The Seductive One Read online

  “So does the thought of a new generation being born take the heat off you or make it worse?” Mia asked.

  Katie shook her head. “I’ve already announced no babies for at least a year.”

  Brenna laughed. “But they’re not listening.”

  “Figures.” Mia wrinkled her nose. “So what’s Sam like?”

  “I’d say the perfect man for our perfect sister. He also has a great daughter. Kelly. She’s twelve.” Brenna sprinkled the basil on the plate, then passed it to Mia.

  “Since when did you have an interest in kids?” Mia asked.

  “I always wanted them. Jeff was the one who said we had to wait. As much as I would like one now, I’m glad we didn’t have any. It would have made the divorce a lot more complicated.”

  Mia poured the dressing over the cheese and tomatoes. While Brenna carried plates and flatware to the table, Katie set out a bowl of pasta salad, the bread, butter, and several kinds of sliced salami and ham. Mia slid the tomatoes and cheese plate into the center, then grabbed cans of soda for them.

  “Looks good,” she said as she sat down. “I loved the restaurants in D.C., but after so long away, I’m ready for the Grands’ cooking.”

  Brenna sat across from Mia. Katie sat at the head of the table. Mia used a fork to spear tomato and cheese onto her plate, then reached for the bread. “So what else has been happening while I was gone?”

  Katie shot Brenna a “let me” look. “Not much. Well, except that it turns out that Brenna slept with Nic Giovanni and got a million-dollar loan from him to start her own winery.”

  Mia froze in the act of biting into a piece of bread. Her eyes widened and the color fled her cheeks.

  “Shut up!”

  Katie made an X over her left breast. “Swear on Grandma Tessa’s rosary.”

  Brenna spooned pasta salad onto her plate. “It was ten years ago.” She looked up and grinned. “The sex. The loan is recent. As wonderful as I may think I am in bed, I have to admit I doubt I’m worth a million bucks.”

  “I don’t know what to ask about first,” Mia admitted when she’d chewed and swallowed her bread. “The sex or the winery. I can’t believe you slept with him and didn’t tell me. I hate being the youngest. I never find out anything good until years later.”

  Katie raised her eyebrows. “Obviously she decided the sex was more interesting than the money.”

  “Apparently,” Brenna said. “Don’t get your panties all in a bunch. I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “I’ll bet he was great,” Mia said with a sigh. “Nic always looked like he knew his way around female anatomy.”

  “We’re eating,” Katie protested.

  “Oh, right. Because you and Zach never pushed aside dinner to do it on the table,” Mia grumbled.

  Katie blushed slightly, but didn’t respond.

  “Just like I thought.” Mia looked triumphant, then turned her attention back to Brenna. “You’re starting your own winery? For real?”

  “I don’t have a choice,” Brenna said. “Grandpa Lorenzo and I are arguing about everything. Working with him is a nightmare. Between how much he hates all my ideas and the recent discovery that we have a long-lost brother—the male heir our grandfather has always wanted—I figure my chances of inheriting are somewhere between ‘unlikely’ and ‘it ain’t gonna happen.’”

  “But your own label?” Mia sounded both impressed and terrified. “A million dollars?”

  “Absolutely. I came up with a great business plan, but I couldn’t get any of the banks to listen. They wanted to know why Grandpa Lorenzo wasn’t backing me himself. I didn’t want to go to Mom and Dad for the money because they live here and it would have been awkward for everyone. So I went to Nic and he said yes.”

  She still had trouble believing it was all coming together for her. “He’s loaning me crushing and pressing equipment. It’s old—he’s replaced his system with a state-of-the-art facility that is to die for. The crusher is—”

  Mia held up her hands. “Spare us your ode to the grape crusher. The point is, that’s a lot of money.”

