Seductive One

13

Late that afternoon Brenna tapped on Mia’s door. When there was no response, she knocked louder, then pounded on the wood. Finally Mia opened the door and grinned. Her baby sister wore headphones and was dancing to a wild beat only she could hear. In a tank top and shorts, without her makeup, she looked about fifteen.

“You scare me,” Brenna said as she stepped into the room. Mia clicked off the Discman and set the headphones on her desk.

“You’re just jealous because I have rhythm.” She proceeded to demonstrate a couple of dance steps that involved fast foot movement and flailing arms.

“I think what you have is a seizure.”

Mia stuck out her tongue and sank onto the unmade bed. As usual, her room was a disaster area. Books were piled three deep on the desk in the corner. Piles of clothes covered the bed, the dresser, and the only chair in the room, while several open CD cases formed a free-style hop-scotch pattern on the floor.

Brenna picked two bras, a skirt, and three T-shirts from the chair and tossed them at her sister.

“I’ve been to your apartment by school. You keep it relatively picked-up. Why do you live like a wild animal here at home?”

“I’m reverting.” Mia clutched a pillow to her chest. “When I’m away I’m an adult, but somehow here at the hacienda I find myself acting like a twelve-year-old.”

Brenna could think of several humorous and biting comments to make to that statement, but she was here to get Mia’s help. She held up the diary.

“What’s that?” Mia asked.

“Sophia Giovanni’s diary. Nic has been working on translating it, but his Italian is almost as bad as mine. I thought maybe you could take a look at it. There’s no rush.”

Mia took the old book from her, carefully turned the pages, and began to read. “Sometimes I walk to the edge of the ocean and let the spray wash my face. I imagine that I’m on a boat that will take me to the ends of the earth.”

Brenna stared at her. “You’re kidding?”

Mia looked up. “What? That she really wrote that or that I can translate it?”

“Both.” She sighed. “Never mind. Whenever you demonstrate your proficiency with languages, I remind myself that I can make better wine.”

Mia chuckled. “Oh, right. Because I make you so jealous.”

“Not jealous, exactly.” Sometimes Mia was brilliant enough to be intimidating. Not that she would share that thought with her baby sister.

Mia dropped the diary on the bed and shifted so she was sitting cross-legged. “Okay, so I can pick up a language really easily, but I’m always missing out on the fun stuff. Like you and Nic. When he was twenty, I was maybe seven or eight. No way was he ever going to notice me.”

“You weren’t interested in boys when you were seven or eight.”

“I know, but I am now.” She sighed dramatically. “Here I am in the fresh flower of my womanhood, and Nic is only interested in you.”

Brenna didn’t know what to deal with first. Mia’s “fresh flower of womanhood” or her assertion that Nic was interested in her. If only. He was…

Brenna didn’t know what he was, which was probably for the best.

“We have a business relationship,” she said primly.

Mia shook her head. “No way. Maybe it started that way when you got the loan, but you brought him to the engagement party. This is not something you do with a business associate.”

“He asked to be invited.”

“Why?”

Brenna shrugged. She had a feeling his request had something to do with their past, but she wasn’t going to bring that up.

“Maybe I just wanted to get back at Grandpa Lorenzo for making my life hell and leaving the winery to Joe.”

Mia pressed her lips together. “I wish I could do something about that. You know, talk to Grandpa.”

“You’d be wasting your breath, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Maybe we should kidnap Joe. If he didn’t show up back at the base or wherever he’s stationed, they’d send some guys to rescue him. Then we’d both win. Grandpa Lorenzo would think Joe was a flake and disinherit him, and I’d get access to a bunch of cute guys.”

Brenna laughed. “I like that plan. Let’s work on the details.”

Mia threw herself back on her bed. “Okay. How do we let the base know we only want really attractive single guys on the rescue team?”

“Since you broke up with David, all you think about is dating. Why is that? I thought you went out when you were in D.C.”

“I did and it whetted my appetite for the whole boy-girl touching thing. Which is why I’ve been after Joe’s friends, but he’s really uncooperative.”

“Who’s uncooperative?”

They both turned and saw the man in question standing in the doorway. He surveyed Mia’s room.

“This place is a mess.”

She sat up. “I know. It’s part of my charm.”

“You have a disorganized mind.”

“Maybe. But I’m still too adorable for words.”

“I can think of a few words.” He glanced at Brenna.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.”

