It took almost losing everything…
to make peace with a troubling past
and embrace a loving future
“CONGRATULATIONS! I KNEW you could do it.”
Enzo Bartolini turned to the beautiful woman standing next to him. The excitement in her voice and the sparkle in her eyes let him know she was more excited about this evening’s crowning achievement than he was. And that was the exact opposite of how things should be.
He was supposed to be the excited one—the one who felt as though he was on top of the world. This win was something he’d dreamed of for years. And now that it was here—now that he was holding the plaque with his name on it—the victory felt hollow.
The exhilaration he’d envisioned for this auspicious moment eluded him. The feeling of accomplishment—of finally being worthy of his father’s praise—was not to be. Shadows of the past smothered the brightness of the moment.
Still, Enzo forced a bittersweet smile to his face. In truth, he hadn’t truly won anything—at least nothing he felt worthy of claiming.
He’d encouraged his father for years to start entering his wine in competitions. Enzo knew the worldwide recognition would increase the demand for the wine and in turn raise its value. But his father had been stubborn, as usual. He’d said it was enough for him that he got to work the land each day and make a sizable profit. He didn’t need awards or recognition, too.
However, Enzo needed it. He needed something to fill the huge gaping emptiness inside his chest. It had once been filled by the constant love of his parents, but they had been ripped from his life. In the time it took his parents to drive to the city for what? Groceries? Supplies for the vineyard? Whatever it was they’d set out to do that day, it had led to a horrific accident and forever changed the lives of their son and two daughters.
When Enzo had insisted on seeing the accident photos, his stomach retched. Perhaps he shouldn’t have insisted. Perhaps he should have just taken the word of the police. But he’d been in shock, unable to process a life without his very dynamic parents in it. He’d demanded proof.
And then he’d been shown the photos. He’d only needed to see the one—the photo of a tangled-up piece of metal. It hadn’t even resembled a car any longer. There was no chance his parents could have survived. None at all. Thinking there couldn’t be anything else to compare to that devastation, he’d been wrong.
Enzo pushed aside those troubling thoughts. Tonight was all about the win. At last, there was once again something good in his life. So then why didn’t it feel good? Why wasn’t he on top of the world?
He reached to undo his black bow tie as well as loosen the top button of his white dress shirt, when Sylvie said, “Don’t. Not yet. I need a picture of you first.”
His hand hesitated in midair before he lowered it to his side.
Over the past several months, Sylvie DeLuca had become a good friend. She had the brightest smile—like the one she was flashing him now. And she was a good listener—though he usually didn’t have much to say. However, tonight, beneath the Parisian moonlight, he noticed her incredible beauty. How exactly had he missed it all this time?
“This is it!” Sylvie tugged on his arm. “We can take the photo here. It’ll look amazing.”
He stopped and glanced around. The Eiffel Tower was all lit up against the dark sky. So clichéd. And yet so utterly stunning.
“Stand right there.” Sylvie pulled her phone from her sparkly black purse. “Turn to me.”
And then he realized she was going to take his picture—all alone. Just like he was in life. The thought stole the smile from his face. He didn’t want to be alone—at least for tonight.
Tonight he wanted Sylvie to be next to him. After all, she’d dropped everything to come with him on this trip. And he knew it hadn’t been easy for her as a wedding planner to get her work done ahead of time and then show someone else what needed to be accomplished in her absence. Luckily for him, a wedding had been canceled, otherwise Sylvie wouldn’t have been able to accompany him.
But she was here and she was captivating. It wasn’t just him who noticed but everyone at the awards ceremony. Her black gown with the sparkly, strapless, fitted bodice was tapered at her tiny waist, and a plain, gauzy white material touched her hips and flowed to her ankles. And then the most delicate black heels showed off her painted toes.
She went from being a businesswoman in her smart tailored suits to a stunning siren who could turn all of the males’ heads—his most especially. And it was making him quite uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure what to say or do around her.
Because what he wanted to do now was pull her into his arms and kiss those very sexy, very tempting lips. But he resisted—just barely. They were friends. Nothing more. Even if she did look like some sort of goddess in that dress and that makeup that highlighted her alluring eyes, her high cheekbones and kissable lips. Wow!
She signaled for him to move to his right. “A little more. Perfect.” She held up her phone to snap a picture.
“Oh, no.” In the glow of her smile, he felt his dismal mood begin to lift. “You have to come over here and have your picture taken, too.”
Sylvie shook her head. “Not me. I didn’t do anything special tonight. You’re the man of the hour.”
