Damien shook his head. “Like I said, my observations didn’t back up their claims. I don’t know how that envelope with the pictures I took ended up on the closet shelf in the room I stayed in. I had it in my duffel bag—but that’s beside the point. After seeing Liam and Riley together, how they interacted, I couldn’t in good conscience continue working the case.”
“Did you tell them that?” Marcella asked.
“Yes.” Damien leaned back with a sigh. “I told them I didn’t observe anything to support their claims, just the opposite in fact, and that I thought trying to take Riley away from her father would be a mistake. They weren’t happy about it. They insisted that they’d paid me good money to find something incriminating, and they wanted me to find something incriminating. I gave them back their retainer and suggested they treat themselves to an hour or two of therapy.”
“Hah! You told them to go see a shrink?” Marcella asked with an appreciative grin.
Damien turned toward Eliana, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. He put a hand on her knee. She slapped it away.
“Eliana, I—”
“You used me,” she said, not looking at him. “You lied to me and my family, and you used me…used all of us.”
“I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt any of you.” He hung his head, and although she wanted to stay angry, Caterina couldn’t help but soften toward him. He hadn’t given Riley’s grandparents any pictures. He’d quit the case and told them they were wrong about Liam. And, as she watched him, she got the feeling he’d just lost something he treasured and was helpless to do anything but watch it slip through his fingers.
El closed her eyes and drew in a breath. When she started to push up, Damien took hold of her wrist. She slanted him a cool glance. “Let go.”
“Give me a few minutes in private, please,” Damien said.
Eliana pulled on her hand, and he let go of it. She notched her chin up and firmed her jaw, but Caterina knew her sister well, and right now she drowned in a deep lake of hurt and betrayal.
“There’s nothing you can say in private that will change anything,” El said. “I don’t want to see you again, Damien. I wish I could say it’s been nice knowing you, but I really didn’t know you at all, did I?”
With that Eliana turned away. Even the four-inch heels on her cherry-red stilettos, which at any other time would be clicking out a fast, lively pace, sounded hollow echoes of a broken heart.
He may have lied to all of them, Cat thought, but she could see one, indisputable truth burning in his eyes as he watched Eliana walk out of the room. He hadn’t faked his feelings for her sister. Damien was in love with Eliana.
CATERINA TEXTED LIAM on Thursday morning to see if he could get away for an hour and come over to the winery, saying that she had something important she needed to talk to him about.
Now that they had the story about the photos and what they meant, she could tell him. She hoped he’d understand why she’d kept her suspicions from him until they could talk to Damien. Neither she nor Liam had lied to each other about anything, but they’d both kept things from each other. There’d be no secrets going forward.
When Liam arrived a couple of hours later, Caterina was in the kitchen working out a recipe for Serendipity’s menu. The months had flown by since they’d hired Antonio, then Liam, and before they knew it, she and Lucia would be throwing open the front doors and welcoming guests to enjoy what had, not so long ago, all felt like a dream. In a few weeks, she’d start setting up meetings with suppliers, finalizing choices for linens, china, and a dozen other things. Things were about to kick into a higher gear.
No dream anymore, she thought with a smile. This was happening. She whisked a classic velouté sauce that simmered on the stove top with one hand and pumped the other in the air. “Go us,” she said aloud.
“Someone’s in a good mood.”
Cat glanced over her shoulder. Liam stood just inside the doorway, a gleam in his eyes and a grin tugging at the mouth she loved covering her own.
She set the whisk down, turned the flame as low as it would go under the velouté, and faced him.
“Hey.”
His grin widened. “Hey, back. You wanted to see me?”
“I always want to see you, Liam,” she quipped. “You’re so pretty to look at.”
“What do you want from me?”
Cat slung a hand on her hip, watched as he crossed the room toward her. “I don’t want anything. I do always want to see you, and you are pretty to look at, but you’re right, I did summon you here for a reason.”
