CHAPTER TWENTY
DOMINIC
Espo 2’s grand opening passed in a blur of people and pizza. I was working at full speed in the kitchen from the time the doors opened until they closed. A couple of times Gio prodded me to make an appearance out front, and I took a quick turn around the dining room to make him happy, but then I went right back to the kitchen where I could be more useful.
Melanie stepped out of her usual role and manned the hostess desk to ensure that traffic kept moving quickly. She was charming and friendly, yet managed to be as efficient as possible considering the crowd. I was careful not to look her way often. Staring at Melanie threw me off balance and made me think about things that didn’t need to be on my mind when I was up to my elbows in pizza.
Through the open space between the kitchen and the dining room, I saw Tara arrive with the baby. Melanie took a break from the hostess desk and bounced my niece on her hip. Leah laughed, and I noted how much she’d changed since the summer. I swore to myself I’d make more of an effort to spend time with her when all this restaurant madness had died down. I couldn’t stand it if that little girl forgot who her Uncle Dominic was.
“How’s it going back here?” Gio asked when he stopped by the kitchen around seven o’clock.
I brushed flour from my hands. “We’re keeping up, right, boys?”
“We’re trying,” Tim shouted with a laugh as he hovered beside the ovens waiting for the next batch of pies to cook.
“What’s going on out there?” I asked my brother.
Gio glanced over at the dining room and grinned. “So far, so good. Nothing but smiles and compliments.” He surveyed the activity in the kitchen. “You need my help?”
I gestured to the ovens. “I can deal with these fires. One of us ought to hang out in the dining room, though, to step on any fires out there.”
He grinned. “You’re right. Holler if you need an extra pair of hands.”
Jason made good on his promise to appear. Mercifully he did not bring the twins along, but instead pushed a couple of guys from his work to come down on his dime. My old friend poked his head in the kitchen to congratulate me on a job well done. I was glad he didn’t make any reference to my status with Melanie. I’d forgotten to tell him we were keeping things quiet for now.
For the next few hours, I was a man possessed as I kept the kitchen running at breakneck speed. Laughter and the buzz of conversation filtered in from the dining room, but I kept the assembly line going until Patsy, one of the new servers, stopped in to grab an order from the outgoing tray.
“Is Melanie still seating people?” I asked her. The kitchen wall clock said only fifteen minutes remained until closing.
As soon as I spoke, Patsy shot me a terrified look and nearly dropped her tray. I didn’t know how I’d gotten the kind of reputation where some of the staff thought I was Godzilla. Melanie had lectured me a few times about coming off too gruffly. I never intended to. I knew I didn’t have Gio’s easygoing personality, but I wasn’t the boogeyman either.
“Um, I’m not sure,” said Patsy, struggling to rebalance the tray. “I’ll tell her you asked.” Then she scurried out of there like she was being chased.
Melanie appeared a moment later. She probably hadn’t sat down for more than two minutes since we opened the doors, and her face likely hurt from the incessant smiling as she engaged with the customers, but she looked as gorgeous as ever. My instinct was to grab that girl, kiss her hard and sloppy, and run my hands all over her body. That, however, was out of the question right now.
“You wanted me?” she asked sweetly, smiling as if she’d read my mind. Maybe she had.
“Just looking for a status report,” I said.
“All is well. Gio told us to seat diners up until fifteen minutes after close, at least for tonight.”
I nodded and stirred a vat of marinara sauce. The dishwashers were making a racket in the background. There’d been a few broken plates tonight, but that was to be expected from new workers.
“Man,” Tim groaned, grimacing as he stretched. “My back is killing me. How many pies would you say we handled tonight, Dom?”
“Three hundred and sixteen,” Melanie answered.
I was impressed. “How the hell did you have time to keep track?”
She cocked her head, amused. “Because I’m good at multitasking. By the way, boss, you’ve got flour in your hair.” She smirked and then flounced back to the dining room.
“Is that flour?” Tim asked, peering at me a little too closely. “Thought you were getting gray, Dom.”
“Since yesterday?”
He shrugged. “It could happen. I saw a movie once where this guy picked up a girl at a bar, and while he slept, she sucked ten years of his life force out of him. He woke up with his hair totally white.”
“I saw that movie!” Isaiah exclaimed from his position by the sink. “It was called Succubus Saturday.”
Tim snapped his fingers. “That’s it. You weren’t victimized by a succubus last night, were you, Dom?”
“Jesus,” I muttered, because this conversation was too stupid to acknowledge.
“I don’t think Melanie would appreciate that anyway,” mused Adam, one of the cooks, as he sprinkled mozzarella on a pie. Usually he was a nervous guy who seemed to jump at his own shadow, so I was surprised to hear any commentary coming from him. Adam wouldn’t have dared to be so bold unless he was stating something that he thought was completely obvious.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I snapped, forgetting my resolve not to frighten the staff.
