I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and smoothed the nervous jitter in my stomach.
Dante had touched on a small truth. Baroni wines hadn’t been selected for any recent dinners with heads of state and country, but these things were fluid and at any given moment we could be back in the most prestigious cellars. I tried not to worry that my predictions for our brand had come to fruition, but my fears added to my heightened anxiety. Donato showing up with his frivolous offer was an irritant to my already raw nerves.
I rounded the corner to find Como scowling behind his desk. “Is he gone?” he asked.
I didn’t pretend ignorance. “I left him in the great hall. I have no idea if he has left the premises. I have work to do. I cannot spend all my time sparring with an arrogant American.”
“Is it true his family built these walls?”
I shrugged. “So he says.”
“And why now? Why is he sniffing around right when we are about to launch our biggest accomplishment? Perhaps he is a spy for another winery.”
I laughed at Como’s suspicion. “He is no spy. He is an entitled American who feels he can throw money at any problem or challenge. I disabused him of this notion.”
“I do not trust him. He has shifty eyes.”
I disagreed. Dante’s eyes were magnificent—they smoldered with cool heat. The stormy blue was mesmerizing but I didn’t share my observation with Como. The last thing I needed was Como getting jealous. “How are we on production?” I asked, going straight to business.
“We are on track,” Como said, but he was still grousing about the American. “You don’t take this threat seriously. I sense he is not one to give up easily. You should’ve thrown him from the property to send a stronger message that he is not welcome.”
What Como found most threatening was that where Como was long and lanky in build with a strong hawk nose, Dante was built like a soldier, molded with muscle and brawn. Even that designer suit couldn’t hide that hard form. I smothered a shiver. I was willing to bet that in bed, Dante was an animal. Just the kind of lover I craved. I returned my attention to Como, snapping my fingers with irritation. “Stay on task, Como. Just because we operate out of a castle does not mean we keep medieval ways. We don’t toss the distasteful from the ramparts. We send them on their way with our compliments. Better for business.”
Como nodded, grudgingly admitting I was right. “You do your family proud. You are so smart and wise. And beautiful.” Como’s gaze warmed and I exhaled with a slight shake of my head.
His last comment only cemented my decision to keep things professional between us. Como had been a competent lover but mostly convenient. In spite of ending our sexual relationship more than a year ago, he still held out hope that I would change my mind about wanting more—which I wouldn’t—and he followed me like a puppy.
Bad judgment and sexual frustration make for terrible bedfellows. Como’s endless unrequited-love sorrow was annoying, but out of deference for our long friendship and business relationship, I tolerated his overtures while avoiding any physical contact.
However, my patience was at its end. I turned to face him, my expression stern. “Como, we are no longer lovers,” I reminded him. “We agreed that we were better as friends.”
“No, I never agreed,” he said with a frown. “You made a decision and expected me to simply fall in line. I understood your reasoning, and with the strain of Uva Persa hanging on your shoulders, I realized it was better to go along with your decision. But soon we launch and the stress will no longer weigh you down, freeing you to see that you and I are a perfect team. I am a patient man and you are worth waiting for.”
My stomach knotted, not for the first time, at Como’s self-assuredness of his belief, which was wrong on so many levels. I glared with frustration. “You are not patient. You are stubborn.”
“You will come around,” Como said with a cockiness I found unattractive on him. “No one knows you as I do.”
“You do not know me as well as you think if you believe I enjoy being patronized,” I said coolly, and Como stiffened at the rebuke. “You are a valuable member of my staff and I appreciate your talents on a business level but do not mistake me. If you continue to pursue this dangerous line of thinking it will not only ruin our friendship but our working relationship, as well.”
“You would fire me?” Como asked, surprised.
“If you continued to force my hand.”
Como held my gaze as if trying to ascertain whether I was serious or bluffing. If he knew me as well as he claimed, he would know I didn’t bluff. The fact that we were having this conversation, after I’d already settled the matter, created no small amount of heartburn. He was right in that Uva Persa was weighing on my shoulders with all the unwieldy grace of an elephant, but the day would never come that I invited Como back into my bed. I never made the same mistake twice.
“No one will ever love you the way I do,” Como said, his lips disappearing as his frown deepened into a scowl. “No one will understand your burdens as I do.”
Como truly believed his own conviction and because he was a good man, I softened a little. “Perhaps,” I conceded for the sake of his ego. “But I am not the woman for you. I would only bring you misery. Please, let us put this tiresome argument to rest and return to what we are truly good at together.”
I would never beg but I didn’t want to lose Como as a friend or as a trusted business ally. He’d been my right hand for so many years and I didn’t want to lose him over something as stupid as misplaced affections.
After a long tense moment, Como jerked a short nod to indicate we could move on and I breathed a secret sigh of relief. Hopefully, this conversation was well and truly done. Moving quickly to business, I tapped the desk, saying, “I need to go over the contracts for the campaign. Would you please have them sent to my office?”
“Of course.”
Grateful to be back on course, I left Como and headed for the grounds. I liked to be visible in all areas of production, from the business side to the agricultural. But when I walked the grounds, the fresh air tickling my nose, the cypress trees swaying in the breeze, I felt closest to Enzo.
My twin brother, my touchstone, was the one who’d been enamored with the winemaking business. He’d had so many plans, so many hopes and dreams.
It was Enzo who had first mentioned the legacy of the lost grapes. At the time, I’d listened to him talk about the possibility of resurrecting ancient varietals but it’d seemed a fantasy, something to dream about. Enzo had been sure that it was a possibility and he was going to try to make it happen when he was old enough.
But my brother never got the chance. When he died in an auto accident at sixteen, a part of me died with him. Twins share a bond that is hard to explain.
Enzo would’ve been a premier winemaker—his love for the business had been unparalleled. I was but Enzo’s weak imitation, but I swore to his memory that I would never let Baroni wines fail. They would thrive in his honor.
Uva Persa would be our crowning achievement. Only Nonno knew what I’d been through to cultivate my secret vineyard, and he kept my secret, but the pressure to succeed was nearly crushing me.
Even after carefully selecting the property to grow the tenerone—testing the soil, checking for acidity and appropriate climate, tending to the vineyard as it finally yielded fruit—it’d taken three years for the wine to mature and it was finally ready for its debut.
So when Donato came around making offers, what he didn’t know was that there was no amount I would ever accept. I would never shame Enzo’s dream by selling—much less selling to an American.
Donato would just have to find another winery to purchase for his collection.