7. Matt
Chapter 7
Matt
I ’m behind the bar at Grape Expectations when I see my mom enter with Liam. They come around to the side and I nod to them.
“Hey, bud! Give me one minute.” I open two bottles and grab four glasses, loading them all onto the tray while the waitress waits patiently. An older couple who I remember seeing at the funeral asked for a tasting of our newest blush from the winery. Thank god Uncle Paul’s guys are still running the back of the house because there is no way I’d be able to keep up with both sides.
I push the glasses toward them and grab a new bottle. As the cork pops, a sound so soothing to my ears and loaded with memories, the patrons sitting close call out, “Pour timing!”
I laugh as I hear my son and mom answer back along with me, “Time to pour!”
“Enjoy.” I nod to the couple and step over to see my family, noticing my mom’s eyes are teary. “What's wrong?”
She waves her hand. “Nothing, it's just so good to see you behind the bar here.” She reaches for my hand. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Ma, even coming back to Starlight Bay.” She chuckles as Liam dips under the bar to join me. “Hey, aren’t you a little young?”
“He’s the perfect age to learn.”
I look up at my dad’s voice as he comes from the back.
“Pop!” Liam yells and ducks back under to get to him. My dad picks him up in a bear hug.
“Man, watching my two Byrne boys hold this place down feels pretty good doesn’t it, Kathleen?” He throws his arm around my mom’s shoulders and she leans into him.
“Are you ready for the National Wine Day Event? Judging by the full house you have now, I bet you’ll be twice as busy then.”
I nod, a little uneasy about it all. “I am. It’s going to be a lot of work but I want to make sure it’s great for everyone.” My eyes drift around the place and I notice the changes. They’re subtle, but the color scheme Kylie and Sadie discussed have already begun popping throughout the place. It’s different shades of greens and yellows with pink flowers as the centerpieces. It's all very spring-like.
“The girls are doing a great job.” Ma raises a brow. “You should keep her.”
“Her?” my dad asks.
“Hm?” she responds.
“You said he should keep her. Who’s her?”
“I didn’t say that. Did I?”
I groan out loud. “Ma, you gotta stop.”
“Matthew. I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. Say, can you pour me some of that new blush?”
“Sure you don’t.” I roll my eyes at her antics and at my dad’s confused face but grab a bottle from behind the bar. “You need to control your wife, Dad.”
“Oh there’s no controlling her,” Dad says.
“Don’t I know it.” As I pour a glass for my mom, I hear the bell ring. When her face lights up I don't even need to look to see who entered. “Ma, what did you do?” I ask in a low voice.
“Kylie! Hi!” I watch her wave her arms as she walks away from me and toward Kylie.
“So that’s the her she meant. I should have known.”
“Who’s her?” Liam asks.
“Just a friend from school, son.”
Liam watches as my mom wraps Kylie in a hug. “Ooh, she’s pretty,” he says, and my dad chuckles again.
I give my dad a look that says ‘knock it off’ but quickly mask the expression when Mom and Kylie walk back over.
“Hi, Mr. Byrne. How are you?” Kylie and Dad give each other a quick hug.
“I’m great, Ky. Good to see you.”
“Hi! I’m Liam!” my son says excitedly.
Nerves run through me, but I smile and step out from behind the bar, joining them. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Liam, this is my friend Kylie. Kylie, this is my son.”
It’s Kylie and I shouldn't be nervous, but I’m cautious with everyone Liam meets. But when she drops down to his height and puts out her hand, I relax. He grabs it and shakes it once. “Nice to meet you. You’re very handsome; you look just like your grandpa.” Her eyes flit to me, a smirk curving her lips, and my son stands a little bit taller.
“Thank you. You’re very pretty just like my dad said.”
“Oh he did, huh?” She stands again, eyeing me with a smile.
“You said that, not me!” I exclaim. That little snitch turned the tables on me.
“Oh? You don’t think I'm pretty, Matt?”
I ignore my mom’s giggle and say, “Alright, I can see I can’t win here. You two are already working against me.” I rough Liam up a little then look at Kylie. “So what’s going on? Is your fiancé here? We can go over more of your wedding plans.”
