Page 25 of Gone With the Wine

“You had dinner with him?” Allegra gapes at me.

I wave a hand. “No. I was at the fair with Millie and Ana and they invited him, too. He’s kind of a grumpy bear.” A very attractive grumpy bear. But I’m not admitting that out loud.

“Ah.” Allegra smirks. “Nothing wrong with a bear.”

“I have no constructive response to that.”

She grins. “Why did you call this meeting?”

I take a breath. “There are rumors going around town about us.”

“What else is new.” Allegra rolls her eyes.

“Apparently Geno is thinking of contesting the will.”

Allegra snorts.

Rosa shakes her head. “James said the will was airtight.”

“Did you know about this?” I ask her.

She bites her lip. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

She averts her gaze. “I didn’t want to bother you. It’s just a rumor.”

I throw my hands up. “Rosa! We’re a team! Don’t hide things from us.”

She rubs her forehead. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“You have to tell us what’s going on,” Allegra says, thankfully backing me up.

“I know. I will.”

“Has Uncle Geno said anything to you about that?”

“No.”

“Do we trust him, though? After all his efforts to undermine us here?”

Rosa nibbles on her bottom lip. “No. I don’t trust him.”

“So he could very well be planning to contest the will.”

“I guess so,” she concedes. “He could tie things up for a long time.”

“Let him try.” Allegra waves a hand. “This is clearly what Nonna wanted.”

“Well, we can’t do anything about it until we’re notified legally, so…” I pause, not sure where to go next. “I’m going to talk to Uncle Geno. There’s another rumor.”

“What?” Allegra asks.

“That we’re going to sell Caparelli to him.”

“What!” Allegra gasps. “No!”

I huff out a laugh. “Have you thought about it, though?” I glance sideways at Rosa.

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