*Dante watched as Belle stripped to her bikini, then quickly averted his eyes. It wouldn’t do for her to catch him drooling.
But heck did she have a nice rear.
He breathed deep and lay back on the picnic blanket and pillowed his head on his arms.
Just don’t look. That’s the easiest way out of it.
He chewed on the stick of grass he’d pulled from beside the blanket.
“Ooof!”
He jerked upright. A bottle of sunscreen lay in his lap, having hit him in the gut. Belle flopped down beside him, her back toward him. She turned her head slightly as she applied some lip balm.
“Put that on for me?”
He loved it when she asked him to do that. It meant he could touch her soft skin without having to make up a reason why.
He pretended to scowl. “Next time don’t peg it at me.”
She laughed and shrugged. “How else do I get your attention when you’re already half asleep?”
If she only knew.
He glanced over her shoulder at the flavour she’d chosen to smear all over her lips today. It was always different.
Strawberry.
That’d taste real nice …
“I can do that, if you like?”
Raph’s voice interrupted their good-natured squabbling.
Dante’s gut tumbled. Annoyance that Raph would offer made him scowl for real.
“Thanks, but Dan’s got it. Maybe next time,” Belle said.
Was she flirting with him? Actually flirting with his brother?
Dante squirted a large blob onto his hand and slapped it to her shoulder, rubbing more vigorously than he had to.
“Hey!” She twisted under his hand.
“Sit still,” he grumbled as he smeared it down her shoulder. “I’m almost done.”
She eyeballed him over her shoulder. “What’s eating you today?”
Not you.
He bit his tongue and shrugged. If only she were.
“Nothing.” He moved to the opposite shoulder and rubbed the milky lotion into her skin more gently. If they’d been alone he could’ve enjoyed this a hell of a lot more.
“Like hell. You’ve been in a mood since I walked through your door.” She lowered her voice. “Is it because Raph’s home?” She turned a little more toward him. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy.”
His hand slipped off her shoulder and his knuckles brushed the edge of her bikini top near her breast. He pretended not to notice as his blood rushed fire through him and his fingers tingled.
“I am.” He bumped her shoulder with his own. “There. You’re done.”
She mumbled a fast “Thanks,” and scooted off the blanket toward the river. It was wide and deep here, a natural curving out of the bend making it perfect for a swimming hole.
He fell flat onto his back and stared at the sky, determined not to torture himself by watching her run around next to naked.
He swore and wiped the remaining sunscreen into his forearms to soak in. Not that he needed it. He was lucky—he’d inherited his Italian father’s tanned skin, so he didn’t burn easily and rarely needed more than a long-sleeved shirt and hat if out in the paddock. Unlike Belle’s distinctly Irish ancestry. She was so pale she crisped seemingly in minutes without it.
What was wrong with him? Belle had been his best friend since kindergarten. This lust nonsense when he was around her had to stop. It was doing his head in and turning him into a complete ogre when with her.
A breeze washed over him and he felt the blanket move. He looked out from under one hand to see Raphael sitting beside him.
“That was spectacularly well done—if your intention was to chase her away.”
Dante’s breath caught. He shoved his hands beneath his head to pretend nonchalance.
“What are you talking about?”
Raph chuckled and kept looking ahead toward the river. “You might be able to fool Belle with your grumpy friend act, but you’re forgetting I’m older than you, and I’ve seen it all.” His eyes narrowed and he looked down at Dante. “And don’t think for a moment that you having the hots for her is going to stop me from asking her out. Brother or not.”
All Dante’s blood rushed from his head and pooled somewhere deep in his belly. How could Raph possibly know that?
“Stop looking so shocked. You’re not the first guy to have a crush on his friend. If you haven’t made a move by now, that’s on you, not me.” Raph shook his head. “For the record, I think you’re crazy. She’s gorgeous. Little Isabel, all grown up.”
Dante shoved himself up and faced Raph, furious. “You’ve been home less than five minutes! Stay the hell away from her. She doesn’t need Raphael the European Gigolo hitting on her. You don’t hang around for more time than it takes to get in their pants. You’re not doing that to her. I won’t let you.”
To his horror, Raph leaned back on his elbows and grinned at him. “I knew you were interested, just not how much.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t you think that part is up to her? If she wants me, that is.”
Dante gritted his teeth and tried to breathe it out, when what he really wanted was to wipe the smug look off his brother’s face.
“Of course it’s up to her. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to talk her out of it.”
Raph stood up and bowed, mockery dripping from every pore of his body. “Might help if you actually got off your ass and did something about your own attraction, but hey, who am I to judge?”
Dante glared at Raph as he stripped off his shirt and called out to Belle and Ria, joining them in the water.