Her face instantly takes on a weird glimmer but before I can make sense of it, my mom cuts in.
“I asked her down here to finalize everything for the event.”
I roll my eyes. “Ma, we’ve been working on it. I've got it under control.”
Kylie cuts in. “Actually, my sister has everything under control.” My lips twitch at her back talk.
I cock my head the slightest bit. “Hey, did you get your car inspected yet?”
“For your information, I just came from the garage.”
“Good to know there’s one more safe vehicle back on the road.” I’ve missed this banter with someone. No… I’ve missed it with her.
When silence falls but I continue to hold her focus, my mom cuts in. “Come on, let’s sit and go over some things. Liam, you come with us. Phil, you get back to corking. And Matt, can you bring us that new blush? It’s very good.” She twirls her empty glass that was left on the bar, and they turn and walk away from me. I watch my mom and Kylie fall into step with each other on the way to a table on the back deck. Kylie waits for my mom to sit before she pulls out the chair for Liam and then takes her spot on the other side. My mom says something and both Liam and Kylie laugh. And for a split second, this is exactly what I thought my future would have been. I push that thought away and step back behind the bar, checking on the guests.
“How are we doing over here?” I ask the couple.
“This blush is superb. I don’t know if you remember us, but I'm Fred and this is my wife, Sally. We were good friends of your Uncle Paul’s and am so sorry for your loss. But we’re very happy you are here to continue running this place, Matt. He’d want that and the town needs it.”
I nod to his wife and shake hands with the man. “It’s good to see you again. I apologize, I remember faces but not names too well.”
The woman speaks up. “Seems you’re fitting right back into the swing of things. I’m glad to see you and Kylie together again, you were high school sweethearts, right?”
“Sally! Don’t be so nosey.”
I let out a laugh and she smiles, a small blush forming on her cheeks. “You’re fine. I'm used to people asking lots of questions. My ma is the queen of questions.” Avoiding answering her, I grab another bottle of blush, hooking the stems of two glasses between my fingers along with a soda for Liam. “I'll be right back.”
I approach the table in time to hear my mom say, “We’ll do lunch this week and figure it out, okay?” Kylie nods her head quickly.
I hold the bottle up. “Customers are raving about this so let me know your thoughts.”
“Oh, you know we will.”
“Here, bud.” I place the soda in front of him and the two glasses down before pulling the corkscrew from my back pocket. I open the bottle with ease and pour for the two of them.
“Thanks, Dad. Hey, Kylie. If you went to school with my dad, I bet you know my teacher.”
She smiles at him. “I probably do, who is it?”
“Mr. Love.”
Her eyes dance as she glances at me then back to my son. “I do know Mr. Love. Is he a good teacher?”
“He is! He’s lots of fun too. He said he and my dad had too much fun together when they were in school.”
I butt in. “I also told you not to listen to any stories he tells you about me.”
Kylie leans in with a faux whisper. “I’ve got some good stories I can tell you about those two.”
“You do?” Liam's eyes are wide.
Kylie nods and I cut off their fun with a warning tone. “If you’re spilling stories, don’t forget I have my own, KJ.”
“And I have stories about all three of them, honey, so you just stick with Grandma.” My mom sits up straight with that same know-it-all smirk she loves to display.
Trying to derail this conversation, I place my hand on the back of Liam’s chair and ask, “Well, are we ready for this event? We’re only a few weeks out.”
Kylie sits up straight in her chair, swirling her glass. “I thought you had everything handled, Matt?” She sips from her glass, never taking her eyes from mine. I watch her throat as she swallows and have to look away before my thoughts take over my body.
“I do. Do you?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
My mom sits back with a smile and says, “Matt, the smartest thing you did was hire these Johnson girls.”
“Hire us? I don’t remember getting paid.” Kylie laughs as she tilts her glass back, finishing off her wine.
I pick up the bottle and refill her glass. “For all the times you drank here for free, take that as a paycheck.”
She laughs. “Okay, I can’t argue that.”