After returning the hammer to the drawer, she dropped the crushed piece of metal in the trash, but as she walked back to her room, she found she didn't feel the least bit better.

* * *

The next night Brenna showed up with a box of chocolates and a bottle of Four Sisters cabernet sauvignon.

"You don't get a vote," she told Mia as she pulled her from the family room and herded her upstairs. "We're going to curl up on your bed, get drunk, eat too much chocolate, and call everyone who's ever pissed us off really bad names. You get extra points for creativity."

Mia smiled as she plopped on her bed. "I'm in."

"Good." Brenna set the wine on the nightstand. "It was a great year. Just perfect weather and the sugar in the grapes couldn't have been more right. I remember— "

"Uh, Brenna?" Mia interrupted. "Don't really care about the process. Just the results."

Brenna pulled a corkscrew from her jeans back pocket. "All my sisters are completely worthless about the magic of winemaking. How is that possible? How can I be the only one who cares?"

"A mystery you'll have to take up with the Almighty."

"I guess." She expertly pulled out the cork, then poured them each a glass of wine.

Mia took a sip. "Not bad," she said, reaching for the chocolates.

Brenna winced. "Not bad? Do you know how many medals this wine has won? Do you know how those brilliant people at Wine Spectator scored my wine?"

"No, and hey, don't really care. But kudos to you." She held out the now-open box of chocolates. "Want one?"

"Please."

Brenna grabbed a truffle, her wine, and sank onto the bed. "I'm the only one with a soul. That's all there is to it."

"Then speaking for the soul-free contingent, thanks for stopping by."

Brenna leaned toward her. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap. It still hurts to breathe. Most of the time I can't believe how much I hurt and how hard it is to do anything. Danny is furious. He wants his father around. It was such a mistake to have Rafael live here. Now Danny has expectations and I can't meet them."

"Rafael was only here a few weeks. Danny will get over it."

"He hasn't yet."

"He knows something is up."

Mia shuddered as she thought of her son's pain. "I never wanted him to be hurt."

"Of course you didn't. But you didn't make Rafael an ass. He did that all on his own."

Mia nodded. "I can't believe what's happened. How could I have been such an idiot?"

"We were all fooled. Like Katie said before, he had the prince thing going for him. Why would we think he was a liar?"

Mia nodded, knowing it was true and wishing it could make her feel better. "I'm going to have to deal with him, I just don't know how to get past the anger." She sipped her wine. "Nic betrayed you, Brenna. How did you recover?"

A few years ago Nic and Brenna had secretly started a relationship. She'd thought it was true love while he'd been planning to buy Marcelli Wines out from under her.

Her sister grabbed another chocolate. "It wasn't easy. I was so in love with him and I thought he cared about me and the whole time he planned to screw my family. Wow— I guess it isn't that different. I felt like you do, honey. I felt broken and stupid and empty. The difference was, we didn't have a child together. I could tell myself I never wanted to see him again."

"At least Nic came crawling back," Mia muttered, remembering how her now brother-in-law had begged for forgiveness. "Rafael doesn't even think he's done anything wrong. I can't believe the weasel apology he gave me at Danny's birthday. 'I'm sorry you were distressed. I'm sorry I got caught,'" she mocked, her voice low. "He should have started with 'I'm sorry I'm a lying worm bastard and here's a knife so you can run me through.' Now that would have been an apology."

Brenna reached over and patted her arm. "I wish I had magic words."

"Me too. I wish I didn't love him." She sipped her wine. "I was going to marry him. Can you believe it? We were going to run off to Las Vegas the day after Danny's birthday. What if I had? What if I'd gone to Calandria with him? I would have lost Danny."

"But you didn't. You discovered the truth in time."

Mia hung on to that slim thought. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to protect him from his father. Obviously I can't keep Danny from Rafael and I can't let him go to Calandria."

"Deep breaths," Brenna told her. "There's no need to panic right now."

"Because I can always panic later?"

"Exactly." Her sister smiled. "Come on. We have this under control. Or we're getting there. Isn't the lawyer in Zach's office looking into this for you?"

Mia nodded. "Her name is Sandy and she's amazing. We've already talked a couple of times. She has some excellent ideas and ways we can use the law. Darcy's been talking to the attorney general, and how many people can say that in casual conversation? Joe is looking into some interesting security measures. When I next have to face Rafael, I'll be ready."

Brenna shook her head. "No you won't."

Mia swallowed. "No, I won't. I'll have plenty of armor, but I won't be ready for the war. How can I still love him? How can I have feelings for him? I hate him, Brenna. I loathe and despise him and I still miss him."

"You can't just turn your feelings off because he's a jerk. You're doing everything you can to protect your son. That's the most important thing. But you've loved him for years. Why would that go away overnight?"

"But he's a bastard," Mia said. "Shouldn't that change my feelings?"

"Wasn't Diego a bit of a ruthless guy? He was a villain and you fell for him. Has Rafael really acted so out of character?"

