Nina smiled wryly. “Charles ordered a bottle when we were at Annabel’s Club last week.”
“There you go.” Daniel nodded. “But we need something to appeal to the dedicated whiskey drinker. The ones who buy a thirty year old bottle because they can tell the difference between that and one made last year. Scotch is for connoisseurs. Those who can tell a peated from a non peated, or a burgundy cask from a reused rye one.”
“But we won’t see any profit for seven years,” Lawrence pointed out. “That’s how long you have to let it sit in the barrel if you want it to be a single malt.” He frowned. “And even t
hen, it wouldn’t be classified as a single malt under strict Scottish rules. So you can’t even market it like that.”
“I’ve been speaking to some other producers. They’ve been campaigning for a single malt classification here in the US. If that comes to pass, we’d get our own space on the shelves in liquor stores. People would actively search our bottles out.”
“It sounds like a gamble,” Nina said. She always was the most cautious of them. Maybe it came from seeing her world tip upside down as a child.
“I guess it is. But all leaps forward are gambles, aren’t they?” He tipped his head to the side, scrutinizing them.
“And the investment money? You have it secured?”
Daniel nodded. “Yes. Along with the loans, we’ll be pre-selling some casks. With a name like ours, speculators will see them as assets. With interest rates low, commodities like ours are in demand. If things go the way I project, the profit we make will be enough to fund GSC for the foreseeable future.”
Nina took a bite of pastry. “And Becca will be the lead distiller?”
Daniel nodded, his face impassive. “If she accepts the role.”
“Well I guess I’m okay with it.” Nina shrugged. “Daddy always loved that distillery. If you say it’ll work, then I believe you.”
Lawrence looked carefully at Daniel. “Go for it,” he said with a nod.
Daniel tried not to smile. “That’s a yes?”
“If it brings in more money, who am I to refuse?” Lawrence stood and dusted crumbs from his shirt. “Now, I need to get home. I have a ball to clear up from.”
“No you don’t. You always make Melissa do the work.” Nina laughed. “It’s more like you have a ball to recover from. I saw how much champagne you drank.”
“I need to get home myself.” Daniel nodded. “I have a lot of work to do.”
“Don’t work too hard,” Nina chided as she stood and folded her napkin. “You need some rest.”
Daniel walked around the table to see them out, kissing Nina on the cheek and holding his hand out to Lawrence. His brother hesitated for a moment, then took it, giving him a limp wristed shake.
Not that Daniel cared. The shake could be as weak as he wanted, the deal was still his. Even if it didn’t quite feel like a victory.
“You must be delighted.” Eliana’s eyes crinkled as she lifted her tea cup to her lips. The sun was shining through the tall windows of the library, creating a long shaft of light on the polished wooden floor.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the card table he’d sat at with Becca yesterday. The thought of her made his blood heat up. He could still taste her on his lips, still hear her soft sighs in his ear.
Still see the way she smiled at him when he’d kissed her brow after they’d taken each other over the edge.
“It’s a good deal for everybody,” Daniel said, trying to push Becca out of his thoughts. “They’ll make money without having to lift a finger.” The truth was, Lawrence’s acceptance of the plan felt anticlimactic. Daniel had thought he’d have to fight for it.
But his brother just acceded.
“But it’s nice to have their blessing. It’s good to see you all getting closer.”
Daniel stood, unable to sit still any longer, striding over to the shelves lined with books and photographs. There was one of him and Nathan in their school uniforms, their hair neatly brushed back and polite smiles on their faces.
Next to it was one of Daniel as a baby, cradled in his Eliana’s arms. She was looking down at him, her eyes full of love.
Then there was one of Lawrence and Nina, his sister awkwardly holding a toddler Daniel as Lawrence pulled his brows together, no smile lifting his lips.
It was impossible to remember a time when things between him and his half-siblings were civil. The circumstances of his birth had seen to that, as well as the rivalry his father had encouraged between him and Lawrence.