Chapter 2 - GRANDMA’S GUEST LISTThe second car contained Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Warren, and my cousin Lucy.
The third contained Grandma’s younger sister June and June’s husband, Charles.
By the time another SUV appeared at the gate, I was standing beside Mateo with my wine forgotten in my hand.
“What exactly did you do?” I asked Grandma.
She sat comfortably on Bellafonte’s terrace as though she had owned it for forty years.
“Made some phone calls.”
“To half the family?”
“Only the interesting half.”
Aunt Rebecca hugged me tightly.
“Savannah told us you decided not to come.”
I stepped back.
“She said that?”
Rebecca’s face changed.
“She told everyone you were upset because the wedding wasn’t being held at the vineyard where you work.”
Mateo coughed into his fist.
I gave him a warning look.
Rebecca continued.
“She said you had become difficult and didn’t want to attend unless you could bring several friends.”
“I didn’t ask to bring anyone.”
“I figured.”
Grandma tapped her cane against the terrace stone.
“My granddaughter Savannah has developed a complicated relationship with facts.”
“You knew she excluded me?” I asked.
“I knew something was wrong when she called this afternoon asking me to leave the bracelet with the hotel concierge.”
Grandma’s face hardened.
“She didn’t even ask whether I needed transportation.”
That sounded like Savannah.
Our grandmother was eighty-three and wealthy enough to hire any car she wanted, but Savannah viewed money as proof that people did not require care.
Grandma disagreed.
She believed consideration cost nothing.
“Why did everyone leave the rehearsal dinner?” I asked.
Lucy snorted.
“Because it was unbearable.”
“What happened?”
“Savannah seated Grandma near the kitchen because Tyler’s investors needed the better tables.”
I looked at Grandma.
“Seriously?”
She raised one eyebrow.
“Apparently seventy years of family history does not compete with venture capital.”
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“Then Savannah got angry because Grandma wouldn’t hand over the bracelet.”
Grandma opened her handbag.
The velvet jewelry box was still inside.
“I told her it belongs to the family, not to bridal photography.”
I sat beside her.
“Grandma, you didn’t have to leave because of me.”
“I didn’t.”
She patted my knee.
“I left because I’m too old to spend an evening watching people confuse money with character.”
That sentence stayed with me.
Aunt Rebecca glanced around the estate.
“Whose place is this anyway?”
Everyone looked toward me.
I hesitated.
There it was.
The secret.
For three years, I had kept Bellafonte separate from the Pierce family.
My father would have asked about profits.
My mother would have volunteered the estate for charity luncheons.
Savannah would have wanted engagement photographs, bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, and “family rates” for friends I had never met.
My brother Nathan would have wanted investment capital.
Bellafonte had been mine.
Peaceful.
Untouched.
Now Grandma was sitting on my terrace and fifteen relatives were about to spend the night.
I could either lie again or stop hiding.
“Mine,” I said.
Silence.
Rebecca laughed.
Then stopped when I didn’t.
“You’re serious?”
“I bought Bellafonte three years ago.”
Uncle Warren stared toward the vineyards.
“This Bellafonte?”
“There’s another?”
“The Bellafonte that won the Gold Medal last year?”
“Yes.”
Lucy’s mouth fell open.
“You own this place?”
“Yes.”
“How much is it worth?”
Grandma shot her a look.
Lucy immediately corrected herself.
“Sorry. That was rude.”
“About four million.”
The terrace exploded.
I answered questions for ten straight minutes.
Yes, the winery was profitable.
No, I had not inherited it.
Yes, I had investors originally.
No, my parents didn’t know.
Finally Rebecca asked the obvious question.
“Why keep it secret?”
I looked across the valley.
“Because I wanted to know who loved me before they knew what I had.”
Grandma’s expression softened.
Everyone else became quiet.
That silence told me they understood more than they wanted to admit.
My phone rang.
Dad.
Then stopped.
Then immediately rang again.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Where is your grandmother?”
No greeting.
No concern.
“She’s with me.”
“At your apartment?”
