by A. Hargrove
“I can understand your reluctance to marry again.”
“Until I met you.”
She stood naked before me with her hair wrapped in a towel. I wanted to touch her, hug her, do everything to her, but I didn't dare. I watched her process my words.
“What changed?”
“I did. You changed me…changed my thoughts about things. Everything about you is different from anyone I've ever met. I never let myself get close to anyone. You managed to find the tiniest crack in my exterior and before I knew it, you'd crept into my heart and settled inside. Without you there, I'm only a scrap of what I can be. But then something else happened. I discovered how stupid I'd been all along because Chiara had caused all of this and she would never be the one to fix it. I was the one responsible for that and needed to get my head on straight and heart back together. When I did that, I'd move on. Meeting you brought it all to rights. Papa made that apparent when he kept telling me I was blind and didn't see what was in front of me. I'd been such a prick to you on top of it all.”
“I won't argue with that.”
“But I opened my eyes, and Gabriele made it a bit difficult not to. He pressured me, and I'm so thankful he did.”
“Alessandro, what are you saying?”
“I didn't think it would lead to this, Piper, but yes, I want you to be my wife, my forever person. I'm not going to pressure you. I want you to think about it, but I want to come to the U.S. to live. I'm applying for positions there, but you already know that. If I don't get one, Papa wants me to open a distributorship in New York. He’s pressuring me to do that. The company has already begun the process, so either way I’m covered as far as a job goes. I will move whether or not we marry.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“It's fine. Can you promise me something though?”
“Sure.”
“If you decide not to marry me, will you still be a good friend to Gabriele because he loves you as much as I do.”
“Shut up. I am in love with you too. I meant I didn't know what to say because of the fact that you'd move.”
“It's also for Gabriele. The farther he's away from his mother, the better.”
“I think that's a great idea. Can I ask a favor?”
“Certainly.”
“Can we get married here?”
I let out a huge chuckle. “It would please my family greatly if we did.”
“Then yes.”
“Oh, so you are using me then?”
She swatted my arm. “You didn't know? I'm only marrying you for your son!”
Humph. “And here I thought it was my pink helmeted love warrior.”
“Noooo. It's your pussy penetrating pole of passion. Can't you get anything right?”
Chapter Forty-Two
Piper
The private jet touched down and it taxied to a stop. My stomach fluttered in excitement as I watched the door open and the steps drop down. The flight attendant's head poked out first, and then he backed up and soon my sister, Sylvie came out holding one of the babies. I let out a yelp and rushed toward her, hearing Alessandro behind me laughing. Gabriele tagged along because he wanted to get the first look at his future partners in crime.
“Woooohoooo!” I hollered, hugging my sister. Then I stole baby number one, as number two followed in his father, Evan's, arms. Then Reynolds and my dad came down. I was hopping around, even though I was still sore, but what the hell. It was my family, for Pete's sake.
“Oh, my God, I'm so excited to see you all.” I hugged each of them, with baby number one squirming in my grasp. “Gee, Sylls, this little dude is strong.”
“Tell me about it. Try holding two of them at the same time. They take after their dad.”
I fist bumped my brother-in-law. We had bonded over the time when Sylvie wouldn't speak to him. That was a long story. But he was an awesome guy and she was just being plain dumb. My intervention saved the day—or at least I sort of think it did.
“Everyone, this is Gabriele.” I introduced him to all and then I called my main man over. “And this is Alessandro.” I pulled him against me by looping my arm around his waist. My family eyed me. They knew we were definitely more than friends now. It was obvious I'm sure, because I was glowing and grinning like a fool.
Evan and Dad shook his hand and they all thanked him for the invitation. While their bags were being loaded up in the cars we'd brought, we chatted. Reynolds and Gabriele had quite the conversation going about hair. She'd immediately ran her fingers through his, exclaiming how amazing it was.
“It's exactly like Alessandro's, isn't it?” I asked.
“He looks just like him,” she answered. “But I didn't think he'd appreciate me running my hands through his hair.”
I shrugged. “He'd probably think you were nuts.”
We got into the cars and drove back home. When we arrived, the nonne were waiting. They fussed over the babies, stealing them right away.
“I don't think you'll get them back until you leave,” Alessandro said.
“Your place is beautiful,” Sylvie said.
Antonio rushed out. “Sorry I wasn't here to greet you. I was in the fields and my ranger broke down. Gabriele, I told you to tell me when you used them so I could make sure they had fuel.”
“I'm sorry Nonno.”
“I ran out of gas,” Antonio said. “I had to walk back.”
“Gabriele, no rangers for the next two days,” Alessandro said.
“But, Papa.”
“I'm sorry, but you know the rules.”
“Yes, Papa.”
We tried not to smile, but Gabriele appeared as though the world was ending.
“Is everyone hungry? We have a snack prepared,” one of the nonne said.
“Come on everyone. Prepared to get spoiled. The nonne love to cook.”
