Flipped (Better With Prosecco Book 1)

by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  There was silence and then a scuffle as though she were shifting the phone. "Adam told me you might not be yourself. That this... thing that's wrong with you might make you crazy for a while. You don't want to break up with me, Dean. I'm the perfect woman for your image, your career."

  Dean heard Stella bashing around in the kitchen and the smell of warmed brioche drifted into his room. "Well, I've realized I don't care much about my image, Izzy. You can stay in the house as long as you need to. Adam will help you find somewhere else if you'd like."

  There was a long silence. For a minute he thought she'd hung up but then she sighed, "Big mistake, Dean." She hung up the phone.

  Dean nearly skipped his way down to Hazel's. He felt ten pounds lighter somehow. During his breakfast with Stella fussing, pushing brioche at him and refilling his coffee, he'd realized that he didn’t care about Isabella… or Adam. Hollywood felt so far away from here. He'd realized that much of his recent stress and worry came from the constant battle to remain relevant in a town obsessed with the new. But in Borgotaro people looked upon the new in suspicion. It was tradition that ruled here, tradition, relationships, family and living for this moment right now.

  Borgotaro had seeped into his blood. He wasn't worried about the career he was beginning to realize he might not even want. Isabella could worry about her image. He wasn't worried about his own. He wanted to live in the right now; right in this moment. He wanted to eat long, lazy meals with his Italian family (Stella felt increasingly like a Mom to him). He wanted to spend time with Hazel, as much as he could, and he wanted to forget about movie cameras, questionable best friends and selfish girlfriends.

  “Good morning!” he called into the empty kitchen as he entered the house. The room was rich with the scent of coffee and toast, but there was no one around.

  Indigo poked her head around the corner. She looked from side to side as though she were scouting the room. She said, “Wait here,” and then disappeared. What the heck was going on now?

  She was back in seconds with a pen and legal pad in hand. “Do you have the credentials to enter the spy zone?” He searched her face for some hint of a joke, but it was deadly serious.

  “What do you mean, Indigo? What spy zone?”

  “Apparently, this house is a lousy spy zone.” She threw her pad and pencil down and crossed her arms over her chest. If she could’ve gotten away with stamping her foot, he thought, she would have done that too. “Hazel and Stefano have locked themselves in the office, and they won’t let me in. Stefano said something about a secret mission. Why am I not allowed to know the secret mission? It’s exceptionally unfair.”

  “Oh, calm down, Mother.” Hazel entered the kitchen and threw a grin in Dean’s direction that almost knocked him over. She was flushed pink with excitement and Dean was thrilled she hadn’t gone back to buttoned up Hazel. Her hair was down and a little wild and she was wearing her tiny shorts and a paint-splashed t-shirt. She grabbed a scrunchie from the counter and pulled her hair into a bun. Dean wanted to run over and grab her hand to stop her, he loved her hair free, but he was good and kept control. He wasn’t sure how much Hazel wanted to share about their current status, whatever that status was.

  “I’m not on a secret mission, Mother. Stefano was just helping me out with something. We’ll tell you about it later. Right now we all have to get to work.” Her mood reminded Dean of his own and he hoped that yesterday was the reason for hers, like it was for his. She was a bundle of energy and couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Her skin was glowing with palpable joy. He’d never seen her guard down so low. Even Indigo’s mouth was gaping. Then Hazel shocked him even more by crossing the room, throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the lips, making a smacking sound. “Mwah! Boy did I miss you!”

  He laughed and gripped her tiny waist in his hands, pulling her even closer so he could whisper, “I missed you too.”

  “Okay, stop right now!" Indigo yelled. "There is too much going on here that I don’t know about. Not that it wasn’t obvious that this,” and she pointed at Dean's hands and circled her finger around, “would happen. You two are disgustingly transparent, right Stefano?” Stefano was grinning happily, and he nodded his head.

  Dean dropped Hazel’s waist and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. He belonged here. The thought popped into his head out of nowhere, but he knew it was right. He belonged right here, standing next to this woman, holding her hand. He could feel it in his bones. He vowed right there and then that he would never let her down. What that meant he didn’t know yet, but he couldn’t wait to find out.

