And Diane immediately waffled. “And we don’t know anything about this Jewel girl or her home. I don’t think I would be comfortable with you staying there without us.”

Stella pasted an amicable smile on her face while her brain screamed, DAMN IT, and decided to go for broke. Hit them right in the parental feels. “You know, if it doesn’t work as an essay, I could always try my hand at writing a book. Keep the family business going, and all that.”

“Oh,” Diane said, surprised, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. She looked to Lloyd.

Stella set Diane in her sights. “We could even work on my book together,” she said. “You have been saying we need to have more mother-daughter time, and your expertise would be invaluable.”

“That’d be wonderful,” Diane said softly.

Lloyd hmph-ed, powerless in the face of his love’s hopeful, wide-eyed look. “Well. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you this hype about something, Stella. Other than getting a cat—”

“Still want that,” Stella said quickly.

“And getting on our nerves,” he finished with a rare, teasing smile.

“Hey, when I do that it’s out of love. And boredom,” Stella said. “Clearly I’m crying out for stimulation, which this fabulous all-expenses-paid Golden Weekend will provide me with. Joan would agree with me. Maybe we should call her. I think this constitutes a family emergency.”

Her parents exchanged another look. “Okay. We’ll talk to the lawyer,” Diane said. Lloyd looked away, a heavy sigh of defeat filling his chest.

“Soooooo, that’s a yes? I can go?”

“It’s a maybe,” Diane said.

“A strong maybe?”

“A regular one. We’ll talk to them.”

Stella had to grab the counter to stay upright and still. Was this what happiness felt like? She marveled at the burst of lightness in her chest and the extra energy making her want to jump up and down and dance. She’d won. They’d actually listened, and she’d convinced them—what a concept.

Lloyd said, “If the call goes well, you can go, but you will not be going alone.”

“But I—”

“That part is nonnegotiable. I don’t want to hear it. Either we go with you or you don’t go at all.”

PART II

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

“I find it funny that when I tell people I’m building an empire they laugh awkwardly, as if they don’t have the heart to tell me I’m delusional. It genuinely tickles me when people don’t take me seriously.”

—JEWEL VAN HANEN

THE WINERY AT MIDNIGHT

THURSDAY, 11:45 P.M.

Settled in a quiet nook straddling the line between Sonoma and St. Helena, California, with green rolling hills and barely treaded trails, their destination was surrounded by acres of grapevines and clusters of trees dense enough to be pocket forests.