And then she took them both right over the edge. He slid his hand into her hair and brought her lips to his, kissing her deeply while he rocketed through a powerful climax, taking in her cries of orgasm along with his until he had nothing left.

  In the darkened bedroom, there was just her breathing and his and the feel of her heart beating against his chest. He smoothed his hands down her back, content to just feel her skin.

  They fell asleep like that, waking—hell, he had no idea how much later. Bettie’s whines let him know she wanted to go out, so he rolled Honor to the side and got up, disposed of the condom and went into the kitchen to let the dog out, then picked up the glass of water he’d left hours earlier and emptied it in a few quick gulps.

  Honor came out, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the kitchen light. “How long were we asleep?”

  He picked up his phone. “A couple of hours.”

  “I guess sun and sex will do that.” She came over and laid her head against his shoulder.

  He put his arm around her. “I guess so. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  “I’ll get dressed and make us something to eat.”

  She tilted her head back. “Or, we could go out.”

  “We could, couldn’t we?”

  “I’ll go get dressed. How do you feel about pizza?”

  “I feel very good about pizza.”

  She offered up a lazy smile and disappeared into the bedroom.

  It had been a damn fine day, he thought as he let Bettie back inside, then fed her. Yeah, kind of a perfect day. And it was only looking up from here.

  He went into the bedroom to get dressed.

  CHAPTER

  twenty-nine

  HONOR WENT INTO this morning’s meeting feeling more serene and relaxed than she had in a long time. Spending the day—and the night—with Owen likely had a lot to do with her state of mind.

  She’d had fun, great sex, and it had felt so good to be out with Owen—actually out in public with him. And with her sister, no less. She couldn’t thank Brenna enough for being by her side.

  Nothing was going to ruin her happy buzz today.

  She had already set up at the table, along with Brenna, Mae and Erin. Mom was on the phone so they were just waiting for her. It was quiet since Erin still wasn’t speaking to her, but she refused to feel uncomfortable about it.

  Mom finally came in. “Sorry. That call took longer than expected.”

  “No problem, Mom,” Erin said.

  Her mother looked them over. “You three got some sun.”

  Brenna grinned. “We took the boat out yesterday. Weather was perfect.”

  “I suppose Owen went with you,” Erin said, looking directly at Honor.

  “He did.” She wasn’t about to tell Erin how much fun they had and dig the knife in any deeper.

  “And I don’t remember getting an invitation to this outing.”

  And there went her happy buzz.

  Brenna let out a short laugh. “Because you and Honor are besties right now, right, Erin? That would have been so fun. Or maybe you were just looking for an opportunity to toss our sister off the boat.”

  “Enough,” Mom said. “Let’s start the meeting.”

  Honor breathed a sigh of relief that they could turn their attention on anything but her. They had a full agenda of items including new wedding reservations, this weekend’s weddings, and winery business, along with financials, so it took a while to get through everything.

  “One last thing,” Mom said. “I’ve had a couple of phone calls about something that I think could be an interesting business opportunity for us.”

  “What would that be, Mom?” Brenna asked.

  “There’s an entertainment company out of L.A. that is interested in coming out to look at the wedding venue and vineyards to possibly film a movie here. Or at least part of their movie.”

  “What?” Honor asked. “Why here?”

  “They looked us up online and liked what they saw, and I guess they sent some scouts out to tour the vineyard and the wedding venue and really liked it.”

  “I don’t recall having a movie company out here touring,” Erin said.

  “Neither do I,” Honor said.

  “They probably did it posing as a couple interested in a wedding or something,” Brenna said. “That way we wouldn’t be keyed in to the whole movie idea in case the location didn’t interest them.”

  “Huh.” Brenna had a point.

  “Anyway,” Mom said, “they want to do some further research and send another team, but they’re extremely interested.”

  Honor frowned. “What would that mean for our business? Film crews take up a lot of time and space and we can’t cancel weddings we’ve already scheduled.”

  “I explained that to them. They’re willing to work around the weekend weddings and film only during the week.”

  “And what about the grapes?” Brenna asked. “They do realize they can’t be stomping through our vineyards with their cameras and equipment, right?”

  Mom gave Brenna a look. “Of course not, and I told them that as well.”

  “How’s the money?” Erin asked. “Is this something that’s potentially profitable for us?”

  Mom named the figure that was quoted to her. “Not a final number, but one that was discussed.”

  Honor blinked. “Damn.”

  “Wow,” Brenna said.

  “I definitely like that number,” Erin said.

  Mae just smiled. “That would be good for the business. Plus, the marketing and promotional opportunities alone could be outstanding.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” their mother said. “But you’re right, Mae.”

  “I just don’t know,” Honor said. “What about the disruption to our wedding planning, to prospective couples who want to come and tour the venue? The possibility of revenue loss there could be big. You know we book tours for our brides and grooms during the week. How long of a shoot are we talking about?”

  “They weren’t firm, but they said approximately six weeks to two months.”