“Doing okay?” he asked.

“Sure.”

If she’d been ambivalent when Joe had first arrived, the feeling had only intensified over the past few days. The logical side of her brain told her none of this was Joe’s fault. Oh, sure, he could be a great guy and refuse the offer of more money than he’d ever imagined. But that would make him certifiable. The fact that he’d won the inheritance lottery was just plain lucky for him and sucky for her.

So she shouldn’t resent him or really want to kidnap him. But a part of her did.

“Have a seat,” Mia said, patting the mattress.

He crossed to the bed and grabbed a handful of clothes, which he tossed onto the dresser, then settled on the mattress, as far from Mia as possible.

“We were talking about dating. I’m in desperate need of a meaningless relationship,” Mia told him.

“Go fishing somewhere else,” he said.

She frowned. “Is this a metaphor about my dating your friends?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t think you’d be so macho and brotherly.” She glanced at Brenna. “Was he like this when you first met?”

“I don’t think I tortured him as much as you do.”

Mia turned her attention back to Joe. “If you’re trying to protect me, it’s really sweet, but I’m not a virgin. I haven’t been for a long time.”

Joe winced. “I really didn’t want to know that.”

Brenna grinned at his discomfort. “In the girls-against-boys battle, you’re a little outnumbered.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Quit complaining. You love us,” Mia said.

Brenna wasn’t so sure. “We’re still unfamiliar,” she said. “A regular family would be a big adjustment, but I’m not sure how one gets used to the Marcelli clan.”

“Slowly,” Joe admitted. “You told me who everyone was when we first met, but I’m not sure I believed there were really that many people living in one house.”

He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “I don’t remember when my folks told me I was adopted. I always seemed to know. Until they died, I never much thought about my real parents. Then I figured Colleen had given me up because she didn’t want me.”

Brenna stretched out her hand and touched his. “It wasn’t like that at all. She and Dad were too young to stand up to their parents. They weren’t given much of a choice in the matter. Now things are different, but thirty years ago not many sixteen-year-olds were able to keep their babies.”

He nodded.

“I never thought about how hard it would be to find out you had a whole family you’d never known about. You must be feeling really confused.”

He glanced at her. “I’m a SEAL. I don’t have feelings.”

Brenna smiled. He looked up, met her gaze, and winked. Mia socked him in the arm.

Joe glanced around, looking puzzled. “Is there a fly in here? I think it just landed on my arm.” He brushed at the place she’d hit him. “Huh. I guess not.”

Mia shoved him. He didn’t budge. She sighed heavily, then rested her head on his shoulder again.

“You have to like us at least a little,” she said.

“Some more than others.”

She rolled her eyes. “However you’re acting, I’m glad you decided to come visit. We’re all enjoying getting to know you. Even when you’re uncooperative.”

Joe put his arm around her. “You’re tough, aren’t you?”

“You bet.” Her curving mouth straightened into a line. “You know, it’s kinda cool having you around. Things would have been so different if Mom had been able to keep you. Our parents got married anyway. If they’d married then, you would have been one of us from the beginning. Would you have liked that?”

“I don’t know,” Joe admitted. “My parents aren’t Colleen and Marco, and I can’t imagine that changing. If I’d been raised here…” He shrugged.

Brenna understood his ambivalence about even considering an alternative life. If Joe had been around, if she’d known about him, her world view would have changed completely. He would have been the acknowledged heir. While she believed her interest in the vineyards would have always been there, she wasn’t as sure about family pressure. With Joe in the picture, would she have been more willing to take a chance on Nic? With Joe as the one inheriting, would she have been more willing to risk her family’s disapproval?

“If you’d been raised here, I would never have been born,” Mia stated.

Brenna shook her head. “That’s not true.”

Mia’s mouth twisted. “Sure it is. I’m okay with it. We all know that the doctors told Mom not to have any more children after you and Francesca were born. Yet she risked her health to try for a boy one more time. With Joe around, that wouldn’t have happened.”

Brenna couldn’t imagine growing up without Mia tagging along, nor did she want to.

“Lorenzo is too hung up on gender,” Joe muttered.

“That’s Brenna’s theory,” Mia said brightly. “The family business is wine, not breeding, so what does having a penis matter.”

Brenna winced. “I don’t phrase it exactly like that.”

“Close enough.”

