âYouâre going to bawl me out, arenât you?â
âYes, I am,â she assured him.
âDonât bother. I shouldnât have questioned your authority. I wonât do it again.â
âUntil tomorrow, anyway. Iâm not kidding, Connor. These men work for me. If I went to your staff without talking to you, you wouldnât like it.â
âNo, I wouldnât. Iâve already apologized, Rowena.â
âYes, you have.â
âYou want me to repeat it?â
She almost smiled at the thought of Connor Wingate apologizing twice for the same misstep. âNo⦠What is it about me thatâs so hard for you to trust? Do I look like a crook or something?â
âHardly. You look like a beautiful woman.â
Beautiful? With mud and dirt oozing from every pore? âNow youâre just being mean.â
âMean?â Confusion darkened his eyes.
She so was not going to argue about her un-beautiful self.
âA toast, girls.â
Piper Franklin lifted her iced tea high in the air.
âTo what?â Rowena Davis frowned, certain neither of her best friends knew her secret yet.
âTo the Bayside Trio, of course.â Piper giggled. âIt seems like only yesterday that we left Serenity Bay. Hereâs to coming home.â
âHear, hear.â Ashley Masters clinked her glass against Piperâs.
Rowena took a sip, and grimaced. Tea of any sort didnât appeal to her. But this place did. Serenity Bay. Home. Piper had been back for two years, Ash for one. Finally she was back, too.
Rowena took in the view of the shimmering blue water and the surrounding hills decked out in autumnâs blazing hues. She had done the right thing, hadnât she?
âI wish we could think of a way to get Row to move back, Pip. Then the Bayside Trio would be back on the Bay, together again.â Ashley sighed. âThatâs my dream.â
Rowena allowed her smile to creep out. âThen your dream just might be coming true, Ash.â
âWhat?â Piper jerked upright, stuck out her pink-tinted toenail and jabbed Ashleyâs foot. âDid she say what I think she said?â
âIâm not sure I heard right.â Ashley cleared her throat. âDoes that mean youâre thinking about moving back here, Row?â
âCome January, if things work together as I plan.â
âYes!â The other two enveloped her in the group hug ritual theyâd perfected through six years of boarding school. Once her two best friends were again seated, Rowena noticed their exchange of funny looks.
âWhat?â
âOh, nothing.â Ashleyâs gray eyes opened wide innocently.
Rowena wasnât buying it. âTell the truth.â
Ash held out her left hand and let the sun light up the diamond facets on her rings. âI was just thinking that Pip and I both found our Prince Charming here. Maybe the same will be true for you.â
âThe Wingate brothers are sixty-five if theyâre a day. I donât think they qualify, Ash.â
âAt least they have a kingdom.â Piper smirked.
âI donât want someone elseâs kingdom. Iâm going to get my own back. You two already know that.â Rowena leaned back, closed her eyes and wondered if sheâd finally bit off more than she could chew.
âMaybe youâd better explain what coming back to the Bay has to do with Wingate Manor.â
âThe Wingate brothers hired me to redo the Manorâs landscape.â She leaned forward, a picture forming in her mind. âYou know how theyâre always trying to expand their reputation, be more than a fine place to dine or host wedding receptions and anniversary parties?â
âOf course.â Piper frowned. âHenryâs held garden tours for the last two years. And now Wingate hosts summer stock performances for a couple of months. They have a great space for private birthday parties, too.â
âLast year they started patio barbecues,â Ashley added.
âTheyâre going to expand even more.â Excitement skittered up and down Rowenaâs spine. âThey intend to reorganize the patio spaces for more private functions, make a tearoom to generate afternoon traffic from the garden toursâlots of new things.â