Christmas in Wine Country Read Free Page B

their heads expectantly in Lila’s direction to watch the DJ ask, “And what’ll it be?”
    “No!” Her horrified reply reverberated throughout the tent, sending a ripple of laughter through the guests. Backing away, she raised her hands as if to ward him off.
    “Still deciding. I get it.” The DJs voice glided back into the mic, adding, “Here’s a little something to keep you all hot while we’re waiting for her to warm up.” The speakers started pumping out the opening beat to “Disco Inferno.”
    “Ohmygod, are you not going now?” A rush of excitement grabbed Lila’s arm. Two company interns fresh out of college pressed in close. “Because we have the perfect song.”
    “Seriously. It’s. Going. To. Rock.” The other intern grabbed her other arm.
    Lila tried to untangle herself as she asked the DJ, “Hey, why are you doing karaoke?” 
    “What, babe?” The DJ looked up, giving her a sliver of attention as he readied the karaoke machine.
    “No, why?” She tried to sound more authoritative than plaintive. “Why karaoke? You’re not supposed to.” 
    “What’s that, babe?” The DJ was now surrounded by the interns who were jumping up and down like 3-year-olds in anticipation of their favorite song.
    “The contract! It’s not in the contract to do karaoke!” Lila nearly yelled, adding with desperation, “I’m the party planner!”
    “Good, good,” the DJ slipped his hand around her waist and added, conspiratorially, “We’re gonna kick this party up a notch. DJ Daddy’s in the house.”
    Lila’s groaned “oh my God” went unheard as DJ Daddy turned his attention back to the 22-year-old interns.
    “I can’t believe you just jumped right in!” Lila’s co-worker, Allison, appeared at her side, eyes wide with surprise. “I never knew you had it in you! Need some help picking a song?”
    “I’m not—
    “OK, so if you really want to do some vocal stylin’…” Allison nattered on as Lila grabbed a glass of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray, catching the steely eye of a partner as she did. It was one of the top guys in the Chicago office. A pretty conservative guy. He was probably wondering why the hell a couple of 22-year-olds had now taken over the annual corporate gathering’s entertainment singing about how their milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.
    Not a good night to be Lila’s nails. Or cuticles. Bit to the quick.
    Heading away from the show and searching desperately for Phillip, Lila scanned the crowd. Maybe he was making his way over to her right now to check in and see how she was doing on the big night.
    Or maybe he was in a far corner leaning into that wee slip of a thing in red and murmuring in her ear. 
    The next passing waiter lost two champagne glasses to Lila, one of which she emptied in about five seconds. Out the window, the vineyard’s expansive grounds beckoned. Would anyone notice if she vaulted over the hedge never to be seen again? 
    “You are totally not going to believe who’s here!” Allison squealed by her side. “I just did a little recon and had it all confirmed.” Fuzzy, Lila wondered how long Allison had been gone with her ‘recon’ while she’d had another two—or was it three?—glasses of champagne. “Now, you have to promise not to look when I tell you where to look.” After a dramatic pause, Allison stage-whispered, “Jake Endicott!”
    “Jake? Endicott?” Lila echoed, not sure why the names rang a dim bell as she scanned the crowd.
    “Endicott!” Allison nodded, “As in, Endicott Vineyards! Where we are right now?” Exasperated at Lila’s lack of reaction, she added, “His family owns all this! He’s, like, the hottest bachelor in the entire Bay Area.” Resuming the momentum of her monologue, Allison continued, “I can’t believe he’s here! I mean, I’d hoped but I never really expected…” Lila scanned the crowd which had all started looking like a smudged pastel painting. “He’s at 3