Page 73 of Baby for my Daddy's Best Friend

“Is that really difficult to guess?” My voice rises a few octaves.

Silvano’s smug face flashes in front of my eyes. He’s done a great job at erasing his tracks and leaving no evidence behind. I imagine him sitting somewhere, laughing at how his plan, whatever it is, is working.

“For you and me? Not at all.” Valentino sighs. “But it’s going to be difficult to prove in front of a court. Did the firefighters give you anything that could be used as evidence?”

I shake my head. “The chief told me that it’s highly unusual for a natural fire to occur in a climate like this.”

“That’s not enough. We need to find more information. I don’t even understand why Silvano is doing this. For years, our vineyards battled it out only in the markets. He’s playing dirty now, and I don’t know what the motive is. Would it be better to just give him the land?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I am not going to let him get an inch of land from us now, if that’s the last thing I’ll do.”

That Silvano’s love for Valentina was driving this entire operation was highly suspect. Sure, he loved her once, but why did it take him this long to resort to dirty tricks? He could have done the same when she was still alive.

Figuring it out felt like a frustrating mystery, but it acted like a distraction—one that I desperately needed.

“Whatever we do, we cannot let any of the influencers know about our suspicions of foul play regarding the fire,” Valentino says. “It’s their last week here, and I don’t want them worried about their own safety. That would be disastrous for our marketing.”

I look at him. “I trust you to handle this, then. You’re a natural at crisis management.”

Valentino’s expression softened. No matter how old he got, he still valued my validation.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange a workshop with them to discuss the safety aspects of running a wine business. We can use the fire as a case study.”

“Good thinking.” I pat him lightly on the shoulder.

“Quinn might have already left, I think, but the rest are still there.”

I stiffen at the mention of her.

“She’s gone?” That’s all I can manage to get out.

Even though the news isn’t a surprise to me, it still hit hard to hear it.

Valentino shrugs. “Or she might be leaving early tomorrow, I am not quite sure yet. But I don’t think she’s the kind of person to bad-mouth us over a fire, so a de-brief with her would not be necessary.”

I nod, trying to ignore the way my heart lurches at any mention of her.

That she is still around somewhere, still nearby, feels all too tempting. A part of me wants to drop everything else and go to her, fix things, or have one last moment alone with her.

“Better go rest, Dad.” Valentino’s voice brings me back to reality. “Don’t worry. This is just a road bump. We will get past this and move on.”

Move on.

That’s what I have to do with Quinn. There’s no use entertaining fantasies of us being together.

She’s my past now. The only things that should matter in my life are my children and my business.

23

QUINN

There’salargewetspot in the middle of the very nice satin dress I am trying to fold up. My tears have not stopped streaming down my face ever since I started trying to pack for my flight. The action itself feels too… final, and I’m overwhelmed.

God.This is rock bottom.

There’s frantic knocking on my door, and I ignore it. With the state I’m in, the last thing I want is company.

“Come on. I’ll break the door if you don’t open it.”

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