“But without you, I might not have entered.” It was true. She’d nudged him into submitting his wine to the prestigious contest.
Was that a blush? He looked harder but it was too dark to be sure. Maybe it was just that he was starting to know her well enough to know his words would cause her cheeks to pinken.
Tonight hadn’t been some small, local contest. This had been an international event with worldwide recognition. He honestly hadn’t thought their small winery had any chance of winning against the big establishments. But Sylvie had insisted he would never know unless he entered. And so he’d decided he had nothing to lose and entered.
She snapped a picture. The flash lit up, blinding him for a moment.
“That’s not fair,” he said. “I want a picture, too.”
“I’ll send you a copy.”
“No. That won’t do. I want one of us together, so I’ll have it to remember this night.” It wasn’t until the words were out of his mouth that he realized how they might sound. Or maybe he was just being paranoid because he was having this very intense, undeniable attraction to her. His sister’s friend—his friend.
He knew following this attraction through to its logical conclusion would be a mistake. Sylvie wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of woman. She was a let’s-get-to-know-each-other-fall-in-love-and-get-married type of woman. And that was the exact wrong type for him at this point in his life.
He stopped his rambling thoughts. What had gotten into him? He never allowed his thoughts to go in this direction with Sylvie. So why tonight? Was it being in Paris together? Was it one too many toasts to his winning success?
He latched on to the last thought and clung to it like it was a life preserver and he was a man adrift in a big, stormy sea. Or did he have it all wrong and Sylvie was his life preserver?
The next thing he knew, she was standing next to him. It was only natural to put his arm around her—for the picture, of course. But then she leaned into him, sending his heart racing.
Just ignore it. You’ve got this.
“Smile,” he said—at least, he thought he said it. It was so hard to tell because he couldn’t hear his thoughts over the echo of his heartbeat.
He snapped the picture. There. It was done.
But when he went to move his arm, she said, “No. Don’t. Take one more.”
There was a little voice in his head that said he should get while the getting was good, but that thought was drowned out by the thumping of his heart. It was just a picture. And she was just a friend.
He once more held the camera out in front of them. “Okay. Are you ready?”
When she didn’t respond, he turned to look at her. It was the same moment that she turned her head to look at him. And with those stiletto heels, she was closer to his height.
When he thought back upon this moment, it would be the defining moment. This was when he should have turned away instead of staring deeply into her warm brown eyes that were so expressive. And right now they were saying that she wanted more from him than their platonic friendship. And so help him, so did he. So much more.
* * *
Her heart pitter-pattered.
Her breathing was soft and shallow.
Sylvie felt as though she was having an out-of-body experience. Maybe that was what she needed to tell herself in that moment to give her the courage to reach out to Enzo. Her hand cupped his freshly shaved cheek.
If she didn’t do this now and quickly, she knew she would lose her courage. And though she’d been thinking about this for the longest time, if she didn’t act now, she would never fulfill her wish. And the one thing she’d learned in her short life is that you had to grasp the happy moments because they were fleeting and few.
This was her happy moment. Enzo was the person who made her happy. And right now she felt so many intense emotions, she wasn’t able to put a name to all the jumbled feelings zinging through her body.
But nothing was going to stop her from doing this one thing. She lifted up on her tiptoes. Even though her heels were high, they weren’t enough for Sylvie to come face-to-face with him.
And then he was there, directly in front of her. And his mouth was just a breath away from her. An urge—or was it an impulse?—so strong, so swift, came over her. She was helpless to resist.
Not thinking through the consequences of her actions, she leaned forward, closing the distance. She pressed her lips to his. There was a distinct and swift intake of air on his part.
She’d surprised him? Really? She may be a virgin but that didn’t mean she was totally naive. She’d seen the way he’d been looking at her tonight when he didn’t think she was paying attention.
Her body trembled with nerves as her lips moved over his unmoving mouth.
No. Please. This can’t end like this.
Inside, her heart was starting to crack. It had taken every bit of nerve to work up to this moment. She knew if she didn’t make the first move, he never would.
And just when she thought he wasn’t as into her as she’d thought, he reached out to her. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him. She followed his lead, letting her hands come to rest on his shoulders—his muscled shoulders gained from long hours of toiling the soil at the vineyard.
His lips moved over hers at a dizzying pace. Her heart beat so fast she thought it was going to pound its way out of her chest. She’d been kissed before but nothing like this. Those had been inexperienced schoolboys who’d only pretended they knew what they were doing, but Enzo, he knew exactly what he was doing. And she wanted him to show her more, much more.
