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“You let her keep the trust fund?”
“I thought he was mine,” he said simply. “Just like you said, in my heart, he was mine. I bonded with him, with the idea of him. Besides, his mother’s sins were hardly his fault. Given his medical requirements, it seems like the least I could do.”
“It’s very generous, but also, exactly the right thing to have done.” She moved closer, so their bodies were melded. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
He nodded, wondering why her sympathy was more palatable to him than anyone else’s had ever been? Even with his cousins and brothers, he didn’t discuss Alexander and Claudette. It was too hard. But with Maddie? Nothing was difficult.
“I guess this explains your trust issues?” Her lips lifted in a beautiful half-smile.
“I guess so.”
“And you don’t speak to her?”
“Not if I can help it.” He shook his head tersely. “From time to time her lawyer contacts me with a question regarding Alexander’s fund, but I do my best to keep that at arm’s length.” His hand roamed her side, teasing the flesh exposed by the cut out of her bathers. “So I come here every summer to disconnect. I mean, I still have to work, so it’s not a complete break, but it’s enough.”
“Enough?”
“To stop me becoming a bitter old man.”
“Ah.” She kissed him gently. “We can’t have that.”
“No, we can’t.” He rolled his body over hers, wondering about the absolute jackass who’d let her walk away. Nico wasn’t interested in relationships but if he was, he would have to admit, Maddie was the perfect woman. How could anyone have had her and let her go?
“You actually drink the wine?”
Her surprise brought a smile to his face. “That’s what grape vines generally produce.”
“But I mean, your grape vines make wine?”
“Just a small quantity each year for our private collection. These grapes are mine – viognier, my favourite. Rafe’s are on that hill, over there,” he gestured to a patch of the land that was darkened by a cloud overhead. “Shiraz.”
“Do you pick the grapes yourself? Come and stomp them in a big old wooden bucket?”
“It’s sadly less romantic than that. The grapes are hand picked, but not by me. We employ a vintner who oversees the production at one of the oldest wineries in Italy. We don’t get involved until the tasting day,” he winked. “Much more fun.”
“I can imagine,” She reached out and touched a grape. It had been warmed by the sun but it was firm, so she knew it would be tart to taste.
“I don’t know if I’d ever leave Ondechiara if I was you.”
“It’s seductive, isn’t it?”
“Very. I came here believing it would be beautiful but I didn’t expect quite so much beauty.” She reached out and picked a leaf off a vine now, rubbing it between her fingers. One side was furry, the other smooth and warm.
“Why did you choose Ondechiara?”
Maddie stilled. He’d asked her something similar the first day they’d met and she’d resisted answering. She didn’t want to keep secrets from Nico though. Not more than she had to. “I’d seen a picture.” She lifted her eyes to his face, scanning his handsome features. “A print of the painting you have by your door, actually.”
“Really?” His expression showed surprise. “That’s a coincidence.”
“I guess it’s a well known painting,” she turned away from him, studying the vines. “Anyway, I loved it. From the first moment I saw it I felt…peace. There’s somethi
ng about it, the colours and atmosphere, it called to me. Like somehow I knew that if I came here everything would be okay.”
“And it wasn’t before?”
Damn him. He read between every single one of her lines. She shook her head slowly.
“But you don’t want to talk about it?”
