"No, but that does sound like a lovely idea," Alex replied with a grin. "Care to join us, Dani?" She chuckled when she saw her blush. She grabbed the half full bottle of wine and dumped it down the drain.
"What did you do that for?" Rachel asked. "I was thinking about having a glass."
"That isn't fit to drink. I have something far more appealing," She replied as she headed for the wine cellar again. She returned with two bottles of wine, setting them on the counter.
Rachel pulled one over and read the label, her surprise evident. "Are you serious? This is expensive wine."
Pulling glasses from the cupboard, she replied, "This is wine to be shared with friends. What good is having fine wine if you cannot share it?"
Nikki took the bottle from Rachel and looked at the label. "PA Vineyard…I can't read the rest. What language is this?"
Alex shook her head as she pulled the corkscrew from the drawer. "Look closer. It is Perfetta Armonia Vigento." She grabbed the second bottle while Nikki scrutinized the label of the first. She deftly uncorked it and set it aside.
"What does that mean?"
"Perfect Harmony Vineyard. It's a little vineyard in Tuscany. This is their award winning Super Tuscan Riserva." She filled the four glasses as she watched Nikki and Dani examine the label again.
"Why is the label only in Italian?"
"I imported this directly from the vineyard, I did not purchase this from an American distributor. Because of that, it has the Italian label instead of the American version." She lifted her glass, and closed her eyes as she smelled the aroma wafting up from the wine. "Just smelling this makes me think of the rolling hills of Tuscany, with the rows of grape vines and olive groves."
Rachel set her glass back down on the counter. "You've been there?"
"Yes. Tuscany is one of my favorite places. The picture in the living room of the sunset through the trees is one I took at the vineyard there." She took a sip of her wine, and smiled as the memory of that day rose in her mind.
"I love that picture. Do you have any others?" Dani asked as she sipped her wine. "Mmm…this wine is amazing."
"Thank you, and yes, I do. Would you like to see some?"
Dani smiled at Rachel as she said, "I would love to. I've always wanted to go to Italy. We have our passports ready, but we've never had the opportunity. This might be as close as we'll ever get."
Alex picked up the bottle of wine and said, "Well, in that case, let's enjoy some wonderful Italian wine and scenery."
Together they headed into the living room where she pulled up a slide show, and began to show off her pictures of Italy.
Chapter Ten
As Alex headed down the stairs, she heard voices coming from the kitchen, and turned to investigate. She leaned against the doorway as she watched Caitlyn help Maria put away groceries. Caitlyn was twenty-two years old, and over the last couple of years had finally put on enough muscle to fill out her six-foot frame beautifully. Her chestnut hair fell in waves about her shoulders, and her tank top displayed her early summer tan. Alex had always been envious of her ability to tan so easily due to her southern Italian heritage. She smiled as she watched her snatch an apple from the basket and take a bite. "Maybe if you didn't eat so much, you wouldn't be that freakishly tall."
Caitlyn's head whipped around and her eyes lit up when she saw her in the doorway. She dropped her apple on the counter and raced over with her arms open wide. "Alex!"
She pushed off the doorframe and stepped into her arms. Caitlyn picked her up and twirled her around in circles as she laughed. "Put me down, Amazon."
Caitlyn lowered her to her feet with a grin and said, "Better than being a Pigmy." She chuckled as she sidestepped Alex's playful swipe. "You used to be faster than that."
Alex pointed down to the brace she wore on her left knee. "I'm not as fast on my feet as I used to be."
Caitlyn quickly sobered. "Mom told me you were in an accident. How are you doing?"
"I'm good, but won't be able to do our normal workout with you this trip. It's not like you really need it anyway." She gave the young woman a hug. "It's so good to see you. What are your plans for the day?"
She shrugged and grabbed her apple. "No big plans. I thought I'd help Mom with breakfast, and then I was hoping we could hang out for a little while. Get caught up. If that's okay with you."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I've got therapy this morning, but we can work around that."
Caitlyn took another bite of the apple as she thought about it. "Maybe I could watch. I might actually learn something."
Alex was taken aback for a moment then started to chuckle. "I don't think so, kiddo. You'd learn far more than either one of us would be comfortable with." Caitlyn's brows furrowed as her head tilted to one side slightly. "Physical therapy is tomorrow." She waited silently to see if she would need to expound further.
Caitlyn's eyebrows shot up as her eyes widened, and her mouth opened, then snapped shut, before she finally said, "You mean to tell me you're seeing a shrink?"
"Everyone always says that like it is a horrible thing." They both turned towards the door as Rachel walked into the kitchen, shaking her head with a playful scowl on her face.
"Don't you find it's usually those that haven't had therapy that say it like that though?" Alex asked as Caitlyn's eyes moved quickly between the two women. "I think it's because they're secretly
