His Summer Bride: Becoming Dr Bellini's Bride / Summer Seaside Wedding / Wedding in Darling Downs. Abigail Gordon

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СКАЧАТЬ Dad, please don’t say that,’ she’d implored him, her throat suddenly choked up. ‘Please don’t talk about passing on. I’m only just getting to know you.’

      He’d smiled. ‘What’ll be will be.’

      Nick’s brooding gaze rested on her, as though he sensed something of her troubled thoughts. ‘I’m sure he cares very deeply for you… but unhappily something went wrong and he didn’t feel able to be there for you. Perhaps distance was a problem—living out here in California meant you were so far apart that visits would be infrequent, and he might have thought it would be less painful for you if he didn’t visit at all. You would be able to settle to life without him, rather than be hurt all over again every time he went away.’

      ‘Then again,’ she pointed out, ‘he could have chosen to stay in England. What was more important… his family or the job?’

      He seemed to hesitate. ‘That’s something you must ask him yourself. I can’t answer that one for you. But knowing him, I’m sure he had his reasons.’

      ‘Did he? I’ve no idea what they were. All I know is that he condemned us—me and my mother—to a lonely life.’ Her expression was bleak. ‘Some people may like being an only child, but I wasn’t one of them. I always felt there should be something more.’

      He was solemn for a moment, his lips parting as though he was about to say something, but apparently he thought better of it. He laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. ‘I’m sure it will all come right for you in the end, Katie. You’ve taken a huge step, coming out here, and you’re making great headway. Just give it a little more time.’

      He glanced at his watch. ‘I’m off duty in a couple of hours. I’ll come and pick you up from the apartment and we’ll drive over to the vineyard. Perhaps that will cheer you up.’

      She nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll be waiting.’ A day or so had passed since he’d made the suggestion, and already she was beginning to regret agreeing to it. What had happened to her plan to avoid him at all costs, to steer clear of getting involved with him in any way? Working with him was proving to be a hazard in itself. It seemed that he was there at every turn… and it was impossible for her to get him out of her head.

      She was beginning to realise that there was so much more to him than she had at first imagined. He was caring and perceptive and even though that made her want to get to know him a whole lot better, she was desperately afraid of the consequences. Little by little, though, he was drawing her into his electric force field and she was powerless to resist.

      The vineyard, when they arrived there some time later, was bathed in late-afternoon sunlight. Nick helped her out of the passenger seat of his gleaming silver saloon and waited as she stepped out onto the wide, sweeping drive. Katie looked around. She couldn’t explain it, even to herself, but just the simple fact that he was there beside her made the breath catch in her throat and in spite of herself filled her with a kind of delicious expectation. He was wearing casual clothes, a deep navy shirt, open at the neck, teamed with dark trousers, and just looking at him made her heart skip a beat.

      ‘Let me show you round the place,’ he said. ‘From a high point in the gardens you can see for miles around.’ He slipped an arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest on the curve of her hip in a gentle act of possession that brought heat surging throughout her body. ‘I’m sure you’ll love it out here,’ he murmured. ‘We have a beautiful day for it…the sun’s shining and the vines are heavy with grapes.’

      She nodded, and tried not to think about that casual touch that was so much like a caress. It only fogged her brain and left her confused and distracted.

      He led the way through the house, a pretty French château-style building that had steeply pitched roofs and round towers with turrets. Painted white, it was a gem set in the middle of the Carmel Valley, and Katie fell in love with it on sight.

      The gardens were exquisitely landscaped, with trees and shrubs in full bloom so that there was a mass of colour all around. Nestled among the various arbours and flowering trees there was an elevated hardwood deck, and Nick started to head towards it.

      ‘From up here on the deck you can see the vineyard in all its glory. It’s a great vantage point,’ he said, mounting the wooden stairs and walking over to the balustrade.

      Katie followed him and turned to gaze at the distant Carmel Valley Mountains. ‘I didn’t realise that you had so much land,’ she murmured. ‘Are all those vines yours, or do those slopes belong to another vineyard… my father’s, perhaps?’

      Nick followed the direction of her gaze. ‘They’re ours. Your father’s land is a little further to the west. We’ve terraced the slopes here in order to grow certain types of grapes, and then we have more vines spread along the valley floor. We’re incredibly lucky in this area because there’s such a long season. The grapes ripen slowly and that helps to intensify the flavour.’

      She nodded, trying to take it all in. In the far distance, the verdant slopes of the ever-present Santa Lucia range added to the sense of lush, rich farmland all around. ‘It looks heavenly,’ she murmured, ‘like an Eden where everything is in harmony and the fruit is bursting off the vines.’

      He smiled. ‘At least, that’s how we hope it will be. A good year will produce a premium vintage, but we can’t rely on that. If we get too much rain at the wrong time it can cause all kinds of problems, like mould, rot or mildew. Then again, the weather one season can be too hot and another too cool. It all helps to produce a variety of flavours and different qualities of wine.’

      ‘So you can’t simply sit back and leave things to nature?’

      He laughed. ‘I wish! But, no, definitely not…we have to take steps to compensate for adverse conditions.’ He laid an arm around her, his hand splaying out over her shoulder and sending a thrill of heat to course through her veins. ‘Over the years my family has put a huge amount of effort into building up a reputation for producing quality wines… and it all came about because of my great-great-grandfather’s drive and ambition.’

      She was thoughtful for a moment. ‘He certainly managed to pick out a piece of prime land. He must have been an astute man—and I dare say a wealthy one, too.’

      Nick shook his head. ‘His family were immigrants, dirt poor, and they had to scrape a living for themselves. They came out here hoping for a better life, but it was a struggle, and I think Joseph, my great-great-grandfather, made up his mind that he would carve a path for himself, come what may. He worked at all kinds of jobs, day and night, determined to earn as much money as possible. He was thrifty, too, and put aside a good part of his earnings until, after about fifteen years or so, he had saved enough money to buy this vineyard.’

      ‘That was a huge accomplishment.’

      He nodded. ‘It was. But the hardest bit was turning the vineyard around. When he first took it over they were producing inexpensive table wines, but Joseph had other ideas. He had a certain vision and he wanted to make big changes. Quality was everything to him and even though people told him he was making a big mistake, he went ahead with his plans to produce grapes that would provide superior wines. Then he had to convince the buyers that this was a product they wanted, and it all took tremendous hard work and a lot of money.’

      He frowned. ‘Over the years, when wine consumption declined and harvests were poor, the vineyard suffered losses that could have ruined everything for us. That’s why my grandfather had to sell off a third of the land… the piece that Jack owns now. He needed the СКАЧАТЬ