hooked.”
Nathan turned from the booth he was inspecting and gave her a broad smile. “I’ll amend that to smart and devious.”
The smile was infectious and she couldn’t hold her own back. “I like to think of it as good business sense.”
“Oh, it’s definitely that.” He took another look around, turning in a slow circle. “This is far more than I ever expected. Truth be told, I’d heard this event wasn’t all that well done.”
Keira fought to keep her voice level, the lingering reputation of the festival something she and her sisters had fought for the better part of a decade. “And when did you hear that?”
“It floats around.”
On a soft sigh, she nodded, unable to fully blame him for a reputation carved by the hands of another. “That it does. It’s the single biggest thing my sales staff has to fight to get someone new on board. Do you know how many free passes we’ve given away to this event to change people’s minds? I can’t understand why the reputation dogs us like it does after so many successful years.”
“How did the rumor start in the first place?”
While she had little interest in traveling down memory lane, she also refused to let gossip and innuendo win this round. “My father paid little attention to the event. Thought it was beneath his notice.”
“Conferences are big money.”
“Yes, well, growing up with money, he’s had surprisingly little interest in understanding how it’s actually made. He falls more squarely in the camp of ‘I’ll spend it on myself.’”
“So why bring back something that had fallen so far?”
“This was the first project Cam, Mayson, and I took on.”
“For the company?”
“Yep. About eight years ago we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. If we turned a profit two years in a row, he’d give us Home and Family to run. All of it. The magazine, the website, everything.”
“Since the three of you seem rather unstoppable, I’d wager you turned a profit in one.”
Keira couldn’t hold back the grin. “Damn straight.”
“So that’s why you still take part at such a deep level of detail.”
“Right again. The company’s my legacy, but this festival matters to me on a personal level.”
Nathan spread a hand to indicate the path in front of them. “Come on. I’d like to see the rest of it.”
…
The happy laughter and noise of the crowd surrounded him as Nathan walked the same path he’d taken earlier with Keira. True to Keira’s word, the conversations he overheard throughout the wine area reinforced the decision to put the California reds first. Several happy tourists toted tastings in plastic cups from one booth to the next while others lingered over standing tables with full glasses.
Several celebrity chefs were positioned around the room, large viewing areas spread out in a half circle before them for their fans to take a seat and enjoy a demonstration. Nathan recognized the chef from one of his favorite restaurants in New York. With a quick wave, the man excused himself from his workstation to come say hello.
“It’s good to see you, Nathan.” Chuck McMasters slapped him on the back, the light smell of garlic wafting from the apron slung low on his hips. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m in Vegas for the weekend and stopped in to see what this event was all about.”
“It’s quite the rush,” Chuck said. “Few shows can boast this many people in such a short window of time.”
“I’m enjoying myself.” Nathan’s thoughts skittered to images of Keira and realized the words were 100 percent true.
He was enjoying the event.
“This is quite the party, and the McBride women certainly know how to put on a show. Keira’s a delicious package. Good business sense and a great pair of legs. What a combination.”
A surge of jealousy sucker punched him, and Nathan fought to keep the bland smile on his face. “Nothing like a woman who’s as smart as she is beautiful.”
“She certainly
Nathan turned from the booth he was inspecting and gave her a broad smile. “I’ll amend that to smart and devious.”
The smile was infectious and she couldn’t hold her own back. “I like to think of it as good business sense.”
“Oh, it’s definitely that.” He took another look around, turning in a slow circle. “This is far more than I ever expected. Truth be told, I’d heard this event wasn’t all that well done.”
Keira fought to keep her voice level, the lingering reputation of the festival something she and her sisters had fought for the better part of a decade. “And when did you hear that?”
“It floats around.”
On a soft sigh, she nodded, unable to fully blame him for a reputation carved by the hands of another. “That it does. It’s the single biggest thing my sales staff has to fight to get someone new on board. Do you know how many free passes we’ve given away to this event to change people’s minds? I can’t understand why the reputation dogs us like it does after so many successful years.”
“How did the rumor start in the first place?”
While she had little interest in traveling down memory lane, she also refused to let gossip and innuendo win this round. “My father paid little attention to the event. Thought it was beneath his notice.”
“Conferences are big money.”
“Yes, well, growing up with money, he’s had surprisingly little interest in understanding how it’s actually made. He falls more squarely in the camp of ‘I’ll spend it on myself.’”
“So why bring back something that had fallen so far?”
“This was the first project Cam, Mayson, and I took on.”
“For the company?”
“Yep. About eight years ago we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. If we turned a profit two years in a row, he’d give us Home and Family to run. All of it. The magazine, the website, everything.”
“Since the three of you seem rather unstoppable, I’d wager you turned a profit in one.”
Keira couldn’t hold back the grin. “Damn straight.”
“So that’s why you still take part at such a deep level of detail.”
“Right again. The company’s my legacy, but this festival matters to me on a personal level.”
Nathan spread a hand to indicate the path in front of them. “Come on. I’d like to see the rest of it.”
…
The happy laughter and noise of the crowd surrounded him as Nathan walked the same path he’d taken earlier with Keira. True to Keira’s word, the conversations he overheard throughout the wine area reinforced the decision to put the California reds first. Several happy tourists toted tastings in plastic cups from one booth to the next while others lingered over standing tables with full glasses.
Several celebrity chefs were positioned around the room, large viewing areas spread out in a half circle before them for their fans to take a seat and enjoy a demonstration. Nathan recognized the chef from one of his favorite restaurants in New York. With a quick wave, the man excused himself from his workstation to come say hello.
“It’s good to see you, Nathan.” Chuck McMasters slapped him on the back, the light smell of garlic wafting from the apron slung low on his hips. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m in Vegas for the weekend and stopped in to see what this event was all about.”
“It’s quite the rush,” Chuck said. “Few shows can boast this many people in such a short window of time.”
“I’m enjoying myself.” Nathan’s thoughts skittered to images of Keira and realized the words were 100 percent true.
He was enjoying the event.
“This is quite the party, and the McBride women certainly know how to put on a show. Keira’s a delicious package. Good business sense and a great pair of legs. What a combination.”
A surge of jealousy sucker punched him, and Nathan fought to keep the bland smile on his face. “Nothing like a woman who’s as smart as she is beautiful.”
“She certainly
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