Maybe she’d get a bigger termination bonus than her contract stipulated.
Christine hadn’t thought she’d grow so attached to the winery, the town, or the man who’d brought her here, in so short a time. Leaving would be harder than the last time. In fact, every position she left was harder to leave than the last. She wanted to set down roots. She wanted the chance to extend herself and grow.
Cami’s bitter words came back to her: Your family isn’t known for its loyalty.
Was that who she’d become? A fair-weather winemaker? Moving on at the first sign of trouble like her dad, rather than sticking through the challenging times like her mom?
Her phone buzzed again: I understand.
Christine sighed and texted back: Busy. Wait.
Did she want to have dinner with Slade and the girls again?
Nana would speculate.
Heck, Christine would speculate. And what about the deal they’d made to respect each other’s boundaries?
Boss-boss-boss. How hard could it be to remember Slade was her boss?
Pretty hard when she considered that gentle kiss on her forehead this afternoon, adding it to her memories, right next to the one of their first kiss.
She could take Nana along. Her grandmother was good with children. It probably helped that she was their size and had such an easygoing temperament.
She’d go if it was a working dinner. Was there any reason to call this a working dinner? She could take a couple of pictures of the new equipment with her phone and show them to Slade. She’d received new templates to review for the website. He hadn’t seen any of them. And the problem of how to harvest the grapes without a crew remained.
Mentally, she could handle a business dinner. Emotionally, she wasn’t so sure.
Her phone rang.
Her grandmother rarely raised her voice, but she practically shouted in her ear, “Why didn’t you tell me Slade proposed?”
“What?”
Nana bulldozed right over her. “My friend Rose is always harping on about how Emma is marrying a millionaire. Well, now I can shove that right back at her. You should have told me first thing.”
“He didn’t—”
“What kind of ring did he get you? Emma’s sporting a beautiful three-carat diamond surrounded by pink sapphires. But I’d like to see something bigger on your finger. You’ve got the taller body to carry off some bling.”
“Nana!” Christine cut in when her grandmother took a breath. “We aren’t getting married! Where did you hear this?”
“Everyone’s talking about it. Mildred just called me.” Nana’s voice reflected her disappointment. “You mean you’re not getting married to Slade?”
“No!”
“Could you consider it? Otherwise, I’m going to have to call Rose back with the news.”
“Call Rose!” Christine hung up on her.
Her phone buzzed again.