More than an hour later, Nick parked the car on the north side of the building and looked over at Anna. “Ready?’

“As ready as I will be under the circumstances. Let’s just hope for a miracle,” she said and climbed out. Having already walked through the previous locations and sampled from the menus, they were now on to the final option and fast running out of steam.

It wasn’t that the last places were terrible or that Napa was scarce on beautiful, elegant, and undoubtedly delicious places to eat. The problem was finding those features along with a generous private dining area to seat around thirty guests with barely more than twenty-four hours to spare in a town where everything was previously booked weeks—if not months—ago.

Yet, despite the seemingly impossible task they’d been finagled into undertaking, he was finding that being stuck with the maid of honor was actually tolerable. Okay, so maybe more than tolerable. Who knew that Anna Blake, girl reporter, could be warm, witty, and charming when she wasn’t trying to decimate him?

She also had a way of smiling at him, her eyes sparkling, her head tilted just so, that had his complete attention. Then there was the way the olive color of that short tank-style dress complemented her honey hair and sun-kissed skin and hugged her curves and showed off her great legs. She was the full package.

Well, except for the fact that she had been his sworn enemy for so long, and he didn’t know if he could trust her not to screw him over again for the sake of her story—and securing her next byline.

Nick looked around. “The place is nice. Lots of parking and a great view.”

The place was also one of the many around Napa boasting the garden-to-table way of running its restaurant that was so popular these days, which probably explained why it was located farther out of town.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find somewhere in this area that wasn’t beautiful,” Anna said, heading toward the entrance.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty hungry,” Nick said, holding the door open for her. “What do you say we actually get a table and enjoy lunch once we’re done?”

“I could definitely eat.”

“You’re in just the right place then,” an older man said in a heavily accented voice that sounded Italian. Nick placed the short, heavyset guy somewhere in his sixties. “I’m Lorenzo. Welcome to my establishment. Will it be just you two?”

“Actually, you’re probably expecting us,” Anna said. “Lynette was going to call ahead to make arrangements for us to have the tour?”

“Ah, yes. For the rehearsal dinner.”

“Yes. But after the tour, we would love to stay and have lunch.”

“Of course. Right this way,” Lorenzo said, sidling up to Anna as they walked through the main room.

The guy was animated as he showed them the dining room, a bright and airy room with lots of windows that offered similar views outside at the landscape. He led them out to the patio, which, although too small for the numbers they had for the dinner, was charming and, as he explained, could be made available as another space for serving drinks. He took a few minutes to proudly take them out to the garden area to see and appreciate where their produce selection came from.

When the tour was over, Lorenzo escorted them back to the patio and handed them menus. “You’re a lucky man, signore,” he said and smiled at Nick, “to have found someone as perfect as this angelo.”

Anna grinned impishly and tilted her head. “You hear that? I’m an angel.” She laughed and turned back to Lorenzo. “Actually, it’s my sister who’s getting married. We’re here strictly to do our duties as the maid of honor and best man.”

“Maybe then someday, eh?” he asked, grinning at them both. “Then you can return and we can help you, too. In the meantime, take your time. I’ll get Gina to assist you with your meal.”

Anna watched him go, waiting until he was out of earshot to lean forward, a grin on her face. “I can’t tell. Do you think that’s a legit accent?”

“I was wondering the same thing. When he was talking about his tomatoes, his guard came down, and I swear, for just a minute, the accent slipped.”

Anna’s eyes were bright with humor. “Well, even if it is just an act, he gets an A for effort.” She paused, looking around, and sighed.

“What is it? You don’t like the place?”

“No, it’s not that. I like it fine. More than fine. The dining room is big and open and will make a beautiful venue for the dinner. It’s just not as special as I would have liked it to be. It’s going to feel very similar to the reception. I was hoping there would be something…more. Different but memorable.”

“I agree, but of the selection we’ve seen, this place is probably the best.”

She nodded as their server, who introduced herself as Gina, Lorenzo’s granddaughter, arrived with a loaf of warm, crusty bread and a complimentary bottle of wine and took their orders.

