“What about us?”

“You’ve been quite an item.”

“No, we haven’t. We’re mates, nothing more. She’s got a job in Singapore and a boyfriend to go with it.”

Euan put down his cup and inspected Flynn’s face. “But you spent all that time together.”

“Friends do. She needed someone to talk things over with.”

“And she stayed here a couple of nights.”

“In the spare bed.” Flynn stood up. “Damn it, Euan. Not everyone’s like you with a woman in their bed every five minutes.”

Euan flinched. “Keep your voice down. Dianna is sleeping.”

Flynn’s hand flew to his forehead. “Wait, did you really think me and Kat were…”

“Are you telling me you weren’t?”

“Of course not. I told you we’re just good friends.”

Flynn glared at Euan for a moment, then he sighed. “Dianna seems nice. I hope she knows what she’s letting herself in for.”

Euan scratched his head. He had a lot more bridges to build than he’d realised. “Flynn, sit down. We need to talk.” Euan could see the indecision in his son’s face. “Please, I know it’s late but I want us to sort things out. I don’t want to fight with you. This is your home. More than anything, I want you to stay here. Levallier Dell is a family business…father and son.”

He felt a little surge of relief as Flynn sat back in the chair and picked up his coffee. They were silent for a moment then Flynn held his cup over the table and grinned.

“There’re some first-rate sauvignon blanc and semillon vines on that block,” he said. “And after Theo’s accident with the poison, we’ve got room to try another variety.”

“Surely we’d replant with semillon.”

Flynn held his gaze. “I’ve been doing some research and I’d like to plant a different variety, something we haven’t tried before.”

“What about pinot noir then? We don’t have a sparkling.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got an idea for something else.”

Euan felt a quick stab of annoyance then swallowed his pride at the excited look on his son’s face. It wasn’t going to be easy to give Flynn more control but he had to try. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’ve been searching for something unique. A wine that no one else grows in our region. I’ve been reliving my time in Europe, the wines I enjoyed there…”

“And?”

“I’d like to try albariño.”

Euan almost choked on his tea. “Unique alright. It’s probably not even albariño, it’s savagnin. Lots of growers lost money trying to make that variety work. Surely it’s not worth the risk.”