Lucia (The Bonaveras)

by Paris Patricia

  Antonio liked that Liam was a forward planner and wanted to get all their ducks in a row up front so they could avoid potential problems down the road. He’d worked his fair share of jobs where the project suffered from time lags because the contractor hadn’t planned properly, or something had to be ripped out and redone because it wasn’t done to his specifications. He didn’t want that to happen on this one.

  He got his sunglasses and cell off the bureau and left the room. At least he had things to keep him busy this morning, to keep his mind occupied on something other than Lucia.

  When Antonio walked out of the inn a few minutes later, he saw Caterina coming up the walk. He stopped to chat with her for a couple of minutes. He thought she looked tired, and was more subdued than usual, but overall she seemed to be managing okay.

  Her sisters had rallied around her, making sure she had things to do, that she was never alone for too long that one of them didn’t suggest they go for a walk, have a glass of wine, or play a board game. She was one of their own and they would care for her, boost her up, and find ways to help her move on.

  He wasn’t family yet, but he was a friend, and he would do what he could to try and aide them in their efforts.

  LIAM LEANED AGAINST the tailgate of his truck chewing on a mint-flavored toothpick while he waited for Antonio so they could walk the property together. He’d seen him come out of the winery’s inn and stop to talk to the woman who’d pulled in several cars down from his truck a few minutes earlier.

  He hadn’t gotten a look at her face, but the rest of her was mighty fine. She had great legs, long and toned, and although he admired the way they looked in those fancy shoes she was wearing, it boggled his mind how women managed to walk around in such spiky high heels—especially across a gravel parking lot. It had to be uncomfortable as hell. Still, he wasn’t one to complain when the view was so enjoyable.

  He wondered if she might be Caterina Bonavera, the one sister he hadn’t met. The first time he met with the Bonaveras, he couldn’t believe how attractive they all were. Drop-dead…all three of them, and he guessed the fourth would be as well. The family had definitely gotten more than their fair share of stop ‘em in their tracks gorgeous genes.

  He frowned. If the woman Antonio was talking to was their other sister, and if she turned out to be another stunner like the others, he hoped she and the other one, Lucia, weren’t going to be coming over to check on things all the time.

  Some clients had a need to be involved every step of the way, down to the smallest detail. They had a right if that’s how they wanted it, but he hated working with the control freaks. It slowed everything down, and half the time they didn’t understand why things had to be done in one way over another.

  He would be happy to give them weekly updates, even to do a weekly walk-through to show them what was happening. If his newest clients decided to pop in all the time, though, they were going to be a distraction. The way they looked, his men would spend all their time checking out the sights, and any work would screech to a halt whenever one of them was on-site.

  The woman his gut told him was Caterina patted Antonio on the shoulder and then turned and ran up the steps to the porch, taking them as lightly as a gazelle leaping through the air. Liam shook his head. How the hell did they move so gracefully in those things?

  Antonio spotted him a moment later and raised a hand in a wave, started walking over to meet him.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long,” he said as he approached the truck and extended a hand.

  Liam pushed away from the back of the bed and clasped his hand, gave it a firm shake. “Just got here a few minutes ago.”

  He glanced toward the inn. “The woman I saw you talking to, is that the sister I haven’t met yet? The one who’ll be opening the restaurant?”

  “Caterina. Yes, that was she. I told her I was meeting you to check out the site, and she asked if you had time when we were done if I could bring you back to the inn so she could meet you.”

  Liam nodded as they walked through the parking lot, the gravel crunching under his heavy work boots. “Probably a good idea since she’s one of the bosses.”

  “She was disappointed she couldn’t be at the initial meeting, but I don’t doubt she’ll agree her sisters made the right choice when she meets you. She and Lucia should be easy to work with. They’re both smart. In my experience, Caterina’s more structured, more into planning and organizing, but normally easy to get along with. She’s had a bit of a rough week. So if she seems a little off when you meet her, it’s probably because her head’s not in the best place right now.”