  Her eyes widened. “Two months? Absolutely not. We can’t shut down bridal visits for that long.”

  “I’m sure we could make other arrangements,” Erin said. “Figure out a schedule. They can’t possibly film all day and night. So whenever they’re not filming, we can bring in prospective couples for tours.”

  “Oh, right. Like they know they’re going to film from six a.m. to three p.m. on a Tuesday. Come on, Erin. You have to know moviemaking doesn’t work that way.”

  Erin lifted her chin. “And you’re suddenly the expert?”

  “I didn’t say I was an expert, only that I’ve seen how they make movies and I don’t think it’s on a set schedule.”

  “I believe Honor might be right about that,” Mae said. “It could be troublesome.”

  “Oh, you would take her side.”

  “Hey,” Brenna said. “No one’s taking sides. We’re talking through a potential business opportunity, and it’s just too damn bad that not everyone agrees with you.”

  “Do you?” Erin asked.

  Brenna paused for a few seconds. “I’m undecided right now.”

  Erin flung her hands up. “You’d do anything not to agree with me, because you’re on Honor’s side in all things, just like Mae.”

  “All right, I’ve had just about enough of this.” Mom stood and she didn’t look happy. “You have personal issues, and that’s fine. But when we’re in business mode, the personal issues stay outside. Is that understood?”

  Erin gave them a smug look.

  “That includes you as well, Erin,” Mom said. “All of you.”

  Erin’s smug look disappeared in a hurry. “I got it, Mom.”

  “Now if we could get back to the business at hand without hurling insults, I’d really appreciate it because I have a business to run. As, I assume, the rest of you do, too.”

  Feeling properly chastised, Honor nodded. “Taking notes as we speak.”

  They discussed pros and cons, and after they hashed it out, Mom got up.

  “We won’t make a final decision until we talk it over with your father, but we do have to let the production company know soon, so we’ll pick this up again at our next meeting.”

  Mom left the room. Erin started to get up.

  “Before you go,” Brenna said. “I have something I want to discuss with all of you.”

  Erin paused.

  “It’s about Mom.”

  Erin sat.

  “You know her birthday is next week. She always likes to downplay it, but I was thinking it might be nice to do a little surprise party for her.”

  “That would be fun,” Honor said.

  “She does love surprises,” Erin said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “We have the Parker/Sanchez wedding Saturday afternoon, and that should end by five. That would give us plenty of time after cleanup to decorate the barn and set up for a nice dinner party.”

  Honor liked that idea. “I can get in touch with one of our cake vendors who I know can make us an awesome birthday cake. And we’ll need flowers, so I’ll get a florist I know can deliver.”

  “Or we could just use the wedding decor from that day,” Erin suggested. “And then all we’d need is flowers for the tables.”

  “Oh.” Honor hadn’t considered that. “That’s a good idea.”

  “You don’t think leftover decor would be tacky?” Brenna asked.

  “Hmm.” Honor considered that. “Maybe? What do you think, Erin?”

  “I think Mom will be so surprised and happy, she won’t even notice the rest.”

  “You’re probably right,” Honor said. “I’ll still order some new ones for the table settings.”

  Erin nodded. “And I’ll send out e-vites to their close friends, say it’s a surprise, and see who can make it.”

  “I’ll take care of catering,” Brenna said. “And the wine, of course.”

  “But what about keeping it a surprise?” Erin asked.

  “I already talked to Dad about that,” Brenna said. “He’s agreed to keep Mom off the premises while we get the barn set up and during the time the guests arrive.”

  “Then I think we’re set,” Erin said. She opened her notepad and started jotting down the things they’d discussed.

  “Project Birthday is on,” Brenna said, sporting a sly smile.

  Even Erin offered a small smile, which Honor took as a positive sign.

  Honor was so on board with this. And even better, the tension between Erin and her had lightened up somewhat. They hadn’t actually resolved anything, but at least Erin was maybe starting to come around.

  Baby steps, right?

  This weekend’s party was going to be amazing.

  CHAPTER

  thirty

  OWEN WAS UP to his elbows in beer science. He’d had a few ideas and was working out the flavors. Dunk and Disorderly was coming along well, with a sweet, donutlike tinge to the ale. That one was a definite go. The Lime and the Coconut was going to take a little more refining. Or maybe he’d toss it entirely, because he had a few other ideas to play with.

  The most fun thing about the brewery was coming up with new beer flavors. It was the thing he loved most about his job. Beer had been his passion ever since his first visit to a craft brewery, and all he could think about from then on was starting his own. After college he’d sat down and plotted out his plan, and then put everything he had into making The Screaming Hawk a reality. He’d been lucky to find a great location and awesome people to work with, and they had an outstanding group of regulars who seemed to love his beer. So far, so good. But the one constant in this business was reinvention, and that was the part he loved the most. Creating new beer flavors was flat-out fun.

  His phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled when he saw Honor’s name.

