38. Ezra
“You ready?” Brie asked, gripping my hand tightly as we walked into the winery.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Today was the day of my big meeting with Amara and Liam, and in true Brie fashion, she’d made it a family affair. We’d moved it from the offices to the restaurant, which was still closed, to accommodate the entire Delatou gang. Since I’d been the one to call this meeting, I was, for once, not cooking lunch. We’d talked Tanya from Granny Smith’s Tavern into feeding us, and as long as I got to stuff my face with one of her signature mushroom and Swiss burgers when this was all over, I could survive this meeting.
“It’s going to be great,” she said as we made our way through the lobby. Chatter from her family greeted us, and I hated the lead weight that settled in my stomach.
For some reason, I felt like a lot was riding on this. My livelihood wouldn’t suffer if the community garden didn’t pan out, but I genuinely felt as if the community’s would. There was all kinds of undeveloped land on the peninsula, all of which was owned by the Delatou family. All I wanted to do was to carve a little piece out for myself and the rest of the residents of Apple Blossom Bay to enjoy .
Truthfully, I didn’t think that was asking too much.
“Ezra, my boy!” Leon boomed as Brie and I crossed the threshold, and I couldn’t explain why, but I instantly relaxed. This man had been a number of things to me over the years: friend, confidant when my world was falling apart, boss, caretaker of my child, friend again when he’d ultimately stepped aside as CEO.
But now that Brie and I were committed to each other, our dynamic had yet again shifted, and I found myself bracing for the moment when he’d pull me into one of his signature back slapping hugs…and strangle me to death instead of releasing me.
“Relax,” Brie whispered and let go of my hand as her dad dragged me into an embrace.
I sighed deeply when he let me go.
Maybe one day, I’d grow out of that terror, but…Leon Delatou was an imposing man, and nothing in the world was more important to him than his girls.
As a parent myself, I knew the feeling, but I also understood it was different between a father and son than between a father and daughter. Would I retaliate against anyone who dared hurt Hansen? Of course.
But Leon was the kind of man who would go scorched earth for his daughters.
With a hand on my shoulder, he directed me away from Brie and toward the head of the table, pausing at a chair beside Liam. Across the table from him sat Amara, Cal next to her, their hands clasped together.
“You taking good care of my girl?” Leon asked before letting me go.
“Always,” I promised him .
Leon nodded and moved around to sit on Calvin’s side, and Brie took the seat next to Liam.
But I needed her next to me, and even two feet apart was too much.
“Trade with her,” I told Liam, glancing between them.
“Oh, Ez, it’s fine,” Brie said, waving her hand.
“I don’t mind,” Liam said, already rising to move.
“C’mon, honey.” I patted the chair next to me. “Sit.”
“Possessive and demanding,” Amara said with a twinkle in her eye.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I told her.
“Don’t worry,” she said, sharing a quick look with her boyfriend. “It was one.”
I felt a little bad forcing Liam out of his seat, but he didn’t seem too bothered by it. In fact, the man had more excitement shining on his face than I’d ever seen from him as he slid into the seat next to Ella and immediately drew her into conversation, their heads bent low together.
I hadn’t realized they’d known each other that well. Obviously, the entire Delatou, Inc. and Chateau Delatou staff knew the family, but Ella wasn’t all that connected to the winery, and from my understanding, Liam rarely ventured into town, save for supplies.
Interesting .
My gaze swept across the rest of the people gathered; over Chloe and Logan, Delia and Owen, Leon and Lena, Liam and Ella, Amara and Cal, finally settling on my girl.
She gave me a reassuring smile, and with a cleared throat to garner everyone’s attention, I launched into my speech .
In truth, I barely remembered what I said, seeming to black out in my desire to get it all out as quickly as possible. I hated being the center of attention like this. I liked my food to do the talking for me. But it was obvious to me from my time spent around them that, in this family, we didn’t shy away from the hard conversations or asking for what we wanted.
When I finished explaining how I planned to use it as a learning tool for our youth, to allow adults the opportunity to put fresh produce on their tables, to give the community a fun project to work on year-round, I closed my eyes, mentally bracing myself for the onslaught of questions and backlash.
But it never came.
Instead, a loud clap broke the quiet, and Leon said, “That’s a wonderful idea, Ez.”
My eyes popped open and connected with his. “You really think so?”
“I absolutely do.” He turned to his wife and reached for her hand. “We’ll help you however we can.”
A chorus of agreements rose from the table, and I relaxed further. Convincing these people that this was a good idea—and something the community needed—was more than half the battle.
I was feeling good; great, even.
