I head downstairs to meet them in the hallway.
Lorenzo greets me with a hug, then immediately returns to Lucia's side. I notice then that he's carrying a bottle of wine.
"Welcome to my home, Lucia." It's the first time she's been here and from the widening of her eyes I can tell it's more than she expected. The palazzo does its job of impressing people.
"Thank you for inviting me," she replies. "Your home is incredible."
"Pfft!" Lorenzo snorts. "Give me the views at Casa di Lupo any day."
"They are unbeatable," I concede.
Lorenzo raises his eyebrows. Obviously he was prepared for a lengthy argument about whose home is better. I'm starting to think it's his.
When I bought the palazzo I had a grand idea about my brothers and I living here and raising our families together. I never shared that plan with Violetta and I’m not sure I’ll get the chance now. The dream seems more distant every day and the house feels colder for it somehow.
"Oh, here, our new Brunello." Lorenzo holds the bottle out to me with the quiet pride of a man who has finally discovered his talent. "Don't open it yet. It needs a little time."
I take the bottle and study the label. Under Casa di Lupo is the wolf's head logo and beneath that Lorenzo's name.
"How much time?"
Lorenzo meets my eye. "Drink it on your tenth wedding anniversary."
He's issuing a challenge I'm not sure I can rise to. I don't know whether I'll have a marriage next week, let alone in ten years.
I clear my throat. "Go through to the dining room. I'll have Gianni put this in the cellar."
My brother squeezes my shoulder as he passes, his silent support almost more than I can bear. I stand in the hallway with the bottle in my hand before Gianni appears, as he always does, at precisely the right moment.
"This is for the cellar." I hand him the bottle.
He examines the label and arches an eyebrow. "A Brunello?"
"It will need to mature."
"Of course." He starts to walk away and then turns. "Signora Volante will be down in one moment. Some problem with her dress, apparently."
I go to join my brother and Lucia in the dining room. She's telling him something about the architect she wants to hire to rebuild Gianetta's. It's good to see her so animated. She looks entirely different to the frightened woman I rescued from Adriano Martelli.
The devastation on her face as I sat with her, waiting for Lorenzo to arrive, is something I won't soon forget. I've never experienced a loss like that but it's inevitable I will one day. I’m not sure I’ll handle it with her grace.
"Tell this stubborn woman she can't hire someone fresh out of college," Lorenzo implores me.
"I wouldn't presume to tell Ms. Lazaro anything about the running of her business."
Lucia smiles victoriously.
"Isn't it a little my business when I'm footing the bill?" Lorenzo grumbles.
"Only until the insurance company pays out," Lucia reminds him. "And perhaps you need to remember that profits at your vineyard will increase tenfold when I open my restaurant there."
"Tenfold?" Lorenzo snorts. "I expect at least twenty times the profits when you open at the vineyard."
I smile because they're being ridiculous. The vineyard is already incredibly profitable and while Lucia's restaurant there will bring new customers, it won't make that large a difference to their balance sheet.
Lucia swats him playfully and he snatches up her hand to kiss it. Their ease with each other tugs at something in my chest. It's not jealousy as such, but something I can't name.
Lorenzo nods to the door and I turn as Violetta walks in. She's wearing my favorite shade of green, a dress that skims her curves. Her hair is loose, tumbling over her shoulders. Her lipstick is a vivid red. She looks to me as if she's ready to perform.
