Whoopsie Daisy and the wedding planner.
I close the door behind me, and my sister is in my face. “Please tell me you didn’t have a one-night stand with the bride.”
“What? No!” I can’t believe she’d even think that. “Jasmin isn’t the one getting married; her sister is.”
“Good. Because I thought you might have reached a new low, and I’d have to kick your ass.”
“I’m glad you think so highly of me.”
“It’s not that.” Piper places a hand on my arm. “You don’t always make the best decisions.”
“Piper, I’m not dumb. I checked her hand for a ring, or any sign of one, before we left. I may be a lot of things, but a home wrecker isn’t one of them.”
“Okay.” She sighs. “Now close the deal.”
“It’d be a lot easier if you hadn’t pulled me out here.” My voice is low enough that she doesn’t catch my remark. I hate she thinks I could do something like go after a taken woman. I’m a playboy, I know that, but I have rules and standards.
I do my best to shove my frustration aside and slap a smile on my face as I head back into the office. “Sorry about that. My sister wanted to make sure I’m not screwing this up.”
“It’s all good.” Daniela says and continues looking through the information. “I know all about sisters.”
Yeah, but she probably adores hers. Right now, I want to slink away into the shadows from mine. “Let me get this contract printed out for you.”
I focus on the task at hand, but I don’t miss the concern on Jasmin’s face. The fact she can read me so well after one night is astounding. But I have to push that aside since her sister is now my client.