Once they were alone, Anna picked up her glass, taking a sip of the deep red. “That’s delicious. Now don’t ask me what the low or high notes were or any of that because I’ll just be making stuff up, but I can tell you I would definitely take another glass.”

“That’s all I need to know,” he said and took a drink. “So, are you having any regrets about missing out on the group festivities yet?”

“Far from it. This”—she looked around as the breeze swept a piece of hair across her face—“is more my element.”

Nick picked up a knife and sliced the aromatic bread, placing a piece on each of the small plates in front of them. Now that there was a truce between them, there were so many more things he wanted to know about this woman.

He buttered the bread. “You seem to know my entire resume and I realize I barely know anything about you other than you’re at a job that seriously undervalues you but the market is tight and you don’t have a lot of options. What about college? Where did you go?”

“UC Berkeley.” She bit into the bread, nodding as if in approval. “You’ve got to try this.”

He did, agreeing with her assessment. “Berkeley is very impressive. And you mentioned roommates. Tell me about them.”

She took a moment to chew and swallow before answering. “Well, after living two long, miserable years in campus housing with roommates from hell, I decided to get an apartment off campus. Only, my budget was severely limited, so I put an ad out for a roommate and was beyond fortunate when Quinn answered it. When we graduated, things weren’t looking any better for me on the job front, and with Quinn starting law school, we were more than happy to stick together even as our lease was expiring. While we were looking for a new place, Quinn met Tessa in torts class and we decided to extend our duo to a trio. It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. They’re my girls. Girls, roommates, friends, sisters. They keep me sane.”

“And now that you have that money from Malcolm, are you thinking about moving out? Finding your own place? I mean, there must be a lot of opportunities open to you now.”

She’d been drinking her water but stopped as she stared at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? You don’t seriously think I would touch a dime of that money, do you?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re his daughter. It’s the least he could have done for you. From the look you’re giving me, I take it you don’t agree.”

“Definitely not. When I was a kid, it took me a while to figure out how my mom could afford to send me to pricey private schools even though, more times than not, we were eating peanut butter sandwiches and crackers for dinner. She came clean when I was fourteen, admitting that it was because Malcolm had paid for it. It was part of some agreement they’d made when they split that he could cover the cost of the finest education for me, at my mom’s insistence. I didn’t have much choice in accepting it then, but I do have a choice in accepting his money now. And I’m not interested.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. So what will you do with the inheritance?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but my plan is to find a worthy charity to donate it to by Christmas.”

He wasn’t sure if he admired her for her integrity or considered her a fool for not taking the opportunity to reap some of the benefits she’d missed as a kid.

Their food arrived, large plates filled with aromatic and brightly colored vegetables and broiled, seasoned tilapia that had his mouth watering. He watched for a moment as Anna dived in, not trying to hide her appreciation for the delicious food.

He smiled and stabbed a roasted sweet potato. “You know, even though you were the biggest pain in my ass ten years ago, I do wonder, had we met under different circumstances, whether we would have been friends.”

She pulled a face and shook her head. “Not a chance.”

“What? You don’t think I would have met your high standards for friendship?”

“More like I would never have been cool enough to reach even the lower echelons of your social circles.”

It was something he couldn’t really disagree with. He’d been a jerk back then. He was too conceited and too full of himself. “Well, it’s a shame that we didn’t. You know, as much as I hated you back then for what I thought was an unfair personal attack, you certainly kept me on my toes.” He smiled, no longer bitter about what had happened. “I’d thought I was going to skate through that election. Until you. You made me step up my game, something I can appreciate in today’s political landscape.”

“You’re welcome?” she said like a question, smiling. She took a bite of tilapia, washing it down with water before speaking. “Being friends would have been a tall order for me back then, too. I completely detested you.”

“Yeah, I remember. Why was that exactly?”

This time she lifted her wineglass and drank, skirting her gaze away from him like she was hiding something.

“What? What don’t you want to tell me?” he asked, now insanely curious.

“You probably don’t even remember.”

“Remind me.”

“All right. I guess it’s fair that I share it with you. It was the moment that fueled my long-standing grudge against you, which ultimately led to the whole cheating story debacle.”

She actually had a moment? Something about that didn’t bode well for him.