  “I’m already spending it,” Brenna admitted, feeling a little terrified herself. Although it was a good kind of terror—sort of an “I can’t believe my dreams are coming true” tension. “I’m buying four acres of perfect Pinot growing land down by the coast. I have barrels on order, grapes coming in. Two years from now, I’ll have my first wine out in the world. In three I’ll be making it.”

  Mia looked a little dazed. Still, she raised her soda can. “Wow. To Brenna and her new adventure. May you only ever sleep with men as sexy as Indiana Jones.”

  “And Nic,” Katie added as she raised her glass. “After all, he’s real.”

  “That’s right.” Mia picked up her fork. “So, Brenna. Ten years after the fact, does our dishy neighbor still get your motor humming?”

  Brenna thought about her recent encounters with Nic and how after less than thirty seconds in his company she’d been ready to revisit the delights of the past in a very physical way.

  “There seems to be some attraction,” she said cautiously.

  Mia hooted. “Some? You’re lying. I can tell with my eyes closed.”

  Katie leaned forward. “So it’s still there? The chemistry?”

  Brenna nodded unhappily. “In a way I wish it weren’t. I’m having some self-control issues. It doesn’t matter, though. For one thing, I don’t know if the feelings are mutual.” Although she kind of thought they might be.

  “For another,” she said, making her voice more firm, “Nic and I now have business together. That changes everything. I can’t sleep with the guy who loaned me a million dollars. It would be too weird.”

  “Good point,” Katie said.

  “What is wrong with you two?” Mia asked. “You don’t have to actually have sex with him to enjoy the experience. That’s what fantasies are for.”

  Brenna grinned. “Sometimes, Mia, I like the way you think.”

  • • •

  Just after sunset Brenna turned into the driveway leading to Wild Sea. Ahead of her, a truck pulled to a stop in front of the old building that housed the equipment Nic had loaned her. Brenna parked off to the side and climbed out into the cool evening.

  Her heart beat fast and she was having trouble catching her breath, but for once her reactions weren’t about being around Nic. She was really going to do this—she was about to take the first step on the road to making Four Sisters Winery a success.

  She hurried toward the building and pulled open the wide double doors. The inside smelled musty, with the scent of previous harvests lingering along with the dust motes. The last rays of sun spilled in from high windows, bathing the ancient equipment in a patina of worn gold. Nic had told her he’d had all the machinery scrubbed out, and she’d already checked that everything functioned, so she could get right to work tonight.

  Reverently she ran her hands over the crusher. Excitement flared inside of her. For the rest of her life she would remember this moment, she told herself. Years from now when someone asked where it had all begun, she would recall this night.

  “Where do you want them?”

  She looked up and saw two men carrying in baskets of grapes. She pointed to the open floor space and helped them arrange the baskets in rows. Twenty minutes later the truck was unloaded and the men left.

  Brenna stood alone, surrounded by the best Chardonnay grapes she’d been able to purchase. The scent of the fruit offered a hint of what could be. Possibilities, she thought, picking a grape and biting into it. Making wine was always about possibilities.

  The grape was firm, tart, with a hint of sweetness. She let the juice linger on her tongue, absorbing the layers of flavors, imagining the taste in a year and a half when fermentation and oak and time combined to work magic.

  “But first there’s plenty of work,” she murmured aloud, before loading the crusher.

  She worked quickly, then flipped the switch. The machinery
began to clink and grind, slowly crushing the grapes before they were moved into the presser. As the mixture traveled, she checked the temperature. If the grapes heated too much, they would begin fermenting as early as the pressing stage, which would be a disaster. But the weather was on her side. The day had been unseasonably cool, with a fog that never lifted. Her grapes were slightly chilled and a little damp.

  She hurried to the far end of the presser and made sure the first vat was in place. After pressing, the grapes would settle, allowing sediment to sink to the bottom of the vats. That was as far as she would get tonight.

  Tomorrow there would be more grapes. The process would continue through late September and harvesting of the Cabernet.