  Antonio tossed him another glance. “Just thought I should mention it so you don’t get the wrong impression out of the gate.”

  Liam gave a nod. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind. Nothing too serious, I hope.”

  “Relationship issues,” Antonio said with a frown. “And she just quit her job at the restaurant where she worked. Unfortunately, the guy she’s been seeing was also her boss, so—”

  “Yeah, that can cause problems if things sour.”

  “It’s too bad, too. She loved what she was doing. She’s a chef.” Antonio looked over at him as they turned onto the road and continued walking. “Which you’ve probably already guessed since you’ll be building her a restaurant,” he added with a self-deprecating grin.

  “Where’d she work?”

  “A place in Ashburn. Caulfield’s. I stopped in for lunch once when she was working and the food was excellent. I’m not sure if they’ll be as good after losing her.” Antonio gave him an inquiring glance. “Have you heard of it?”

  The muscle in Liam’s jaw twitched. He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, clamped down on the blade that tested his anger, a prick, a jab, one he’d spent the better part of two years battling to control.

  “Yeah, I know it. Was her boss Mitch Gregory?”

  “I never got a last name, but you got the first one correct. You know him?”

  Liam sniffed, looked out over the back side of the property toward the mountains. “Yeah, unfortunately, I do.”

  He felt Antonio looking at him but didn’t feel like getting into any kind of discussion about a bastard like Mitch Gregory. If Caterina Bonavera was mixed up with him, though, he doubted she was anywhere close to being as smart as Antonio seemed to think she was. Some women knew how to fool a man, though—he knew that well enough—which was why he’d never give one an opportunity to sink her hooks into him again. If he ever settled down with a woman again, it would be because he wanted to, not because he had to.

  When they reached the property about ten minutes later, Liam reached into his back pocket and jerked out the list of questions he wanted to go over. His mood had taken a downward turn.

  They walked the area where the structure would be, planning, troubleshooting, clarifying. When they were done working their way through everything, he and Antonio started back to the winery.

  Liam took out his cell phone and pulled up his messages, made a show of checking for anything important. “I’m going to have to hold off on that meeting until another time,” Liam said, and then stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “Something’s come up at one of my other job sites, and I need to swing by there and assess the situation.”

  “Not a problem. Caterina might be disappointed, but I’m sure she’ll understand. Let me know as soon as you hear anything about the permits.”

  “I will.”

  Liam pulled out of the drive onto the road a few minutes later. It was just his goddamn luck he was going to have to spend the next year or more working with a woman who was involved with Gregory. There weren’t too many people he didn’t like, but if he had to name two or three, that bastard would probably be first on the list.

  There was no reason he had to rush off. The issue at the other job wasn’t urgent. He’d used it as an excuse because he didn’t feel like playing nice with Caterina Bonavera after what he’d just found out. She m
ight not be anything like Sylvie, but the fact she was hooked up with someone as slimy as Gregory meant she already had one strike against her, and they hadn’t even met.

  She was a client, though, so he’d have to find a way to work with her that didn’t make him want to punch a hole through one of the walls he’d just put up.

  THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON Antonio took his grandfather to the Spy Museum in Washington, DC. It was a welcome diversion, and they both enjoyed the outing. Afterward, they went to an early dinner at a nearby tapas bar.

  “I’m enjoying my visit. Rodrigo’s granddaughters are delightful, and they are all so beautiful it makes an old man wish for a bit more youth. Not only are they striking to look at, they all seem very smart and kind. I’m happy I was able to come here, to meet them. They are good people. My old friend would be proud of them—good people, good hearts.”

  “They’re all that,” Antonio agreed.

  “I think they like spoiling me.”

  “And I think you like their spoiling. For someone who’s always telling me you don’t need me looking after you, that you’re perfectly capable of taking care of and doing for yourself, I find it interesting you don’t seem to mind being fussed over by them.”