He stopped in front of her, and she had to take a breath. How did he make all her most sensitive zones start tingling so easily, with just a glance?
“If you haven’t eaten lunch yet, you can be my taste tester,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’m trying out a chicken dish with velouté. I kept the sauce classic, but I want to experiment with the sides. You can give me your opinion which ones you like best with it.”
“I have no idea what that word is with the chicken, but I’m thinking I’ll probably enjoy whatever you want me to try a lot better than the ham sandwich I packed.”
“Velouté, that’s the sauce. Now sit down, and I’ll get us each a plate. We can talk then.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her forward. “Dessert first.”
“It’s not the usual order,” she said, rather enjoying his approach to a meal, “but if you insist.”
“I do,” he said.
Several kisses and tempting grinds against the kitchen counter later, Cat came up for air. She gave him a gentle push back. “Okay, let’s sit down and eat before we melt into a puddle of lust, and someone has to clean up our liquid remains.”
After she’d lifted lunch and they’d begun eating, Caterina said, “I’ve been keeping something from you for several days. I had my reasons, which I hope you’ll understand, but you have a right to know, and I think it’s time you do.”
She dragged in a breath of resolve, let it out slowly.
Liam set his fork down and took her hand. “You look like you’re about to start hyperventilating. Let me make it easier for you. I know about Damien.”
Cat’s mouth dropped. He reached out and lifted her chin.
“I know he’s not a photojournalist, and that Sylvie’s parents hired him to try to get the goods on me.”
“But…but…how?”
“Damien paid me a surprise visit last night. He said he’d just come from here, and that there was something I should know that he’d rather I hear from him.”
“You’re kidding! He came to your house? He told you everything? About being a PI, about taking pictures of you and Riley?”
Liam nodded.
“Wow.” Caterina leaned back in her chair. She ran a hand through her hair. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“You feel better now?”
“Yes,” she said, “but you seem so, I don’t know…calm. Were you angry with him? Did you hit him? Are you upset at me for not telling you sooner? What? Why are you so calm? Or is it all a façade, and you’ve got some big storm slowly building that’s going to erupt in my face any minute?”
“Yes, I was upset when he started to tell me who he was and what he’d been hired to do. I’m still upset that Sylvie’s parents would go so far, but the guy was doing what he does. He’s a private investigator who was hired to do a job. He didn’t know me, or Riley, or any of you. And to his credit, he walked away from the job when he discovered they didn’t want the truth, they just wanted him to find something to hang me with. That took some integrity.”
“He deceived us all, Liam. He broke El’s heart.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about Eliana. I’m not defending him for what happened between them, but if you want my opinion, somewhere along the way, the interested suitor role he’d decided to play with your sister, so he could get information on me, stopped being an act. She got to him, and I don’t think she’s the only one who
’s hurting right now.”
“Did he say something? About El?”
Liam shook his head. “No, but I’ve got eyes. I saw the way they were together. And Damien didn’t look so hot last night. My guess is he’s pretty broken up about your sister.”
Caterina sighed. “I just feel so bad for her right now. She won’t talk about it. She wants to just forget everything that happened—and him, like he never happened. But if you could see her…it’s like someone hooked up a giant vacuum and sucked all the spirit out of her.”
“She’ll heal in time. People do.”
“I know, but he left a mark. She won’t trust so easily again.”
“Do you think there’s a chance she might forgive him, that they could work things out?” Liam asked.
“Sure, in a few centuries, maybe. Outside of that, no. He betrayed her trust. She won’t forget it. She’ll use what happened to build a wall around her heart, and I’m afraid it’s going to take one very special man to ever be able to breach it.”
Cat picked up a roll and began buttering it. “What about Riley, Liam? And her grandparents? Damien said he told them they were wrong about you, but that doesn’t change what they tried to do.”
