The Italian's Unexpected Heir

Once they were seated, his curiosity was piqued. “Are you saying you’re a woman of mystery?”

She arched a brow. “Would you like that?”

He pursed his lips together. There were still so many things about Sylvie that he didn’t know. And he couldn’t help but think he wanted to know everything about her. But now that he’d decided to sell the estate, she would be leaving here. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon. Too soon.

It was best to let the subject drop. “What I’d like is to enjoy this food because there’s this great big cake with my name on it.”

Sylvie smiled. “You saw that?”

“How could I miss it? It’s huge and in the center of the table. How did you get the bakery to make it so quickly? Or did you have this party planned for a long time?”

“Actually, I didn’t realize it was your birthday until yesterday when I saw a notation on my day planner. There wasn’t any time to order a cake so I made it—”

“You baked me a birthday cake?”

She shrugged. “Kind of.”

“I don’t understand. You baked it or you didn’t?”

“It’s a box cake. Actually, it’s four boxes. I wanted to make sure there was enough for everyone.”

“Box or not, you’re the first person aside from my mother to ever bake me a cake.” The gesture touched him more profoundly than it should have. He leaned over to her. He was so tempted to reach out and turn her head toward him so he could press his lips to hers. The thought was so very, very tempting.

But not wanting to ruin this moment, he pressed a kiss to her cheek instead. “Thank you, for all of this.”

Color filled her cheeks. “You’re welcome.”

And then before she could eat her food, she was called away to the kitchen. He wanted to go after her—to offer his help with whatever it might be. But he knew he couldn’t push this thing between them—this second chance at a friendship.

“She’s certainly something, isn’t she?”

Enzo glanced up to find Vito standing there, smiling. “Excuse me?”

“Sylvie, she did all of this for you. You’re one lucky man to have her in your life.”

“She’s not in my life.” The statement came out with more force than he’d meant.

Vito’s bushy brows rose high on his forehead. “Really? I thought you two were a couple.”

Enzo gave a firm shake of his head. He cleared his throat. “We’re just friends.” Not wanting to continue this discussion, he said, “Excuse me. I need to go check on something.”

As Enzo walked away, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Vito had said. There was still a part of him that wished Vito was right. But he had absolutely nothing to offer her.

His life was in turmoil. He wasn’t even sure where he was going to live once the estate was sold. And then there was the fact he didn’t deserve to have Sylvie in his life. He didn’t want to fail her like he’d failed his sisters.

CHAPTER FOUR

THERE WAS A PEP to his step.

This was going to be a good day.

Enzo had slept well for the first time in forever. He tried to tell himself it was exhaustion that had let him slumber. But he wasn’t that good of a liar. He knew it was the engaging party last night. A

nd Sylvie.

She was such a remarkable woman. He had no idea she’d been planning a surprise party. And she’d made sure to invite everyone who worked at the vineyard as well as the neighbors. It had been so thoughtful—so sweet.

Some man was going to be very fortunate to marry her. She would make a loving wife. Not to mention a wonderful mother. The vision of her holding a baby in her arms filled his mind. The baby would be a little girl and she’d be the spitting image of her mother. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.