We went into the kitchen and took seats around the huge table. Drinks and wine were poured, plates were set, and we all went about eating. It was delicious, as usual. Evan was in heaven and was in a deep discussion with Alessandro and Antonio about wine. My guess was he would be invested in their U.S. division before this trip was over.
After we finished eating, and the men still chatted, I asked my sisters if they wanted to see their rooms. Reynolds’ was near ours, but Sylvie's and the boys were in a guest house. I took them to theirs first. Gabriele decided he would hang out with the men, since he was one of them. The nonne were cleaning up the kitchen so we had the boys.
Once we were away from everyone, Sylvie said, “Holy crap, Pipe, he's gorgeous.”
“Yeah, he is sort of cute, isn't he?”
“Um, sort of? He's hot. And he speaks English like an American.”
“His mom was American as was her mother. One of the nonne. Couldn't you tell?”
“Yeah, but I didn't know for sure.”
Reynolds was tagging along behind us when she said, “He has the most perfect hair. I want a man with hair like that.”
Sylvie and I snickered.
“What?”
I asked her, “What if you met Mr. Perfect, but he shaved his head?”
“That's heresy.”
“It’s in style now, Reynolds.”
“Not for me. I'm a stylist and head shaving is out.”
“You're still in training, aren't you?” I asked.
“Well, duh, but I'm styling hair in the process. And shaving a head requires zero styling.”
“Okay, then, smart ass, what if he's bald?”
“That's different because he can't help it. I wouldn't hold it against him. I'm not cold-hearted.”
“Just checking,” I said. I'd be upset about that one.
“But Pipe, this place is unreal,” Reynolds added. “I can't believe it.”
“I know. The first time I saw it I about died. It was so unexpected. I didn't even know he had any money to speak of.”
By this time, we'd gotten to the guest house. It was one of the smaller ones with three bedroo
ms and was the closest to the main house.
“Oh, my. This is lovely.”
“Alessandro thought you’d be more comfortable having your own place.” The back terrace faced the terrace of the main house. I opened the doors and pointed to our room. “That's ours. I think Alessandro said the main building was built in the 1600s, though I can't remember. Then the two wings were added on later. They've been doing updates periodically. He'll have to give you a tour of the vineyards. They're spectacular.”
“The wine at lunch was delicious. I’m not sure I’ll be able to pry Evan away from here.”
“So, give us the juicy Piper and Alessandro details,” Reynolds said, air quoting Piper and Alessandro.
My cheeks heated and they had to notice. “Okay. We've gone from zero to sixty.”
“What does that mean?” Sylvie asked.
Reynolds plopped on a chair and answered. “It means, big sis, that they've gone from friends to friends with every benefit and then some.”
“Explain the and then some.”
They both stared, waiting.
“We are serious about each other.”
“How serious?” they asked in harmony.
“Very.”
“Holy cannoli.” Reynolds was shocked. “Isn't it fast?”
I shrugged. Was it? Maybe, maybe not. Sylvie didn't say a word. She only wore a smug grin. What was that about?
“We met right after Labor Day but I've fancied him since then. Only at first, he didn't seem interested. That's when I found out about Gabriele. And that's why he didn't seem interested. He wants to protect his son. I don't blame him. If he gets close to whoever Alessandro dates, then it's difficult if it doesn't work.”
“That makes sense. It would be hard with a child,” Reynolds said.
I agreed. “But then Gabriele and I fell in love with each other. After the first break-in at my apartment, the security was improved. But then the police wanted my assistance. You know that story, right?”
“Sort of, and I want to hear it all, sister,” Sylvie said. And her tone indicated she was not taking no for an answer.
I explained how the police approached me, the plan they'd set up, and how I'd agreed to do it. Then I told them how it didn't quite work out that way.
“That's when Alessandro insisted I move in with him, since they had the extra room. My landlord was only too eager for me to move since it gave his apartments a bad name, so he let me out of my lease. Then the second situation occurred. That's when I called you all.” I held up my arm with the splint. “I ended up with these injuries, but I made it out and I'm fine. Sort of. I have PTSD. Mainly in the form of nightmares.”
“Are you seeing anyone for them?”
“Not yet. We came here so I will when I get back to Cambridge.”
Sylvie was worried. She never could hide her emotions.
“Anyway, that's when Alessandro knew for sure what was in his heart. And that's when I knew what was in mine.”
Sylvie hugged me. “Please promise you'll get counseling. I'm happy for you but I don't want this relationship to be a band-aid for your trauma.”
“I swear it's not. I didn't even know he was feeling this way and I've told him everything. I mean about how scared I was and all that. I thought I was going to die.” I pulled up my shirt, and maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but Sylvie covered her mouth and stared in horror. Reynolds started to cry.
“I knew it was bad, but not like this. You played it off on your phone call,” Sylvie said.
