If I Were You(81)

I glance at Chris and he smirks. “Name the year and I’ll gladly pay the price.”

“I’m not the one who’s lacking in a confessional,” I remind him. “Maybe we need to get you a case of beer.”

“Not in the Chateau you won’t,” Katie assures us.

Chris leans close. “It’s going to take a whole lot more than a case of beer.”

Yes, I think. It will. I’ve opened up to him, but he hasn’t to me, but I am here, with what amounts to his only family, and again I think — it matters. I don’t allow myself to think about how I’ve gone from an escape to looking for things of consequence or where that may be leading me.

Time becomes inconsequential as I taste wine after wine, nibble cheese, and listen to Mike and Katie tell me stories about how they got started. It only marginally surprises me to learn they met his father through the big Paris 1976 tasting that put them, and Napa Valley, on the wine map.

“Chris’s parents traveled with us for moral support,” Katie explains. “Danielle - Chris’s mother — she was like a guardian angel. I swear that woman had a way of making a person smile, even the Paris locals who didn’t want us Americans in the competition couldn’t resist her charm.”

It’s hard to gauge Chris’s response to Katie’s memories of his mother with him beside me, but I wish I could. Too soon, more wine samples arrive and the conversation shifts. My window into Chris’s family life has, at least for the time being, closed.

With each wine we taste, I listen to stories about how Katie and Mike crafted the flavors down to the soil, the climate and processing. They sprinkle stories of the rich and famous who have visited the Chateau, and acquired each variety.

“Chris is always our number one star, though,” Katie declares.

Chris snorts and sips from his glass. “I’m just-”

“A famous artist,” I finish for him and kiss his cheek.

He runs his hand down my hair and kisses my forehead. “Me,” he says, staring down at me. “I’m just me.”

I smile, feeling the effects of quite a lot of wine. “ Hmmm. Yes. Just you.”

He arches a brow. “What does that mean?”

A waiter approaches, and Katie and Mike chat with him. I lower my voice. “I like ‘just you’.”

Chris’s eyes darken. “Do you now?”

My lips curve. “Yes.”

“He’s just like his mother,” Katie comments, drawing us back into the conversation and we turn to acknowledge her as she adds, “Humble pie, that woman. You’d never know she was an heiress to an empire any more than you’d know Chris is an acclaimed artist.”

“And his father was an arrogant ass,” Mike grumbles, “but I loved the guy.” He pushes to his feet. “Son, that reminds me. I want to give you something before I forget.”

I glance up at Chris, searching his face for a reaction to the comment about his father. He responds to my unspoken question. “He was an arrogant ass, baby.” He strokes my cheek. “Behave. I’ll be back.”

“Of course,” I assure him. “I’ll only be asking Katie to share all your deep, dark secrets.”

His expression tightens. “And she won’t have the answers.”

“Oh, I might have a few tidbits to share,” Katie pipes in playfully.

Chris does not look pleased but he pushes to his feet anyway, and slides into a good-natured grumble to match Mike’s of, “Women,” before he saunters away with his Godfather.

Katie rests her elbow on the table, chin on her palm. “You’re good for him.”

“I…am?”

“Yes. You are. The boy is so damn guarded that it’s worried me, but he’s different with you. Relaxed. It does my heart good to see someone finally breaking through to him. He had a hard time growing up, but I’m sure you know that.”

This little jewel of information has me eager for more. I open my mouth to ask more detail but Allison rushes forward and whispers into Katie’s ear. “Oh dear. Sara dear, I have a problem I need to attend. I’ll be back soon.”

Disappointment fills me. Katie is the only person I may ever know who can share Chris’s secrets, besides Mike, and I don’t see that happening. Suddenly, I’m alone with a tray of cheese and fruit and several glasses of wine. Fifteen minutes later, I’ve emptied the glasses and I know it was a mistake. My head is spinning and I quickly nibble cheeses because, apparently drinking makes me want to eat and calories are of no consequence. In fact, I’m pretty sure wine cancels out calories right about now.