Daniel laughed. “Something like that. That’s ah, actually why I wanted to take you to lunch today.”
“I’m taking you,” Big Shel said. “Oh, look, they’ve got that chicken quinoa salad on the menu again. I’ll be having that.”
“I invited you. Which means you’re the guest,” Daniel said.
“If you’re about to ask my permission to marry my daughter,” Big Shel murmured, flipping the menu over to study the other side, “you probably shouldn’t tick me off right off the bat.”
“How did you—” Daniel began, shocked because he hadn’t given a reason for today’s lunch, and they’d had a generic discussion about getting together again soon the night Daniel watched the football game at his house.
Big Shel lowered the menu and nailed him with an exasperated sigh. “Danny Boy, the only two people who didn’t know you and Zoya would get married one day were you and Zoya. Glad to see you’re finally on board.”
Flummoxed, Daniel tried to regroup. He’d had a whole speech prepared, but now Big Shel had gone and yanked the script out of his hands. Maybe the best policy would be to start at the beginning and tell the whole truth, uncomfortable though that may be.
“I love your daughter, Big Shel,” Daniel said quietly, searching the older man’s impassive face for a sign of encouragement. Big Shel seemed cool with the idea, but who the hell really knew? Daniel had walked out on Zoya once, and he’d have to answer to her father for that one day. Probably now. Daniel’s belly tightened with anxiety. “I laid eyes on her when she played in this wedding quartet back when we were in college, and I just knew: it’s her. She’s the fiercest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I love her. I’ve always loved her. I want to build a new family with her. Have her be a part of my old family.” He hesitated. “I want to be a part of your family. If you’ll have me. I just…” Stop babbling, Harper. “I hope you’ll give us your blessing.”
Big Shel nodded thoughtfully. Daniel could almost see him picking up all those words and examining them for worthiness one by one. At last, he sighed. Opened his mouth. Paused.
“I’m glad you asked for my blessing. You and Zoya are grown folk. You don’t need permission.”
Several long beats passed while Big Shel smoothed the edges of his menu.
Daniel waited, his heart thumping loud enough to be audible.
“The thing is, I know you love Zoya,” Big Shel continued. “I know you could provide for her, but she’s a grown thirty-six-year-old woman. She takes care of herself. She’s been doing it this whole time.”
Another pause.
Daniel felt beads of sweat form across his overheated forehead.
“You’ve been like the son I never had, Danny Boy. If you’d come to me back then and said you wanted to marry her, I’d have been concerned about your finances, but, hell, everyone has tight finances starting out. That don’t stop people from making families. So I’d have said yes. Go with my blessing. If someone had told me back then that you’d leave town without a word—to Zoya or me—I’d have called them a damn liar.” Big Shel sighed. “But you did leave. I don’t know why. I don’t want to know why. But you broke both our hearts when you did it. Oh, don’t look so surprised. You didn’t think I never noticed that you never called, did you, son?”
Daniel hung his head. Focused on blinking back the tears that wanted to shame him. He’d already cried in front of his father this week. He wasn’t about to cry again in front of his father figure.
“The bottom line is, you left her. You did a lot of damage. She lost a little bit of the woman she was back then. You want my blessing? You need to tell me what’s changed. What you can do to enrich her life that she can’t do for herself.”
Whoa.
Toughest damn interview question of his life.
Good thing he’d spent the last several days thinking about this very issue.
Daniel cleared his throat, took a deep breath and leaned in.
“I know she’s got a good life now, without me, but I want to give her more. More smiles. More laughter. More support and encouragement. If she needs help at Spun Gold, I can help her. If she wants to kayak on the river, go down to the city for some shopping or put her feet up and drink some tea by the fire, I want to do everything I can to make that happen. Anything I can do to enrich her life? Make her dreams come true? Make her days easier and happier? That’s what I’ll do. That’s what I’m happy to do. Because the thing that makes me happy? I mean really, deep down, I could die right now happy?” He shrugged. “It’s when she smiles at me.”
Longest pause of the conversation.
Then Big Shel’s lips curled, and his eyes crinkled at the corners before he quickly caught himself. “Are you planning on walking out again, Danny Boy?”
“No.” Daniel thought back to his confrontation with his father the other day, and the new lightness of spirit he’d felt since then. “My leaving back then…my being mad at the world…There were a lot of reasons. Zoya. My dad.” He stopped to clear his throat. “My sister’s death. All of that was in there. But I’ve made my peace with the past. Today’s a new day.”
Big Shel nodded with unmistakable satisfaction. Extended his hand across the table.
“Welcome to the family, son.”
Chapter 26
It was after ten that night when Zoya let herself into Daniel's apartment using her key.
Stuffed to the gills after a lengthy business dinner with Baptiste and his father, Daniel showered and opened a bottle of Chardonnay. He was just thinking about turning on some music when he heard her at the door.
He looked up from pouring the glasses, his blood buzzing with anticipation to see what she was wearing. Her no-sex rule during their reacquaintance period was perfectly valid, and he intended to honor it if that was what she needed. Plus, they’d had a big fight before he flew off to Bordeaux, and he’d told her they needed to get their shit together while he was gone, so they had plenty of new stuff to discuss. Important stuff. So they didn’t need sex clouding the issue.
