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“Okay, but you gotta start going easier on me, Alex. I’m freaking out.”
“I heard you, and I will. I’m now the captain of team Peydie, or should it be Broton?”
BRODIE
Brodie got into his 918 Porsche Cayman after a productive meeting at San Ysidro Ranch. Their restaurant, the Stone House, was recently named the most romantic in Santa Barbara, and Butler Ranch bottles were heavy on their Wine Spectator award-winning list.
The weather was warmer, so before getting on the highway, Brodie put the top down. He couldn’t wait to see Peyton’s face when he drove up in his lava-orange “baby.” Her beamer was fun to drive, no question, but he wondered how she’d like this one.
He found the playlist he’d made two nights ago, and the music they’d listened to on their See Canyon drive began to play. After checking his phone one last time and not finding any messages from her, he put the car in gear. It was a few minutes after noon, which would put him at Stave by two-thirty or three.
At three on the dot, Brodie pulled up in front of the wine bar and tasting room. There were several people sitting on the patio, and when he looked inside, he saw the tables were full too.
He went in and perused the wine racks, recognizing every label. They were made by people he knew from school, celebrated the crush with, and with whom he shared life’s most important events. Butler Ranch wines sat next to the ones made by the Avila family at their Los Caballeros winery, and to those made by Wolf Family Vintners.
It was hard to believe he and Peyton hadn’t met until this week, since they were so close in age. He knew she’d gone to Mission Classical Academy, not to the high school he and Alex had graduated from, although then, the Butlers weren’t on speaking terms with the Avilas.
Right out of high school, Brodie had left for UC Davis, and once he graduated, he went to work in Napa. He remembered Kade asking him if he knew her. He told him he’d heard of the winery but didn’t know the family. However, now he knew that if he’d seen her first, she wouldn’t have been available when she met Kade.
Alex approached and nudged him. “Hey, booty-man.”
“Give me a break, Alex.” Brodie looked in Peyton’s direction to see if she was paying attention.
“She’s heard it before, Brode.”
He led Alex out to the patio. “How’s she doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Alex. You know what I mean.”
“Did you roll your eyes at me? That’s hysterical. Peyton made me promise to stop doing it when she talks about you.”
“She talks about me?”
“Brodie, Brodie, Brodie. Yes, she’s been talking about you.” Alex’s demeanor went from playful to serious. “Don’t play with her, though, dude. That bastard Lang Becker did a number on her, then Kade goes and gets himself killed. She’s closed up pretty tight, but she likes you, and if you’re not into her as much as I’m afraid she’s into you, you’ll devastate her.”
Brodie surveyed the patio. “I can’t stay away, Alex.”
“This isn’t some f’d up thing with your brother, is it?”
“She’s all I think about. I don’t have a choice about this. I’m obsessed.”
“That doesn’t reassure me.”
“All right, how about this? You’ve got it turned around—I’m more into her than she is into me.”
When Alex left, Brodie looked up and saw Peyton studying him. He smiled and waved. She did the same. He was about to join her when his cell phone vibrated with a call from Maddox.
“Where are you?” his brother asked.
“Stave. Why?”
“Is Alex there?”
“Yep, she’s here.”
“Is it busy?”
