Expectantly, he looked around, expecting her to appear suddenly and rush to his side, smelling pleasantly of lavender and herbs. Then perhaps she would beam her luminous smile and shyly kiss him on the cheek in front of everyone before they all trooped in to dinner.
Two women, aunts whose names he couldn’t recall, stopped talking and stared. On their faces were expressions that didn’t fit the occasion; in fact, they seemed disdainful. Rocco was advancing from the corner, flanked by several of the guys. He spotted Mia in a corner, her hands clasped beneath her chin and her mouth frozen into a startled O. And then he saw that even Maren was shooting daggers of disapproval at him from beside one of the wine kegs, where she had been comforting someone who looked up at that moment, her face pale and wan.
Gina.
A silence befell the wine cellar as the band stopped playing one by one in a discordance of wheezing accordions. Shelley, her mouth set in a grim line; Stacey, clinging to Barbara’s side; and Frankie—but he didn’t see Frankie anywhere.
Rocco’s chin had a pugnacious tilt to it, and his stance when he jolted to a stop in front of Josh was threatening.
“So you finally decided to show up, did you?” Rocco’s words fell into the cool air of the wine cave like heavy stones dropped from a great height.
“I couldn’t help the delay. I just flew in from Boston. It’s good to see you, Rocco, and everyone else.” He kept his voice steady, though he couldn’t avoid seeing Gina’s face. It wasn’t only her face that betrayed her misery, but the set of her shoulders and the dejected slope of her whole body.
“What happened—you decided to bug out of Gina’s life and then thought better of it?” Rocco moved closer, looking even more belligerent.
“Bug out of…? No. No, Rocco, nothing like that.”
“And you think you can show up a couple of hours late for your own party and we’ll be glad to see you? You didn’t even call to say you wouldn’t be here.”
He wasn’t about to let Rocco get the best of him. “I had to stay in Boston. I was visiting Walter Emsing at Starling Industries.” He glanced toward Fredo. “You recognize that name, Fredo.”
Fredo nodded slowly. “Of course I do. I’ve been talking with his people almost every day.”
“Then you know who he is and what he wants. Listen to me, Fredo. You don’t have to sell the winery. I’ve found a way for you to get the money you need.”
“What do you mean?” Fredo demanded, coming to stand beside Rocco. The others still had those suspicious expressions on their faces, but Josh couldn’t do anything about that now. He’d rely on Fredo to do the explaining.
“I came here to work on an article about the wine industry, but I was also on a mission to check out possible wineries for one of our family businesses to acquire. When I first heard about Vineyard Oaks possibly being for sale, I picked up on it. I checked it out, saw it would be a good deal for Starling. Then I learned how your family operates this place. What it means to them. How devastating it would be if you lost Vineyard Oaks.”
Gina stood, and as he watched, all the color seeped from her face. “How did you learn all that, Josh?” she said, her tone colder than ice. She advanced closer, seemingly unaware of everyone else in the room besides the two of them.
“From you,” he said honestly. “You told me.”
“I did. I’m sorry to say it, but I did. And now you’ve used the information to take this winery away from the Angelinis? After we’ve watered the vines with our own sweat, bathed them in our own tears, broken our own backs to make some of the best wines in the valley?” Her tone was incredulous, her eyes full of sparks.
“No, Gina,” he said levelly. “Starling doesn’t want to buy Vineyard Oaks. They want to participate in a silent partnership, send their executives here to learn more about the actual art of winemaking, and—well, there’s a lot more to it.”
Fredo shouldered through the group of men and past Gina. “This is true, Josh? We don’t have to sell?”
“It’s true. I’ll set up a conference call with Walter Emsing tomorrow morning. He’ll tell you what he has in mind.”
“We’ll keep our jobs?” This was one of the men with Rocco. Josh recognized him as David, the mentally challenged cousin who had never worked anywhere but in the family business.
“This is good. This is wonderful,” Fredo said expansively. He flung his arms around Josh.
