Page 58

No dice.

“Ugh,” I groan.

I press the second button, and the gates begin to part. I gently speed up and pull up to the office. I accidentally take up two spots since I’m not used to the dual back tires, so I hope no one needs to park next to me.

Walking into the overly air-conditioned office, I shove my sunglasses into my hair and walk down the hall toward Enzo’s office just as a blonde woman walks out of hers. She’s very polished, late twenties, in slacks and a blouse, and her blonde hair is perfectly straight, hanging to her shoulders. I’m guessing she’s Ally, and if Enzo had a type, she wouldn’t have pinged his radar.

“Hey, I’m Tilly,” I say, tucking hair behind my ear.

Why am I always so underdressed when I’m at this office?

“Hi, Tilly. Look, these are confidential. I’m putting them in a sealed envelope.” I roll my eyes at her. “Problem?”

“Do you think I really care about vineyard operations?”

“Are you Tilly?” a man’s voice asks from behind me. I look over my shoulder as an older man with a striking resemblance to Enzo is walking closer to us down the hall, grinning at me. He’s not as tall as Enzo and is definitely in his early sixties. “Whoa, you look just like Enzo’s mom,” he says as if he suddenly lost his breath.

“What?” I ask.

“Are you Sicilian?” he asks.

I breathe out a laugh. “No. I mean, I’m Italian on my mom’s side, but she’s from Chicago. I think my dad’s German and maybe English or something,” I explain.

“Sorry, just thought I saw a ghost. I’m Vincenzo, but everyone calls me Vin.” He extends his hand to me.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“I can’t believe everyone’s met you before me,” he adds.

I smile at him. “You were on vacation.”

“What brings you by?” Vin asks. “How’s Enzo? Is he here? I saw his truck.”

“No, I’m just picking up stuff for him, but Ally’s being weird about it.” I cross my arms over my chest and glance at her.

“Jesus, Ally. I’m sure E authorized it,” Vin says to her. She turns on her heel, back to her office.

“Um, but Enzo’s good. He got burned out,” I tell Vin. “I suggested he hire someone to help with operations.”

“I told him the same thing, but he’s a control freak.” Now I know why. “He can take as much time as he needs. We’ve got it covered, and when he’s back, we’ll put a better plan in place. This is too much for one person to manage,” Vin says.

“Yeah, that’d be great. So, you asked if I was Sicilian—”

“Hey, Alex! Look who it is!” Vin calls down the hall. Another older man approaches, but he looks more like Enzo’s other uncle, Rob. “This is my brother, Alejandro.” I smile at both of them.

“Uncle Alex?” I ask.

“That’s me. God, Enzo hasn’t brought a girl home in forever,” Alex says more to Vin.

“Doesn’t she look like Allegra?” Vin asks.

This is more attention than I expected.

“Yeah, kind of,” Alex answers as his phone rings. “Oh, I have to take this.”

“We’re both happy to fill in this week,” Vin tells me as Alex walks away.

“Allegra?” I ask, hung up on him naming Enzo’s birth mother.