“No.”
“Savannah is hysterical.”
“That sounds difficult.”
“Don’t be smart with me, Eleanor. Tomorrow is your sister’s wedding.”
“I’m aware.”
“You need to bring Margaret back.”
“Grandma decides where Grandma goes.”
In the background, I heard Savannah shouting.
“Give me the phone!”
A second later her voice exploded against my ear.
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
“You manipulated Grandma into leaving.”
“She called me.”
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“I went to your cottage. You aren’t there.”
Of course she had.
Probably looking for the bracelet.
“Then I suppose you should return to your wedding.”
“You have Grandma’s bracelet.”
“Grandma has Grandma’s bracelet.”
“That bracelet is supposed to be mine tomorrow!”
“No. Grandma said you could borrow it.”
Savannah became silent.
There is a particular kind of silence entitled people make when reality refuses to cooperate.
Then she said, “Put Grandma on.”
I handed over the phone.
Grandma took it.
“Yes?”
I could faintly hear Savannah speaking rapidly.
Grandma listened.
“No.”
More talking.
“No.”
More.
“Savannah, if your wedding collapses because an eighty-three-year-old woman does not attend your rehearsal dinner, perhaps the problem is not the elderly woman.”
I covered my mouth.
Mateo turned away, shoulders shaking.
Grandma continued.
“I will attend the ceremony tomorrow if I feel welcome. I will not participate in your weekend events tonight.”
Another pause.
“No, you may not have the bracelet.”
Longer pause.
“Because it is mine.”
Grandma ended the call.
I stared at her.
“You’re terrifying.”
“I spent forty-nine years married to your grandfather. Practice.”
The atmosphere lightened.
Mateo began arranging rooms.
Our chef, Lucia, announced she could produce dinner for twenty with two hours’ notice.
Someone opened another bottle of wine.
Music drifted across the terrace.
For the first time all day, I felt happy.
Then Lucy approached me quietly.
“There’s something else.”
The seriousness in her face made my smile disappear.
“What?”
“At the rehearsal dinner, I overheard Tyler’s father talking to your dad.”
Tyler Grant was Savannah’s fiancé.
His family owned a struggling hospitality development company.
They projected wealth beautifully.
Whether they possessed it was another matter.
“What were they saying?”
“They mentioned Bellafonte.”
My body went still.
“Bellafonte?”
Lucy nodded.
“They were talking about buying it.”
“That isn’t unusual. I’ve had offers.”
“No.”
She glanced toward the others.
“They said the owner was desperate to sell.”
I almost laughed.
“I’m not.”
“That’s why I thought it was weird.”
“How desperate?”
Lucy swallowed.
“They were telling investors the vineyard would become part of Grant Hospitality after the wedding.”
My amusement disappeared.
“Did they name Bellafonte specifically?”
“Yes.”
A cold pressure developed behind my ribs.
I walked inside and opened my laptop.
There had been several acquisition offers during the previous six months.
I had declined all of them through my attorney.
One had come from an LLC called Westbrook Leisure Holdings.
I had never investigated the company.
Now I did.
It took only twelve minutes.
Westbrook Leisure Holdings had been formed by a corporate attorney whose biggest client was Grant Hospitality Group.
Tyler’s family.
I sat back slowly.
Grandma appeared behind me.
“What is it?”
I turned the laptop.
“My future brother-in-law’s family has been trying to buy my vineyard.”
“Do they know you own it?”
“I don’t think so.”
Grandma looked toward the window.
Outside, everyone was laughing.
Then she looked back at me.
“What happens if they find out?”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Savannah.
You need to stop being selfish and come fix what you ruined. Tyler’s family is already furious.
Another message appeared.
Tomorrow changes everything for us. You have no idea how much depends on this wedding.
I read it twice.
Then opened the acquisition files again.
Something didn’t feel right.
May you like
This was no longer about a guest list.
And I had a feeling the people trying to buy Bellafonte were about to discover that the sister they had dismissed as an event coordinator held their biggest deal in her hands.
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