A hubbub ensued, and Josh found himself answering questions at a fast pace, doing his best to explain everything at once.
When it appeared that everyone understood, Josh was prepared to be borne away to his birthday feast. At the very least, he expected an appreciative peck on the cheek from Gina. He peered over the tops of heads, trying to locate her amid the milling group. He was gratified to see her pushing her way toward him.
He didn’t expect her face to be fixed in a grim expression, her lips to be drawn into a tight line. The sea of people parted as she marched over and planted herself in front of him.
“Gina,” he said, hoping to placate her, wanting to fix whatever was wrong. Shouldn’t she be as grateful as everyone else? Shouldn’t she be smiling, wishing him a happy birthday?
“How dare you?” she said in a low tone, though he had no doubt that everyone present could hear every word she said.
He stared at her. She was so beautiful that he wanted to sweep her into his arms and carry her off to her sweet-smelling boudoir. She was so lovely that it broke his heart to see her fury directed at him.
“You came here under false pretenses, insinuated yourself into my good graces and used Mia and Frankie to get around me when I resisted.”
“That’s not exactly how it happened,” he told her, his eyes pleading with her not to make a big deal out of this. “I was here to research an article for Starling. The article was commissioned because of my father’s association with Starling Industries, and when Walter Emsing, who is Dad’s best friend, heard that I was writing the article for the company newsletter, he urged me to find out what I could. I was glad to report to Walter that Vineyard Oaks could be bought cheaply, but—”
“Nothing is ever cheap,” Gina said. “Least of all me.”
“One of the reasons I wanted to come here was to find you, Gina. I never thought you were cheap. You’re the finest woman I’ve ever met—kind, clever, witty, smart.”
“I’m certainly smart enough to know when I’ve been used. I left financial information lying around my house, confidential things that you could have read.”
It was as if all the other people in the wine cave melted away, leaving the two of them alone together. His heart ached with the love he felt for her, that he had always felt for her. “I didn’t look at anything that was private. I never meant to use you,” he said heavily. “I know it may appear that way, but that wasn’t ever my purpose.”
“Oh, I disagree, Josh. I’m sure that’s exactly what you had in mind.”
“Doesn’t it mean anything to you that I’ve found a way to save Vineyard Oaks for your family?”
“Not when your motive was something else entirely. It’s all about trust, Josh. I was learning to trust you again, and now I can’t.”
He couldn’t believe it when she turned her back on him and walked away.
“Gina,” he began, but she whirled on him, two spots of color high on her cheekbones.
“Spare me. Get out of my life, Josh. Once and for all.” She ripped the amber heart necklace from her neck and threw it at him. Josh caught it, stood staring down at it. The heart dimmed, receded, felt cold in his hand.
“Rocco?” he said. “Can’t you talk to her?”
He thought he saw a softening of Rocco’s expression, but perhaps he was mistaken. Rocco pointed at the door. “You heard what she said. You’d better leave.”
Fredo was the only one who showed a positive reaction. “Come on, son. I’ll walk you out, and you can tell me more about that conference call.”
Josh and the older man move
d down the row of silent Angelinis, who fell away before them. Josh’s head was whirling with the unjustness of it all; he didn’t think most of them understood that he had pulled a rabbit out of a hat on their behalf. He had performed magic.
When they emerged into the waning sunlight, Fredo cleared his throat. “Look, Josh, give it time. I’ll explain to the family.”
“And Gina?” He stuffed the amber heart deep into his pocket.
Fredo’s eyes were kind, and he clapped Josh on the shoulder. “There’s no use reasoning with her when she’s in this mood. As for the future, who knows? Rocco and the boys seem to agree with her that you took unfair advantage. I ask myself, did you really? I answer no. I judge you by the results of your actions. All ends well if you have done what you say. My talk with Walter Emsing tomorrow will be most enlightening, I’m sure.”
