Love in the Vineyard (Tavonesi #7)(37)

Tyler whooped as if she’d just told him he was playing in the World Series.

“But remember, we still have to keep to our rules. No one gets our address. No one. Not even when we move into our new place.”

“Not even Brandon?”

Especially not Brandon. His mother was the biggest gossip in the school PTA. A rich mom with nothing else to do but hawk everybody’s business. Discovering Tyler and Natasha’s hard luck would be a fine kernel of gossip indeed.

“No one, honey.”

“Got it. Can I use your phone to call Brandon and tell him about the batting cage?”

She nodded. She’d been impulsive again.

No, she was doting. She was the worst sort of doting mother. And damn proud of it.





Chapter Twelve



NATASHA SURE LEFT IN A HURRY,” COCO SAID as she tossed one of the baseballs in the air. “Didn’t you invite them to lunch?”

Adrian eyed his wily sister. “How do you know her name?”

“What do you mean? You’ve talked about her.”

“I didn’t even know her name until the night of the ballet.” He grabbed the ball out of the air on the next toss. “That date for the ballet was a colossally bad idea, by the way. You should have gone and I should’ve done something a whole lot more low-key. People could have fawned all over you. It was embarrassing for me and uncomfortable for Natasha. She must think I have an ego the size of LA.”

“No one could ever consider you a snob.”

“Coco, spill. How did you know her name?”

“She lives at Inspire—the homeless shelter I’m crafting the fundraising calendar for. But you have to keep that confidential. I shouldn’t have told you. I only know all this because I’m on the board of directors.”

“You mean she lives there like a sort of chaperone?”

“As a guest.”

“Define guest.”

“She was homeless.”

“But she has a son.”

“Adrian, did it ever occur to you that homeless women have sons? Daughters?” Coco planted her feet and fisted her hands to her hips. “Maybe now you’ll help me with my calendar. They need money for the Work in the World program. That’s the program that landed Natasha at Casa del Sole.”

“You hired her?”

“Goodness no. I just told Mary—Mary’s the director of Inspire—what sort of person we were looking for. I had no idea at the time that you’d be dating Natasha. Besides, once you did start seeing her, all Zoe and I knew was that you were dating some mystery woman. If you recall, you didn’t share much information.”

“I didn’t have much information.”

“But we knew from what you told us that you were falling for the woman you were seeing. And when Mary mentioned to me that Natasha had gone out hiking on the very same mountain you told me you’d been to, I put it together. I invited her and Tyler here today. I popped by the bake sale the boys were having and gave them an invitation.”

He kissed her. “For that, you get my undying love.”

“I thought I already had that. What I want is for you to help me with my calendar.”

“I can’t believe you’re negotiating at a time like this.” He kicked at a rock in the path leading up to Trovare Castle. “There shouldn’t be homeless women with children. There shouldn’t be homeless people at all. It’s crazy. Especially in a place like this. In a country as wealthy as this.”

Coco put her arm around his waist. “You know why I love you?”

He shook his head, still steaming that he’d been so clueless about Natasha and the facts of her life.

“Because you think the world should be a better place than it is. Because you do the work to make it a better place, Adrian.”

“Are you sure you weren’t left on Mama’s doorstep by an alien? You’re way too young to be so darned wise.” He paced a circle at the foot of the Trovare drawbridge. “None of this changes how I feel about Natasha.”

“I think you might have a hard time convincing her of that.”

“You know where she lives.”

“Inspire is off limits, Adrian. House rules. No visitors and no exposure. Some of the women are on the run from very nasty men.”

“I invited her to Ryan’s place tomorrow. Well, I invited her son to Ryan’s.”

Coco raised a brow. “You baited her boy?”

“I just told him about the batting cage. And the donkeys. And the boogie boarding Alex told me was nearby. What’s a boogie board, by the way?”

Coco ignored his question. “She isn’t going to like that.”

“I’ll apologize. I need to talk to her and I don’t feel right doing it at the vineyard. And since you won’t tell me where this Inspire place is, apparently it’s a good thing I invited them.”

“There are laws in this country about harassing employees.”

“For God’s sake, this is not harassment.”

“Only if she feels the same about you as you do her. You need to make sure she feels the same.”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

“Can I offer you some sisterly advice?”