Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
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.
Whoever it was knocked again.
Oh, well—I tightened my ponytail and opened the door. Then I smiled, because through the screen, I saw the two little girls from earlier standing side by side on my porch.
“Well, hi there,” I said, opening the screen door.
“Hi,” said the taller one. She had dark hair pulled back into two pigtails—one was considerably higher than the other one—and beautiful brown eyes. It was sweet the way she held her little sister’s hand. “We live next door now, and we wondered if you had any Hello Kitty Band-Aids.”
“I have a strawberry.” The younger one—whose frizzy blond curls framed a round Kewpie doll face—popped up one knee. “See?”
Leaning over, I examined the red mark. “Oh, no! How did you get that?”
“I was running in the parking lot,” she said, like she was ashamed. “And then my dad gave me a Band-Aid, but I lost it.”
“It wasn’t a Hello Kitty one,” the dark-haired sister clarified. “It was plain brown.”
“Well, I’m not sure I have any Hello Kitty bandages, but I’m sure I can find something.” I glanced behind them, but I didn’t see any adults, and the truck had been moved to the far side of the lot. “Is it okay for you to come in?”
The girls looked at each other. “I think so,” ventured the older one cautiously.
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re not here,” said the little blonde.
“Oh.” Thinking it odd that their parents had just left them to their own devices in a new place—no way was the older one even ten yet—I motioned them inside. “Okay, well, why don’t you come in while you wait for them? My name is Winnie.”
“Like Winnie the Pooh?” the smaller one asked, and even though I’d hated the remark as a kid, I’d learned to embrace it as an adult. It usually brought a smile, and that was something good.
“Exactly.” I grinned as they stepped in. “And I even have a cat named Piglet.”
Their smiles widened. “I’m Hallie, and this is Luna,” said the big sister.
“Can we pet your cat?” asked Luna.
“Sure,” I said, leading the way down the hall. “She gets shy around new people, but I know where she likes to hide.”
The girls eagerly followed me into the kitchen, which opened up onto the living room. A sliding glass door led to a patio out the back. “This is just like ours,” said Hallie, looking around. “But flipped around.”