  Hazel let go of his hand and moved to the table, ignoring Indigo and picking up her stack of papers, now neatly organized with colored tabs and filled with highlights.

  “Right! Operation Zanre house! Are we ready? Let’s go!”

  31

  Hazel

  “Holy cow, Stefano!” Hazel was paging through stacks of printed emails, each inflaming her temper more than the last. “You are some evil genius or something! How did you get this stuff, isn’t this illegal?”

  “Very. But I am Italian so what can they do? Sue me?”

  It was two days after Hazel had provided Stefano with all her passwords along with access to the company email system. At the time she hadn’t even felt guilty about it. What were the chances that Stefano would see anything more than her own emails? The only reason she'd gone ahead with his crazy scheme was because, at the time, it had felt empowering. Thanks to Stefano, she felt back in control of her life. She’d even felt confident about continuing her relationship with Dean (and thank goodness she had; they couldn’t keep their hands off each other). But now, sitting around the breakfast table with her quirky, made-up family of Dean, Indigo and Stefano, she felt a stab of guilt.

  “Yeah, but I can’t use any of this! I’d have to tell Liz that I hacked into the work computer. She’d kill me!” She looked to Dean for support but he was nodding at Stefano.

  “You didn’t hack into the work computer,” Dean said. “Your crazy, uncontrollable, Italian house guest did. Plus, Liz is more likely to kill Samuel, once she sees this stuff.”

  And it was true. “This stuff” was highly incriminating. Hazel paged through the conversations between Samuel and his IT buddy, the one with the daddy on the Board. These emails outlined the entire scheme to get Samuel on the project. Not only had they hacked into Hazel’s account to get her designs, they’d hacked into Liz’s account to see if there were any client requirements she hadn't told them, and then, wait for it, they'd hacked into the client’s account to make sure they hadn't missed anything. All of this was, at the very least, a firing offense if not grounds for legal action. Stefano had just saved her career. She had her career back! She stood and crossed to Stefano’s chair, grabbed his face, and kissed his bony cheek. He blushed, Indigo laughed, and Dean called out, “Hey now, you stay away from my woman,” making Stefano blush more deeply.

  “I’m terrified though,” Hazel said. “What do I do now? Should I call Liz? Mail this stuff to her? What?”

  “You should call her.” Dean crossed over and put his arm around her shoulder. “This is amazing news, Hay. It means you still have a chance at the partnership.”

  “Yeah, but only if I sell this house and get the equity.”

  “We’re taking care of that!” Indigo said. And she was right. They were taking care of it. They had made leaps and bounds worth of progress over the last two days. The four of them were a great team. “Although I don’t know why you want that stupid job. You’re far too creative for it.”

  “Yeah, you’ve said that before Mother, and I’ve told you before. I’ve been working for it my whole life. Is there something wrong with wanting to be a success?”

  Dean released his grip on Hazel and went to rub Indigo’s shoulders instead, “Okay you two, back down,” Indigo melted under his hands, a goofy grin on her face. “Hazel needs to call Liz. Is now a good time, Hay?”

  “It’s perfe
ct. She’s just waking up. Will you stay with me, Dean?”

  “Of course. I’ll hold your hand.” He grinned over to her, and she winked back.

  Indigo groaned. “You two are too much. Let’s go Stefano. We can start shredding the wallpaper off of that back bedroom.”

  “Thank you, Stefano!” Hazel called as they left the room, “I owe you one!”

  They waited until they heard steps on the landing above them and then Dean crossed to Hazel and took her into his arms. The team had already assembled in the kitchen when he’d arrived so he hadn’t kissed her yet. He did that now, letting her know how much he had thought about her since kissing her goodbye the night before. She smiled under his lips and leaned her weight against him. They'd been doing a lot of kissing.

  “Will you really leave me and go back to Jacksonville?” he whispered as he moved his lips to her neck.

  “Oh God,” she rolled her eyes. “Will you really leave me and go back to being a world famous movie star?”