“No, it doesn’t. Riley’s got her monthly sleepover weekend with her cousin, Spencer, this weekend. I called her grandparents to tell them we needed to have a talk about Riley, and that it would be in their best interests to meet with me. I’m going out to see them Saturday afternoon.”
“Will you tell them you know they hired Damien to try to find something incriminating on you?”
“Yeah, and that if they don’t back off I won’t let Riley come for any more visits. Riley’s my daughter, and my lawyer advised me that as her parent I have the right to make decisions about what is and isn’t in her best interests. They can threaten to take me to court if they want, but again, my lawyer doesn’t believe they’d be able to win a case. And,” he said with a grin, “hiring Damien only hurt their cause. He told me from everything he observed, I was a model dad, and it was clear Riley was happy. What’s that called, poetic justice?”
“Umm hmm. I love when that happens.” Cat offered him half of her roll. “And if they back down, then what?”
Liam sighed. “I guess I’ll leave it up to Riley if she wants to keep going for visits, and I’ll see what happens. I don’t want to confuse her by suddenly cutting them from her life when, for the most part, she’s had a good relationship with them, and I know in their own warped way, they love her. But I’ll be asking Riley about her visits, not grilling her or anything. You know, just, how was your visit, what did you do, that kind of thing. If I get even a hint that they’re up to something or made her feel bad in any way like they did that other time, I’ll take the decision out of her hands.”
“You’re a good father, Liam. And a good man. It must be so difficult to put your feelings about them aside and allow Riley to still have a relationship with them. I hope they can come to realize that someday.”
He gave a light snort. “I won’t hold my breath. I’ll see how things go Saturday, and then pray whatever decision I make is the right one.”
Caterina reached over and took his hand. “Just trust your gut. You’ll make the right decision.”
“Anyone can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish,
but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”
Francois Minot
I thought I must be a fool for letting Antonio convince me to stay three weeks this time. It’s the longest I’ve ever been away from mio amato Cortona,” Vincenzo said the following morning to Caterina and her sisters. “But it feels like I just got here yesterday. Now, we are saying addio, and already I miss each one of you.”
They had all gathered in reception to send Antonio’s nonno off with hugs, and to hold him to his promise to return every six months, as he’d said he would. They had known him for less than a year, but he’d carved out a place in each of their hearts. He was no longer Antonio’s grandfather to them. He was family.
“Marcella,” he said, motioning her to him with his hand. “Prezioso bambino, so quiet and thoughtful. Deep waters, as they say. Always working so hard, in your fields, with your wines. You are the busy, what do they call it here, il castoro.”
“The beaver,” Antonio put in with a roll of his eyes. “You’ve only got ten minutes to say your goodbyes if we’re going to get you to the airport in time, Nonno.”
Vincenzo wagged a finger at him. “You cannot rush the heart, Antonio. It speaks at its own pace.”
“Yes, well tell it to speak a little faster if you want to make your flight.”
“Ignore him, sweet one.” Vincenzo wrapped an arm around Marcella’s shoulder. “I see you watch the world, through wise eyes for one so young. You are full of gifts waiting to be unwrapped, to be shared, but you are content to let others’ gifts outshine your own. Take some advice from an old man who has reached an age where one reflects more on their life, and the choices they might have made. Work a little less; things will still get done. You’re an observer, so go ahead and watch the world, take it all in, but don’t hold yourself so much apart from it. A man is coming who will claim your heart. Your destiny, my child. Share it with him, let him see you for who you are inside.”
With that, he laid his palms against her cheeks and kissed her on the forehead.
“Are you guessing this,” Marcella asked, “or do you know something I don’t?”
Vincenzo smiled. “I have it on good authority. Your aunt paid me a visit this morning. The same as she did on the final day of my last visit. We had a little chat this time, though. She’s seen the crossroads for each of you, and she wants to make sure you all choose the right path—the one to true love.”
“Oh, brother,” Antonio said. “Here we go with the destiny stuff.”