On the other hand, if she didn’t let him touch her again sometime soon, he felt fairly certain he’d lose his freaking mind. Was it about the fucking? Yeah. About thirty percent. The rest was all about making sure they were still together. Still on track. Still DanZo.
So he watched her come in with his heart in his throat, blocking the air from his lungs.
And managed a shaky exhale only when he saw that she was wearing that silky robe of hers. And nothing else, judging by the pointy tips of her nipples on prominent display.
Oh, yes, indeed. God was good.
Actually, she was wearing something else: a slouchy gray knit cap.
“Hey.” She shut the door and joined him at the counter, a sexy woman’s half-smile on her lips. “I hope that’s some delicious Harper Rose Chardonnay. I hear they’ve got a world-class winery. And a sexy new director of winemaking.”
Grinning, he passed her a glass. “I am sexy, aren’t I?”
“Very.”
“Speaking of world class, you can be one of the first to know about the merger.”
Her face lit with delight. “Merger?”
“Baptiste is trying to make his mark on his family’s vineyard. He wants to expand into the US and he likes our distribution network. We like his money. See? Win-win. We’re still working out all the details, but pretty soon, Harper Rose will become Château Harper Rose.”
“Oh, my God. I love it! And how is your father with this whole scheme?”
“Funny you should ask. My father had dinner with me and Baptiste tonight. You’ll be happy to know the Dictator grinned from ear to ear the whole time. Went so far as to say he feels like his fairy godfathers have arrived. Loves the Frenchman. I don’t have the heart to tell Sean he’s been kicked to the curb as my dad’s favorite surrogate son.”
“Poor Sean. Don’t break his heart like that.”
They both laughed. Daniel basked in the glow of Zoya’s approval like a lizard s
unning himself on white sand. She drifted closer. He drifted closer, his attention dipping to the two halves of her robe, which had widened into a deeper V between her titties.
“So,” she said, her gaze dropping to his lips and back up to his eyes again. “Should we make a toast to Château Harper Rose?”
He raised his glass. “To Château Harper Rose. And new beginnings.”
They clinked. Sipped, the wine tart and refreshing.
“I couldn’t help but notice,” he said, his focus wandering over her curves again, “that you wore my favorite robe. Is that auspicious? Or did you forget to do your laundry again?”
“Oh, you noticed my robe?”
“I noticed your robe,” he said huskily. “As you damn well know.”
Some of her smile slipped away, leaving naked heat in its wake. “Tonight feels auspicious to me. What about you?”
“Tonight is auspicious. Because we’re going to go sit on that sofa and talk it out. Get a lot of stuff settled. Are you with me?”
“I’m with you.”
“Can I have my hat? You made it for me, right?”
“I made it especially for you.”
He stooped. She took the hat off her head and put it on his.
A perfect fit.
“Thank you, Kitten.”
“You’re welcome.”
They grinned at each other in a moment of quiet and perfect understanding.
“Come on,” he said reluctantly. “Let’s go talk.”
“You’d better grab the bottle. We’re probably going to need it.”
She took their glasses and reached for him with her free hand. He linked their fingers and grabbed the ice bucket with his free hand. They walked to the sofa, with Zoya leaning into him and resting her fragrant head on his shoulder as they went.
His heart swelled. The poor organ was overworked these days, far too small to contain all the ways he loved this woman.
They sat. Got settled, putting the wine on the coffee table. He tried not to notice the way the edges of the robe slid away from her satiny skin as she faced him and tucked her legs up under her.
He took a deep breath and got right to the heart of the matter: she needed to trust him, and he needed her to have faith in him.
“You didn’t seriously think I’d move away from you again, did you?”
She met his gaze, staring at him long and hard. “No,” she finally admitted. “But that’s my worst fear. I didn’t expect to face it again so soon.”
“Zoya—”
“You know…you have a well-earned reputation as a hothead.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well-earned.” She paused, pulling the robe up to cover her thighs. “But I fly off the handle too, sometimes. Yeah, okay, I could do without all the fake shock. Anyway, maybe that’s what I did the other night. Flew off the handle.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere other than with you. I just had a passing tinge of longing, because it was the kind of job I’d have killed for back in the day. That’s all. You’re a million times more important to me than any job.”
“I know. But my father had just gotten his test results, and they looked a little off…You know he’s good, right? But they looked a little off the other day, and all I could think was that history was repeating itself.”
“Our history is not going to repeat itself. We’re too smart for that now.”
“Let’s hope. So you’re okay with rejecting Baptiste’s great job offer? What about working with your father and all? How will that be?”
“My father and I had a big blow-up the other day. Guess it’s my week for big blowups. We said a lot of things we should have said years ago. A lot of our issues had to do with my, ah…with Caroline. With her death.”
“Oh, Daniel,” she said, pressing a hand to her heart. “You know you weren’t responsible—”
He quickly held up a hand. “Yeah, I know. In my head. But I needed to hear my father tell me he doesn’t blame me. That he understands I did my best. And I’m doing my best with the vineyard. And I plan to do better, if he’ll allow me.”
