Chapter Eight
Holly watched her staff like a hawk as she walked around the kitchen, inspecting their work. Over by the stove, Pierre was preparing the staff meal. It was early yet, but she didn’t tolerate idleness in her kitchen. There was always something that needed to be done, and she expected her staff to pull their weight.
“Grace,” she said to one of the line cooks. “Make sure you—”
A crash from the corner of the room interrupted her, and she whipped around, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed.
“Sorry, Chef,” Julian said as he scrambled to the floor to pick up the discarded vegetables. Beside him, Hannah stood, wide-eyed. “Uhm, I didn’t see her.”
Holly let out a sigh and massaged her temples. “Hannah, I told you to stay in the office. What are you doing out here?” She walked over to the little girl, trying to control her emotions. Wide blue eyes looked up at her, and she stuck her lower lip out in a defiant gesture. “Oh, you’re mad at me?” she said. “Hannah, listen to me.”
Hannah crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.
“Hannah.”
No reaction.
“Hannah.”
The little girl looked up at her, face defiant, as if daring her to say more.
She let out a sigh. This was not going well.
Holly begged and bribed the baby sitter, Sonia, to take Hannah for the day. Unfortunately, it was just impossible. Sonia was as a teacher’s assistant, so it had worked out that she could pick up Hannah after school and then stay until Holly came home. Holly had no choice but to bring Hannah to the restaurant with her, at least until Sonia could come pick her up, which wasn’t for another hour.
Sharice had been okay with the situation, and said Hannah was welcome to stay. Holly didn’t know what to do with Hannah while she was working, so she put the little girl in her office and gave her a tablet to play with. But she probably got bored and wandered out into the kitchen.
And now they were in a standoff as Holly continued to stare her down. Hannah’s lower lip began to tremble, and her eyes filled with tears. Guilt tugged at her heart. Holly covered her eyes with her palms, took another deep breath, and counted to three.
“C’mon, sweetie,” she said with a sigh and picked up the sniffling girl. She walked to a quiet corner and placed her on top of the counter. “Hannah, I’m not mad at you. I just want to make sure you’re safe, okay? Look at what Pierre’s cooking. It’s bubbling and hot. What if that pot had fallen over on top of you instead of the vegetables? You could have been hurt.”
Hannah let out a big sniff and a hiccup.
“Sonia’s gonna be here soon. Then you can go home and play with your toys and watch Princess Arya. Wouldn’t you like that?”
At the sound of her favorite princess’ name, Hannah’s face lit up. She pointed to her eyes and then out the door, toward the restaurant across the street.
Holly’s shoulders slumped. She knew who Hannah was asking about. But she didn’t know how to answer her. It’s complicated? That was the only thing she could think of right now.
Dante Muccino was a complication she couldn’t afford right now. She felt like a juggler trying to keep all the balls in the air. Correction, she felt like a juggler balancing on a unicycle trying to keep all the balls in the air—Hannah, the restaurant, finding a new school, not to mention it was their first Christmas without Sean and Brenda. She hadn’t even figured out what to do during the Christmas break, and she had no bandwidth to add one more thing.
Still, she couldn’t erase the memory of Dante’s hands on her. Or his lips. Even now, her traitorous body was reacting, feeling flushed and tingly as she remembered what had happened on her couch. She hadn’t wanted it to end, but then the more logical part of her brain kicked in. And right when it was getting interesting, her body seemed to say.
Someone clearing her throat loudly jolted her from her thoughts, and warmth crept up to her collar. She turned her head. It was Gianna, waiting patiently, a grin on her face, and a sheepish-looking Julian beside her.
“I let her in, Chef,” Julian said. “I didn’t want them to wait out in the cold.”
“Thank you, Julian,” she said, nodding to the young man. “Gianna, how nice to see you again.” Movement from behind the old lady caught her eye.
“I’m glad you think so,” she answered. “And I brought guests; I hope you don’t mind.” She tugged behind herself and pulled two small figures forward. “This Adrianna and Lucas, my great-grandniece and grandnephew.” The two children were probably a year younger than Hannah. They both had dark hair, identical smiles, and—much to her surprise—mismatched green and blue eyes.
“Oh,” she said, unable to hide her surprise. Dante had never told her he had kids. A dread crept into her. Oh God, was he married? Did she kiss a married man?