Adam glanced up, startled. “Uh, nothing,” he stammered.
Tim cut in matter-of-factly. “You guys seem like you have a thing, that’s all.”
“Who told you that?”
“No one,” he shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious, though.”
“Totally obvious,” Isaiah piped up.
“Yeah,” Adam agreed and then shrank back when I shot him a look.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on the implications of that statement because closing time loomed. After I slid the last few pies into the oven, I clapped my hands together briskly to get the attention of the entire kitchen staff. Briefly I thanked them for a hell of an effort on a busy opening day and asked for an organized cleanup.
Melanie was the last one to leave. Just before she left, she said a sincere thank-you to Gio for taking a chance and hiring her in the first place. I could tell Gio was touched. But I couldn’t quite read the meaning behind the cold glance he threw in my direction. We’d have to talk about that.
When Melanie retreated to her office, I figured she’d be in there for a few minutes, so I took a final minute to assess the kitchen to see whether anything else needed to be done. I had planned on walking her to her car, but then I heard the front door close, and a minute later Gio returned.
“Did Melanie leave?” I asked.
“She did,” he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Why don’t we call it a night, Dom? Anything else that needs to be done can be taken care of in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
He eyed me. “You going straight home?”
I eyed him back. “Nope.”
Gio looked away. “All right then. See you tomorrow.”
I couldn’t let this go another day without being straight with him. Gio deserved that.
“Gio,” I said haltingly, “I think there’s something we need to get out on the table here. I just wanted to wait until the opening was out of the way. But Melanie and I—”
“I don’t need to hear it,” he interrupted. He crossed his arms and fixed me with a glare. “I’m not going to deliver a lecture, Dom. I’m not as clueless as you think I am, and if you really don’t know any fucking better, then nothing I say is going to make a dent anyway.”
I swallowed. “Giovanni, it’s not like that.”
He shook his head and sighed. “I love you, Dominic. You’re my brother, my partner, my best friend. But sometimes you can be careless about people without considering the fallout.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He gave me a flat stare. “You know.”
I couldn’t answer immediately because I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Gio’s face fell with obvious regret. He didn’t mean to lash out. And this wasn’t his fault. We should have hashed out that messy history a long time ago instead of pretending like it never existed.
“Gio,” I said gently, “no one is gonna get hurt here, not this time.”
He nodded tiredly. “All right, Dom. All right.” He looked a little bashful. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go on the attack and make it sound like I believed those old garbage rumors about you.”
“It’s okay.” I coughed, feeling uneasy. And guilty. “We should talk about this some more, though.”
“Fine.” He yawned. “But not tonight. I’m beat.” He took a wistful look around. “You know, Papa Leo would be proud if he saw this place.”
“I think you’re right. You planning on being at Espo 1 tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I guess I should. If you’re swamped, though, just give me a call.”
“Will do. You can go on ahead. I’ll lock up here.”
Gio waved and was gone. I texted Melanie immediately. I meant it when I said I couldn’t wait to be with her. I hastily ran through the chore of double-checking all doors and windows before exiting through the front entrance and securing the lock behind me.
The day had been long and complicated, but suddenly I wasn’t tired at all.
“Hey, beautiful,” I said when she opened her front door before I even had a chance to knock.
My pulse kicked up a notch. She wore her silk robe with black stiletto heels. A glass of wine was in her hand. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to tackle her.
She smiled sweetly. “Hello, Mr. Esposito. It was quite a day, wasn’t it?”
I threw my keys on the couch, unintentionally disturbing Luke and Lando. The cats mewed and scattered.
“It was a hell of a day,” I agreed, shutting the door at my back. Then I grabbed the bottom of my shirt with both hands and slowly pulled it over my head because I knew she loved the sight of my bare chest, and I loved showing it to her.
Melanie watched me and took a sip of her wine. She raised one knee and settled her heel against the wall. It was sexy as fuck. She tapped her toe against the wall. Her eyes shone with fun and mischief when I approached and bent down for a kiss. Her lips were sweetened by the wine, and I tasted them with my tongue. My dick had jumped to life the instant I saw her. The kiss deepened hungrily, and I slipped a hand under her robe.
To my surprise she broke away and took a step backward toward the kitchen.
“Something wrong, Mel?” I asked.
“You got to be the boss all day,” she said sweetly and sipped her wine.
I grinned. “That’s right, I’m the fucking boss.” I was digging this sexy, playful side of her. When I was driving over here, I wondered if she might at first be a little shy after everything that happened last night. But she surprised me with this sex-kitten act—and I liked being surprised.
