And when the time came for him to make a trip, one he knew Emma couldn’t join him on because of her appointment with the vampire, Gio turned off his GPS tracking, which Emma could follow, to put their future in action.
“We haven’t been apart since I moved in.” Gio stood holding Emma at the front door.
“You’ll survive,” she teased.
“I’ll see you in two days.”
Emma kissed him and pushed him toward the door. “Get out of here. Nicole is coming over for pizza, ice cream, and talking about boys.”
Gio hesitated. “Wait . . . I like this idea.”
Emma pushed. “Go.”
An hour and a half of traffic later, and he arrived in San Diego and parked. From there, Dante drove Gio to the San Diego airport.
“You sure about this?”
“I have to try,” Gio told his friend.
“Good luck.”
A few hours later he landed in Sacramento, where Richard picked him up and drove them to Napa.
“I’m not sure how this is going to go over,” Richard said.
“I have to try.”
At the R&R Wineries offices, Gio slid into a suit jacket and snapped up the buttons on his shirt and skipped the tie. He wanted to be presentable, but not a kiss-ass.
Richard walked him through the building and stopped at an office door. He looked at the secretary and said, “Hold all his calls.”
She glanced between Gio and Richard. “Okay.”
Richard knocked once and didn’t wait for a reply.
He opened the door and Robert looked up from the desk. “What in the—”
Gio smiled and Richard shook his hand. “Good luck.”
Robert stared at the closed door, both hands poised on his desk. “What are you doing here?”
Gio lifted his chin. “You’re a smart man, Mr. Rutledge. Your daughter’s boyfriend shows up uninvited, likely has only one reason to do so. I would have asked for an invitation but felt that would have been a waste of both of our time.”
“This is a waste of your time, too.”
Gio expected as much. “I’m going to ask your daughter to marry me, and I would like your blessing.”
Robert sat back, folded his hands over his stomach. “Emma doesn’t care about my opinion.”
Gio moved farther into the room. “You’d think so, but you’re wrong. I’ve seen Emma bleed, sweat, and cry as she’s worked desperately hard to get your approval. When we first met, she was passionate in the fight to make you proud. Only in the last month . . . six weeks . . . I’ve seen that spark start to die. Not her spark, but the one she uses to keep your relationship with her going. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t at least try and keep her love for you alive?”
“My daughter hates me.” Robert looked away.
Gio shook his head. “No. She wants to. But she doesn’t. You see, the opposite of love is not hate, Mr. Rutledge, it’s complacency. It’s nothing. Hate requires passion. Complacency requires nothing.” And since Emma still asked Beth about her father, Gio knew that complacency hadn’t cemented in . . . not yet.
Robert looked beyond Gio, his lips a thin line.
Just when Gio thought he was getting somewhere, Robert said, “Honestly, D’Angelo. I don’t think you’re good enough for her.”
The man’s comment shouldn’t have surprised him. “I’m going to marry her anyway.”
Robert nodded a couple of times. “Good. She needs a strong man. Kyle was weak.”
“Yet he still works here.”
“A weak husband. But a good employee.”
“Emma doesn’t need my strength. Not in the way you speak of power.” Gio started to turn toward the door to leave and stopped. “I can’t help but wonder, who will walk her down the aisle? Who will stand in as the grandfather for our children?” Gio turned to face Robert, placed a hand on his chest. “My father is gone.” He shook his head. “You’re the only one left.”
Silence filled the vast room.
When it seemed all that needed to be said was out, Gio reached for the door.
Three steps out of the office and Robert called Gio’s name.
He turned.
“I’ve been told recently, mainly by my wife, that if I didn’t work on my relationships with my children, I was going to die a bitter and lonely old man.”
Gio adored Beth.
“I was never a fan of A Christmas Carol. Never thought of myself as Ebenezer Scrooge since I supported everyone around me. But throwing money around isn’t enough . . . is it?”
A smile started to find Gio’s face. He kept quiet.
“You have my blessing.”
One step, and Gio planted his palm in Robert’s. “Thank you.”
The grapes on the vines were growing their way to perfection.
Emma wore a summer dress, soaking up the final rays of sunshine that would begin cooling off right about the time of harvest.
The winery part of Casa de Emma was complete, and everyone gathered for a massive party to celebrate. Their foreman, Raul, and his family . . . every one of the D’Angelo clan, Nicole, and Emma’s mother, brothers, and sister-in-law were there. As a surprise, a last-minute car pulled in and Rob, Pierre, and Chris climbed out.
Emma squealed in delight and ran to them.
“We weren’t going to miss this.” Rob hugged her hard.
“There’s going to be a long time before there’s wine.”
Chris looked around. “I see buckets full of wine.”
Gio walked over, shook hands. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“You did this,” Emma accused.
“Guilty.”
Brooke had hired a photographer and, with her expertise in the world of marketing, was directing the man to take pictures of everyone. Casa de Emma already had a website and a complete marketing plan for their first bottle.
Gio clapped his hands together and lifted his voice. “Let’s get this started.”
A celebratory bottle of champagne, wrapped in cloth to avoid injury, was waiting for Emma to smash against the side of the building.
But first . . . a speech.
Under dozens of lights strung over the space between the buildings sat small tables beautifully decorated with simple flowers and candlelight. Tucked into the vineyard, a long table was set under a newly built cover with two-year-old lemon trees planted at each post. More lights illuminated the space and long benches worked as seating on both sides.
It was still evolving, but Emma and Gio’s vision for what Casa de Emma would become was taking shape.
Hired help walked around serving champagne.
“Bubbles first, red last,” Nicole announced.
“I see nothing has changed,” Chris called over to her, laughing.
The crowd gathered close.
Gio stood beside Emma, a hand on the small of her back.
“Emma and I want to thank all of you for coming. We know it’s really not for us, but for the food and wine.”
“Stop it!” Beth teased.
“It’s been a crazy summer with a lot of changes, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say we might not have made this happen in time for our first harvest without you.”
Emma nodded. “Raul and all your friends. We know how much work you’ve put in.” She placed a hand on her heart.