Page 5 of Private Reserve
“Luca…”
He turns back to me, his eyes serious, like he’s had enough of my shit for the day. “Okay, find someone else and marry them already, before you lose the fucking vineyard.”
“If my parents thought for one minute that I was faking a marriage, they’d never sign the papers over.”
“Fine, then. Make a deal with Olivia. Tit for tat. You give her something she needs in exchange for being your wife. Your parents will believe that marriage is real since you’ve been obsessing over her for years. You get the papers, and in one year, or less, or however the fuck long, you break up. If you don’t lay a hand on her, you won’t be tempted to do the darker things you want.”
I look at him as I chew on his idea. Ludicrous? Yes. But Jesus, it just might work. It’s not like I haven’t kept track of her over the years. I know she’s stuck in a shitty, dead-end job in Seattle. She hates the rain, so why she went to Seattle after NYU is beyond me. Then again, she probably went halfway across the country to get as far away from me as possible. But one call to my uncle in New York and I’d have her working in a firm that respects her.
“It’s not a bad idea,” I say.
“Good. Decision made. Make it happen.”
“You know if this happened, you and I…” I stop to really drive the point home. “We can’t.”
“I know.”
“I love the fuck out of you Luca, you know that, but I’m not a cheater. Even if the marriage is fake.”
His smile is slow, and his eyes darken. “I love the fuck out of you, too, Gio. Nothing is going to change that. I’ve always accepted that you loved Olivia, too. She’s a part of you, which makes her a part of me, too.”
I fist my hair. “The only way we could be together is if it was the three of us, and that’s not going to happen.”
Luca steps up to me and lowers his voice. “Listen, you have to do what you have to do save this place. That’s the priority. As for us, I have a feeling things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”
He turns from me, and I take in his swagger as he walks away, moving from tank to tank. With my thoughts racing a million miles an hour, I head to the fields. If I called her, would she even talk to me? I walk along the rows of grapes, stopping to examine a few, the idea of seeing Olivia again both exciting and frightening. I catch a warm, familiar scent, a mix of vanilla and honey. It takes me back to happier times when I was in Olivia’s bed. But I’m only recalling the scent because she’s at the forefront of my brain.
I walk to the next row of vines, and when the scent grows stronger, I look up from the plants I’m examining. I freeze, as my blood stops flowing and my lungs seize.
No. Fucking. Way.
I blink, sure I’m hallucinating. No way in hell would Olivia be standing in my vineyard tossing grapes in the air and catching them in her mouth—the sweet, pouty mouth that I’d love to feel wrapped around my cock. It can’t be a coincidence. I don’t believe in them. There has to be something bigger at work here, something that has reunited us when I needed her most.
“Olivia?” She turns slowly, and even though she’s too focused on catching the grapes and doesn’t realize it’s me yet, I say, “Marry me.”
A gasp of surprise catches in her throat as the round fruit slides in, lodging itself deep and blocking her airflow. Her eyes go wide as she grasps her neck.
Oh Jesus.
Chapter Three
Olivia
I can’t breathe.
Oh my God. I’m going to die. I work to suck in air, but all I do is draw the grape in deeper. Gio spins me around—at least I think it’s Gio—and his strong hands circle my stomach. He gives hard, upward thrusts, but as my vision fades, I’m sure this is it—and to di
e without having awesome sex really sucks. My life flashes before my eyes, and I’m not even sure it’s worth watching until I see him. I’ve reached the end. No way, no how could he be here, right?
Another hard thrust dislodges the grape, and it shoots from my mouth like a cork from a bottle. I’d be embarrassed if I wasn’t so happy to be alive. I gasp and fill my lungs, reveling in the fresh country air. My heart rate begins to slow, my vision expanding, and I turn to see my savior—then again, I probably wouldn’t have choked on the grape had he not called my name and asked me to marry him.
Marry me.
A tremble moves through me as I take in the most gorgeous blue eyes I’ve ever seen. “Gio?” I say cautiously, still not sure if I’m dead or not.
“Yeah,” he says softly. “It’s me. You okay?”
“I…what…” I falter backward, and with lightning fast reflexes he slides an arm around my waist, dragging me to him. I sag against his hard body, and everything in the way he’s holding me is so familiar…so right. “Gio,” I say again then pinch my eyes shut, expecting him to be gone when I open them again. But no, he’s standing over me, looking down with stormy blue eyes I fear I could get lost in again. Oh God, I still love him.