“My first week of freshman year, you and a few other guys were playing that wonderful game of rating the new girls. Apparently, if I’m recalling correctly, you rated me as a two. Out of ten. Let’s see…I had the body of a boy, a smile brighter than aluminum foil—that would have been my braces—and I was overall just plain…weird. The weird part kind of caught on with your clique, as you might remember. I became the weird girl, later elaborated to the weird reporter chick.”

Nick could only stare at her in horror. He didn’t recall the day in question, but it rang true as something he and his buddies would do.

Anna laughed and took a drink of her wine, her voice strained. “Weird. It seemed like an innocent word on its own. But when you’re fifteen and struggling with insecurities about not being good enough—especially for your own father—it felt pretty painful.”

He leaned forward. “Hell, Anna, I don’t remember saying any of that, but I also know enough about what I was like back then to know your memory is undoubtedly true. I wish more than anything I could take it back. They were stupid words from a cocky, selfish kid who had a hard time seeing outside his small, narrow-minded life. It’s a little late, but I am truly sorry. No wonder you hated me with the fire of a thousand suns. I would have, too.”

“It wasn’t really that big of a deal,” she said, pushing her food around on her plate with the fork, still not meeting his eye. “You probably said nothing more than what other people were saying, and I had thin skin back then that I had to toughen up. When I look back now, it’s more amusing than anything.”

“Anna.” He waited for her to look up, her expression guarded. He hated that he’d caused her one minute of pain, not to mention a decade’s worth. “No one deserves to be spoken about like that. I have no excuse other than that I was a jerk and deserve your contempt. When I remember the kid you were back then, the word weird doesn’t come to mind at all. Yes, you were a little awkward, as most everyone was at that age, but you were also fiery, spirited, witty, and, yes, even cute. The only reason you didn’t have a line of boys after you wasn’t because they thought you were weird, but because you terrified them with your persistence. Boys can be…insecure. We need a hefty dose of adoration from the girls we like, not the blunt truth. Although, if I’d had any brains, I would have welcomed the challenge.”

She didn’t say anything, and it seemed like she was in shock as her mouth dropped open the slightest bit. Just as quickly, she recovered, smiling at him in a way that had his chest tightening. “Terrifying, huh? And do you still find me terrifying?”

“Absolutely. But in an entirely different way.”

There was hidden meaning in his words, and even he was still trying to translate for himself. Being around this woman, and the feelings she was wrestling up, was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.

Before Anna had a chance to respond, Lorenzo interrupted them. “I hope you two enjoyed your meal.” Nick reluctantly drew his gaze from Anna, wishing for another moment alone. “My granddaughter mentioned overhearing your conversation earlier about whether the place would suit your needs for the dinner. Gina thought that maybe you would be interested in taking a look at one more spot.” The old man hesitated. “It’s different than what people are usually looking for, so it’s not something we usually show. But if you’d like, I could…”

“We’d love to see it,” Anna said, looking at the old man with a glimmer of hope.

They followed him across the patio and toward a different entrance to the main building than they’d originally come from. The old and weathered antique door was wide enough to allow three people through the entrance, and if Nick were to guess, it was probably once used for storage.

The cool, faintly musty air met them first as Lorenzo propped open the door. An old stone floor gave way a few feet in to a set of shallow steps that Lorenzo led them down. Images of Dracula’s castle and serial killer torture chambers entered his head for a second, and he almost laughed as he caught Anna’s eye, wondering if she felt the same way.

“Before this place was a restaurant, my father made an attempt at wine making,” Lorenzo explained, his voice echoing back to them. “For thirty years, our family labored to fulfill this passion, but it was tough work, and by the time I was ready to take the helm, I had my own passion. Opening this restaurant. However, the old wine cellar remains.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Lorenzo turned on another light and the large, almost cavernous basement lit up.

The place felt timeless. Authentic. Unique.

Against the back and side walls were abandoned wine caskets, large wooden barrels stacked against each other, three barrels high. The floor in front of the barrels was cleared out except for about five round wooden tables with benches and antique chairs gathered around for seating. Without the natural light from the large windows upstairs, the room was darker but still warm and inviting thanks to the light from the small sconces hanging from the ceiling. The setting was intimate and some would even say…romantic.