  He pulled back just far enough so he could look her in the eye. “Too early for that conversation?”

  Hazel was stumped for a moment. It was true they had an amazing connection. She’d hardly slept the past few days, replaying every moment they’d spent together in her head. He was the sexiest man she had ever been with. Let’s be honest he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. But she hadn’t dared to dream that he was considering a relationship beyond this incredible summer. His question had taken her by surprise. Did she want to have that conversation? Hell, yes! Right about now she'd give it all up and live a life as a Hollywood housewife. But she needed to be realistic and running away with a famous movie star wasn’t realistic. She extricated herself from his hug and gave him a sheepish smile. She didn’t want him to feel the pounding of her heart.

  “I’d better phone Liz.”

  Dean stuck his lower lip out, but she ignored him and pulled her phone from her pocket.

  “What is with you and 5:00 a.m.?” This time Liz didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was already up. “How’s Dean?”

  “He’s right here. Do you want to talk to him?”

  “Oh my God, no, NO! Don’t you dare put me on the phone with Dean McLean, you crazy lady. What would I say to him? I’d just die!”

  “Okay, I won’t. Don’t panic! I’ve something serious to talk to you about. But promise you’ll stay calm.”

  “Calm? How can I stay calm when I know that I am within talking distance of Dean McLean!”

  “Ok, I’ll make him leave the room. He’s going.” Hazel shook her head at Dean who smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “Okay, he’s gone. Now are you ready for the serious stuff?”

  “Yeah. Hit me. But you’ve already stressed me out this morning, Hay, so this had better not be bad.”

  “Oh, it’s bad Liz.”

  “Oh gosh. Okay, go for it.” Liz said.

  “So I have a friend over here who’s fantastic with computers.”

  “Okay.”

  “He heard our conversation the other day about my suspicions about Samuel, so he took it upon himself to do a bit of digging.”

  “What does that mean, digging?”

  “Okay, well don’t freak out Liz, okay?” Hazel reached out and grabbed Dean’s hand, “He hacked my computer. Or, to put it more accurately, he hacked your email system.”

  “He did what? When? Why are you telling me this? Are you mad? I so did not hear this. La, la, la, la, la.” Hazel could just see Liz standing in her living room with both hands held tightly over her ears.

  “Liz! Liz! I need you to know something else!”

  “Okay tell me,” Liz sighed. “I’m already implicated. You’re killing me.”

  “Samuel stole my stuff and I can prove it. Not only that, but he hacked into your email and stole all the other upcoming proposals, and worst of all he hacked into the client’s computer to get as much info as he could. I have it all documented in printed email chains.”

  “Wait. This doesn't make sense. Samuel's a hacker? You're telling me Samuel is some kind of computer whiz?”

  “No, not Samuel. He was working with Michael Blackwell.”

  “Michael Blackwell! You mean Michael Blackwell, nephew of William Blackwell, partner and Board member, William Blackwell?” Liz gave a shaky laugh. “What are you doing, Hay? Seriously! You're killing me.”

  “Yeah, but don’t you see Liz? Now we have proof! You said we couldn’t say anything because I didn’t have proof. But now I do. I have proof that Samuel stole my designs.”

  “Hay - you have proof that Samuel stole your designs with the help of the nephew of an extremely influential and powerful board member. This isn’t an easy fix!”

  “What do you mean? I’ll just mail you these emails, and that’s all you need! What difference does it make who was in on it? Samuel stole my designs, my client, and tried to steal my career!”

  Dean stood up into her line of sight and motioned down with the palm of his hand in front of her face. Calm down. He was right. She needed to calm down.

  “Listen, Hay. I know this might seem black and white to you, but it’s not. It's all kinds of crazy shades of grey. I’ll have to think about what to do, okay? Give me a few days. Let me think about it. I promise I'll call you back. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Hazel said. “Okay, Liz. Don’t worry. I’ll wait.”