They had reached the BMW, and Josh tried to take heart from Fredo’s counsel. He preferred not to reveal all of Starling’s plans for Vineyard Oaks, but he wanted to put the man’s mind at ease. “Walter will have suggestions about expanding the tasting room so as to bring in more tourists. He liked my idea of adding a gift shop. That way the winery will benefit from the sales. He thought that tours of the wine caves would bring people in. He suggested expanding crush to include paying guests, which would also be a good public relations tool.”
“All these things mean more employment,” Fredo said. “We haven’t been able to do them before because we needed the money for operating expenses.”
“I know, Fredo. Now you’ll have the money you need.” By this time, they had spent fifteen minutes or so talking, and Josh wanted to get away. To go back to his apartment and lick his wounds in private. “Fredo, about that conference call—be in your office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. Walter will call, and I’ll be on the line with you. After we’ve outlined the plan, I’ll hang up, and you and Walter can attend to the details.”
“Good, Josh. Thank you again.”
Josh hesitated. “Fredo, I haven’t figured out what to do about Gina. If she won’t talk with me, I can’t convince her that I never had any ulterior motive as far as she is concerned.”
Fredo peered up at him. “Is it serious between you, then?”
“Yes, Fredo. I was going to ask her to marry me tonight.”
“Marriage is a serious step.”
“That’s why I want to marry Gina. She’s the only woman in the world for me.”
Fredo studied him for a long moment. “I see. You love her.”
“Yes. I love her.”
“Perhaps it will work out, son.”
“I hope so,” Josh said fervently. He got into the car and started the engine.
“Oh, by the way, happy birthday,” Fredo said as he backed out of his parking place.
Happy birthday? thought Josh. So far, this had turned out to be one of the unhappiest birthdays in his whole life.
Chapter Fifteen
Josh felt himself descending into a blue funk as he drove away from Vineyard Oaks. The scene in the wine cave had been surreal; all those people gathered to wish him well, and Rocco’s surliness, and Gina’s contempt. It wasn’t what he’d expected, to say the least.
Twilight was descending rapidly, as it did in the valley. He wondered briefly if Judy Rae had returned from her daughter’s in San Diego. He didn’t want to see her now. He didn’t want to see anyone.
As he rocketed around the curve near the water tower, he saw the shiny red bicycle that he recognized as Frankie’s propped against a telephone pole, and he recalled seeing one like it racing toward the highway when he’d arrived at the winery. Something wasn’t right about this bike being in this place at this time, and he eased his foot off the accelerator. Frankie hadn’t been at the wine cave, and that alone was enough to set off alarms in his head.
Josh slammed the car to a stop on the shoulder of the road, scanning the rolling landscape for any sign of the boy. Nothing seemed amiss, and he considered driving away. But then a flutter of white caught his eye, and he looked up to see that it was a piece of fabric or paper hanging from the railing that edged the narrow metal catwalk circling the water tower overhead.
His heart swooped down to his toes and back up again when he recognized the figure beside the white thing. The figure was so high up that he couldn’t distinguish any features, but he knew who it was, all right. Frankie.
He scrambled out of his car and began to run toward the tower.
AFTER JOSH AND FREDO LEFT the wine cave, Gina let her mother lead her to the back of the kitchen, where she could sit on a small stool and recover from the confrontation with Josh. She would cry later, maybe even hate herself. But now she was still angry, still horrified at how Josh had used her.
“I did the right thing. I know I did.” Gina accepted the cool towel that her mother handed her and blotted her face with it.
“That’s for you to decide,” Maren said crisply. “If it were me, I’d be inclined to wait and see.”
“Don’t you understand, Mother? It’s not what he did for the winery or our family. It’s that he reentered my life under false pretenses. Rocco thinks he dishonored me. I agree.”
“Honor, dishonor, what of it? In Josh’s mind he was helping. I’d think about that if I were you.” Maren’s ancestry was Norwegian, not Italian. She didn’t always agree with the Angelinis’ concept of honor.
