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yes-girl.

      Guilt chewed at her as she considered doing something other than being a social worker. Why the guilt? Was it projected on her from her sister and now Stefano? She didn’t know, but she sure wanted to figure it out. And she’d do it on her own, without his input or her sister’s. This was a choice only she could make.

      “Maybe you’re right,” she said. When he smiled broadly as though he’d just solved the world’s economic crisis, she added, “But maybe you’re not. That’s why I haven’t pressed the subject with Lizzie. I want to be sure before I get into it with her.”

      “And that’s why what happened between us can’t happen again.”

      Jules forced her mouth closed as a hundred thoughts struck her all at the same time. “You think me changing my mind about grad school is somehow related to us making love?”

      “I think that you don’t know what you want in life, and I don’t want to confuse matters. It isn’t like I can offer you anything serious. I’ve done that, and it didn’t work out. You’re still young. You have your whole future ahead of you.”

      A future without him. The thought tore through her, making the backs of her eyes sting. She blinked. He was right. They didn’t have a future, but it had nothing to do with her being young or his first marriage ending. It had to do with her not being wife and mother material. Maybe he realized that, too, but didn’t want to point it out.

      Jules sucked in a steadying breath. “You’re right. I have my whole future ahead of me. And right now that consists of creating the most amazing wedding for my sister.”

      She got to her feet and started for the door. No matter his reason for rejecting her and their lovemaking, it still hurt. She didn’t want him to see how much it bothered her.

      “This isn’t how I meant for things to go between us.” His voice was gentle and thick as honey. “Don’t go away mad.”

      “Just go away,” she mumbled.

      She fled from the room as quickly as her legs would carry her. Her heart was heavy. He regretted their lovemaking, while she’d been replaying it over and over in her mind. She’d been such a fool to think that it’d been special for the both of them.

      She wouldn’t make that mistake again. And she didn’t have time to dwell on her foolish mistake. The wedding was getting close—a wedding to top all others. It’d be so romantic that it’d have couples falling in love all over again.

      Except for her and Stefano.

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      HE’D MADE A mess of everything.

      Stefano’s hands balled up and pounded the desktop, rattling the mug of pens as well as the computer keyboard. A few days had passed since he’d ended things with Jules. She still spoke to him, but it was at a bare minimum. And now that the wine-tasting event was over, he had far too much time on his hands.

      What had gotten into him to let things get so out of control?

      How could he have forgotten that his solitary life was one of his own making? His penance. If Jules had a clue he was to blame for his wife’s death, she’d hate him. And that’s how it should be. He didn’t deserve another chance at love. And he certainly didn’t deserve it at the expense of Jules’s education. He couldn’t stand to be responsible for the demise of her dreams. He’d done enough damage for one lifetime.

      If only he’d kept his hands to himself. His thoughts strayed back to the amazing time he’d spent with her wrapped in his arms. The strawberry scent of her hair. The velvety smoothness of her skin. He drew his tormenting thoughts up short. How could their lovemaking be so wrong when it felt so right?

      It had to be all the talk about the wedding. It was messing with his mind, reminding him that he was all alone. Any other time that wouldn’t have bothered him, but right now it sounded so grim and miserable. He was going to end up like his father. Old and alone.

      But the memory of his father and Maria squeezed into his mind. Something told him that his father was starting to live again, step-by-step. He was happy for him, but that wasn’t possible for Stefano. It was different.

      Stefano had driven his wife from the house in the middle of the night with his unwillingness to compromise—his unwillingness to see that his wife was not the same woman he thought he’d married. Or that he’d only seen what he’d wanted to see when they’d said their vows. Either way, they’d both become disillusioned.

      Her last words to him ran through his mind. The man I thought I loved doesn’t exist. He was a man I made up in my mind. We don’t belong together. We never did.

      “Are you busy?”

      The sound of Jules’s voice had him turning to find her standing in the doorway of the winery office. “What are you doing here?”

      Her eyes widened at his unintentionally brusque tone. “I wanted to know if you’d have time to run into the city tomorrow. But don’t worry about it. I’ll find another ride.”

      “Don’t be silly. It’s my responsibility to get you around.” He hadn’t meant to be so rough with her. He was frustrated with himself, not with her.

      “I don’t want to put you out. With you being busy, I can get there on the train.”

      In truth, he didn’t have that much to do. This wasn’t their busy time, and his father was moving around the vineyard like a man half his age. If it was because of Maria, he would be the first to admit that love suited his father. “I said I’d take you.”

      “Fine.” She turned to walk away.

      Guilt gnawed at him. He couldn’t let her leave with things so tense between them. He couldn’t stand the thought of her hating him. After all, they were going to be family.

      He jumped to his feet and took off after her. “Hey, I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

      She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I know I’ve been a bother. Always getting in the way—”

      “No, you haven’t. You haven’t done a thing wrong.” He didn’t want this cold indifference to drag on. “I know I’ve been tough to live with lately. Let me make it up to you.”

      “You don’t have to bother.”

      “But I want to.”

      “I don’t know.” She wrung her hands together. “What do you have in mind?”

      He thought back to what she’d said about wanting a family and a menagerie of animals. He couldn’t help her with the family, but there were animals at the vineyard. “How would you feel about a horseback ride around the grounds?”

      She worried her bottom lip. “But I’ve never been on a horse before.”

      “I’ll teach you.”

      Her eyes lit up. “Are you serious?”

      He nodded. “Does this mean you agree?”

      “I suppose.”

      Was that a hint of a smile pulling at her very tempting lips? He sure hoped so.

      He suddenly found himself anxious to show her the ropes. Jules could be a lot of fun—when she wasn’t upset with him. She had a way of making him smile, and it’d been a long time since he’d done that. The guy he used to be—the one who used to talk smoothly with the women and make them smile—now seemed like a stranger to him. Maybe it was time he brushed up on his skills. After all, there was no reason to make Jules miserable. She hadn’t done anything wrong except get involved with him.

      And how could things go astray while taking a horseback ride? After all, they’d be on separate horses. It wasn’t like he would have a

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