Chapter 47 Spencer Nash

Watch Me

Two and a Half Months After the Wedding

Grace is adamant that she's fine. She asks me to get back over to the event to make sure Amelia isn't finding more ways to ruin it.

Who the hell does Amelia think she is? She essentially poisoned Grace, and knowing her, she will show exactly zero remorse for it.

And when I walk back into the barn, my fears are confirmed.

She's up on the stage, microphone in hand, in the middle of the speech Grace had planned to give toward the end of the evening.

Her eyes find me when I walk in, but she doesn't flinch.

"So once again, thank you for supporting my vineyard and the amazing cause we chose for tonight's event. Thank you for showing your support to the entire Newlywed team. We look forward to hosting you here again, and those auction items are only open another half hour, so be sure to head over with a generous spirit and grab that item you've been hoping for all night! Thank you!"

My vineyard? We chose ?

She didn't have anything to do with the planning for tonight's event, and she's clearly taking credit. And that's when I spot the camera toward the front of the stage. It's the media here to report on tonight's charity event, and it'll show Amelia taking credit for Grace's hard work.

It's evidently why she figured out a way to get rid of her sister.

She exits the stage before I get the chance to publicly call her out on her behavior—not that I would, especially not in front of the media. I'm not like her, and I wouldn't ruin this event or my reputation, even at the expense of making her pay.

"Where's Grace?" a voice beside me asks, and I glance over to find her mom, Hillary. I don't know her as well as I know Steve since she doesn't spend as much time around here, but I'm sure she'd want to know what just happened.

"She had an allergic reaction, and I took her back to her bungalow. She's okay and resting now," I say.

"Oh, goodness. I'll head over and check on her."

I nod politely, and I weave through the crowd toward Maggie.

Before I get to her, though, Amelia stops me. "Where do you think you're going?" She folds her arms snidely across her chest.

"None of your business," I hiss at her. "I know what you did."

"Oh, like you'll make a scene here? Fat chance, good boy." She rolls her eyes, and then she smiles and waves to someone across the room. "Excuse me," she says.

I grab onto her bicep just hard enough to stop her without making the scene she said I wouldn't make, because she's right. She knows me decently well, and she knows I'd never ruin an event. She knows I would never draw attention to myself unintentionally.

"You're not going to get away with this," I mutter.

"Watch me," she hisses back. She yanks her arm from my grasp and walks away, and I feel like I should know what I'm up against with her, but I don't.

I don't know if I ever really knew anything about her at all.

I spot Steve across the room, and I beeline in that direction .

I'm stopped by Lincoln, who's ready to call it a night since he and Jolene brought both his stepson and their daughter tonight. Grayson and Ava are next, and then my mom. Asher and my dad seem intent on hanging around a while longer—probably because Asher bid on several auction items and wants to see if he won, though my dad wouldn't have bid on anything unless someone else was funding it for him, the cheap bastard.

Steve is no longer in the direction I was headed, but I do spot Maggie, so I head toward her.

"Last call for auction items! The auction ends in sixty seconds!" Amelia says over the microphone, and Maggie starts heading toward the auction table to help shut things down. I follow her over there, and when she spots me, she asks, "Where's Gracie?"

I lean in toward her and lower my voice so only she can hear me. "She had an allergic reaction and had to go home. She's okay now, but you should know that—" I say the words, but the roar of the crowd drowns out my voice.

"Time's up! Drop your pens! Nana, would you collect the clipboards and bring them over so I can announce the winners?" Amelia says into the microphone.

I help her gather up the clipboards, and as we carry them together toward the stage, she looks over at me. "What were you saying?"

All eyes are on us, so I hold it in.

For now.

Amelia reads off each item and the winner, and we're stuck on stage behind her, so I'm not able to tell Maggie what happened.

The raffle winners are chosen, too, and once the announcements are over, people start to leave in earnest.

All in all, it was a successful night for the vineyard…and for Amelia. Five hundred tickets were sold to this event, and it was incredibly well attended. I can't wait to see what the total raised tonight was.

But come morning, Grace will only feel like she lost.

And that's why I have to make sure Maggie knows what Amelia did .