Vincenzo scowled at him. “Hush, boy. Rodrigo and I were right about you and Lucia, or have you forgotten how fate brought the two of you together?”
“It wasn’t fate, Grandfather, it was a holiday.”
Marcella cleared her throat. “Getting back to me, can you give me a clue who this mystery person is? I’m not really into surprises.”
Vincenzo patted her on the back. “Just keep your eyes open, little one.”
He walked over to Eliana. “Ah, Eliana, I will miss your spark. So full of life you are, it bursts from you and showers over everyone around you like a refreshing rain. You are contagioso. Contagious.”
“Sort of like the flu?” Eliana smiled lightly, the first Caterina had seen in days.
“Oh, no, nothing so terrible. Contagioso, like laughter, like joy.” Vincenzo wrapped her in a hug and held on a moment. “Someone has hurt you lately, yes? There’s a shadow draining your light. I have not seen it in your eyes these last few days.” He held her back and looked at her.
“I’m fine,” she said, giving him another limp smile, but everyone there knew she was far from fine.
Vincenzo hugged her again. “You are not fine. But your wounds will heal. You will not be sad for too long. A short while, yes. Some months to come. It will be up to you how long. The key, my child, is to listen to your heart. Trust it, and it will lead you where you are meant to go.”
“Did you get that from Rosa too?” El asked, sounding more like a skeptic than a believer.
Vincenzo winked at her. “Believe, child.”
“Grandfather.” Antonio tapped his watch. “The time.”
“You can drive a little faster to get me there,” Vincenzo responded. “I have one more goodbye to say, and I will not leave before I say it.”
He turned toward Caterina and held out his arms. She walked into them, weaving her own around his neck and holding on. “We’re going to miss you so much, Vincenzo. You should try to plan your next visit to coincide with Serendipity’s grand opening. That should be in six or seven months, and you’ve already promised you’ll be coming back around that time. I’ll make you a meal that you won’t so
on forget.”
“I wouldn’t miss it, bella donna. But do you not remember, I’m coming for a week in May, when Antonio and Lucia get married.”
Caterina stepped back. “Oh my God, how could I forget that? Maybe you should just come and spend the summer. We’d all love to have you stay longer than a few weeks. And it would give us plenty of time to spoil you good and proper.”
Vincenzo chuckled. “That is very tempting, but I don’t know if I could leave my Cortona for such a long time. I will have to think about it.”
“Please do,” Cat said.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” Vincenzo flipped his hand toward Antonio. “Just one more minute.”
“Goodbye, Vincenzo. You really should go before those back teeth Antonio’s been grinding are worn down to the gums.”
“He’s an impatient one. Takes that after my long-departed wife, bless her soul. Now, as for you.” He took her hands in his. “You’re on the road you’re meant to travel. There are some surprises in store for you and your Liam, but no hurdles you can’t surmount together.”
“That’s good to know.” Cat glanced around the room. “Glad to hear it, Rosa.” She brought her eyes back to hold Vincenzo’s. “Glad to hear it,” she said again, and kissed him on both cheeks.
He winked at her. “Take good care of him, and little Riley too.”
“I will,” Cat promised.
“Okay, good, can we go now?” Antonio asked.
“Yes, we can go.” Vincenzo made his way over to where Lucia stood serenely waiting by the front doors and looped his arm through hers. “Such an exasperating lad. Once I’m gone, maybe you can teach him some patience. I’ve tried for years, but like I said, just like his nonna, always in a hurry.”
Lucia glanced back as she and Vincenzo stepped over the threshold onto the front porch and grinned at Antonio. “Coming, darling?”
“Maybe we could stop on our way to pick up some coffee from that little bakery you took me to the other day,” Vincenzo said, rather loudly, to Lucia. “They make it good and strong, just the way I like it, and they have biscotti like the ones I get back home.” Caterina wondered if the old man was intentionally trying to rile his grandson.
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