“Do you think you got through to him?”
“I’m getting through to him slowly but surely. My mother is helping me bring him along. So is Baptiste. Dinner tonight really helped. I think my father finally sees the winery’s potential.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“I know. And I’m working on letting go of some of my anger at my father. And at myself. And at her for dying.”
“How’s that going?”
“It’s day by day. I’m not saying I’m cured.”
“But you’re working on it.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Speaking of working on things…” Looking suddenly shy, she ducked her head and smoothed the hair at her nape. “I, ah…well, remember the audition notices you gave me the other night at dinner? For the regional orchestra and for that quartet?”
Daniel froze. “Yeah?”
“Well…I signed up.” Bright red color crept over her cheeks. “To audition. For both.”
Daniel gaped at her, his ears refusing to believe what they’d just heard.
“It’s kind of crazy, because I haven’t played for so long, but I’ve got a few weeks to practice, and I just thought, why not? I mean, I do miss it, and I found a shop in the city that rents higher end stringed instruments. So I thought I’d drive down there tomorrow and check it out—”
Daniel lost his head and lunged for her, planting his hands on either side of her face and pulling her in for a series of kisses that were as relieved and overjoyed as they were hot and urgent. After a surprised squawk, she leaned in and kissed him back until they were both breathless and panting.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, resting his forehead against hers when they broke apart again. “I know how hard that was. I knew you could do it, Kitten.”
She laughed shakily with her now swollen lips, still looking a little glazed. “If I’d known how hot this would make you, I’d have started playing again much sooner.”
He grinned and, with a final kiss to the cheek, turned her loose. “So, this shop in the city. What kinds of cellos do they have? See any you like?”
“There was one French cello from around eighteen-fifty that looked promising, so we’ll see.”
“Are you excited?”
Sudden tears somehow brightened her smile. She made a choked sound, half laugh, half sob, and clapped a hand over her mouth as she nodded.
Daniel watched her, his heart close to bursting.
“I’m so excited,” she finally said, laughing at herself.
“Are you happy?”
More tears. More laughter. “So happy.”
Daniel thought about his promise to Big Shel about making Zoya more of everything. Now seemed like a good time to start.
“So, listen,” he said. “I brought you a couple of souvenirs.”
“You did?” Wiping the last of her tears on her robe’s sash and beaming like a kid whose Christmas present consists of an entire floor of a toy store, she started to clap and chant. “T-shirt. T-shirt. T-shirt.”
“It’s not a T-shirt, you silly girl. Close your eyes. Hold out your hands.”
She frowned, but complied. “Why wouldn’t you bring me a T-shirt? Everyone loves T-shirts. I don’t think a T-shirt is too much to ask for, frankly.”
“Are you finished?”
“Fine,” she said, repressing a grin with difficulty.
He reached under the sofa cushion, found her gift and placed it in her hands.
Zoya flinched. Her eyes flew open and she stared at the tiny red velvet box with a stricken expression.
Daniel’s heart crashed through the floor.
Well, shit.
Hadn’t they just agreed, not ten minutes ago, that they wouldn’t repeat the past?
Maybe he should have waited.
“Don’t worry,” he said quickly. “I just want you to know how I feel
, so you won’t flip out if I get some Australian job offer out of the blue, but it’s up to you. If you’re ready to get engaged now, then we can. If not, it can just be a promise ring. Or if you want a long engagement, or for us to, I don’t know, go to premarital counseling or something to make sure we’ve gotten it right this time—”
His babbling floundered as Zoya opened the box and stared at the large blue oval ring with diamond halo. She gasped, her jaw hitting her lap, then pressed a hand to her heart. “It looks like—”
“The ring I proposed with before, I know,” he said, aware of how fast he was talking. But he had to get it all out there. Lay it all on the line and make it impossible for her to reject him again. “But that one was an aquamarine and this is a sapphire. The jeweler said it was from Ceylon. This is the kind of ring I wanted to give you back then, only I couldn’t afford it. I wasn’t planning on giving it to you this soon, but I saw it in a window when Baptiste and I were on the way to lunch the other day, and I…”
He trailed off. “You’re not giving me any clues here,” he told her, his heart pumping out a million beats a minute. “Help me out.”
She looked up at him again, a fresh sheen of tears making her brown eyes more brilliant than ever. “You want me to marry you?”
“You know I do,” he said, his voice husky. “It’s always been you. When I got my ass kicked in officer training and needed a soft place to go? When my wines won awards back in Napa, or I wanted someone’s opinion about which sofa or car or dish soap to buy...You’ve got to know, Zoya. I don’t want to skate around it anymore. We’re too old to play games. We’ve already wasted way too much time. It’s always been you. Marry me.”
Shaky laugh from Zoya. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever ask me again. I thought maybe I’d ruined my only chance.”
He cupped her head and massaged her nape, his fear melting away. “I’ll ask as many times as it takes. I’m just hoping it won’t take that many more times.”
She laughed. Handed the box back to him. Held out her left hand.
The ring was a perfect fit. When it was on, he took her precious hand and kissed the back of it. She wrapped her free hand around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss on his temple.
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