Once the guests have all exited the barn, a cleaning crew ascends. I grab the items I'm certain Grace will want to keep, and that's when I spot Maggie talking to the head of the cleaning crew. Amelia, however, is nowhere to be found, and honestly, it wouldn't shock me if she ducked out early so she didn't have to help clean.

I wait until Maggie is done, and then I walk over to her. I get the words out before I can stop them. "I'm pretty sure Amelia sprinkled ground mustard on Grace's food tonight."

Her eyes widen, and she sits in the chair closest to her—one of the few that hasn't been taken down by the cleaning crew yet. "What?" she breathes.

I nod, and I kneel down beside her as I take her hand in mine. "I thought it was important for you to know. Didn't you see how Amelia stepped in and claimed all the credit for this thing that Gracie poured her heart into? That's how it always is with the two of them, Maggie. Gracie works her tail off for this place, and Amelia gets to shine as if she had anything to do with it. Maybe the concept of marriage isn't the thing that should determine who gets this place as much as work ethic and actual love for the vineyard." I press my lips together, hoping she can see the sincerity behind my words.

She clasps the top of my hand with her other hand. "Thank you, sweet Spencer. I hope you trust that even though I'm an old woman, I know what I'm doing."

My heart falls a little at the thought that maybe she doesn't think I know that. "You're not that old, Maggie. And of course, I know you do. I love you and this vineyard, and I hope you know that."

She pats my hand. "I do know that. Thank you."

"Where'd Gracie run off to?" Steve asks, sauntering up behind us. "Too much to drink or what? I thought she could hold her liquor better than that."

I lift to a stand as he moves in beside me. "Someone dusted mustard powder on her food, and she had a terrible reaction. She's okay, but she had to leave early to get her EpiPen. Hillary is with her now." I'm not sure why I don't tell him who did it. I'm guessing he can put that together on his own .

"Oh no. I'll go check on her," he says.

"I'll just help wrap things up here, and then I'll be over, too," I say.

He reaches over to shake my hand. "Thanks, Spencer. For all your work to make tonight a success."

"I was happy to help, but the credit goes to Grace," I say, and it's true. I'm glad this event was a success. I'm glad she took the idea to put landscape lights around the top of the barn on the inside, giving a glowing effect around the entire place. I'm glad we brainstormed ways to transform this place and ideas for the event.

I love being a part of this place.

I love being married to Grace.

I love the possibility that someday when I'm done playing, this will be my future.

But there's one thing I don't love, and I'm reminded what that is as I walk out the back doors of the barn for a quick, quiet moment on the back patio. I'm quietly wandering around the barn when I hear a voice. It's a whisper, but it's still loud all the same, and in the quiet of night, over the clanging of dishes just inside the barn, I can hear the entire conversation.

"She thinks it was you , not me."

I'm not sure whose voice that is, but I hear the response that's definitely Amelia. "Well, it was my idea. But I was smarter than to be the one who executed it."

A couple of snickers, and I can't help but wonder who Amelia's talking to.

It's a male voice, I think, though it's hard to tell since it's a whisper. Drew, maybe?

"Does Drew know?" the first voice asks.

"No," Amelia says.

"Does he know about us?"

"No," Amelia says again, this time with a giggle.

And then I hear…kissing? Smacking of lips, maybe. Possibly a moan.

Or maybe I'm dreaming all this up.

I don't move a muscle until I hear the crunching of gravel moving the other way .

I duck back inside the barn, and I run toward the front of it. The doors are wide open, and that's when I see Pete, the chef from the restaurant, walk around the side of the barn.

Jesus.

So Amelia is fucking around with Pete behind Drew's back?

And Pete is running around poisoning people on her behalf?

I thought Pete was a stand-up kind of dude. I'm honestly a little shocked right now that he turned on Grace. I can't help but wonder what Amelia promised him—apart from sexual favors, obviously.

What's next?

Earlier, she said, watch me .

Oh, I'll be watching, all right. I'm not going to take any action just yet until I gather enough evidence to make my case.

But I'll definitely be watching her, and I'll be doing whatever it takes with this information when the time is right.