Chapter 21 Snapper #2
“When I thought everything was lost, when I’d accepted we would lose the winery, Saffron refused to give up.
She found her great-grandmother’s journal, and she saw a possibility.
” He turned to look at Saffron directly.
“But she didn’t do it alone. She partnered with the Avila family, who gave their grapes and their expertise and their faith.
She worked with Baron Van Orr, whose family’s contribution completed what our grandmothers started.
This wine exists because three families chose to come together instead of staying apart. ”
He raised his glass higher. “To partnerships. To faith. To second chances.”
“To second chances,” many of us murmured in response.
Baron stepped forward. “My grandmother made a choice seventy years ago that she regretted for the rest of her life. Tonight, that wrong has been righted. The Christmas Blessing Wine lives again, and with it, Ellen Van Orr’s legacy is transformed from regret to redemption.
Thank you for allowing my family to be a part of this. ”
He raised his glass and drank, and the room followed.
Brix spoke next about brotherhood and supporting your own. Alex talked about taking risks and believing in impossible things.
Saffron and I slipped out onto a small balcony that overlooked Sterling’s vineyard, and I wrapped my arms around her from behind as we looked out on the moonlit vines.
“You did it,” I said into her hair.
She laughed and cried at the same time. “No, we did.” She turned in my arms to face me. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Without your family. Without everyone who believed in something that seemed impossible two months ago.”
“Nothing’s impossible when you’re stubborn enough.”
That got a real laugh. “Are you calling me stubborn?”
“Absolutely. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
She leaned up and kissed me. The kind of kiss that made the rest of the world disappear, that reminded me exactly why I’d fallen in love with this woman in the first place.
“I love you,” she whispered against my mouth.
“I love you too, Saff.”
We stayed out there for several more minutes, holding each other while the party continued inside. The winter air was cold, but I barely felt it. All I felt was Saffron, warm against me, her heart beating in rhythm with mine, our future spreading out before us.
Eventually, we went back inside and rejoined the celebration. Hours passed in laughter and champagne and relief so complete it left me dizzy.
By the time midnight rolled around, most of the guests had left. Only family remained—my siblings and their spouses, Saffron’s parents and sister, Baron, Tryst, and Jaicon. We stood in small groups, talking quietly, exhausted but too elated to leave.
Kick found Saffron and me near one of the now-empty display cases. “Hey. I just wanted to say congratulations again. Tonight was incredible.”
“Thanks.” I studied my brother. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just—” He paused. “I’m really happy for you both. The way you brought all that together, the wine, the auction, everything.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Saffron said. “Without everyone.”
Baron appeared then, crossing the room toward us. His face was troubled in a way I hadn’t seen all evening.
“Sorry to interrupt, but, Kick, have you heard from Isabel?” he asked.
My brother’s brow furrowed. “No, not since I took her to the airport a few days ago. Why?”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“Your villa in Italy.” Kick’s head cocked. “She said she’d be there through mid-January. Is something wrong?”
Baron’s face went pale. “She never arrived.”
Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next book in
Heather Slade’s Wicked Winemakers
Central Coast Second Label series,
Kick’s Kiss
Their secret romance ended badly—
with bitter words neither can take back.
She’s disappeared to start over where
scandal can’t touch her.
He’s found her anyway, and this time, he’s not walking away—no matter what she’s hiding.
KICK
When Isabel Van Orr disappears after our family’s wine auction instead of flying to Italy, I volunteer to track her down.
What I don’t tell anyone is that Isabel and I had a secret relationship that ended badly, and I’m the reason she’s running.
When I find her working at a winery in the Russian River Valley, she begs me to leave.
But the fear in her eyes tells me she’s hiding something bigger than embarrassment.
So I make her a deal: let me stay and prove I’m not the man she thinks I am, and after she tells me the truth, I’ll walk away if that’s what she wants.
The problem? The longer I stay, the more I realize leaving her is the last thing I’ll ever do.
ISABEL
I’ve spent years being “that pathetic woman” who publicly chased Snapper Avila, so when I fell into a secret relationship with his younger brother, Kick, I thought I’d finally found someone who saw the real me.
Then I nearly sabotaged his family’s wine project out of jealousy, proved him right about my worst qualities, and we ended things badly.
Weeks later, everything changed. Rather than face the humiliation and judgment waiting for me at home, I disappeared to a small town where no one knows my name.
But Kick tracks me down, sees through my lies, and refuses to leave.
Now, I’m faced with an impossible choice: keep running and protect myself from the scandal that will destroy what’s left of my reputation, or trust the man I love with the secret that could bind us together forever—or tear us apart when his family learns the truth.