Page 11 of Beneath the Sapphire Sky

A warm hand gripped his shoulder. “Dante? You all right there, buddy? I know it’s a big step, but—”

Dante shook his head again. “No, you don’t understand. I’m not,we’renot… dating.”

Cal blinked, all expression bleeding from his face. A massive laugh burst from him, and he leaned back against the vat beside Dante. He slapped him hard on the arm.

“Oh, son. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you half to death.”

Dante closed his eyes. He wished with all his being that hecould’vebeen having this conversation with Cal, but that was one dream that had to stay a dream.

“It’s okay. I did want to talk about Belle, just not about that.”

Cal’s chuckles slowed and he relaxed beside him. “Well, you have my attention. What’s going on?”

Dante shoved a shaking hand through his hair, to get it off his face. He clenched it into a fist, determined to fight down the yearning that Cal’s misconception flamed to life.

Focus, Casellati, focus!

“Belle’s letter from the Court of Sommeliers.”

Cal’s laughter petered out completely. “What letter?”

Dante let out his deep breath and scrubbed his hand over his face. He was right; she hadn’t mentioned it to her father at all.

He leaned back and looked at the man who’d treated him as a second son all his life, trying not to feel like he was betraying the trust of the most important person in the world.

“Her results.” He sighed; he may as well go all-in. That was why he was there, after all. “And an invitation to train for the Master Sommelier course.”

“Well…” Cal leaned his head back against the cold steel behind him. “Hell.”

“Yeah. She wasn’t even going to open the letter.”

“Why on earth not?”

Dante looked at him. “Because she’d convinced herself she’d failed. I had a feeling she wouldn’t tell you about it. The offer, that is.”

At Cal’s confused look, he continued. “She won’t have time. It’s that simple. Between the restaurant and caring for Mrs Davis, she has no hope of completing the course in time.”

Stubborn refusal and indignation washed across Cal’s face. He looked away. “You don’t know that. I’m sure she’d be fine. She’s a smart girl.”

Dante tried not to let Cal’s dismissal of the truth deter him. “Yes, she’s a very intelligentwoman. But she’s not a magician. She can’t create more hours in the day, and she takes her responsibilities seriously. She’s already told me she’s going to decline the invitation.”

“But it’s what she’s been training for all these years!”

“I know. It’s what she’s always dreamed of.”

Cal still wouldn’t look at him. “So why are you here, talking to me about this?”

“Because she is going to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime and you’re the only one who can change her mind. She can’t look after Mrs Davis as well as do this. It’s just not possible.”

Cal sucked in a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Dante, I love you like you were my own, but this isn’t any of your business. I don’t want Jem having to leave her home and spending all day in the company of strangers. She doesn’t need to go into a nursing home. It—it’s too soon.”

Dante’s heart twisted. “I know that. And in a normal situation I would never say anything. But you know what? This is a huge opportunity. Who’s to say Belle will ever get another offer like it?Shecertainly won’t be saying anything, because she thinks it’s pointless to hope. Okay, it might not be my business because you’re not my family, but you guysfeellike my family. You may as well be. And for you to think that I was here to ask…that? Well, that tells me you think the same way.

“Belle is thirty-two this year. She’d be one of the youngest Master Somms in the world if she were to do this and pass. Mrs D doesn’t have to leave here, you could get one of those Blue Care people to come be with her in her own home, even if it wasjust in the busy part of the day, or for some set time during the week that Belle could set aside for study.”

He pushed off the vat and faced Cal. He’d go out swinging even if Cal ordered him off his property.

“She deserves this. You know it. I know it. Jack doesn’t have to choose between being a winemaker or looking after his mum. Why should Belle? Because she’s the girl? That’s not fair and you know it. I might not be here asking for your blessing, but that doesn’t change the fact that I care about her and want her to be happy.Thisis what will make her happy. If I don’t tell you, and stand up for her, who will?”

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