Until I realized Amara and Liam appeared to be having a silent conversation with hand gestures and meaningful looks.
And I knew when Amara opened her mouth that I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
“It’s a great idea, Ez. It’s just…we don’t really have winery land to allocate for it.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach, and my heart sank to the floor.
Fuck, I hadn’t even considered that. I’d been so sure my idea was sound, that I’d done all my research, that Amara and Liam would jump at the chance to make it work.
How could I have been so na?ve? They were running a business here, one that couldn’t cater to my little hopes and dreams.
“I’m sorry, man,” Liam said with a wince, though at least he had the decency to meet my gaze head on. “We’re looking to expand our white grape production, and the only undeveloped land we have at the moment is that hillside where we’ll start planting those in a few weeks.”
Shit, I’d forgotten all about that. And speaking of…
“Weren’t you supposed to go out west to pick those new plants up?”
Liam chuckled, and Amara huffed out a sigh.
“I was, but with Amara’s pregnancy, we didn’t really have the few weeks it would take to spare, so we just shipped them in.”
That made a lot of sense. In truth, I never understood why Amara wanted him to drive out there in the first place. I knew she trusted his judgement above all others when it came to these things, save her father’s, but that was a long way to travel knowing he might not approve the purchase.
Then another thought occurred to me.
“But you’re still going on a road trip.”
“I am,” Liam said, and I didn’t miss the way Ella almost imperceptibly stiffened next to him. “At the end of April, once planting season is over and we have a lull before tourist season picks up.”
“Where are you headed? ”
“Out west,” he said with a laugh. “I figure I’ll venture through South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho on my way to Portland for my brother’s wedding.”
“That sounds like a hell of adventure,” I said.
“I’ve never done anything like it, but I’ve always wanted to.”
“I imagine it’ll be the trip of a lifetime,” I said. “I did a backpacking and cooking trip through Europe right after I graduated high school, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.” On my right, Brie cleared her throat, and I glanced down at her, smiling softly. “Except for you, of course.”
“And Hansen,” she added.
“And my boy.”
“Hey!” Owen said suddenly from the other end of the table. “If you’re heading through Idaho, you should swing through Dusk Valley. My brothers are in charge of the ranch these days, and West runs a dude ranch. I’m sure he’d be happy to put you up for a few nights.”
“I just might take you up on that,” Liam said, taking a breath to continue, but Brie cut him off.
“Sorry to break up this little bromance brewing here,” she said, gesturing between Liam and Owen, “but can we please get back to the matter at hand?”
“Right,” I said, mentally smacking myself.
“I’m not sure there’s much more to discuss,” Amara said. “We can’t offer up any Delatou land, and I’m not sure where else on the peninsula you’ll find a plot big enough.”
“We can use mine,” Brie piped up.
I glanced down at her, brows drawing together. “Yours?”
“I’ve never told you?” she asked .
“Told me what?”
“When we turned eighteen, Mom and Dad deeded us each a forty-acre plot of land on the north end of the peninsula, surrounding their house. Chloe built a house on hers—which Amara and Cal now live in. Delia broke a chunk off hers to use for the distillery. As of right now, my, Amara’s, and Ella’s sit empty, so we can use a split of mine for the garden.”
I blinked in shock, unable to believe what I was hearing. Between the five Delatou daughters sat nearly two hundred acres of undeveloped land. I’d known from my time working for the family that their roots in the area ran deep, that Leon’s grandfather had once owned roughly ninety percent of the peninsula, but this…
I couldn’t let Brie do this for me. Could I?
“That land isn’t meant for you to just give away, honey,” I told her.
Brie scoffed. “It’s my land, honey . I can do with it what I want.”
“And you want to help me with this community garden.”
It wasn’t a question, just a flat statement that I was having difficulty believing. Brie had so much of her own shit going on, between getting started on the cookbook and expanding her online store, plus keeping the townspeople of Apple Blossom Bay fed with her delectable treats, that I wasn’t sure where she’d find the time.
“Of course I do,” she said, like me questioning her sincerity was the dumbest thing in the world. Ignoring the other people in the room with us, she turned and crawled into my lap, cupping my cheeks in her hands and moving so her lips were a breath from mine. “I know this is your passion project, and I fully support that, but you can let me help you—and you will. Just like you’re helping me with the cookbook. This is just another thing we can do together.”
I didn’t answer verbally, only nodded and pressed my lips to hers quickly.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I whispered.
She tapped my nose before climbing off me and said, “You got really lucky.”
“So…you’re going to use Brie’s land?”
