Toni stared at her. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Katherine frowned. “Superficially, she’s quite similar to you. You didn’t notice that?”
“That woman is basically you with darker hair, Megan.” Toni stood and attempted to straighten her outfit. “Gorgeous. Confident. Professional. I mean, change the hair color and add a couple of inches, she’s you. Or you’re her. You know what I mean.”
“You think so?” Megan helped Toni to her feet off the elevated stool. “I’m not seeing it.”
“Give it time,” Katherine said. “Your ex clearly has a type. And it appears to be you.”
Chapter 8
Megan kept her eyes open during the winery tour, which led the group over an extensive part of the grounds along with the fermenting rooms and barrel storage. Megan had to hand it to Angela; the tour was long but accessible. If she’d known nothing about wine going into it, she would have felt very well informed upon leaving.
However, nothing about the tour even hinted that Fairfield Family Wines was exploring new wine varietals or anything of the sort.
“Well, that was disappointing.” Megan climbed into the driver’s seat of her Mercedes and waited as Katherine helped Toni up. “I need running boards; I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Toni huffed. “And in another five weeks, this won’t be an issue anymore, so don’t install running boards for me.”
“What are you and Henry going to do about a family car?” Katherine asked innocently.
Megan braced herself for the inevitable barrage hurled in Katherine’s direction for daring to question the family suitability of vintage Mustangs.
The barrage never came.
“We decided that Henry’s truck will work for most things, and I’m going to park the Mustang for a little while and drive my dad’s Ford Explorer. He and my mom only ever use one car anymore, and you know my mom loves her Cadillac.”
Megan turned to Toni with narrowed eyes. “That’s it?”
Toni frowned. “What?”
“I asked you that same question two weeks ago and you about bit my head off!”
Toni shrugged. “Sorry?”
“Pregnant women are weird.” Megan started the car. “And that tour told us nothing.”
“It told us that Angela Calvo really knows what she’s doing,” Katherine said. “That was a very good tour, and it didn’t even hint that the marketing for the winery is a hoax.”
“Is hoax too strong?” Megan asked. “I mean, it’s marketing, not a vast criminal conspiracy.”
“But it’s not true,” Katherine said. “I say it’s a hoax.”
“Ditto,” Toni said. “Do you know how annoying family businesses are? She’s claiming one without having a crazy uncle looking over her shoulder at random moments. Total fraud.”
Megan smiled. “That is a fair point. I do have to say she’s not the wicked witch of San Francisco that everyone made her out to be. Remember talking to people last year? Everyone acted like she was the worst.”
“I remember,” Katherine said. “She’s either been misunderstood, as many women in business are, or she’s a sociopath.”
Megan bit the corner of her lip to keep from laughing. “Sociopath seems unlikely.”
Katherine shrugged. “It’s estimated that between one and ten percent of the population exhibit psychopathic or sociopathic traits, and many of them are attracted to the business world.”
“For now let’s go with men in Moonstone Cove exaggerating her bad traits because the good ol’ boys here are threatened by successful women.”
Toni put her seat belt on. “God knows that’s happened to more than one of us.”
Katherine said, “I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I wish I knew why she looks familiar.”
“Cool.” Toni clapped her hands together. “Where are we headed next, and do I get to drink there?”
“Baur Cellars, and how adorable are you if you think we’re letting you drink?” Megan guided the car out of the oak-dotted parking lot and back toward the winding road that ran past most of Moonstone Cove’s wineries.
“I’m an adult, Atlanta! I know my limits.”
“And I know your baby daddy, your doctor, and your mama. You’re not drinking.” Megan kept her eyes on the road even though she could feel Toni’s irritation.
As in, literally feel it. The empath was filling the car with so much annoyance Megan had the urge to slap a nun.
She focused on the case. “So Nico had Charles Baur at the top of the list because he and his brother-in-law have been experimenting with unusual varietals from France for the past few years.”
“From the Jura region?” Katherine asked.
“No, but it’s not a stretch to imagine that if he got wind of a new varietal already here, he’d be tempted. From my own knowledge of country club gossip, I’d say they’re an established winery with capital and little debt. A little risk to raise his profile would probably be worth it for Mr. Baur.”
“I thought Nico had him on the top of the list because the Baur kid is dating Beth,” Toni said. “My brother would pull something like that.”
“Wouldn’t Nico want to avoid suggesting Beth’s boyfriend’s family was involved?” Katherine asked.
“You’re assuming he likes Beth having a boyfriend,” Toni said. “Which he doesn’t. He doesn’t want either of his kids to date until college.”
Megan had heard a little bit about Nico’s strict dating rules, but she hadn’t really explored them. “Why is he so strict about that?”
“I think because he and Marissa met in high school and then got married pretty young. He thinks kids should travel and see the world before they get married.”
Megan nodded. “That makes sense. I didn’t marry Rodney until after college, but I didn’t really travel anywhere new. I thought that man was the beginning and end of the world.”
“That’s very unhealthy,” Katherine said.
“I know that now.”
Toni said, “Well, forgetting all about my teenage niece’s dating life, Henry had Charles Baur at the top of his list because he says after Nico’s land, Baur’s vineyards are the best situated to grow Poulsard.”
Katherine said, “That is a theory based on science and makes me much more confident. Thank you.”
“Do any of you ladies know what’s so special about this wine?” Megan asked, joining the stream of traffic going east.
Katherine raised her hand. “I do. I’ve been researching it, and Baxter and I bought several bottles.” She smiled. “For research.”
“So what’s the verdict?” Toni asked.
“It’s very nice. It’s fruity but not sweet. Very smooth and not much tannin. It reminded me of pinot noir, but brighter somehow. I would call it refreshing, which is unusual for a red wine. I agree with Nico. It would be very popular if you managed to grow it in California.”