She started to laugh, then tears filled her eyes. She brushed them away. “I wanted to start a winery,” she whispered, despite the pain in her chest. “Ridiculous, huh?” She braced herself for the explosion of temper.
But instead of yelling, her grandfather only shrugged. “Not ridiculous. Not a surprise. How far did you get?”
The calm response caught her off guard. She blinked away the tears. “Pretty far. I bought those four acres of Pinot grapes I told you about, along with crops. I’m doing a cuvée, a Chardonnay, a Pinot, and a Cab.”
“Very ambitious.”
“I wanted Four Sisters to be up and running in two to four years. I figured I knew enough people to get my wines in the right places once it was ready. There would be a few lean years, but once I was through them, I could keep expanding.”
His dark eyes never wavered. “Four Sisters?”
She nodded.
“Where is your wine?”
“At Nic’s.” She explained how he’d loaned her equipment, a building, and storage facilities. She outlined his seemingly generous offers, only now realizing how each one got her deeper and deeper in debt.
“I should have realized,” she said. “I should have seen what he was doing.”
“How? He’s a smart man. Driven. Competitive. I suspect he didn’t plan to use you until you showed up wanting the loan. Then you were an opportunity he could not resist.”
She’d been easy both in and out of bed. Easy and easily fooled.
“Did you try getting your loan from the banks?” he asked.
She nodded. “And the Small Business Administration. I had no collateral, no formal education. They weren’t impressed.”
“What about your father? Marco has money in trust. He could have made the loan.”
In hindsight going to her father made a lot of sense. “I thought…” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to make him choose between you and me. There’s been so much fighting already. I knew you’d be mad.”
“Do I look mad?”
She eyed him. “No. You actually look okay.”
“See. I’m not so bad.”
“I didn’t think you were bad.”
“Just stubborn and set in my ways?”
Despite everything, she smiled. “Pretty much.”
Her grandfather squeezed her hand. “I understand.” He leaned close and kissed her forehead. “Now you sleep. Things will look better in the morning.”
Brenna doubted that was true, but she was ready to be alone so she didn’t argue. She slid down on the bed and closed her eyes. Her grandfather clicked off the light as he left the room.
Once she was by herself, her eyes popped open and she stared into the darkness. Morning wouldn’t bring relief. Instead it would simply be one more day to survive knowing she’d been a fool for love and a sucker for her dreams.
Nic waited until after nine the following morning before calling to talk to Brenna. The previous evening when he tried to see her, Grandma Tessa had claimed she was ill. He knew that finding out about what had really happened between the Marcellis and the Giovannis all those years ago had been a shock, but he doubted it had been enough to make her sick. He reminded himself that Brenna had also learned that her grandfather might be willing to sell Marcelli. Still, she’d always been tough.
He had to speak with her. He hadn’t slept and had nearly gone over there a dozen times in the night. Only the thought of embarrassing her in front of her family had stopped him. But he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to tell her the truth, explain what had happened and why. Make her understand.
He waited impatiently through three rings. Finally the phone was answered.
“Marcelli residence.”
At least Lorenzo hadn’t picked up. He thought he recognized the voice. “Mia?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Nic. I’d like to speak with Brenna. I came by to see her last night, and your grandmother said she wasn’t feeling well.”
“She wasn’t.”
He frowned. “Did she catch a bug?”
“No, but you could say she escaped from one. Or would worm be a more descriptive term?”
He got a hollow feeling inside. “Mia, what are you talking about?”
“You, Nic. The charming, successful Nicholas Giovanni. I would have thought with all your land and money you would be beyond using any means to get what you want, but I guess I’d be wrong. I mean you’re the great-grandson of a weasel bastard; why wouldn’t you be just as devious and backstabbing?”
Shit! “You know.”
“That you’ve been planning to buy Marcelli Wines using a front of respectable businessmen because you knew my grandfather would never sell to the likes of you? If you mean that, then yes, we know. We all know. It was quite the surprise. I’ve gotten over it, but Brenna’s having a more difficult time. I wonder why. Hmm, you think maybe for her it got a little personal? You think she’s having a little trouble with the whole betrayal thing?”
He shouldn’t be surprised. Of course Lorenzo had the means to find out who’d set up the deal. “I have to talk to Brenna. I have to explain-”
“Explain what?” Mia asked, cutting him off. “Nobody here gives a damn about you or your explanations.” She sucked in a breath. “We took you in, Nic. We made you welcome in our home, and all that time you were planning to screw us. I never understood the feud before, but I do now. I want revenge, and if you think I’m pissed off, just imagine what Brenna would like to do with you.”
“Mia, you have to listen. I know it looks bad-”
“Go to hell, Nic. The world would be a better place without you.”
She hung up.
He carefully replaced the receiver, as if by moving slowly he could keep his life from shattering. But it was already too late.
He’d lost.
Owning Marcelli Wines had driven him for years. Now he’d lost his chance. Funny how that barely troubled him at all. What had kept him up last night, what haunted him now, was knowing that he’d lost Brenna. He hadn’t even known that he’d had her, or how much he needed her, and now she was gone.
“I mean this in the nicest possible way, Nic, but you look like crap.”
Nic looked up as Maggie walked into his office. She tossed several folders onto his desk, then leaned against the door frame.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
Talk? What was there to say? It had been nearly two days of hell as he tried to figure out how to fix everything that had gone wrong.
“Nic?”
He shrugged. “Brenna found out.”
He braced himself for the sympathy and kind words. They wouldn’t help. Nothing filled the empty crater growing inside of him. Nothing offered relief, or better yet, a solution.
Maggie raised her eyebrows. “So?”
He stared at her. “What do you mean, so? She found out. She won’t speak to me. I haven’t seen her and I can’t get her on the phone.”
“I don’t see the problem. You knew she would find out eventually, and you had a good idea she wouldn’t be happy, so why is this a shock?”
He narrowed his gaze. “I guess you’re not taking my side in this.”
“Why would I? I told you I thought it was a bad idea from the beginning. From what I could tell, you and Brenna were getting pretty tight. You were more interested in her than in anyone I’ve seen you with ever. But you didn’t want her as much as you wanted the win. Now she’s hurt and angry. I’m still confused. Why is this a surprise?”
“I’ve lost her.”
“I didn’t know you had her.”
He nodded. “Me, either. Until it was too late. The Marcelli deal is off, too.”
Maggie didn’t even pretend to look sorry. “Speaking as a friend, and not your employee, I have to tell you, you earned this, Nic. You can’t play with people’s lives and not expect there to be ramifications. You got caught and now you have to pay.”
He didn’t want to hear this. He wanted her to say things would work out fine. He wanted her to tell him that Brenna would understand.