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Wanted A Real Family(29)

By:Karen Rose Smith


“I won’t confirm or deny. That way, you don’t really know for sure.”

Obviously she wasn’t the only one with a trust issue.

“Do you think we should call the kids before we get dressed?” Sara asked.

Marissa pulled a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator. “Of course we should. We won’t have any peace of mind unless we do. We’re moms.”

An hour and a half later, Sara and Marissa walked up the front steps of Raintree Winery’s main house. Sara didn’t feel like herself at all. Yes, she’d gone to cocktail parties with Conrad. But for the past two years, parties hadn’t been part of her life. And she’d never been to such an elaborate one as this.

As the butler opened the door and motioned her and Marissa inside, Sara felt out of place in the house’s grandeur. The foyer was as big as the living room and kitchen at the cottage, with a beautiful Carrara marble floor, thick wooden arches and beautiful crown molding.

“Wow,” she said under her breath.

“I second that,” Marissa agreed.

The butler motioned them into the dining room, explaining that beyond was the living room where many of the guests were gathered. They should make themselves comfortable.

“Is Jase going to meet you here?” Marissa asked her.

“Oh, no. I mean, this isn’t a date or anything. He just invited me to come.”

“Once he sees you in that dress, I think he’ll want to spend some time with you.”

“My dress won’t sway the way he thinks, one way or another. He’s not that kind of man.”

“Believe me, Sara, if he’s attracted to you—and I think he is—that dress is going to ratchet up his attraction. So be prepared.”

“For what?”

“To have a great time tonight.”

“Are you going to desert me?”

“Not exactly. But part of my job is to mingle with the clients, strike up conversations, find out what they like about our wines as well as what they don’t. Jase wants me to discover some of that tonight. As general manager, he has to keep on top of it, and talking with the guests invited to this party is the best way to do it.”

Marissa patted Sara’s arm. “Go on, mingle. I’ll be all over the place. You’ll find me.”

Sara felt completely out of her element, mainly because she’d forgotten how to make small talk at a cocktail party. But maybe like other remembered skills, that one would return when she needed it.

Although the house was big and luxurious, the furnishings called to her. There was an oil painting of the Sierras on one wall. She studied it for a while, wondering if any of Jase’s photographs decorated any other walls. In another corner sat an unusual club chair, the fabric printed with photographs of Raintree Winery.

“Distinctive, isn’t it?” a tall, blond man with a wineglass in his hand asked her, his gaze roaming over her as if he was trying to figure out who she was.

“Yes, it is. I was wondering if Jase might have taken the photographs.” There was a perspective about the photos that reminded her of some of his pictures.

“You have a good eye, or else you’ve seen a lot of Jase’s work. You a friend of his?”

She automatically extended her hand. “I’m Sara Stevens. My daughter and I are staying in the cottage.”

“So you’re Sara. I finally meet the single mom who escaped the fire. Quite heroic, rescuing your daughter like that.”

“Not really. Just something a mother does.”

As he shook her hand, his thumb pressed almost intimately along her palm and she quickly pulled her hand away.

But he just smiled a charming smile and introduced himself. “I’m Liam Corbett, chief winemaker. I’ve seen your car come and go, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you.”

She relaxed a little, now that she knew who he was. What she’d thought had been a come-on might simply have been Liam being friendly. “You create award-winning wines.”

“I try. I was around the block before I came here. Just couldn’t find the quite-right grapes, soil, temperature. But Raintree has it all.”

In his mid-forties, with his blond good looks, tanned skin and green eyes, Liam could be a lady-killer.

“So your little girl is four?” he asked with a cock of his head and another smile that was meant to disarm her.

She knew that, but his warmth and charm were inviting at a party in the midst of strangers. “Yes, she is. And she’s my life.” She found herself admitting, “I haven’t attended a party like this for a long while.”

“Well, then, you have to make the most of the night you have. Come on, let me introduce you to some people.”