Ignite (Cloverleigh Farms #6)(7)

“Well, this is an all-new Winifred talking. And I am perfectly capable of not falling in love—not even with my hot new firefighter neighbor.” But apparently, I wasn’t capable of minding my own business, so I decided to go check and see if the mail had come yet.

I opened the front door, peeked into my mailbox for half a second, then looked toward the parking lot. He was standing next to the truck, looking at his phone.

And that’s when I saw two little girls jump out of a minivan and run toward him. “Daddy!”

I smiled triumphantly. “Guess what?” I whispered. “He’s not single, so it doesn’t matter. His wife just arrived with their two kids—actually, make it four kids.” I watched a dark-haired woman get out of the car, and retrieve a toddler and a baby in a carseat.

“Four kids?”

“Yep. Two girls, a boy, and a baby.” Relieved, I grabbed the mail and went back inside. “Crisis averted.”

Ellie sighed. “Damn. I really want you to owe me the thing.”

“Never gonna happen.” But at least now I could introduce myself and make friends with the new neighbors. As easily as I fell in love, I did not go for married men. To console myself, I took another spoonful of Frosty, then put it back in the fridge. “Are you still coming with me tonight?”

“Yes. In fact, that’s why I called. What’s the dress code?” Ellie was my date for my cousin Chip’s engagement party.

“I’d say cocktail casual,” I said, heading back upstairs. “I’m sure there will be people in jeans there, but also some dressed up.”

“What are you wearing?”

I reached my bedroom and opened my closet door. “I’m thinking dark flared jeans, halter top, heels.”

“Which top? The stripes?” Ellie and I knew all each other’s favorite outfits.

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll go that direction too. What time should I pick you up?”

“The party starts at seven,” I said. “So maybe like quarter to?”

“Okay. What are you doing the rest of today?”

“Not much. I have some errands to run, but other than that, just painting my nails and stalking the nice people next door.” Unable to resist another peek, I went over to my bedroom window and looked out again—the two little girls I’d seen were running up and down the truck ramp. “Maybe I’ll pick something up at Plum & Honey while I’m downtown and take it over there. I bet those kids would like my mom’s cupcakes.”

“Good idea.”

“What about you?”

“We started the harvest this morning, but I had to come in and clean up because Mia asked if I could handle a meeting with a prospective wedding couple this afternoon—which I really don’t want to do because that is not my job.”

I smiled. Ellie always referred to her mother by her first name, and it drove her crazy. “But that’s so fun, getting to make someone’s wishes come true. Making their dream a reality.”

“It’s not my idea of fun. Brides are insane. Even perfectly normal women lose their minds once that ring is on their finger. I’m never getting married.”

“You just like butting heads with your mother.”

“I can’t help it. She keeps asking me what my life plan is.”

I sighed. “Your mom always did love a plan.”

“And I keep telling her, my plan is for them to fire the perfectly great head winemaker they’ve had at Abelard for fifteen years and promote me, because I’m twenty-two and I know everything.”

“Solid strategy.”

“Actually, I think she’s just wondering when I’ll stop taking up one of their guest rooms and move out. I keep telling them if they want me to be able to afford rent somewhere they should pay me more.”

Ellie had recently moved back home after spending practically our entire senior year in the south of France, doing an internship at a vineyard her dad’s family owned. She spoke fluent French, because her dad had been born there and he spoke nothing but French to her and her brothers growing up. Now she lived and worked at Abelard Vineyards, her parents’ winery, which was on Old Mission Peninsula, only about twenty minutes away.

“Ell, you can totally afford a place around here,” I told her. “It just won’t be as fancy as those guest rooms at Abelard.”

“Listen, as I’ve explained to Mia and Lucas, I need to be able to live in the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed. It’s their fault for accustoming me to it, right?”

I laughed. “I’m not sure that’s how it works.” Downstairs, I heard someone knocking on my front door. “Hey, I have to go. Someone’s at my door.”

“Okay. See you tonight.”





Three





Winnie





Ending the call, I hurried down the steps, wondering if it was one of my new neighbors. A mirror hung on the wall near the front door, and I glanced at it.

My dirty blond hair, which I had not brushed yet today, was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail. I wore no makeup, and while I’d changed out of my pajamas earlier, the outfit I wore—ripped denim shorts and a cropped white top—wasn’t what I’d have chosen to make a good first impression. The bottoms of the shorts were all shredded and the shirt had a coffee stain on the front. I was barefoot too.