“I did and I made Alessandro promise not to tell you more. The reason was it was over and you were coming here. I promised to tell you the truth when you arrived. It was really awful. He kept me in a warehouse in London. It was freezing cold and all in retribution for the injury I'd given him.”
Reynolds cried out, “Because you squeezed his nuts?”
It was the way she said it that was the comic relief. I cracked up and soon, the three of us were laughing together.
“Oh, God, that was needed,” Sylvie said.
“So true. But yeah, that's why. Apparently I did permanent damage to his balls. They were still discolored.”
“You mean he actually showed them to you?”
“Right? He was going to rape me but his wiener was limp. And the worst part was I laughed. Though it was hysteria that set in and I couldn't stop.”
Sylvie snorted. “I'm sorry. It's not funny at all but I can't help it.”
“I know. But that's when he got totally pissed off.” While the story was tragic, I was happy they didn’t get sad about it.
“Honestly, any man would get pissed if you laugh at their wiener.” Then we laughed again. That's how Evan, Alessandro, and Dad found us.
“What's so funny? We could hear you outside,” Evan asked.
No way was I going to convey the wiener story.
Chapter Forty-Three
Alessandro
Patting Evan on the back, I said, “I learned long ago, my friend, that when a group of women get together, never ask about what they're discussing.”
“Great advice, Alessandro,” John said. I was enjoying the company of Piper's father. He was a very amicable man, reminding me of my own father, who had to go back down to the winery, which was why we had come in search of the women. I sought Piper out and bent down to wrap my arm around her.
“Amore mio, Papa has gone back to the winery and we are going to meet him down there. I want to give Evan a tour. Are you three interested in joining us?”
She glanced at her sisters, who stared at us. Sylvie was first to respond. “I would love to, but I have the twins and they're about to conk out.”
Looking at the two babies, I saw she was right.
Reynolds said, “I'm actually tired too. I was going to take a nap. Can we do another tour later?”
“Absolutely. Papa is doing some testing and Evan wanted to see. But I'll be happy to take you on another tour. A small piece of advice. Don't sleep very long because you won't be able to sleep tonight. It's better if you're tired today and go to bed early so you can adapt to the time difference faster.”
“Yes, that's true. If you take a long nap now, you'll be up at three in the morning and no good tomorrow,” Piper added.
“That makes sense. I'll shower and then nap for an hour,” Reynolds said.
“Sylvie, if you want my grandmothers to watch your babies, you know they'd love to.”
“Thank you, but I think I'll do exactly what Reynolds is doing.”
“Piper?”
“I'll join you men. But I need to take Reynolds to her room first.”
“Excellent!” I stood and held out my hand. It was easy to see her family take notice of this. “Meet us out back when you’re finished.”
She joined us about ten minutes later. Evan and John rode in the back seat and Piper rode next to me in the front. It wasn't a long ride, but my hand rested on her leg as I drove.
Evan called out from the back, “The views here are amazing.”
“Yes, they are extraordinary. During the fall when the grapes are harvested, the fields are quite colorful. You'll have to return then.”
When we arrived at the building, Piper said, “I haven't been here yet.”
“You will be intrigued, but I don't think as much as your brother-in-law. He’s completely in awe.”
“I told you he would be. I'm sure there will be a business venture in the works.”
“There already is. He is quite the entrepreneur. Papa's eyes lit up as soon as he started talking.”
“You both should listen because he is a king where Wall Street’s concerned.”
“I have a confession to make. When you told me who he was, I began to research him, so I have quite a bit of information about his business.”
It didn't take but a second for Evan to comment. “This is completely old world.”
“As we told you, we do everything the way a true, well balanced, aged wine should be done. But that's w
here your new ideas will come into the picture.”
“New ideas?” Piper asked.
“We’ve been considering bringing to market a more affordable wine for people who want to try our brand. But the way we do things now, it can't be done. Evan recommends mass producing in stainless steel. As you can see here, all of our wines are aged in oak and wooden barrels. The stainless steel method doesn't provide the unique flavor, but it is less expensive and can produce much more at a time. The other problem we have is quantity. Under our current brand, we only produce a certain amount of grapes per year. Evan believes we should contract out for our more affordable wines, give them a different brand, and market them differently.”
“Wow. That's brilliant. So a supermarket option for you to go broad.”
“Exactly. Currently, we are unable to do that. But if we were to purchase more product, more space to produce the wine in stainless steel, it wouldn't take as long to age and to produce, we could accomplish it.”
“And the U.S. market?”
“That's where I come in. We would open up our division there. I would hire the experts and be the director of operations. Evan is interested in investing.”
“Alessandro, Evan has a lot of expertise in hiring people too.”
“We talked about that but he doesn't have any in the wine business. Once we are up and running is where he'll come into play. His ideas for the U.S. market can propel us to the forefront of the affordable wine market.”
“This is so exciting!” Piper bounced on her toes.
“What's so exciting?” Evan asked.
“I was telling her about our possible future venture.”