He might not have a relationship with Maggie, but the connection he felt had been immediate and almost palpable. He’d seen her walking down the street in that fancy gown, and his heart stuttered. How had the annoying, gangly girl he’d grown up with morphed into such a beautiful—and achingly melancholy—woman?
Every one of his boyhood transgressions had been magnified by the insinuation that he made his family look bad in front of the upstanding Spencers. Maggie had been their goody-two-shoes princess. The fact that she and Trevor had been friends despite the animosity between the two families hadn’t surprised Griffin. They’d both been textbook perfect. But today she’d seemed truly alone. Griffin had always been a sucker for another loner.
“She doesn’t mean anything to me,” he lied. “I felt sorry for her, and obviously with good reason.”
“You don’t need to feel sorry for Maggie. She’s tougher than she looks.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
It never is, Griffin thought to himself.
“Do you love this Julia?” he asked.
Trevor pressed his fingers to his eyelids as if the question gave him a headache. “Not exactly, but I can tell you I never felt anything like it with Maggie.”
Griffin snorted. “Two years ago I ate some bad scallops in Dubai, and I’ve never felt anything like what came next.”
“Shut up, Grif.”
“You can’t let Maggie take the fall for—”
“You’re back!”
Both men turned as Jana Stone raced into the room. She spread her arms wide and Griffin walked into his mother’s embrace, his heart swelling as she pulled him close. At five feet two inches tall, his mother barely grazed his chest, but a hug from her made him feel like he was a kid again.
He’d lost count of the times he’d been sent to his room by his father for one transgression or another. His mother had always sneaked upstairs to give him a hug and reassure him of his father’s love.
He’d even spent one full Christmas dinner alone, sulking on his bed, after he’d accidentally knocked over the tree while he and Trevor were wrestling. The fight had started when Trevor purposely broke a radio-controlled robot Griffin had unwrapped earlier, but it didn’t matter to his dad.
Griffin was the older brother who should have known better, so he’d been the one punished. When his mom couldn’t convince Dave Stone to give him a break because of the holiday, she’d boycotted the family meal, making up two plates and joining him in his room.
They’d eaten cross-legged on the floor, taking turns choosing Christmas carols to sing. It had been one of the best Christmases Griffin could remember, free of the tension and awkward silences that accompanied regular family dinners at the vineyard.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she asked, giving him another squeeze before pulling away. She sucked in a breath as she glanced toward Trevor. “Oh, my gosh. What happened to your eye?”
Trevor helpfully pointed at Griffin, who yelped as his mother pinched him hard on the back of the arm.
“You hit your brother? What were you thinking?” She placed a hand on her chest. “Tell me you didn’t fight with your brother in church.”
“Can’t do that, Mom. Sorry.”
“You should be sorry, Griffin John Stone. After all Trevor has been through today. I swear I wouldn’t put it past Vivian Spencer to have orchestrated this whole fiasco just to embarrass our family.”
“I highly doubt it,” Griffin muttered.
“Maggie had to follow her heart,” Trevor said, sounding like the benevolent son his mother knew him to be. “No one is to blame.”
“She is to blame,” their mother countered. “You’re the vice president of marketing for Harvest Vineyards. You’re a public figure, Trevor. We did a special blend for the occasion.” She threw up her hands. “With personalized labels. Press releases went out. This could hurt the brand.”
“Mom.” Griffin shook his head. “This was supposed to be a wedding, not a publicity event.”
He glanced at his brother, who lifted his brows as if to say I told you so.
“You’ve been away from Stonecreek too long, Griffin. Social media has blurred the lines between our private lives and public branding for the company. There’s too much competition these days to think otherwise.”
She moved toward Trevor, gently touching the swelling around his eye. “We certainly have no time for nonsense between the two of you. I guarantee the Spencers are already doing damage control. What do you think this will do to Maggie’s prospects for reelection in the fall?”
“Nothing,” Trevor said immediately. “She’s done a great job as mayor this first term so there’s no reason to think she won’t win again.”
Jana tsk-tsked softly. “She won the first time because we endorsed her—she had the support of the whole town.” She straightened and turned to Griffin. “Your second cousin is running against her. He’s been giving me the ‘blood is thicker’ line for months. Everyone has seen that Mary Margaret Spencer can’t follow through on a commitment of the most important kind. How can they trust her running Stonecreek? Especially given the Spencer single-mindedness in promoting a civic agenda benefiting her family’s business interests.”
Griffin rubbed the back of his neck. He’d returned because his mother had asked him to, but he didn’t want any part of this small-town drama. “Hasn’t the animosity between the two families gone on long enough?”
“We thought so,” Jana admitted. “I know Jim wants peace between us. I do, too.” She worried the pad of her thumb back and forth over the ring finger on her left hand, where she’d worn her wedding band for over two decades until her husband’s death. “Today changed everything.”
“Do you have something to add to this conversation?” Griffin asked Trevor.
His brother only shook his head and whispered, “Not now.”
“Fine. I’ll do it.” Griffin turned toward his mother. “There are things about today you don’t understand. Like the reason I hit Trevor.”
The bejeweled purse hanging at her side began to buzz incessantly. “It’s your grandmother,” Jana said, pulling out the phone. “I’m late to pick her up. She’s going to help me take the flowers from the reception site. We need to get to them before Vivian does. They’ll work for a tasting event at the vineyard tomorrow night, but you can bet Vivian Spencer will use them for the inn if given half a chance.”
“Mom, we need to talk.”
“Later tonight,” Jana promised, already heading for the door. “Family dinner at the house.” She glanced toward Griffin. “Did you drop your stuff there already?”
“Not yet.”
“I cleared out the caretaker’s apartment above the garage like you asked, although I don’t know why you won’t move back into your old room. It’s far more convenient.” She blew each of them a kiss. “No fighting, you two. I mean it.”
“Moving back?” Trevor asked as soon as she was gone. “To Stonecreek?”
“It’s only for a few months,” Griffin said, examining a scratch on one knuckle. “While I build the new tasting room.”
“Wait a minute.” Trevor stood and held up a hand. “You’re the contractor Mom hired?”
Griffin