Melanie nodded seriously. “But maybe you shouldn’t always get to be in charge, Dominic.”
I ran my hand over the hard outline of my dick so she’d know what she was doing to me. “You saying you want to be in charge?”
“Maybe,” she said with a small smile as she watched me stroke myself.
I took my hand off my dick and went to her. This was fun. I trailed one finger along her collarbone, and she shivered slightly. She was wearing something beneath that robe; something red and lacy and designed to fuck my fantasies raw.
“So give me an order,” I said. My eyes scanned the shapely perfection of her legs. One thing was for damn sure; those streetwalker heels needed to stay on. I could feel the quick thud of her heart as my hand strayed over the sensual curve of her breasts.
“Follow me,” she whispered, leaving her wineglass on the counter and strolling to the bedroom.
Of course I followed. I was practically salivating with ideas about what she had in mind next.
Her hair hung loose, and she knew how to work it, tossing the long dark length over one shoulder as she casually dropped her robe beside the bed. I had no choice but to casually drop my pants.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I asked, taking in every inch of the cherry-red bustier that cinched her waist, pushed out her tits, and made my dick go berserk. I already had a condom in my hand.
“Shh.” She put a finger to her lips and then sank down on the bed, crossing her legs.
I couldn’t keep my hands off her for another minute. Crossing the room in two strides, I dove in and kissed her hard and long, tasting the wine on her lips. I sucked her neck and relished the breathy moan that escaped when I used my teeth just enough to sting. She got on her back willingly and arched her body to escape those damp panties when I pushed my thumbs under the waistband and pulled. But when I slid my hands under her hips to brace for the first big thrust, she stopped me.
“No.”
I gritted my teeth and held back. “No?”
Melanie smiled up at me, enjoying my discomfort. “I think you need to learn what it’s like not to be the commander in chief.”
My balls ached. “I see. So this is a power struggle?”
She nodded seriously. “Absolutely.”
I rolled to my back and hauled her on top of me. “Fine. You do the work.”
“You better believe I will,” she promised as she guided me in.
Melanie wasn’t timid about going at it hard. She writhed and moaned and squeezed her own breasts in her hands over that red corset. When she threw that glorious long hair back and rode me like a wild animal, I was thinking that out of all the hot shit I’d ever seen in my life, this absolutely won first prize. But all the while it was her face that captivated me the most. I loved seeing Melanie Cruz smile. I loved the frequent flashes of irritation in her eyes when I said or did something she didn’t like. I loved watching her come. And I loved the shy, tender glances that came my way when I wasn’t even looking for them.
“Dom,” she cried out, and shook with the force of her own ecstasy as she rocked back and forth.
I grabbed her hips and pushed deep and without mercy until I broke. I squeezed every bit of pleasure from those intense spasms. Then I gathered her to my sweaty chest and stroked her damp hair.
Melanie suddenly laughed and propped her chin up on my chest. “I thought about greeting you at the door with a hug and a congratulatory kiss,” she teased, “but then I decided this little act would be more fun.”
I ran my hands down her hips. “So what other kinky surprises have you got in mind?”
She wrinkled her nose and got shy, burying her face in my chest. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do.”
Melanie rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow. She really was ridiculously gorgeous. “Can you help me get this off?”
“Only if you promise an encore at some point.”
“I promise.”
The thing had tight laces and was a bear to unravel. Finally I got it off and laid her down, massaging her ribs.
“We did it,” she said, and she was smiling again.
“Yeah. You ready to do it again?”
Melanie swatted me. “I was talking about the restaurant, jackass. I mean, I know it’s all you and Gio, but the rest of us minions were happy to be a part of it too.”
I cupped her chin in my palm. “You’re not a minion, Mel. You’re a big part of it.”
Her eyes grew soft, and she touched my cheek. “It was perfect. The pizza was a hit, we exceeded our projections by twenty percent, and there was this food critic from Phoenix Dining who promised a great write-up in the next issue.” Suddenly she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged fiercely. “I’m so proud of you, Dom.”
I kissed her and caressed her soft skin. I turned off the lights and covered her with the fluffy down comforter. This had been an epic day, and the best part of it would be falling asleep beside her.
“Is Gio pleased with the results of the opening?” she asked through a yawn.
“Sure, he’s thrilled,” I replied.
“Good.” She snuggled closer. “You guys have worked so hard for this success, and it’s turning out just like you deserve.”
I kissed the top of her head. “It’s turning out perfect.”
Melanie was so tired. I let her fall asleep without saying anything else. It might have troubled her to hear what the guys in the kitchen had said about us, that our secret wasn’t much of a secret in the small world of Esposito’s.
It might have troubled her even more if she found out that Gio had already guessed. And that he wasn’t exactly happy.