He’d be damned if he’d let Raph hurt Belle, damned if he’d let him anywhere near her.
But that meant he’d have to let her know why.
He flopped back onto the picnic blanket and groaned. Belle’s friendship was the last thing he wanted to risk losing. Which left him right where he started.
“Damn you, Raphael. Damn you to hell.”
*
“Can you throw me my shorts, Dan?”
Dante glanced around, halfway through scruffing his hair dry with his towel. He swiped at the water dripping down his neck and grabbed Belle’s cut-off jean shorts.
He straightened and something fluttered down beside his leg. He whistled and tossed the shorts at Belle, who’d faced away from him, talking to his sister, then bent to retrieve what looked like an envelope folded in half.
A London stamp?
He unfolded it and gasped. The distinctive Court of Master Sommeliers red logo stared up at him from the corner.
Holy …
“Belle …?”
She glanced at him, then down at his hand. She patted her pocket, her face paling.
He flipped the envelope over. Unopened. The seal was still intact.
“Why haven’t you opened this? Is it your results?”
She’d undertaken the Advanced Sommelier testing only weeks earlier, down in Sydney. A test available only once every two years in Australia.
This was huge.
“And why on earth have you been carrying it around in your pocket?” The envelope itself looked a bit crumpled and a little tatted around the edges, as if she’d had it a while and it had been completely forgotten.
He looked up at her, his shock and concern written across his face for all to see.
Belle gripped her biceps and shrugged, not quite meeting his gaze. He walked up to her and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“B? You’ve been waiting for these. This is what you worked so hard for. What’s going on?”
She frowned and pulled away from his grip. Belligerence and apprehension rippled across her face.
Heck, no.
She’s scared.
“What if I screwed it up? What if I didn’t pass? I’d have to wait two more years to even try again. I … I just … What’s the point? I don’t get to do this at the Barrel anyway. I’m always stuck in the damned kitchen or serving food.” She held up her hands, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
The early evening sound of crickets chirping overwhelmed the silent group. No one dared speak. Dante didn’t look at the others, trying to pretend they weren’t there. Hopefully they’d keep quiet and let him talk to her.
“You listen to me—you are amazing. You did it. You studied your ass off and went to Sydney and did the work. The hard stuff is done. This?” He waved the envelope under her nose. “Sure, this means a lot. A hell of a lot, but if you didn’t pass? It doesn’t change the fact that you are fantastic at your job and you know more than anyone in this whole district about wines, and that’s saying something. This is just the icing on one hell of a cake.”
Rapidly changing emotions flooded Belle’s face, from happiness all the way through to stubborn denial.
“Open it,” he whispered.
Her hand shook as she reached for it, then pushed it back into his hand.
“Can you? Please?”
He nodded. He tried to hide the smile that she trusted him to do something so important for her.
He took a deep breath and slipped his finger under the sticky flap, easing it gently as he did. She might want to keep the envelope and he wasn’t going to tear the paper on her.
He pulled out two pieces of paper and unfolded them.
“Dear Ms Davis, blah, blah …” He scanned the page and gasped, loud enough that he saw Ria jump from his periphery.
A massive grin filled his face and he handed her the first piece of paper.
“Congratulations, Ms Advanced Sommelier Isabel Davis!”
Raph let out a whoop and utter shock stared back at Dante from Belle’s gorgeous brown eyes. She looked at the paper, her hand shaking worse than before.
“It says my certificate will be mailed separately. I didn’t expect …”
Dante looked at the second piece of paper and forgot to breathe.
“No way …” He held it out to her. “Holy shit.”
She took it, confused, and scanned the page. All colour drained from her face and she squealed. She launched at him, her arms going tight around his neck.
He swung her around, too happy to care if the others saw what he’d tried to keep hidden for so long. This was her moment.
“What is it? For heaven’s sake, don’t keep us hanging!” Ria was so wound up she was almost bouncing on the spot.
Dante kissed Belle in the middle of her forehead. “See? And here you doubted yourself so much you wouldn’t even open the damned letter.”
Belle pulled back and held the page to her chest.
“I’ve been invited to apply for the Master Sommelier course.”
Whoops and squeals of happiness startled the birds in the trees close by, who let their displeasure be known loudly. The happiness faded from Belle’s face and she looked at the letter again.
“Who’s going to look after Mum if I do this? I don’t have much spare time as it is, and this workload will be far harder.”
She folded the pages back up and took the envelope from Dante’s fingers. Sadness seeped from her like a cloud.
“It’s not possible. I’m going to have to refuse.”
She tucked the letter back into her pocket and turned her back on him, moving to unpack the food she’d brought with her.
He looked at Raph and Ria, not knowing what to say.
Because there was nothing he could say.