She shook her head. “It isn’t our business, Pia.”
I walked to the winery, feeling as though my universe had tilted. Things I’d always believed would never change, were, faster than I could keep up. Perhaps this was what growing up felt like. The things th
at had always been, weren’t any longer, and I, like everyone else, was expected to adapt.
For the next several weeks, Paolo and I saw each other often. It was over an hour’s drive from his family’s estate in Chianti to Valentini, but he never complained. At least twice a week, he’d come and take me to dinner. Some days he’d arrive earlier and try to coax me into leaving work. It was rare that I could, but he remained good-natured about it.
He offered his help, and when I declined, he didn’t push.
I found myself looking forward to spending time with him, but my attraction to him paled whenever I thought of Mylos.
I received a few more letters from him. When each arrived, I felt happier than I did whenever Paolo showed up to take me out. There were times I thought about telling him we couldn’t see each other anymore, but other than a few chaste goodnight kisses, we weren’t much more than friends anyway.
During the harvest, I had far less time to spend with Paolo, and he too was needed in Chianti. At the end of a particularly busy week, he walked into the winery, surprising me.
“There she is,” he said, bringing me a bouquet of flowers. I realized then that he’d left more than one message and I’d never returned his calls.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry. It’s been so—”
“Busy.” He smiled. “I understand. It’s the nature of the wine business. But, Pia, you’re running yourself into the ground. Do you realize we haven’t spoken for almost three weeks?”
Had it been that long?
He took a step forward and cupped my cheek. “You can’t do this alone, and you know it. Why can’t you let go of your pride and let me help you?”
Perhaps it was due to how tired I was, but I wondered if Paolo would dare say the same thing to a man.
“I’m perfectly capable of running Valentini, Paolo.”
“Are you, Pia? Truly?”
“What do you mean?”
“It isn’t a secret that your sales are down since I left and you took over.”
I bristled. “Everyone’s are.”
“Not everyone’s.”
After a few years of high yields, production was up, and as a result, there was less demand. Additionally, with older estates like ours being purchased by corporations who could afford to invest a great deal of money into both equipment and marketing, it was harder for the ones that remained family-owned to compete.
“I have some other things in the works to offset our decline in sales.” The minute I uttered the words, I wished I hadn’t.
“You do? I’d love to hear about them.”
Paolo was as charming and gracious as always, and there was no good reason for me not to tell him. Except I didn’t. “I’ll let you know more as they develop.”
He leaned forward and kissed me. “Beautiful, sweet, brave Pia. Always determined to do things on your own. When will you learn you can ask for help?”
He sounded like Lucia, but with less sincerity. “Perhaps when I need it.”
“What do you say we go into the village for dinner?”
“Thank you, Paolo, but no. If you’d called first, I would’ve told you I was too busy.”
“I did call. Multiple times.”
“I’m sorry, the answer is still no.”