“Yes,” my girl answered her sister before I could. “I’ve been meaning to develop it anyway. I think it’s time.”
“You don’t mean…” Amara trailed off, eyes wide, dancing between me and her sister.
“Yep,” Brie said happily. “I’m building a house too.”
“ What ?” I exploded. “For what?”
Brie turned a quizzical look at me. “For us.”
She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but to me, it wasn’t. We’d briefly discussed living conditions, knowing we wanted to be together always, but I’d been under the impression we’d start looking in the spring, when more houses started going on the market.
I hadn’t planned on her choosing to build us an entire fucking house.
“I can’t let you do that,” I told her.
Sensing another argument brewing, a number of our party rose from their chairs and peeled off, including Cal, Owen, and Logan. What did surprise me was that Ella also disappeared, and the second she did, Liam, who’d had his eyes glued to her retreating form, awkwardly rose from his chair .
“I’m gonna take a walk,” he said, discomfort obvious in every line of his body. “Go see if Ella needs help.”
When he’d gone, the only people who remained were Brie’s other three sisters and parents.
Fuck. There was a time and place for conversations like these, and honestly? This wasn’t it. But I could see it in the straight, firm line of Brie’s shoulders, ramrod spine, and clenched jaw that we were hashing this out here and now.
“Sweets,” her dad said softly. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
Still sitting on my lap, she turned to face her parents and sisters. “Of course I’m sure.”
“But are you really?” I asked, unable to stop myself from pressing the issue.
This was a huge decision. Building a house, first and foremost, wasn’t going to be cheap. And second, well…I supposed I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that this was something she wanted to do with me . For me, Hansen, and my dad—because we all knew wherever his grandson went, Papa would follow.
“Stop it,” Brie said, rising to her feet. “All of you just stop .”
The six of us stilled at her words, tone more commanding than I’d ever heard from her before.
“I know you all care about me, and that’s why you’re pressing this issue, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m twenty-five, and I’ve been making my own decisions for a long time. I get that you want to protect me, but…” She glanced down at me, and everything in her softened. “Being with Ezra is the first thing I’ve done right in a long time.” I squeezed her hand, and she faced her family again. “I’m building our forever home on my land, and we’re building the community garden on it as well. End of story.”
Pride surged within me, and it took everything I had not to go full caveman, throw her over my shoulder, and take her somewhere we could be alone.
But that would undermine her authority here, and I wasn’t about to take this moment away from her just because I couldn’t control myself when she was near.
Her family loved her, and I knew they’d get on board eventually, but those moments where they sat still and silent were some of the longest of my life. Brie practically strangled my hand with how hard she gripped it, clearly willing herself not to react further, not to push for a response.
At last, Delia rose from her chair, rounded the table, and pulled her baby sister in for such a tight hug, I heard Brie’s back crack.
“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Delia said when she pulled away.
After that, the rest of the Delatou women and Leon followed suit, and I soon found myself engulfed in a tangle of limbs.
When we broke apart, Brie’s family resumed their seats and chattered about nonsense while I pulled Brie to the side.
“Are you sure about this?”
I earned a glare and a defensive stance as she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Do I need to repeat what I told my family?” she asked.
With a grin, I hauled her against me, settling for the first time in over an hour now that I had her wrapped in my arms. “Of course not,” I said into her hair. “I just wish you would’ve talked to me about this before blurting it out in front of your whole family.”
Brie leaned back so I could see her face, and her mouth turned down into a frown. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
I prodded the corner of her lips until she giggled. “But we’re in this together, honey. You can’t go making life altering decisions without me. What were you planning on doing? Building the house and surprising me with it when it was finished?”
“Well…yeah.”
I chuckled and cupped her cheeks, bending to press a light kiss to her lips. “You’re unbelievable.”
“But you love me.”
“More than anything except Hansen,” I confirmed.
“As it should be.”
“We’ll build the house together,” I said. “We’ll find a contractor and start planning, just as long as you don’t mind my dad being involved?”
“I have forty acres,” she reminded me. “Even carving out some of it for the community garden, we’ll still have plenty of space. I was actually thinking he could build his own place on the property.”
“Like a little in-law suite of sorts?”
“Exactly.”
I sighed, hugging her tightly to my chest, wishing I could meld our bodies together so I could always feel her against me like this, could always have her heart beating in time with mine.
“I’m not sure what I—no, what we did to deserve you, but my god, are we lucky to have you. ”
“Nah.” Lifting her head, she offered her mouth up to me. When I met her halfway, she murmured against my lips, “I’m the lucky one.”