  Are you busy? Her text read.

  He typed a response: Playing mad scientist with beer. You?

  She replied with: I’m parked outside.

  His stomach knotted up knowing she was there. Was this a bad or a good thing? Hopefully good. He opened the door and saw her car in the parking lot. She got out just as he made his way to her car. That knot in his stomach dissolved when he saw her smiling.

  “Hey,” he said, pulling her into his arms to kiss her.

  “Mmm.” She licked her lips. “That’s a nice greeting. I didn’t mean to disturb you, but I had to pick up some things from one of our suppliers nearby, so I thought I’d drop in and see if you were busy. Mad scientist, huh?”

  “New beer flavors.” He wrapped his arm around her and walked her inside where it was cooler. “Want something to drink?”

  “I’ll take an ice water.”

  He fixed her a glass of ice water, handing it over to her, then made another one for himself. “Busy running errands today, huh?”

  “Yes. But I also had an ulterior motive for stopping by.”

  “Yeah?” He leaned against the bar. “What’s that?”

  “We’re doing a small surprise birthday party for my mom Saturday night. I know you probably can’t come since you’re working here, but you’re invited.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Your mom has been great to me. I’d really like to be there. Provided some of the family members won’t freak out about me attending.”

  “They won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”

  He hoped that was true. “Then I’ll do my best to show up.”

  “Okay. I’ll text you the details.”

  “You wanna hang out for a while?” He moved in close to her, breathing in her citrusy scent.

  She laid her palm against his chest. “I wish I could, but I can’t. I have a few more errands to run. And you have to go do . . . sciency beer things.”

  “It sounds so sexy when you say it.”

  “Because it is. Because you are. Look at what you do here.”

  “It’s just beer, babe.”

  “Oh, it’s so much more than that. You have a talent for designing flavor profiles that your customers love. That’s an art, Owen.”

  He’d never considered it an art, just something he loved doing. But seeing that glow of appreciation in Honor’s eyes? That meant something to him.

  He walked her out to her car, pulled her into his arms and kissed her again, briefly, because if he gave her the long, deep kiss he wanted to give her, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.

  He opened her car door. “You should leave, because I like the way you look, love the way your skin smells, and your mouth makes me crazy.”

  “You can’t talk to me with sweet words like that and expect me to walk away.” She gaped at him for a long beat, and he wondered if she was going to grab him by the hand and walk him inside. “Dammit. Why is my schedule so full today? I have to go.”

  He grinned. “Sorry.”

  “Me, too.” She gave him a quick kiss, a regretful look, and got into her car.

  He watched her drive away, then turned and went back inside, counting down the days and hours until he could see her again.

  CHAPTER

  thirty-one

  TRYING TO KEEP a secret from Mom was one of the hardest things ever. Since their mother was in charge of the overall running of the Red Moss Vineyards and Bellini Weddings, both financial and operational, she had her finger on the pulse of, well, everything. Which meant that putting on this surprise birthday party required all three sisters to do the wild dance of hide-the-party. It also meant lying. Honor was getting very good at that, unfortunately.

  Thankfully, they’d enlisted Dad’s help, so he’d kept Mom distracted during this afternoon’s wedding festivities, and, more importantly, right after. Between Honor’s sisters and Dad, she was certain the secret was well kept.

  Dad had taken Mom out for a ride down by the lake, which was one of her favorite things to do. At first she’d objected, saying she needed to help with the wedding cleanup, but he’d insisted, and since they were still in that second-honeymoon phase it didn’t take much to convince her to agree.

  Huge relief. Once the wedding guests left, and the cleaning crew finished up, the sisters, along with Mae, swooped in to set up for the birthday party. They got the barn decorated in record time with purple and white tablecloths—Mom’s favorite colors. Honor put out the flowers she’d hidden away that had been delivered earlier.

  The caterers arrived to set up the food, and they put the cake on a round table. They’d left the beautiful twinkle lights up from the wedding earlier, because their mom loved those, and they’d be gorgeous at night.

  Honor stood at the entrance to the barn and looked out over all the tables.

  “Stunning, right?”

  She looked over at Erin, who’d just come in. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”

  Honor was happy to be able to have a conversation with Erin, even if lately they’d been short ones. And Erin wasn’t exactly all hugs and warmth, but at least they could stand close to each other without Honor feeling waves of animosity pouring off her sister.

  Progress.

  “Mom’s going to be so shocked,” Brenna said, coming up to stand on Honor’s other side.

  “I really hoped we nailed the surprise,” Honor said.

  “No way she knows.” Erin stepped out and they all pulled the barn doors closed. “Now I need a drink.”

  “I could go for a drink,” Mae said.

  “Me, too,” Brenna said. “Let’s go grab one at the house since we have people to greet our guests.”

  They made their way to the house and fixed glasses of lemonade since Erin wasn’t drinking wine.

  “Dad said he’d come in around the back when they got home so Mom wouldn’t see all the cars in the parking lot.”