Joe ruffled Mia’s hair. “You’re a pain in the ass, kid.”

“And you adore me.”

“Maybe.”

Joe looked at Brenna. “About this whole winery thing…” he began.

Brenna cut him off with a shake of her head. “We don’t have to talk about it. What happens, happens. If Grandpa Lorenzo doesn’t leave it to you, there’s a good chance he’s going to sell. I can’t…” She swallowed. “I have to make my own plans.” Which she’d done. Sure it hurt now, but eventually she would be fine.

“Everyone says you do a hell of a job.”

Brenna appreciated the compliment. “That doesn’t seem to matter much. You’re the firstborn son, Joe.”

“I didn’t know I’d been getting in the middle of all of you,” he said.

“That’s family. Loving but messy.”

Mia pouted. “Excuse me, but I’m still in the room. I want to talk about me.”

“No way,” Joe said. “You’re only interested in dating inappropriate guys.”

“Honestly, I think it’s more about sex,” Brenna said helpfully.

Joe winced again. “What is it with you two?”

Brenna raised her eyebrows. “Nothing. We’re just normal, healthy women looking for love.” She leaned forward. “I guess this is where I tell you I’m not a virgin, either?”

He stood. “I’m so out of here.”

Mia raised her palm toward her sister. Brenna slapped her hand against Mia’s in a gesture of victory. Joe groaned.

He was saved by Grandma Tessa calling up the stairs, telling them it was time for dinner, and to be sure to wash their hands before coming down.

Joe headed for the door. “We do this every night,” he complained. “Why can’t we eat separately, like normal families?”

Brenna was the last to arrive at the restaurant. She found her three sisters sitting at an outdoor table, in the shade of an oversize umbrella. Between the work she had at home and her new winery, she was running in fourteen directions at once. Mia’s demand that she join them for lunch had been inconvenient. But as she approached the table, she found herself smiling in anticipation. She couldn’t remember the last time the four of them had done something together.

“There you are,” Francesca said as she pulled out the empty chair next to her. “Now that you’re here, we’re going to have to stop talking about you.”

“Why?” Mia asked as she batted her eyes. “I think it’s a lot more fun to talk about someone in front of them. Then you get a reaction.”

“Is she getting on everyone else’s nerves or just mine?” Brenna asked.

Katie handed her a menu. “She’s pretty much annoying us all. Do I want to ask how things are going?”

Brenna took the menu and shook her head. “Nope.”

“Then I won’t.”

The waiter appeared. He was in his early twenties, with the tanned good looks of a surfer. “Have you ladies decided?”

Brenna scanned the menu and nodded. Katie went first. They all ordered salads and iced tea. Mia asked for a side of fries. When the young man had written it all down and left, Mia sat straighter in her chair and cleared her throat.

“You’re probably wondering why I called this meeting,” she said.

Brenna thought she was kidding, but when she glanced at Mia, she saw her baby sister was completely serious.

“What’s up?” Katie asked.

“Nothing specific,” Mia said. “It’s just that everything in our family is changing. I’ve felt uncomfortable for a while, and I’ve been trying to figure out where it all started. Maybe with my aborted engagement or Brenna’s separation. Suddenly what was familiar isn’t anymore. Katie, you and Francesca are getting married. Brenna’s starting her own winery. I’m growing up.”

“Can we take a vote on that?” Francesca asked.

Mia laughed. “No.” Her humor faded. “I wanted us to get together one more time before everything is different forever.”

Brenna felt her throat tighten. “Good idea, kid.”

“Thank you.”

Francesca and Katie both nodded.

Mia preened. “You keep talking about how smart I am, but then you never pay attention to me. I’ve had tons of brilliant plans that you’ve dismissed over the years.”

The waiter appeared with their drinks. When he was gone, Katie picked up her glass.

“I sense trouble coming,” she warned.

Mia ignored her. “It’s true. What about the time I wanted to get Grammy M a membership in a dating service for her birthday? You three wouldn’t listen, but look. She’s dating Gabriel and is really happy.”

“They wouldn’t have met through a dating service,” Francesca said.

“No, but she might have met someone else. My point is-”

Brenna laughed. “We are clear on your point, but we don’t agree with it.”

Mia scowled. “You guys are always like this. It’s the three of you against me. You stick together because I’m so much younger.”

“That’s not true,” Francesca said.

Brenna disagreed. It was often true. There were ten years between Mia and Katie, nine years between Mia and herself and Francesca.