Anna exhaled as she looked around, shivering slightly. “This place is lovely.” Her eyes were brighter now with excitement. “It’s perfect.” She looked back at him. “What do you think?”

He couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. “It’s almost…magical.”

Something passed in her eyes as he said this, some intimacy between them that had his throat constricting as he tried to force the breath into his lungs.

It seemed that a lot of things that he once might have written off had more hidden appeal than he’d ever thought possible.

* * *

Anna crossed her arms behind her back as she and Nick strolled down a row of grapevines, killing time until Lorenzo could finish drawing up the paperwork. Even though the restaurant was no longer in the wine-making business, according to Lorenzo, they still harvested their grapes to be sold to a local winery.

She looked up at the sky just as a breeze came up, sweeping her hair back and off her neck, surprised to see fast-incoming clouds, dark spots against the once bright sunny sky.

“Do you want to head back?” Nick asked, following her gaze up.

She looked around at the beauty of the valley around them. Here, she could forget about what waited for them back at the estate, could escape her past and just breathe again. She wanted to prolong this moment, not end it. “Not just yet.”

He nodded quietly. It had been like this ever since that moment on the patio. The energy growing between them was tangible, and if she held up her finger, she was sure she would feel a pulse.

Another gust of wind tossed her hair, this time across her face, and she worked to pin it back just as an earth-shattering crack sounded above them, making her jump. A heavy drop of rain hit the top of her head, followed by another on her shoulder. Then a torrent of water unleashed down on them, and she felt her hand being caught up in Nick’s as he led her racing to a large apple tree.

She laughed and glanced down to see that, in the space of those seconds, her clothes had become drenched and now clung to her body. She met Nick’s gaze, expecting to see a hint of a smile at their predicament, but his face was serious, his eyes dark and intense as he studied her.

Then she knew.

She knew that in about two seconds he was going to kiss her.

Her gaze dropped to his lips. Lips that she longed to feel on hers.

He took a step forward, his hand coming up to push a swath of hair from her glistening face. Impatiently, she waited to feel the shock of his lips against hers, but it was like he was taking his sweet time as his hand went around her waist, pulling her against him, and he searched her face, his own so serious. Finally, he dipped his head down, and she held her breath until she felt his lips, his mouth hot and hypnotic as it moved against hers almost like a dance. A slow, sensual dance that didn’t take her any time to learn the rhythm.

Anna felt like she was falling back into a void as the emotions and long-repressed desires overcame her, but she found the sturdy trunk of the apple tree holding her up. Holding them both up. She could melt against it as Nick’s body molded against hers.

It was like she’d lived this moment before.

Like she knew the contours of his face that she held now in her hands, the familiar strength in his arms, his fingers as they tightened against her. It was new and wonderful but also almost like coming…

Home.

Had he always been there? Somewhere in her subconscious, a possibility never realized? Had she hidden her true feelings for him all this time as a protection against the pain of his inevitable rejection?

Because right now, everything about this moment felt right.

Her heart was beating so hard that she wondered if he could feel it. His lips were leaving a trail down her neck, kissing every bit of exposed skin, and she wanted to hold on to this moment always.

“Signorina?” Lorenzo.

Nick appeared to have heard him, too, as he took a step back. But his gaze will still on her, and there was a promise in those eyes that left her shivering.

Lorenzo called again, and she bit her lip to stop from laughing. A strange hysteria took over her suddenly tingling body as her mind whirled from the range of emotions she’d experienced in the space of a minute. She was losing her mind.

“I think Lorenzo is worried about your virtue,” Nick said, his mouth widening into a sultry smile.

“Was I in danger of it being compromised?” she asked breathlessly.

“Absolutely.” Nick looked down, taking her hand in his. “Guess it’s time we return to the party. If we hurry, you’ll be just in time for the bachelorette party.”

She groaned and leaned into him for one last moment. But she didn’t care, not really. The thought of such a silly, frivolous event might have horrified her before, but now she needed space from Nick St. Claire.

Because she didn’t think, if given the option, she’d have minded being compromised.

Just a little.