Euan felt the vitriolic barb as sharply as if it had been a real knife stabbing at him. He turned from the anger in his son’s eyes and walked away.

* * *

Theo shoved the diary back in his shirt pocket, rubbed his fingers back and forth over his chest and massaged the skin, trying to erase the ache. Things were not going well with the vines at River Dynasty. First the hail, which seemed to have done the most damage on his property alone, then a large outbreak of garden weevil and now Tony had just confirmed there was downy mildew on the vines close to the Levallier Dell boundary.

Things were going from bad to worse with that patch of land between him and Euan Levallier. Perhaps it was cursed. He was beginning to wish he’d never bought it. The opportunity had seemed too good to miss at the time. Connor was desperate to sell and Euan had been away somewhere out of contact. Theo had done Connor a favour, offering a good price for the land with immediate settlement. What he’d really like to get his hands on was Levallier Dell itself. The soil was perfect, especially for Euan’s cabernet franc vines, which produced high-quality wine year after year.

Theo stopped rubbing and picked up the coffee cup his wife had just brought in. She had given him a tongue lashing for making Katerina stay away. As if that was his fault. Their granddaughter was capable of making her own decisions, as she’d clearly pointed out. He still couldn’t believe she had turned down his offer to work for the family business. Evidently she’d rung and said she was staying with a friend for a few days.

He gave a wry smile. Hopefully, the friend was Flynn Levallier and so maybe all was not lost. If Theo couldn’t get Katerina to stay, perhaps Flynn could. Nothing like a bit of romance to make young ones change their minds.

* * *

The hire car pulled away with a toot and Dianna waved to the occupants. Euan strode forward and wrapped her in his arms. His lips found hers. Damn, how he’d missed her. He hadn’t realised how much until now when he held her close. Her gentle perfume was intoxicating.

“Euan, I can’t breathe.”

He dropped his arms and took both of her hands in his. “Sorry.” He bent forward and gave her another kiss, gently this time. “I’ve missed you.”

Her hazel eyes were bright with humour. She squeezed his hand. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“What brings you here? I didn’t think you’d ever come this far south.”