Gianna chuckled. “They’re Dante’s sister’s kids,” she said with mirth in her voice. The older woman obviously knew what she was thinking.
“Right.” Holly bent down. “Hello, Adrianna, Lucas. I’m Holly.” She held her hand out.
The two kids looked at other, then at her. Lucas answered first. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Holly,” he said, and shook her hand. Adrianna followed suit. My, these children were very polite.
“And you must be Hannah,” Gianna said as she came closer. Hannah had somehow slid down the counter and was now hiding behind Holly. “Lovely to meet you, dear.” Hannah shyly looked up at her and gave her an acknowledging nod, then glanced down at the twins.
“Lucas, Adrianna, why don’t you say hello to Hannah?” Gianna urged.
“Hello Hannah.” Adrianna was the first to come forward this time. She waved. “I’m Adrianna”
“And I’m Lucas.” He waited for a moment for Hannah to react.“Why aren’t you talking?” Lucas asked, cocking his head at her.
His sister jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “Lucas! Remember what Nonna told us on the way here,” she stage-whispered to her brother.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” he said, scratching his head. “Hannah, do you want to go play somewhere?”
To Holly’s surprise, Hannah nodded then looked up at her.
“Why don’t you go play in the dining room?” Holly suggested. “Just don’t disturb Aunt Sharice and Vincent while they’re putting up the Christmas decorations, okay?” Sharice had been a little late with the decorations, but she was determined to infuse the restaurant with as much Christmas cheer as possible.
Hannah nodded and then grabbed each twin by the hand and led them to the dining room.
“She’s beautiful,” Gianna noted.
“She is,” Holly agreed with a wistful smile as her eyes followed them as they disappeared through the door.
“And Dante told me about her. About her parents, I mean. I hope you don’t mind.”
“What? Oh, not at all. I mean it’s not a secret.” Surely Dante didn’t tell her anything else.
“I wanted to say I admire you for what you’ve done.”
She shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh, don’t say that.” Gianna put a hand on her arm. “Believe me, I partly raised my niece and then her five children. It’s no easy feat.”
“Somedays I’m afraid I’m not doing it right.”
Gianna chuckled. “Of course not. No one does. Kids don’t come with manuals, even your own.” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, I almost forgot why I came here.” She grabbed a box that was sitting on the counter and handed it to Holly. “My ricotta zeppoles. Freshly made about an hour ago. Still warm.”
“Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to, Gianna.” She accepted the box with a grateful nod.
“Nonsense. It’s the least I could do after you saved me from freezing to death yesterday.”
“I wouldn’t put it like that.” Holly chuckled. “I really do want to taste these while they’re fresh. Would you like some coffee or tea? I can put some plates out. And maybe some for the kids, as well.”
“Those are all yours, my dear, but some tea would be nice.”
“Let’s get settled then.”
She led Gianna to a table in the corner of the kitchen with two chairs, then went to put the kettle on. She came back with the tea pot and sat down across from her.
“So,” Gianna said. “Dante.”
Holly visibly winced and nearly spilled the tea. “What about Dante?”
“Don’t you feign innocence with me, young lady,” she warned. “What’s wrong with him? Why don’t you want to date him?”
“Wow, you don’t mince words, do you?”
Gianna chuckled, seemingly unoffended by her words. “When you’re my age, you can’t waste anything, not even words.”
“It’s not that … he’s not … I can’t …” She bit her lip. “I don’t have the time right now.”
“What, you think someday you’ll have time for a man? This restaurant will always need your attention. Hannah will always need you, whether she’s seven or twenty-seven. Believe me. Why don’t you just give him a chance? Don’t you think he’s handsome?”
Holly looked away. Gianna really was sincere, and it was almost cute the way she was lobbying for Dante. But she didn’t know anything about her or her life. “Dante’s, uh, an attractive man. I’m sure lots of women would love to date him.”
“So is that the problem?” she asked. “Because of his past with other women? His reputation and those pictures on the internet of him and all the women?”
Holly said nothing but her silence gave away her answer.
“Holly, dear, I know Dante. And I can tell you he’s never looked at any woman the way he looks at you. He’s also never talked about them the way the he talks about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s—”
“Nonna, Frankie’s looking for the twins. Are you done here?”
Holly whipped her head around toward the source of the intruding voice. The man who had entered her kitchen was standing behind her, a cocky smile on his face. He had sandy brown hair and brown eyes, and he looked familiar. “Hi,” he introduced himself, shoving his hand at her. “I’m Enzo Moretti. Nonna’s younger and more handsome great-nephew.”