  His grandfather took his cap off and set it on the table, amusement crinkling his eyes. “A man never gets too old to enjoy the attentions of women, my boy. And if the day ever came that he stopped, it would be a sad one indeed.”

  Antonio imagined there was a fair amount of truth in that. Not unlike his grandfather, he loved women. He loved all things about them—the way they looked, moved, the softness of their skin, their scent. He loved talking to them, the sound of their laughter, and making love to them. He loved making love to a woman.

  His mind conjured an image of Lucia, the woman he most wanted to make love to, the only woman he’d had any desire to make love to since he’d met her almost three months ago.

  “From that look on your face right now, I’d say it’s a woman filling your head with pleasant thoughts.”

  Antonio picked up his menu and glanced down at it, evading his grandfather’s probing stare. “More like thoughts of filling my stomach with some food and perhaps sharing a pitcher of sangria.”

  Vincenzo chuckled. “Have it your way for now, lad.”

  Antonio glanced up at him from behind the menu, right into a familiar, amused blue gaze. It was the same look he gave him every time Antonio concocted a story to cover up one of his youthful antics, only to discover at some future date his grandfather wasn’t as gullible as he’d thought. Apparently, that hadn’t changed.

  He intended to have it his way, though, and as soon as he proposed to Lucia he’d tell his grandfather they were getting married. He’d already met with an attorney and drawn up papers to transfer his distribution from the trust to Lucia as soon as it was made. She could decide what to do with the money. If she wanted to put it into Serendipity, or the family’s winery, or donate the whole damn thing to charity, he didn’t care. He didn’t want there to be any doubt in her mind about his motivations to marry her. And a quarter of a mil could foster a few doubts if there was any question.

  With the matter settled in his mind, Antonio relaxed. They enjoyed a pleasant dinner, his nonno flirting with their server, an attractive young woman named Audrey who had a great sense of humor and, he guessed, a keen understanding of increasing one’s tips.

  When they got back to the winery, his grandfather was in a mood for a walk, so they walked, skirting the vineyard, past the well-manicured rows of vines hanging heavy with clusters of grapes almost ready for harvest.

  He’d seen less and less of Marcella the last two weeks. Lucia told him her sister would be like one possessed until October now, testing the Brix, the sugar level of the grapes, on a daily basis to ensure they were picked at the optimal time, not a day too soon nor one too late. Her youngest sister would fuss and fret, Lucia said, worry if the rains came, too long or too heavy, and threw everything off schedule.

  The chardonnay would be the first to get picked, and viognier, the pinot noir, then the other whites, with most of the other reds following in September and October. It was Marcella’s busiest time of year, and Antonio had noticed there had been a significant increase in workers brought in over the last week.

  After their walk, his grandfather went up to his room to retire for the night. Antonio searched out the common areas looking for Lucia and not finding her in any of them, poked his head into the kitchen. And found his heart’s desire.

  LUCIA SPUN AROUND with a surprised gasp, clutched the container of Chunky Monkey to her chest, and slipped the spoon she’d just put in her mouth with a rather large bite of ice cream, back out again.

  “Hey,” she said around the healthy dose of deliciousness and leaned her hips against the counter where she was standing next to the freezer. She feigned a look of innocence as she tried to tuck the evidence of her guilty pleasure behind her back. “What brings you to the kitchen at this hour?”

  Antonio stalked toward her, a wicked grin tugging the corners of his sensuous mouth. A mouth, she was suddenly reminded, she hadn’t tasted in much too long a time for her liking.

  “I could ask you the same question, but—” He stepped up to her, slipped his hands around behind her and brought one back out holding the pint of Chunky Monkey. “I believe this speaks for itself.”

  Lucia caught her lower lip between her teeth. “Guilty.” She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. “Your turn, what brings you in here?”