Gina slammed the damp towel onto the counter and stood. “All I want to think about is getting this party over with. Let’s eat.” Although she knew full well that she couldn’t eat a bite. She was too shaky to eat anything. It felt as if there was a huge gaping hole where her stomach should be, and in her heart, she felt only pain. As for her soul, it would go on weeping long after this day was finally over.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT KID doing up there?
Josh put his hands up to his mouth so that his words wouldn’t be whipped away in the wind. “Frankie! What’s going on?”
Frankie didn’t answer. The white material flipped over, and Josh saw that it was printed with the words Happy Birthday, Josh. This barely had time to register before the wind caught the banner and Frankie lost his grip on it. It floated for a moment, crackled as it was whipped around by the wind, then plummeted to the ground a good distance away from where Josh was standing. Josh could only imagine with horror what would happen if Frankie fell; his chances of survival wouldn’t be high.
“Frankie!” Josh yelled, moving closer. “Can you hear me?”
Frankie gripped the railing, freezing at the sound of Josh’s voice. He looked scared to death.
“Frankie, don’t move. Do you understand? Don’t move!”
Frankie nodded, almost imperceptibly. He still clung to the railing, and Josh’s heart almost stopped when Frankie sank to his knees.
“I said don’t move!” Josh shouted. He had reached the ladder leading upward; his foot was on the first rung.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Frankie said.
Frankie, Josh remembered, got sick when he had to deal with heights. “That’s okay, just don’t let go of the railing,” Josh told him.
As Josh began his climb, he was marginally aware of a minivan full of Girl Scouts stopping and the girls piling out of the vehicle. “I’ll call for help,” cried their leader, but Josh wasn’t going to wait. He didn’t trust Frankie, didn’t know what the boy might do.
He reached the place where the first ladder ended and stopped for a moment to catch his breath before moving on to the second ladder. Frankie was now sitting on the catwalk above, and he’d let go of the railing.
“Grab hold of the railing,” Josh hollered, and he started up the second ladder, climbing as fast as he could.
“NO, I DON’T HATE HIM,” Gina said.
“Hate is a corrosive emotion,” Maren said diplomatically. “I can’t imagine hating anyone.”
“My feelings about Josh are complicated,” Gina said. “I suppose it will take a while to sort them out.”
&
nbsp; “You don’t want to ruin your chances with him,” Maren said.
“Oh, don’t I? He ruined our chances of being together. He knew that trust was the main issue for me, that it wasn’t easy for me to trust him after he booted me out of his life the first time—”
“Isn’t that a little harsh, Gina? It was only a game.”
“It started out that way. It became much more.”
“Ah, Gina, maybe you have hit upon a key,” Maren said.
Gina stared at her. “What are you talking about, Mother?”
“When Josh arrived in the valley, he may have been here for one reason—to investigate possible properties for Starling to buy. I think he changed, Gina. I believe that when he saw you again, when you began to trust him, his reason for coming here didn’t seem as important anymore.”
“You—you honestly believe that?” She had always trusted Maren’s judgment, and over the years, her mother’s advice had been right on target.
“Yes, Gina, I do. I believe you’re on the wrong track here. And perhaps you’d better decide if you really want to send Josh away. I saw the love in his eyes tonight. It was unmistakable. Believe me, a man doesn’t look at a woman that way unless he’s crazy about her.”
Gina was taken aback by this statement, but before she had a chance to reply, Mia came running into the room. “Aunt Gina, I’ve been looking all over for you. Aunt Liz’s phone rang and it was her friend Sandy. She said that Frankie’s up on the water tower and Josh is climbing up the ladder to get him. She said—”
“What?”
“Josh is going up to get him. Sandy was bringing her Girl Scout troop back from a field trip and saw. She’s there right now.”
Gina ran into Barbara right outside the kitchen. “Is it true what Mia says?”
Barbara’s forehead was knotted with worry. “I’m afraid so. Whatever has gotten into that Frankie?”
“Does Rocco know?”
Heard It Through the Grapevine Page 22