  As the crushed mixture moved through to the presser, the smell of grapes grew stronger. Even with the doors open and a slight breeze drifting into the building, the sweet aroma became almost intoxicating.

  She had just loaded another basket of grapes into the crusher when she heard footsteps on the cement floor. Instantly her heartbeat quickened with anticipation. Brenna found herself smiling even before she turned to see who had joined her.

  “How’s it going?” Nic asked as he walked over to stand next to her. “I saw the truck pull in.”

  She motioned to the clanking equipment. “This is it. The beginning.”

  He grinned. “I thought about bringing champagne to celebrate, but that seemed like overkill.”

  “Probably, but I appreciate the thought.”

  “Nervous?” he asked.

  “A little. I’m using this batch for my blend. They’re premium grapes and I know I’m right to do this, but I can’t help feeling apprehensive.”

  “Bucking convention is never easy.”

  “Not to mention the fact that I can hear my grandfather’s voice in my head as he yells at me for wasting the best grapes.”

  “Need earplugs?”

  She shook her head. “Just a little more time doing my own thing. I’ll get over it.”

  He was standing close enough that she could see the stubble darkening his jaw. Nothing unusual there, she told herself. Many Italian men had heavy beards. Nic was simply one of those guys who had to shave in the evening before going out on a date. But this wasn’t a date and he hadn’t shaved and she found herself remembering how that stubble had felt against her skin when they’d kissed. The combination of rough beard and soft lips had been unbelievably erotic. Damn. It was hell to have peaked sexually at the age of seventeen.

  Nic walked around to the presser. “How much are you doing tonight?”

  “All of it. I want it settling before I leave.”

  He glanced at the baskets of grapes on the floor. “You’re going to be here until dawn.”

  “Probably.”

  “Did you work today?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you working tomorrow?”

  She smiled. “Sleep is highly overrated.”

  “I guess.” He headed for the door. “I’ll let you get to it.”

  “Sure. Thanks for stopping by.”

  Brenna watched him go, trying not to feel disappointed. This was her dream, not Nic’s. He had his own winery to run—and he got to do it during the day, like a normal person.

  She glanced around the big, open room, at the wooden walls, the staircase, and the cement floor. There wasn’t a stick of extra furniture. She was going to have to dig up a desk and maybe even a radio, she thought. Otherwise the nights were going to get incredibly long.

  Fifteen minutes later she checked the level in the presser. The crushed mixture filled the big container. As she watched the process, she imagined what it would be like eighteen months from now when she would see the finished wine filling bottles. Maybe she would invite her sisters to come by and they could have a party.

  A clunking sound made her turn. Nic had returned with a couple of folding chairs and a box.

  “You’re not going to make it all night without coffee,” he said, putting the box on the floor.

  She saw a coffeemaker along with cups and a big bottle of water.

  “I’ll supply the grounds for tonight, but after that, you’re on your own.”

  “Fair enough.”

  She tried not to read too much into his friendly gesture, or the fact that he’d brought two chairs. If Nic stayed, that would be nice. If he didn’t, she would survive.

  Nice, she thought as she picked up the coffeepot and carried it over to a wall plug. Nice? Right. Who was she kidding? Being around Nic wasn’t nice, it was exciting and terrifying. It was like swimming with electric eels. She never knew where the shock was coming from. A sensible woman would stay out of the water. Funny, she’d been sensible once, when she’d married Jeff. And look where that had gotten her.

  • • •

  Nic cradled his coffee mug. It was sometime close to midnight and he knew he should head back to the house. Still, instead of standing, he stretched out his legs and watched as the first of the juice flowed from the presser into the waiting vat.

  Brenna danced anxiously around the equipment as if she could make the process go smoothly by sheer force of will alone. Her brown eyes glowed with an intensity he envied. This mattered to her. She would be involved from the loading of the grapes into the crusher, through bottling the last drop of wine. If she had time, he would bet that she would be out hand cutting every single grape.