  “I searched everywhere I could think, and when I couldn’t find what I was looking for thought I’d check in here.”

  “And have you found it?”

  His eyes sparked amusement and the flickering flames of desire. “Yes.” He dipped his head, his blue gaze never leaving hers, and covered her mouth with the heat of his own.

  Lucia moaned. Lord, how she’d missed these lips, this heat…this man. At no other time, with no other, had she felt the things he stirred within her. Body and heart, he touched them both, and she knew that forever more, they would belong to him. It wouldn’t matter what happened next year, or the next, they were his.

  “I’ve missed you, amore mio.” He whispered on a kiss, the words, drenched with desire, like a thousand, and a thousand, and ten thousand more raindrops washing over her senses in yearning, calling out to her, a plea, and she knew his need…knew because it was her need too.

  “I’ve missed you, too, missed talking to you, laughing with you, and this.” She traced her tongue along his lips then slid it into his mouth to taste him fully.

  “There’s a very good chance I might start punching things if I have to go another day surrounded by you but not being able to touch, taste, to feel. Let me come to your room tonight. We can talk.” He kissed her forehead. “We can laugh.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And we can make love.” He angled his mouth over hers and moved against her, giving her a delicious taste of what he had in mind.

  Lucia slid her hands down and took hold of his hard, perfect butt, wrapped a leg around his thighs, and returned the favor.

  “Oh, God,” Antonio said with a groan. “Say yes.”

  “Yes. You can come. We can’t have you destroying things.” She pulled back and gave him a satisfied grin. “And if you hadn’t suggested it, I would have. It’s either that or I keep sneaking in here every night to try to soothe my craving for you with ice cream or whatever Cat made during her latest baking marathon. I’ve probably gained four pounds since your grandfather got here…a pound a day. At that rate I’d need a new wardrobe by the time he left.”

  He bit back a chuckle. “Ahhh. So you’ve replaced me with ice cream and baked goods.”

  “A poor substitute. And it’s the truth when I tell you although I may enjoy the taste of them in the moment, the pleasure is fleeting, and afterward, I regret the indulgence.”

  “Mmmm. And what of me, mia bella?”

  Lucia touched the tip of her to
ngue to her upper lip. “You.” She dragged the nail of her index finger down the front of his shirt. “Are an indulgence I can savor all night long and never feel disappointed, never regret.”

  “There’s another benefit my lovemaking has over your other indulgences.”

  “There are many, but tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m not fattening. You can have as much of me as you want and not gain an ounce.”

  She laughed, and then wove her fingers through the beautiful black silk of his hair. “Come up in an hour?”

  “If I have to wait that long, I want another taste to hold me over. I didn’t have the benefit of a pint of ice cream to sate my desires.”

  “I didn’t eat an entire pint.” Lucia gave him a poke. “It was just a few bites. Big ones, I admit, but still… They did nothing to satisfy my craving for the real thing.” She gave him another, more inviting grin. “So go ahead, give me another kiss, and a good one—one that will hold us both over.”

  And he did. He kissed her breath away. His lips possessed, his hands caressed, and the fire inside her flamed. Tonight, at last, she would know the magic of his touch once more. They would love, and she would soar to the stars and back again. He would take her there, with him, as he always did each time they made love.

  Lucia dropped her head against his chest and gasped to catch her breath.

  “You inflame me, Lucia.” Antonio’s arms tightened around her.

  “And you me.”

  “Should I be looking for a fire extinguisher then?”

  Lucia froze. Antonio groaned. He dropped his arms and she squeezed her eyes shut a moment before peeking around his broad chest to see his grandfather standing in the doorway.

  He lifted his hand, gave her a wave, and smiled. She made an odd little noise in the back of her throat, returned the wave, and ducked back behind Antonio.

  So much for discretion...

  “I DON’T THINK I’ve felt that mortified since my dad caught me making out with Shane Riley in the backseat of his car my junior year of high school.”