Enzo pulled back. His breathing was ragged. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Sylvie, I… I—”
“Don’t say it.” She knew he was going to apologize for kissing her and it would ruin this moment—this very precious moment.
“But I shouldn’t have let things get out of hand—”
“What if I wanted things to get out of hand?” Her gaze searched his. “I kissed you. Enzo, I’ve wanted to kiss you for the longest time. Tonight I finally worked up the courage.”
Wow! Where had that come from? She never talked this boldly to men. Maybe that was why she didn’t have a steady boyfriend—why she was still a virgin. In the past, she could blame her limited experience with men on caring for her ailing mother. But now it was all on her—what did or didn’t happen was totally up to her.
She was tired of standing on the sidelines, watching her life rush past her. It was time to do what she wanted, instead of just dreaming about those things. It was time she took charge of her life.
And right now she wanted Enzo.
She trusted him more than anyone else in the world. These past few months they’d spent almost every day together. She knew him and he knew her. He was kind. He was thoughtful. And he had a big heart where his family was concerned.
And then there was his looks. Mmm…tall, dark and sexy didn’t even begin to describe him. His dark eyes were mysterious and held a host of secrets that she longed to unravel. And his thick brown hair made her hands tingle with the impulse to comb her fingertips through it. And his mouth, well, she’d already proven it was most desirable.
For a moment Enzo didn’t respond. His eyes registered his surprise at her forwardness. Part of her was proud of herself for speaking up. The other part of her was scared that he would let her down with a painful thump to her heart.
His gaze searched hers. “Sylvie, I’m in no position to start something serious. I—”
She placed a fingertip to those kissable lips. “I’m not asking you for anything permanent. I’m just asking you for the here and now. Let tomorrow take care of itself.”
Hesitation showed in his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
The fact he cared that much meant a lot to her. And it was enough. Throughout the trials and tribulations of her life, she’d learned to be cautious with her heart.
She sent him a reassuring smile. “You won’t hurt me. You’ve always been so sweet and kind.”
Silence greeted her very honest words. All of this openness had her heart racing. What was she going to do if this all blew up in her face? After all, she was no temptress. She was not experienced in the ways of men. For all she knew, she could be making an utter fool of herself.
“Do you want to continue this back at the hotel?” His deep voice was thick and rich like the tiramisu dessert they’d indulged in at the dinner before the awards ceremony.
When her gaze met his, she saw desire burning in his eyes. Her insecurities were temporarily subdued. Her insides melted. Her core quivered with its own desire.
She didn’t trust herself to speak. Instead, she lifted up on her tiptoes once more and pressed her lips to his. She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to him, showing him that she didn’t want this most exciting, most romantic night to end. In fact, this was just the beginning.
And then she pulled back. She laced her fingers with his and then started walking in the direction of their hotel. His thumb moved over the back of her hand. His roughened skin from working with his hands all day made his touch feel a little different, a little more exciting. Everything about Enzo was exciting.
The quick walk passed in silence. And then they came to a stop in front of the first hotel room they came to. It happened to be hers. Her heart raced as anticipation pumped through her veins. At last, she was going to find out what all her friends were talking about when they mentioned their boyfriends and got that dreamy look in their eyes. Not that Enzo was her boyfriend. She wasn’t sure what to call him because friend didn’t begin to cover their increasingly complex relationship.
She turned to him and asked, “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”
Both of his dark brows rose high on his forehead. Had she said something wrong? Doubts circled in her mind. Her head lowered. His silence increased her rising anxiety. She worried her bottom lip. She’d done this all wrong—
He placed a finger beneath her chin and lifted until their gazes met. “Why would you think I’ve changed my mind? You’re the most beautiful, most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I just can’t believe you want me, too.”
“I do.” Her voice was so soft that she wasn’t sure she’d actually vocalized the words, but there was a look of acknowledgment on his face.
How could he not know all this time that she’d wanted him? She thought it was written all over her face every time she looked at him. It must be obvious she was utterly and totally inexperienced. She couldn’t help but wonder why he’d want to make love to her when she didn’t know what she was doing. She thought of asking him, but her mouth was dry and her mind was having trouble communicating with her mouth.
But luckily this time, she didn’t have to do anything because it was Enzo who leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss, though gentle enough, was full of desire. It whipped up her pulse and stirred her own embers of desire.
Tonight she would become a woman in every sense of the word. And her friends would no longer be able to hold anything over her head. Tonight she would find out all about lovemaking with the most amazing man in the world.