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Greg Bennett had always hated Christoodwill toward e Christmas in the city--any city--was the epitome of commercialism, and San Francisco was no exception Here it was, barely December, and department-store s had been filled with auto Christ’s opinion, was the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers, all of whom seemed to be unnaturally cheerful That only made his own mood worse

He wouldn’t be in the city at all if he wasn’t desperately in need of a bank loan Without it, he’d be forced to lay off what remained of his crew by the end of the year He’d have to close the winery’s doors His vines--and literally decades of work--had been wiped out by fan leaf disease, devastating the future of his vineyard and crippling hi one financial institution after another Like a nurowers, he’d applied at the small-town banks in the Napa Valley and been unsuccessful His wasn’t the only vineyard destroyed by the disease--although, for reasons no one really understood, certain vineyards had been spared the blight For a while there’d been talk of low-interest loans froovernment, but they hadn’t h to warrant financial assistance For Greg that news definitely fell into the category of cold comfort

It left him in a dilemma No loan--no replanted vines Without the vines there would be no grapes, without the grapes, no wine, and without the winery, no Gregory Bennett

What he needed after a ood stiff drink and the co feet his current troubles He walked into the St Francis, the elegant San Francisco hotel, and found hie gold balls and plush red velvet bows Disgusted, he looked away and hurried toward the bar

The bartender seeet you?" he asked pro that identified him as Don

Greg sat down on a stool "Get me a martini," he said If it hadn’t been so early in the day, he would have asked for a double, but it was barely noon and he still had to drive ho reason to return The house, along with everything else in his life, was empty Oh, the furniture was all there--Tess hadn’t taken that--but he was alone,

Tess, his third and greediest wife, had left hi out the details of their divorce, and at three hundred dollars an hour, neither lawyer had one He silently toasted eli her froain Three wives was surely sufficient evidence that he wasn’t the stay-ret--and surprise Well, maybe not Tess exactly, but a warm body in his bed By his side Even at the time, he’d known it was foolish to marry her He certainly should have known, after the e His first had lasted ten years, and he’d split with Jacquie over… Hell if he could re stupid

"You out shopping?" Don the bartender asked as he delivered a bowl of peanuts

Greg snorted "Not on your life"

The younger ly "Ah, you’re one of those"

"You ot common sense What is it with people and Christs becoo, when he and Tess had been hteen months, she’d made it clear she expected diamonds for Christmas Lots of them She’d wanted hiot fora woure that could stop traffic Next time around he’d si when he grew bored with her No al entangle did a double take For half a heartbeat, he thought it was Tess Thankfully he rong Blond, beautiful and probably a bitch The last part didn’t bother hih--especially nohen he could use a little distraction He’d be sixty-one his next birthday, but he was triray, what people called "distinguished" In fact, he could easily pass for ten years younger His good looks had taken hi way in this world, and he’d worked hard to reeted her, swerving around on his stool to give her his full attention

"Hello"

Her answering sht well provide a distraction If everything worked out, hehe’d had, he deserved a little coht flirtation to take his mind off his troubles, a dalliance toasked

"Not really," she said, her voice sultry and deep

Greg noted the packages "Been shopping, I see"

She nodded, and when the bartender walked over to her table, Greg said, "Put it on my tab"

"Thanks," she said in that same sultry voice He was even lass of Bennett Wine A pinot noir