A tour? I don’t suppose that tour included a greenhouse? Megan made a mental note to ask Henry about the specifics.
“Thank you. The caves are very impressive, and I think everyone will be relieved when the new tasting room is open.” Megan looked around. “What made you decide to renovate yours?”
“I think I wanted to put my own stamp on it,” Angela Calvo said. “I wanted to make it a little softer. A little less formal.”
“I like the new tables and the placement; it works very well. I imagine that oak-shaded patio outside is very popular for summer events.” Megan tried to keep her voice even. She was talking with Whit Fairfield’s fiancée, the woman who’d attended Wharton. Her aunt was the governor and her mother was a state representative. And she was chitchatting about table layouts!
“It’s my first summer here, and I’ve been warned about the heat.” Angela Calvo’s smile didn’t move. “Though it’s much cooler by the beach, which is where I live.”
Where had all the rumors of a cold, vicious businesswoman come from? Angela was a bit formal, but far from cold. Megan was starting to think that the new woman in Moonstone Cove had fallen prey to the “accomplished lady must be a ballbuster” stereotype.
“The hills can get warm for sure, but the nights are cool, and it’s always breezy and cool by the ocean. You’re from San Francisco, I believe.”
“Yes. A native of the city. And I hear you’re from Atlanta, is that correct?”
“I am.” Where had Angela Calvo heard anything about Megan? There was something about their entire interaction that felt… off. She couldn’t identify what it was. Was it her mother’s sense of formality battling with Megan’s new California casualness? She kept her smile in place. “Sometimes I really miss Atlanta, but Moonstone Cove is very much my home now.”
“That’s wonderful.” Angela Calvo looked around the tasting room. “I have to confess, I didn’t understand why Whit was so fascinated by this place, but now that I’ve spent more time here, I understand completely. It really does have the best of that small-town atmosphere, doesn’t it?”
“We like to think so.” She spotted Katherine and Toni staring at them. “Miss Calvo—”
“Again, please call me Angela.”
“Right. Angela.” Megan smiled. “I’m here with a couple of friends, and I’m sure they’d enjoy meeting you. Let me introduce—”
“Before you do that” —she put her hand on Megan’s arm— “I wanted to speak to you privately about one more thing.”
Of course you do. Vine theft, perhaps?
Angela’s voice dropped. “I don’t know if Rodney told you we were seeing each other.”
Megan felt her stomach plunge to somewhere in the vicinity of her feet.
Nope. Hadn’t been expecting that one. Wasn’t even on the radar.
Rodney and… this woman? This gracious professional in the thousand-dollar suit?
That must have been what felt off. Angela Calvo knew about her because of Rodney. Well, that was… awkward. And irritating. Megan hated being out of the loop. “Rodney didn’t tell me. I’m…” She kept her polite smile on. “We don’t really talk about our dating lives much, as you can imagine.”
“Of course. I just wanted to introduce myself because I know Rodney has been trying to find a way to talk to the kids about meeting me, and they haven’t been very open to the idea. I was hoping—”
“Miss Calvo— Angela, sorry. I want to stop you there.” Oh no. Megan was going to nip this one in the bud. “I cannot lie; I am surprised you and Rodney are dating—mostly because of him; nothing to do with you—and you seem lovely. But I don’t get involved in my children’s relationship with their father. We are… wary co-parents, to say the least, unfortunately. So any contact you have with the children will be one hundred percent up to the three of them.”
Angela’s eyes were a little sad but also resigned. “Of course. Forgive me if I overstepped in any way. I know Rodney regrets the mistakes he made, but as I told him, he has to rebuild those bridges with his kids. It’s not anyone else’s job.”
Okay, that wasn’t the response she’d been expecting. “Right.” Megan kept her smile in place. “You’re sure it’s Rodney Carpenter you’re dating?”
Angela laughed. “It is. I find him… quite charming. I’m sure as his ex-wife, you have your own opinions on that—
“Oh, I have no doubt he can be charming. I’ve felt the effects of it. I hope…” What was she doing? She couldn’t give Rodney’s girlfriend dating advice! That would be way beyond weird. “I’m sure the kids will meet you, and you’ll all get along.” How had Rodney managed to score a single date—much less a relationship—with someone as smart and successful as Angela Calvo?
Life was a mystery.
“I’m sure we will.” She nodded. “It’s really a pleasure to meet you. Believe it or not, Rodney only says good things about your time together.”
“That’s nice to hear.” Was this really happening? Megan pinched her toes in her heels. Yep. That hurt. She was definitely not hallucinating.
Angela waved to someone behind Megan’s back. “I am so sorry, but I just spotted an employee I need to speak to.” She held out her hand and Megan took it. “Truly, I am so glad we were able to meet.”
“I am too. And I’m sure you’ll meet the kids at exactly the right time for them and for you.”
Angela clasped her own hands tightly. “I hope so.” She gestured to Toni and Katherine. “Why don’t I walk you back to your friends? I believe the tour is set to start shortly.”
Megan walked across the room with Angela behind her left shoulder. When they arrived, Megan introduced them briefly before Angela had to take her leave with a smile and instructions to the girl behind the counter to package up a gift bag for each of them with their choice of Fairfield wine.
Toni was still somewhat frozen when Angela walked away. “What just happened?”
“We just met Angela Calvo.”
Katherine cocked her head, watching Angela walk toward two men in dark business suits. “I believe what happened is that we were just charmed by someone very skillful.”
“And I didn’t get to ask her any questions,” Toni said. “Which was the entire point of my coming here. Call her back!”
“I can’t call her back! She has a meeting.”
Katherine was still watching Angela with narrowed eyes. “Have we met her before? I feel like I’ve met her before. I know that’s unlikely. She’s not what I expected.”
“It’s possible she’s been misjudged,” Megan said. “Also, she’s dating Rodney.”
Toni’s eyes were the size of saucers. “No way.”
“Yes way. I knew he had a new girlfriend, but I didn’t expect her to be a grown-up.” Megan watched Angela Calvo speaking and smiling with her business associates. “Nothing in my previous experience with Rodney would lead me to believe he could convince a woman like that to be in a relationship with him.”