‘Patient?’ Grace interrupted, starting to smile.
‘I love to hear you happy, Grace. Don’t let life frighten you. Please promise me that.’
‘But do I know enough?’ she said, still fretting.
‘I know sommeliers who have been judging wine for forty years and don’t have your natural ability,’ Elias insisted. ‘There’s only one amateur I can think of who comes close to matching your palate and he just left the building.’
Grace felt the same tremble of awareness she had felt at that dinner, when Buddy had started barking, but she didn’t believe in coincidence, and there had to be more than one family in Argentina that owned vineyards. And hadn’t Lucia said the Acosta vineyards had been languishing for years?
‘You don’t have to worry about Buddy,’ Elias was saying. ‘He won’t be a problem as you’ll both be travelling in style on the Acosta family jet.’
‘The Acosta family?’ Grace’s throat closed up as her worst fears were confirmed. ‘Who exactly is it I’m meeting in Argentina?’ she managed hoarsely.
Elias laughed, as if to confirm his thoughts that she was overreacting. ‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to face the whole tribe at once—just the kingpin, Nacho.’
‘Nacho?’ A sound that was half a laugh and half a hysterical sob squeezed out of her throat. ‘You have warned Señor Acosta that I will be travelling to Argentina in your place?’
Elias took too long to answer.
‘You haven’t?’ she said.
‘I won’t lose out to a competitor,’ Elias said stubbornly. ‘And I can’t see why you’re making such a fuss. You know the Acosta family, don’t you?’
‘You know I do. Lucia is my best friend. You must remember we worked together at the club. And, yes, I’ve met her brothers, too,’ she said, making sure to keep all expression out of her voice.
‘Well, there you are!’ Elias exclaimed. ‘You’ll be flying to the far west of their property, where I’m told it’s very beautiful. You’ll see the snow-capped Andes, and all those glorious rivers that feed the vines. It’s perfect wine-growing country—’ Elias stopped. ‘Oh, Grace, I’m so sorry …’
‘Please don’t be,’ she said. ‘What I can’t see I can’t tell you about, but I’ll make up for it in other ways, I promise. I’m sure the air will be different—and I can still smell. I can still feel the sun on my face. And the rain,’ she added wryly as the latest in a series of angry winter storms rattled the windows. ‘There will be so many new experiences—’ She stopped, remembering the one experience ahead that really frightened her: meeting the most formidable of the Acosta brothers again. ‘Was Nacho Acosta here today, by any chance?’
‘Yes. Nacho’s taken charge of the family vineyards,’ Elias confirmed breezily. ‘I’ve got every confidence in you,’ he stressed. ‘I know I couldn’t have a better representative. This trip is going to be a piece of cake for you, Grace.’
It was to be hoped the cake didn’t choke her.
GRACE’S decision to go to Argentina had been made by the time Elias left the room. She wouldn’t let her elderly mentor down. She’d always been thankful Elias didn’t treat her any differently because she was blind, and now she had to rise to the challenge. It was just a little harder because Nacho was involved …
Okay, it was a whole lot harder. Nacho wasn’t exactly noted for his tolerance, and this would be her first big job. Was she trying to run before she could walk? Would Nacho even listen to her views on his wine and the way he ran the family vineyard? Apart from the extensive training Elias had given her she had no real experience in this area, and certainly no money or lofty lineage like the Acosta family.
She must stop with the negatives and concentrate on the positives, Grace concluded. But her thoughts were all over the place at the thought of meeting Nacho again. Their first meeting had been a disaster, and her body had reeled at the sight of him, but this next meeting would be very different. It was business, and she didn’t have the option to be a shrinking violet. Now she was blind she had to get out there and make her presence felt.
She thought back to the wedding again, and how painfully shy she had been. She had felt out of place amongst so many glamorous, confident people, and had been horrified when Nacho had come to her rescue. She hadn’t been able to think of anything interesting to say to him, and had stood transfixed like a rabbit trapped in a car’s headlights when he had brushed a gentle kiss against her lips. First chance she’d got, she’d bolted. ‘Like Cinderella,’ as Lucia had later chided her, adding the unsettling news that her brother had been less than pleased.
Grace couldn’t begin to imagine what Nacho would think of her now she was blind and also in a position to put a curb on his business objectives.
This wasn’t the first time since her sight had failed that she had felt like beating her head against the wall and screaming, Why me? Unfortunately, she always came up with the same answer: why not me?
Later that night Grace packed a case with an assortment of clothes taken from her carefully organised wardrobe. Lucia, who had always been strong on the organisational front, had come up with a foolproof plan that enabled Grace to find colour-co-ordinated outfits. By tagging the various suit bags and drawers with Braille labels, Lucia had made finding her clothes and accessories easy.
If only handling inner turmoil could be managed as easily, Grace fretted.
She was excited and yet terrified at the prospect of seeing Nacho again. But she couldn’t actually see him, so it couldn’t be that bad.
Even she didn’t believe that.
Not wanting to spoil Grace’s chances of making the trip, Elias had e-mailed Nacho immediately to say that at the last minute another expert would be taking his place.
‘Well, it’s true,’ Elias had protested when Grace had pulled him up on it.
Grace might not approve of Elias’s methods, but he had her loyalty—and if she stopped to think how Nacho was going to react when he saw who it was taking Elias’s place she would never get on that plane.
A blind sommelier? Wouldn’t that be a thrill for Nacho? He was expecting Elias Silver, master vintner and emperor of a European wine distribution network, and he would get Grace and her guide dog instead.
The journey to Argentina was so much easier than Grace had imagined. A chauffeur-driven car picked her up at home, and her transit through the airport was seamless. Maybe that was something all private plane passengers experienced but, blind or not, she thought it was quite something to be escorted and fussed over.
The moment she stepped out of the plane she noticed how warm it was, and how good it felt to have the sun on her face instead of the prickly chill of a damp English winter. The smell of jet fuel still caught in her throat, but there was spice in the air too, and the foreign language sounded musical and intriguing.
There were interpreters on hand to lead Grace to yet another chauffeur-driven car, and the driver was chatty, spoke perfect English, and took a very obvious pride in his country—which led to an illuminating travelogue for Grace. Apparently there were billboards of the Acosta brothers all the way down the main road, and as they travelled across the flat expanses of the pampas he told her about the jagged mountains there, with eagles soaring on the updrafts around their snowy peaks.
The driver showed no surprise that Grace was blind. Nacho’s PA had made all the arrangements with Elias, he explained, when Grace made a casual comment. It was just the great man himself who didn’t realise he had a beautiful woman coming to taste his wine, as Nacho had been away on a business trip,