  Wild Sea was important to him, but he no longer had the same intimate contact with his wine. The company was too big. While there were vineyards he controlled personally, the majority had managers who handled the day-to-day details. He checked on the process, but he didn’t have a hand in every bottle they produced.

  That’s what comes from doubling the size of the company, he reminded himself. If all went according to plan, he would soon be adding Marcelli Wines to his holdings.

  “Have you picked a name?” he asked.

  Brenna looked up. “Four Sisters Winery.”

  He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was and wasn’t able to stop himself from stiffening.

  “What?” Brenna asked.

  “Nothing. Great name.” He shrugged. “Family was always important to you.”

  Now it was her turn to look uncomfortable. He waited to see if she would say anything, but she didn’t.

  “Did I ever tell you how Wild Sea got its name?” he asked.

  “No.” She shook her head. “No one has ever told me.”

  “The original plan had been to name the wineries after the family name. Your great-grandfather did that with Marcelli Wines, but Salvatore had a change of heart. In the 1920s there was only one way to come to America and that was by boat. It seems the crossing was very rough and my great-grandfather thought they were all going to die.”

  Brenna winced in sympathy. “I guess they didn’t have great stabilizers back then.”

  “Probably not. According to my grandfather, Salvatore made a deal with the sea. He promised to name his winery after it if it didn’t swallow them up.”

  Brenna smiled. “I never thought of your great-grandfather as the whimsical type.”

  “I don’t think he was, but fear does strange things to people.”

  She sat next to him and sighed. “Sometimes I think it would have been very exciting to be alive back when Salvatore and Antonio started the wineries. All the promise of the future was in front of them.”

  He didn’t point out that the first couple of years would have been filled with backbreaking work as the soil was prepared for the vines. No doubt there had been plenty of trips to church to pray for blessings and maybe even a miracle or two.

  “I have my great-grandmother’s diary,” he said. “Sophia started it about five years before she married Salvatore and came here.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  He shook his head. “I’ve been reading it in bits and pieces. She talks about a lot of things, including Salvatore’s particularly unromantic proposal. When he returned to Italy, he
was considered successful. The match was arranged without anyone asking Sophia her thoughts on the matter. She didn’t complain about that in her diary, but she did mention she was eager to see America. At least I think that’s what she said. My Italian is lousy. She could have been talking about the laundry instead.”

  Brenna laughed. “I doubt that. Women usually don’t discuss laundry in their diaries. Not that I could tell you for sure. My Italian is worse than awful. Why are you reading her diary?”

  “I found it when I was going through my grandfather’s things a couple of years ago. I pick it up from time to time and translate a page or two.” He shrugged. “It’s slow going. Plus I’m a present and future kind of guy, so the past isn’t that interesting to me.”

  Brenna’s humor faded. “I’m sorry about your grandfather. I wanted to come to the funeral, but I knew having a Marcelli there would cause a lot of talk and distract from the real purpose.”

  “Thanks, but it wasn’t a big deal.”

  Brenna raised her eyebrows. “Of course it mattered. He was your family.”

  “Is that what it’s called?”

  She winced. “I know he was mad before, when you left, but after you came back…” She swallowed. “Didn’t things turn out all right between you? He left you the winery.”

  “I’m the only living Giovanni left. Who else would inherit?”

  She looked away. Nic thought he read guilt in her body language. She was the reason he and his grandfather had become estranged in the first place. He considered pressing the point, but decided it had been too many years and too many miles. What did talking about all that now matter?

  Silence filled the large room. Brenna shifted in her seat, then offered a shaky smile. “How’s Max?”

  Nic sipped his coffee. “Good. He’s housebroken, as promised. I’m currently working on his need to chew everything he can find. I also want to get him into an obedience program.”

  “Because at least one living creature in your life should come when called?”

  He grinned. “Exactly.”

  Brenna stood and checked the presser.

  “When do you get more grapes?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow.”