“And cockier, too,” Holly remarked, raising a brow at him. Still, she took his hand and shook it.
“And, uh, sorry about the other night,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I was the one who put the sign on your door. Dante had nothing to do with it.”
Ah-ha! That was why he looked familiar. He was the one who interrupted her and Dante in the storage room.
“So, forgive and forget, and all that?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
“I suppose I could forgive,” she said. “I don’t know about the forget part.”
“Well, if it makes you feel better—”
“Holly, why are there three children in my dining room?” Sharice asked as she burst through the door. Her friend was feeling the true Christmas spirit, dressed up in a red sweater dress that clung to her body and green-and-white striped stockings tucked into red boots. A santa hat was perched on top of her head. “Not that I mind, as they’re all well behaved, but last I checked, you only had one niece.”
Holly was about to explain when Enzo elbowed his way forward. “Well, now, I must be on Santa’s nice list this year because he sent me my own personal elf.” He held out his hand toward Sharice. “I’m Enzo. And you are?”
Sharice stared him down. “Not interested,” she said and turned to Holly.
Holly rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that. Those are Gianna’s great-grandnephew and niece.” She quickly explained to Sharice who Gianna was, though she glossed over Dante’s name.
“Lovely to meet you, ma’am,” Sharice said, as she gave Gianna a warm smile and took the hand she offered. “I’m glad to see Hannah coming out of her shell a bit.”
Holly sighed inwardly with relief. When she took the job with Sharice, she briefed her friend on what had happened. Sharice was understanding and one of the few people Hannah liked being around.
“You know, they’re related to me. I’m their favorite uncle,” Enzo interjected again. “Now, can you please tell me your name, you curvy goddess? Did you come straight from the North Pole?”
“You did not just call me that,” Sharice seethed. “Get out of my restaurant.”
Enzo, unfazed, winked at her. “Ah, playing hard to get. I get it.” He turned to Gianna. “Okay, Nonna, let’s head back before Frankie sends out an APB on us.”
“Of course.” Gianna toddled to the door and stuck her head into the dining room. “Adrianna! Lucas! We need to go.”
Disappointed cries answered her, but soon, three small figures marched through the door.
“Can we come and play with Hannah another time? Please?” Adrianna begged.
“Let’s see what Hannah’s aunt, says,” Gianna answered.
Holly looked down at Hannah, who was staring up at her with pleading eyes and nodding. How could she say no, especially since Adrianna and Lucas were the first peers she’d shown interest in. She didn’t even want to keep in touch with her friends from Seattle. “Uhm, let’s see okay? I mean, we’re figuring out the babysitter situation.” Three pairs of eyes looked at her with varying degrees of sadness and disappointment. Holly let out a sigh. “If your mom wants to come over or call me here, I’d be happy to talk to her.” She made sure she emphasized mom, knowing that Gianna might be two steps ahead of her.
“Of course,” Gianna agreed. “I’ll tell Frankie. Maybe Lucas and Adrianna can remind her, too.”
“Yay!” the twins cried.
“Okay, c’mon, time to say goodbye now,” Enzo reminded them. “And you know, if you wanted me to supervise while they had their playdates here, I’d be more than happy to help,” he said, flashing a smile at Sharice, who raised a brow at the insistent young man.
“We’ll figure that out later,” Holly said wryly. “Now, we should get the staff meal ready …”
“No worries. Nice to meet you, Holly,” he said. “And I’ll see you in your dreams, sexy elf,” he said to Sharice cheekily before ushering Gianna and the twins out the door.
Sharice crossed her arms over her chest. “The nerve,” she said, shaking her head, though Holly didn’t miss the slight tugging at the corner of her friend’s lips.
“He’s cute,” she said.
“He’s too young,” Sharice countered.
“He’s probably my age,” Holly pointed out. “Which makes him what … five years younger, max.”
“He’s also an arrogant SOB.”
“I thought you liked arrogant. Remember that Spanish guy who walked up to us while we were shopping in the Latin Quarter?”
Sharice slapped a hand on her forehead. “Don’t remind me. That’s two months of my life I’ll never get back,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Holly. “So, Dante Muccino’s great-aunt? Do I smell something fishy in the air?”
Holly put a hand up. “I have work to do.”