Brenna patted her shoulder. “We still love you.”

“I know, but sometimes I want a little respect.” She brightened. “The good news is I’m still cool while the three of you are seriously old.”

“How flattering,” Katie murmured.

Mia picked up her glass. “Anyway, that’s why I wanted you all here. So we could reconnect.”

Brenna glanced at Francesca. “Not a bad idea for a baby.”

Francesca nodded.

Katie looked less convinced.

Mia sighed. “What?” she asked. “You have that ‘Mom’ look you sometimes get.”

Katie shrugged. “I’m just wondering if you’re really okay. Do you have any regrets about breaking off your engagement?”

Mia put down her glass. “No. David and I were really good together, but we were more caught up with having a relationship than actually thinking about what getting married would mean. I reacted to family pressure, and he reacted to being on his own for the first time. We’ve stayed friends and that works.”

The waiter appeared with a basket of bread. Mia lunged for it and pulled out a piece, then passed the rest to Brenna.

“I will admit that I miss the sex,” she said as she scooped up a pat of butter.

“Makes sense,” Katie said.

Francesca looked at Brenna. “Was that just Miss I-Only-Want-Romance expressing interest in sex?”

Brenna laughed. “Probably because it’s so good with Zach, she can relate now.”

“I could always relate,” Katie told them archly.

“Well, that’s annoying,” Brenna said. She turned to Mia. “I guess you and I are the only two not getting any these days. I resent that.”

“Me, too,” Mia grumbled. “When I get back to college, I’m finding a boy toy right off.”

“Just be careful,” Katie said. “If you still plan to rule the world, you need to consider staying single.”

“I know.” Mia sighed. “But single and sex-free aren’t the same thing.”

Francesca sipped her tea. “How are you doing, Brenna? It was stressful enough when you were just working at Marcelli and starting your own thing. But now, with Joe-are you okay?”

Brenna wasn’t surprised her sister had brought up the subject. If only talking about it would make things more clear.

“I like him,” she said slowly. “And I hate that Grandpa Lorenzo is going to leave him everything. So while I’m glad Joe is here, I can’t help wishing he’d never been born. Pretty awful, huh?”

“Not at all,” Katie said. “It’s perfectly understandable.”

Francesca patted her hand. “Why wouldn’t you have mixed feelings?”

“You’re being really brave about it,” Mia said. “If I were you, I’d get serious about the kidnapping plan.”

“What’s that?” Katie asked.

Mia filled them in on the idea she’d had for getting rid of Joe.

“We’ll ignore that he’s a trained professional,” Brenna murmured. “I doubt the four of us could take him.”

“How embarrassing for him if we could,” Mia said with a giggle.

“Maybe we’re overreacting,” Katie said. “Maybe it’s all just cheap talk on Grandpa Lorenzo’s part.”

“I wish, but I was there,” Brenna said, trying not to sound as if she cared. “He flat out told Joe that all of Marcelli could be his. Joe was more than interested.”

“Which means you were really smart to start your own label,” Francesca told her.

“I agree. I have to make it a success. And I’m going to. Thank God Nic came through with the money.”

He’d saved her, she thought. Without him she’d be totally screwed.

The waiter appeared with their salads. Once he left, Brenna picked up her fork. She glanced around and saw her sisters were all staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“You really brought Nic to the party,” her twin said.

Brenna nodded slowly. “I asked you and Katie if you would mind and you both said it was fine.”

Katie glanced at Francesca, then back at her. “Sure, but we didn’t think you would actually do it.”

“Okay.” Brenna speared a piece of lettuce. “You guys could eat.”

They ignored her.

“There’s something going on there,” Francesca said firmly.

“Is this your professional opinion?” Brenna asked, then took a bite of her salad and chewed.

“The question is what,” Katie said.

“Cut to the chase.” Mia looked at Brenna. “Have you had sex yet?”

Brenna started to choke. She managed to swallow the food, then drank her tea. While her discomfort was genuine, she couldn’t help but be grateful for the distraction. Mia’s unexpected question had caught her off guard. While she didn’t exactly want to lie to her sisters, she wasn’t willing to tell the truth.

She cleared her throat. “Sorry. That went down the wrong way.” She pointed at their untouched plates. “Are you going to eat?”

Mia looked at Francesca and Katie. “I can’t believe it,” her youngest sister breathed.

