The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

Chapter 2

“Wow.”

“Act cool, Aly!”

“How can I? It’s all… wow!”

“It’s just Napa Valley.”

“Don’t try to act like you’re not all squee on the inside too, Bree!”

Brianna unbent enough to grin at her sister. Alyssa was so thrilled to see that smile that she forgave her sister completely for being such a sulky, surly pain in the ass all day.

“It is pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Pretty cool? It’s beyond cool. Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m actually here. I can’t believe we’re here together. Seriously, look at this place! Can you believe we’re actually living in a winery?”

“It’s not really…”

“Oh, I will not have your negativity, Bree! I’ll pour Chianti down your throat until you find your happy place. I know it’s a vineyard with cottages and the winery is a good walk away, but still. It’s awesome.”

“It is awesome. Let’s check in, shall we, and take a walk?”

“Now you’re singing my tune!” declared Alyssa. “I think we have meet and greet and wine tasting sessions all day. Look at this, Colombo is one of the sponsors. I wonder if they’ll have their good stuff. I wonder if we can snag some of their Barolo. Honestly, I’m thrilled to be in Napa Valley but can you imagine if we could do this in Piedmont? An actual Italian wine-making workshop and conference, that would be the most amazing thing in the world!”

“Calm down, Aly. Let’s be happy with what we have right now, shall we? Maybe you can hit it off with some fancy Italian winemaker and he’ll whisk you away to Italy on a long wine-tasting adventure.”

“Ah, the dream. Or not, who would take care of my shop? Anyway, we should at least try to be happy with what we’ve got, I suppose. Look at the guest list! Oh… Look at that, the big guy himself is here.”

“What? Who?”

“Matteo Colombo. He’s pretty young but he’s supposed to have one of the best noses in the business. He puts it to good use, too. Do you remember, ten years ago when mom found the Colombo Chianti? She bought it because she hadn’t seen it before, somebody had gotten a bottle and put it on the shelf as part of the stock at that place she used to go to. She would not stop raving about the wine for a week.”

“That’s the one that got you bitten by the bug. Really, mom should’ve known better than to give us wine at sixteen and seventeen.”

“Oh, we were fine. Besides, it’s not like she gave us more than a glass each. Anyway, he revamped the entire label and turned it into this huge company. It’s pretty astonishing, really. He’s here, it says. I didn’t know he was scheduled to attend.”

Brianna shrugged. “Is he cute?”

“Bree, it’s not about him being cute. I don’t know, actually, I’ve been more focused on the wines than him, I don’t think I ever saw a photo. Or if I did, I don’t remember. Anyway, you can’t photograph how good his nose is, can you? I wonder if he’ll lead a wine-tasting session. It would be pretty amazing to be a part of that. He’s been acquiring a lot of new vineyards all across the country. I heard they’re working on a special Super Tuscan, too.”

“You sound like a fangirl right now.”

“I’m a fan of his nose and his knowledge. Okay, our turn.”

Alyssa checked them both in as Bree wandered around the lobby. There were about a dozen people there, and Alyssa hoped to get to know all of them by the end of the weekend. At least five people she knew had made the list, and one of them was direct competition who played dirty at times. She would have to stay out of Lane Donaldson’s way because Lane would not hesitate to ruin the entire weekend for her, and Alyssa did not want war.

“Well, look at who the cat dragged in.”

Too late.

Alyssa made sure her smile was fixed in place as she grabbed the keys she’d been given and turned around.

“Lane, how lovely.”

Lane did look lovely. Tall, slim, blonde, blue-eyed and Barbie doll perfect, as always—that was Lane.

“I’m sure it’s a treat to see me, of course. I didn’t know that you’d managed to get an invitation. No wait, let me guess—you’re here as somebody’s plus one. That’s nice of them, I know you’ve been trying to get here for years now.”

“Well, actually, I’m here with Brianna as my plus one, Lane. I’m sure it’s going to be lovely. Maybe this time you’ll finally get that rich su*ker you’ve been looking for to get that exclusive wine bar of yours out of that hole it’s been in for about ten months.”

Lane’s face sharpened, and Alyssa could practically see the claws coming out. Damn it, she should’ve just bitten her tongue, but that was something she’d always been terrible at.

“Lane, how lovely to see you. I’m sorry to intrude, but I’m afraid I must borrow Alyssa. It’s a bit urgent. I’m sure you’ll find time to catch up later!”

“Naomi! Oh God, thank you! Seriously, thank you. I thought I was going to be incinerated.”

Naomi Tolls grinned.

“I could see you regretting every word. Hey, Howie! Look who I found! And you brought Bree, isn’t that great?”

“Hey, guys! It’s so amazing. I was so jealous of both of you last year, but we’re here this time!”

“Well, Aly, you look lovely, and Bree, you look like you wouldn’t mind a drink. Come on, let’s get settled in and head over to the meet and greet, shall we? I checked the wine list and it’s excellent. As might be expected when Colombo is one of the sponsors. Come on!”

It was easy to be swept along by the cheerful couple who owned a lovely vineyard in Napa Valley, and who made some very passable wines, some even very good. Even Brianna had cheered up considerably by the time they were settled in, changed, and heading for the meet and greet. It was as gorgeous as Alyssa had hoped it would be, maybe even more so.

“Look at this. Just look at this, Bree! Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it incredible? We’re actually here! Look at those vines!”

“They’re vines, Aly. Come on.”

“Bree, you have no romance in your soul. Now come on, let’s go and see what kind of spread they’ve got at the meet-and-greet.”

“An excellent one,” said Howie, joining them on the deck of their cabin. “How cool is it that we’re next to teach other? Naomi will be here in a second, she’s fallen in love with the bath in there and is wondering if she can stuff it in her bag and take it home.”

Alyssa chuckled.

“The thought occurred to me, too. It’s like a really tiny pool, isn’t it? I thought this was supposed to be fairly rustic.”