Page 75 of Fallen Hearts

Am home, about to leave.

I noticed. Thought maybe you changed your mind.

Nope. But… should I bring anything?

Such as?

I almost chickened out. Said something like, “A bottle of wine.” But I didn’t come to Cedar Falls to sit by the wayside and let things happen to me. I came here to prove I could be the master of my own destiny. The captain of my own ship.

Okay, enough cheesy analogies.

An overnight bag.

I held my breath as I watched the text bubbles, and finally Mason’s message came through.

Abso-fucking-lutely.

Smiling, I tossed some things in a bag and headed back through town. Since I had never gotten to grab wine yesterday, seeing Mason with Beck’s aunt derailing my plans, I popped into Casa Di Vino, glad to see Emilio was there.

“Buongiorno, Emilio,” I said, walking into the shop.

“Buongiorno, Pia Russo,” he said, waving enthusiastically. “Come stai?”

“Molto bene, grazie,” I said.

“What can I get for you?”

“Just a bottle of red for a special occasion. You pick.”

“Ahh, special occasion?” he asked suggestively, heading out from behind the register toward the red wine aisle.

Damn. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t want to lie but I also didn’t want to make a big deal of Mason and me. Since there really was no Mason and me, yet. Would I like there to be? That was a dangerous question given our circumstances, and one best left unasked.

“Just dinner with the boss,” I said. “Celebrating the progress at Heritage Hill.”

At least it was mostly true. And we could be celebrating since we’d gotten a lot done in a short time. I’d been on fire all day, finalizing long-term plans that I knew would turn Heritage Hill around.

“How about this one,” he asked, pulling a wine off the shelf. “Il Tempo Ritrovato, a red blend. It’s one of my favorites.”

I took the bottle from him. “Tempois time. I don’t knowritrovato.”

“Time rediscovered. It’s a three-year-old vintage that is…” He pressed his fingers to his lips in a chef’s kiss.

“I’ll take it.”

“How is the boss?” Emilio asked, ringing me out.

“Doing well, all things considered,” I said, paying for the wine.

“I’m glad to hear it. His father’s death was such a shock to everyone. Thomas was always running around town, fit as a fiddle.”

I didn’t know his dad was a runner. “It’s terrible,” I agreed. “I’m not sure what’s worse. Knowing someone you love is going to pass or having it happen so suddenly, there is no time for goodbyes.”

Emilio sighed. “Well, Mason would know better than anyone. He lost his mother, as I’m sure you know, to a long battle with cancer. Although he was still young and might not remember it.”

“He remembers,” I said quietly. “At least some of it.”

The sadness in Emilio’s eyes was so unlike him. “She was a beautiful woman, Margaret Bennett. Inside and out. Thomas never recovered from her loss.”

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