The Italian's Unexpected Heir

Needing a break from answering Mr. Renezo’s questions, Enzo headed outside the winery. A hint of smoke hung in the air. There was no escaping it.

Another of his father’s bits of wisdom came to him: Change doesn’t come easily but it’s necessary. Enzo just had to keep moving forward until the deal was complete. Everything would work out then. Wouldn’t it?

Vito came rushing up to him. His tanned face was marred with deep worry lines. Enzo’s heart sank down to his work boots. Had the fire reached the Bartolini property?

“How bad is it?” Enzo’s words were rushed.

“It’s bad. Do you have room for another family?” Vito asked. He’d returned early from his holiday when he heard about the fire.

Enzo raked his fingers through his hair. With evacuation orders up in the area, he’d been taking in displaced families. After all, he had an unoccupied hotel. He might as well put it to good use. The only problem was that it had filled up quickly.

“Put them in my room,” he said. “I’ll grab what I need and bunk down here with the rest of the crew.” Vineyard workers who didn’t have a family of their own was camping here, ready to do whatever was necessary.

Besides, now that Sylvie was gone, he spent as little time in the main house as possible. The estate was so empty, even with all these people staying here. Nothing was the same without Sylvie’s bright smile and bubbly laugh.

With a resigned sigh Enzo turned toward the door. It was time to go back inside and sign the sales agreement—if the wildfire didn’t incinerate the estate first.

Mr. Renezo looked up from the papers in front of him when Enzo entered the room. His silver hair was trimmed very short, revealing his lack of hair atop his head. From behind his silver frames his sharp gaze studied Enzo. “Everything all right?”

Enzo nodded. At least for the moment. “We should get the sales agreement signed.”

“Just remember I’ve had my attorney write in a clause that if the wildfire destroys the property that this agreement is null and void, so if your rushing to sign is some sort of idea that you’ll sign it and be off the hook if the worst happens, think again.”

“The idea never crossed my mind. Let’s do this.” Enzo needed to get this over with, the sooner the better. Because the longer they took, the more the doubts about his actions circled overhead, weighing on him.

As he lifted the pen, he saw Sylvie’s image in his mind. She was frowning at him and shaking her head in disapproval. But she didn’t understand. No one understood that this place represented his failures—the secret his parents kept—the secret he’d hid.

It was best to forget the past and just get on with the future. A fresh start that included a baby. Sylvie and his baby. He would do better by their child. There would be no secrets—secrets that shook the foundation of their family.

As they were about to sign the sales agreement, Vito rushed into the room. He didn’t apologize for his presence. And by the distinct paleness of his face, it was clear that things had gotten worse.

He moved to Enzo’s side. Vito leaned over and whispered, “We have to go. The fire is headed right for us.”

In that moment Enzo wondered if this was his punishment for all the mistakes he’d been making with his sisters, with the estate—with Sylvie. Was the choice to stay or go being taken out of his hands? Was his past about to go up in smoke?

In the next breath he realized he wasn’t a quitter. He refused to let the flames of fate take the decision of whether he should stay or go out of his hands.

He would stop the fire—he hoped. He would protect this land that

had been left to him—that was so rich in memories. Some good. Some not so good.

And then he thought of Sylvie. She was always lurking at the edge of his thoughts. This estate is where he’d first met her. For whatever reason, she loved this place. And that was all the reason he needed to do whatever needed to be done.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THIS COULDN’T BE HAPPENING.

Sylvie glanced out the window of the Bartolini estate. The whole villa had been closed up to protect its residents from the thickening smoke. Luckily for them, even though the fire was now threatening the edge of the Bartolini property, the estate was vast.

When Vito had called her to let her know that the wildfire had spread and was now heading for the estate, she’d stopped job searching and immediately returned. She had no idea what she could do to help. She just knew she had to be here for Enzo.

After already having a close call with the baby, she wouldn’t take any chances by going out to the front lines where they were doing everything possible to stave off the fire. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t cook for all the dislocated people seeking shelter at the estate or the men and women fighting to save it.

“Do you have more bread?” Anna, Vito’s wife, asked. “The sandwiches are going fast.”

“I have some that just came out of the oven,” Sylvie said. “I don’t know if it’s cool enough.”

Anna placed her hand on one of the loaves. “It’s cool enough. These guys are hungry.”