Mia shuddered. "Yuck. What does that say about me and my taste in men? I was right to give them up. I should think about becoming a lesbian."

Brenna laughed. "Oh, right. That's going to happen. You could never do it."

"I guess not. Once Danny's grown up, I'll become a nun or something. Use my life for good works. If I'm never having sex again, I'll have plenty of energy to spare."

"You'll have sex again."

"I don't think so," Mia said. "I don't really see a romantic happy ending for me, do you?"

"Not with Rafael."

Mia wasn't sure there was another man for her. Which really sucked the big one.

"I wish I— "

The bedroom door opened and Joe stuck his head in. "Sorry to break up the girlfest, but we have a problem downstairs."

Mia sprang to her feet. "Danny?"

"No. He's fine. The Grands put him to bed. I just checked and he's sound asleep. It's Kelly."

Mia and Brenna followed him down the stairs. Mia heard voices coming from the kitchen. She walked in and saw Kelly leaning against the counter.

"Mia," she said, her voice thick. "Hey, how's it going?" Her gaze locked on the glass still in Mia's hand. "Is that wine? Can I have some?"

As she spoke, her entire body swayed.

"She's drunk," Brenna muttered. "This is perfect. Just perfect."

"Just a little taste," Kelly said. "Want me to dance for it? 'Coz that's what I do. Dance for my supper." She giggled, then tried a pirouette.

She managed half a turn, then she grabbed for the counter, missed, and sank slowly to the floor. By the time Mia reached her, she'd already passed out.

13

Francesca closed the bedroom door. As she turned, Sam caught her in his arms and held her close.

"I don't know what's wrong," Francesca murmured. "Why is she doing this?"

"I have no idea," he admitted.

Mia shifted uncomfortably, feeling that she was intruding. But before she could leave, Francesca looked at her.

"Tell me this is the first time she's shown up like this."

Mia made an X over her heart. "Trust me. If Kelly had been showing up here drunk and passing out, I would have been on the phone to you in a heartbeat. I don't get it. She's always been a pretty decent kid. Happy, interested. It's awful."

"I know." Francesca took Sam's hand and led the way down the stairs. They went into the kitchen, where the Grands had prepared a late-night snack that could easily feed thirty.

"Brenna went home," Grammy M said. "She's going to call you in the morning."

Francesca nodded. "I know she will. I know everyone is worried. I just wish we had some answers. I want to say this is typical acting out, except Kelly is twenty and she's always been so mature for her age. Shouldn't this have happened a few years ago?"

Grandma Tessa ushered them to the large table where sandwiches, cold pasta dishes, and salads waited. There were pots of decaf and tea, along with a pitcher of ice water and two open bottles of Marcelli wine.

Francesca reached for one of the bottles. "She was drunk," she said, as if she couldn't believe it. "Kelly's been tasting wine for years. She's never been interested in drinking to excess. Last I heard, she didn't even like hard liquor and she had trouble getting through a glass of wine in an evening."

Sam put his arm around her. "She's always been complicated."

"I know and I even understand why," Francesca said. "She went through some tough times. But I thought we'd worked through all that. I thought she felt happy and loved and wanted. We still ask her to come home when she's on break from the company and I was sure she knew we meant it. We've kept her room as it was. The twins adore her."

Tessa nodded. "She's doing well with the ballet company, isn't she?"

"Absolutely," Sam said. "Everyone was very impressed with how she did last year, and this year, she was given several important parts." He frowned. "Or is it dances?"

Mia grabbed half a sandwich. "There's something going on," she said. "Kelly was hanging out with me about a week ago. She stayed here for the night. We did a whole clothes–girl talk thing."

Francesca and Sam both waited expectantly, which made Mia feel bad. "She just said she, ah, admired my life. That it was romantic." When she finished speaking, she braced herself for the groans and recriminations.

Sam looked at Francesca. "I could live with Kelly being like Mia."

Francesca smiled. "Me too. Thanks, Mia. You're making us feel better."

Mia blinked at her. "Excuse me? Kelly is talking about patterning her life after mine? I'm the queen of poor choices in the male department, I'm twenty-seven and still living at home, I have no job, and I'm a single mother. On what planet is that a success?"

"On this one," Sam told her. "You're very intelligent, you go after what you want. You're not afraid to work for your goals. You have a master's and now you're getting a law degree. You're raising a great kid."

"He's right," Francesca told her. "Besides, a lot of women make poor choices with men. Not all of us can get lucky." She smiled at Sam.

"I wouldn't describe what I've done as a poor choice. Disaster maybe." But she didn't speak with a whole lot of energy. Hearing Sam and Francesca talk about her in such glowing terms was the first positive thing to happen to her in nearly a week. She'd never thought her very successful, very happy older sister would consider her much more than a screwup.

Francesca sank down onto a chair. "I hope Kelly isn't acting this way because of Etienne. I don't know what she sees in the man, and it would break my heart to have her behaving this way because of him."