Francesca reached for Brenna’s hand. “Tell us you didn’t.”

Now Brenna felt cornered. “Didn’t what?”

“Sleep with Nic,” Katie said, her voice low.

She cleared her throat. “I didn’t.”

She didn’t sound convincing, even to herself.

Mia sighed. “You are so lying.”

Brenna put down her fork. “Look, Nic and I have a working relationship, nothing more. We used to have something significant, and because of that, we have a past to deal with. Which we are.”

“Talk about psychobabble,” Katie said.

Mia grabbed a fry and took a big bite. “I can’t believe I’m the only one not getting laid,” she mumbled.

“It just happened one time,” Brenna insisted. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

Francesca’s gaze was steady. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Cross my heart.”

“Uh-huh.” Katie started in on her salad.

Mia looked smug.

Francesca dropped her hand to her lap. She didn’t say anything; she didn’t have to. Her knowing look was enough to get on Brenna’s nerves.

“Don’t give me that ‘all things happen for a reason’ crap,” Brenna told her. “This wasn’t like that. It’s not cosmic. It’s hormones and circumstances. Given the past Nic and I had together, it was practically inevitable. But it didn’t mean anything.”

“So it wasn’t your fault?” Mia asked innocently.

“Exactly.”

“Be careful,” Francesca warned.

“There’s nothing to be careful about. We’re just working together.”

“And having sex,” Mia said with a grin. “Was it amazing?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Which means yes,” Katie said.

Brenna wanted to scream with frustration. “Why won’t you listen to me?”

“Because you’re not being honest with us or yourself,” Francesca told her. “Nic is appealing on many levels. You have a past, now you work together. You said there’s chemistry. It’s a volatile situation.”

“Does that matter if she cares for him?” Katie asked.

Francesca considered the question. “I don’t know.”

“Hello,” Brenna growled. “I’m still sitting here at the table.”

Mia poked at Brenna’s avocado. “Are you going to eat that?”

Brenna slapped her fingers. “Yes.”

“Do you care about him?” Francesca asked.

“I don’t know.”

This time Brenna was telling the truth. Did “care” describe her feelings for Nic? While having any emotional vulnerabilities where he was concerned made her nervous, “care” was a whole lot safer than several other feelings she could name.

“He’s done a lot for me,” she said slowly. “I appreciate that. He’s the reason I had the chance to start my own thing.”

“He was pretty cool at the party,” Mia pointed out.

“Grandpa Lorenzo tortured him and everything and he was polite. He could have gotten all huffy. Obviously he’s ready to put the past behind him, at least about the feud.”

“Is the rest of it behind you, too?” Francesca asked.

Brenna considered that. “Most of it.” But not all. Not by a long shot.

“Don’t forget the diary,” Mia said. “I give him a big thumbs-up.”

“What diary?” Katie asked.

“Sophia Giovanni’s.” Brenna explained how Nic had been translating it. “He didn’t get very far into it, but what he found was interesting. Before Sophia married Salvatore Giovanni, she was in love with Antonio.”

Katie’s eyes widened. “Our Antonio? Our great-grandfather?”

“He’s the one. They knew each other before he and Salvatore came over to start the wineries.”

“Interesting,” Francesca said. “Unfortunately it’s too early to have contributed to the feud. The falling-out between the friends didn’t happen for another fifteen or twenty years. Unless they were still in love.”

Mia shook her head. “They were married to other people. No way they could have stayed in love that long. Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder, it makes it forget.”

Katie laughed. “How did you come by this tidbit of knowledge?”

“It just makes sense. Without nurturing, love dies.”

Brenna knew Mia was right. Years ago she would have sworn she would love Nic forever, but she hadn’t. With time and a different life, she’d let her feelings go. Or maybe they’d faded on their own. Once there had been so much promise, and then one day it had all been gone.

“Let us know what you find out from the diary,” Francesca said.

“I will.” Mia reached for her iced tea. “So have you two lovebirds picked honeymoon destinations yet?”

Francesca murmured something about Hawaii, while Katie mentioned a cruise. Brenna only half listened. Her mind was still on Nic and what had once been. The two of them had managed to have dozens of conversations without ever discussing what had happened. She’d often thought of their past as an elephant in the room that neither of them was willing to talk about. Was it time to change that? Was she willing to go there with Nic?

Did she have a choice?