  After she’d hung up the phone Dean wrapped his arms around her again. “You did good, babe. That was tough. You’re tough. I admire you. Just give her some time and we’ll keep thinking too.” He stepped away and moved toward the stairwell. “I’d better check on the work of the dynamic duo. But don’t worry, I’m on your side. We’ll make sure you get whatever you want out of this.”

  Hazel watched Dean as he turned to climb the stairs. What if that’s part of the problem, she thought, what if I don’t know what I want anymore?

  32

  Dean

  Dean walked back to the townhouse, tired as usual from a long day of back-breaking work, but satisfied and humming. A glow of happiness his constant companion.

  He found Atillio perched on the top step, an empty espresso cup beside him, waiting for him. “Come, Dean, we must go for a walk. I will buy you a coffee.”

  Dean had only come back to the house to grab a quick shower. He had planned to persuade a tired and stressed Hazel to let him take her to dinner. But, he always had time for Atillio, the old man's guidance and advice had been key since he found himself marooned in Borgotaro.

  “Sure Atillio, what did you have in mind?”

  “A walk first, yes?” Atillio started off down the hill without waiting for an answer. “I want to hear what you have to say about your new job. Which I see you got.”

  “You’re a nosy old man, Atillio, but I’ll indulge you.” Dean pulled his hands through his sweaty hair, dusted off his jeans and set off after Atillio. They would pass right by the house. If he was lucky he'd catch a glimpse of Hazel and give her a wave. He’d left only five minutes ago, but his craving for her company seemed insatiable.

  “So, Hazel is very beautiful.” Nothing like cutting straight to the point. Dean smiled as he quickened his pace to keep up with the old man.

  “Yes, she is. And before you ask, yes I think there is something between us, at least I hope there is.”

  “I am told that Indigo and Stella have met. Indigo has confirmed that Hazel has, how do you say, ha perso il suo cuore, lost her heart?”

  “Hah! I didn't know those two knew each other? What a pair!” He laughed at the image that popped into his head. Stella and Indigo were sitting at the townhouse table gossiping away about him and Hazel, dissecting every minute detail of their lives.

  “They just met. And you are right. They are a pair. The Italian gossip magazines have competition, yes?”

  “They certainly do.”

  They were passing the house now and Dean strained to see through the front windows. The shutters were open, and the windows were cracked
to get some air into the rooms they were working on. Dean found that he was enjoying the lack of air-conditioning. He liked that instead of a fake, sterile, constant cool, he got to experience the exquisite pleasure of a lavender scented breeze blowing across sweaty skin. It was very sensual. They'd made great progress on the downstairs and had also started on one of the bedrooms. The house was showing her lovely bones. He couldn’t see Hazel, she was probably taking a shower, which is what he should be doing right now as well. He had a flash of disappointment, followed by a vivid image of Hazel's luscious body standing under streaming water. He turned his face away from Atillio to shield his grin.

  “Stella tells me you have a lady friend back in America.”

  “She did, did she? Why am I not surprised? Did she also tell you I broke up with her?”

  Atillio laughed, “Stella loves you like a son. You are a part of her family. Your real secrets are your secrets. But doesn’t the whole world know most of your secrets already, Dean? What about the papers in America? They don’t publish that you have a girlfriend?”

  “Had a girlfriend, and I’m sure they do. I've told Hazel all about Isabella. She understands. Isabella didn't take it very well. I even snuck away today to call and check in on her.”

  “Ah? And?” They had reached the bottom of the hill now and Atillio steered them across the road and into the bottom of the giardini.

  “It was weird. She was at a party or something and she accepted the call, but then she didn’t say anything. I could have sworn I heard Adam in the background, but that couldn’t be right because she hates Adam. He’s not too fond of her either. Then the line went dead. I guess she was in a bad cell zone.” They had walked through the bottom of the giardini and now stood in one of his favorite spots, directly in front of the old hotel. Atillio had stopped. “Why are we here?”

  “This is a beautiful hotel, no?”

  Dean nodded, embarrassed. Had Atillio seen him mooning over this property? He must pass by here at least twice a day to daydream. Daydreams that now included Hazel. “It is beautiful Atillio. I’ve noticed it before.”