‘You want to buy her cottage!’
‘At a price that’s way over the market odds.’
‘There’s no price high enough to dislodge someone from the only place they know as home.’
‘I beg to differ.’
Without warning, he vaulted upright, and Izzy followed his unhurried progress to a buzzer on the wall. Within seconds, the very same young lady who had shown her to the sitting room was knocking on the door.
‘Something to drink, Miss Stowe? Before I persuade you that it would be in Miss Scott’s best interests to take the offer I’m making and run with it.’
The sheer arrogance of the man was mind-blowing, Izzy thought. He was prepared to hear her out but it was clear that his mind was already made up. As Evelyn had pointed out, though, no one could force her hand. He’d probably figured he’d be onto a winner by confronting Evelyn face to face, oozing menace, muttering veiled threats and then just waiting for her to crumble in fear.
Gabriel Ricci, Izzy concluded, was everything she disliked in a person. He was rude, ruthless, arrogant and utterly incapable of seeing anyone’s agenda but his own.
She was guiltily aware that in many respects he reminded her of Max, although her brother had very logical reasons for being the way he was.
When she’d been much younger—too young after the death of their parents really to understand the complexities of the situation—she had absolutelyhatedher older brother for his inflexible, disciplinarian approach. He had overseen everything she’d done with a baleful and unforgiving eye, forcing her to toe the line, refusing her all the little liberties her friends had enjoyed. Permission had had to be granted for the smallest of excursions and, as she had become a teenager, he had become stricter yet.
Only when James had sat her down one afternoon, and gently tried to explain why Max felt driven to protect her, had she come close to understanding those heavy-handed tactics. He had taken over as the head of the household and it had fallen to him to make sure as little changed as humanly possible for both James and her. It had fallen to him to run the company until James had been able to step up to the plate and help, which he had. So he had ruled with a rod of steel, and it was only recently that she wondered what had been lost for him in the process.
But what wasthisman’sexcuse for being a complete bastard?
He clearly wasn’t in the business of trying to buy the cottage because he cared about the fate of the occupant. This was the first time he had even deigned to make personal contact with Evelyn. Prior to that, he had handed the messy business to one of his underlings to sort out.
‘I’ll have a glass of water,’ she said coolly and he shrugged and turned to the young girl.
‘A glass of water,’ he said. ‘And a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon—with two glasses.’
‘I won’t be drinking any wine,’ Izzy informed him abruptly. ‘I’m not here to have drinks, Mr Ricci. I’m here to tell you that Evelyn won’t be selling the cottage and, if you don’t stop pestering her, I’ll have no option but to get in touch with a lawyer.’
‘This particular Cabernet is extremely good. Powerful yet elegant, and one hundred percent sustainable.’
‘Have you heard a word I’ve just said?’ She fell into temporary seething silence until the housekeeper returned with drinks as requested, carefully pouring Gabriel a glass and handing Izzy the water she had asked for.
She could barely contain her anger at his indifference to what she had to say.
‘Well?’ she snapped, as he took his time appreciating the wine.
‘This is my first foray into the wine business,’ he informed her, swirling his glass and then taking a sip as he coolly looked at her over the rim of the glass. He sauntered to the window and gazed out for a few seconds before turning to look at her.
Izzy said nothing, skewered into silence. Buried under her fury and feeling of impotence was the reluctant recognition that there was something mesmerising about the man. Her mouth wanted to hang open and she desperately had to make an effort to cling to her self-control because she knew with unerring gut instinct, if he sensedanyweakness, he would take advantage of it with the ruthless speed of a born predator.
‘I like this part of the valley and I like the size of the vineyards. Combined with the neighbouring estate, I have extremely promising acreage.’ He paused to have another mouthful of wine and then he strolled back to where he had been sitting. This time, he leaned towards her, filling the space between them with such suffocating force that Izzy automatically slightly leaned back. A glass of water gave absolutely no Dutch courage.
‘Here’s the thing,’ he said softly. ‘Your friend is sitting on a patch of land that is in the midst of my vineyards. It is an oasis, I am sure, at this very point in time. However, should Miss Scott fail to sell, I have every intention of buying the land that abuts her oasis. I intend to keep this house for myself, my personal estate whether I am occupying it or not, but I will require suitable accommodation for the man who will effectively be running the show, and his staff. It will be a business of no small scale.
‘There will, first of all, be the chaos of a compound being built. Your friend, I fear, will find herself surrounded by the bustle of people coming and going. It will no longer be quite the oasis it currently is. In due course, I intend to extend further and have a boutique hotel on the grounds for a handful of wine connoisseurs who want to sample the workings of the vineyard first-hand, taste the wines, watch the process from grape to barrel.’ He shrugged elegantly. ‘This, I fear, is the way of the world. Nothing ever stays the same.’
Izzy gaped, fascinated despite herself at the picture being painted before her dismayed eyes. Every word he said left her in no doubt that life as Evelyn knew it would change immeasurably. Perhaps not with the purchase of the vineyards, although all that increased production would surely ramp up activity, but should he buy the land around her then she would no longer have any peace.
‘I have offered Miss Scott a remarkable deal,’ Gabriel continued, while Izzy mentally grappled with howa remarkable dealcould incorporate ruining someone’s life. ‘I will personally see to it that she has whatever other house she desires in Napa. Her friends are here? She could be closer to them. Furthermore, I will ensure that whatever house she wants is done to the standard she requires, and has as much or as little land as she deems necessary so that she can continue to fulfil her gardening exploits to her heart’s content.’
‘But it won’t be herhome,’ Izzy whispered, fighting off the temptation to be lulled into giving his offer house room despite herself.
‘A home is a moveable feast, Miss Stowe. Should she turn down my offer, I will not pursue the matter, but she could very well find that selling the property at a later date, on the open market, might not get her a quarter of what she would get right now from me. Who would want to buy a dated cottage surrounded by someone else’s land and subject to all the disagreeable bustle that a full-scale business might entail? I certainly wouldn’t, should she contemplate selling to me at a later date when disillusionment has had time to set in.’
He sat back and tilted his head to one side. ‘I should stress that this is a one-time opportunity, Miss Stowe. Convey that message to her. I intend to be here for another fortnight but I will want your friend’s decision by the end of the week. I will begin talks with Ferguson about buying his land at that point and, once that’s been set in motion, this offer will no longer be available.’
