A Little Slice of Heaven (6 page)

At the end of the night, Kyle collapsed in the nearest chair in the dining room and slumped across the tablecloth. By God, when he returned to his old way of life, he knew one thing he’d do differently. He’d tip the help better. If they worked half as hard as he had tonight, they deserved a hell of a lot more than fifteen percent.

“
This job isn’t easy, is it?” Gianna’s voice came from somewhere above him.

No matter how tired he was, the sight of her still struck a chord deep in his ribcage. With supreme effort, he picked his head up off the table, and even dug out a smile. “No, this job isn’t easy. How do you keep going? You were here before me this morning and you’re still working.”

“
Oh, well, you forget, I grew up doing this. When my brother and I were kids, we’d come here straight from elementary school, and Dad would put us to work.”

As she reached across the table to remove the salad dressing cruet and Parmesan cheese shaker, her arm brushed the top of his head, and a jolt raced through him. Body pulsing, he pulled back his chair slightly.

“
You...” Straightening, she juggled the bottles and jars against her chest. “You’re just a rookie. Be grateful this is the off-season. In the summer when the tourists arrive, we need a staff of twelve.”

“
Twelve?” Hard to imagine this sleepy town ever bustled.

“
Uh-huh. Three run the front counter, five handle the kitchen, and four wait tables. Trust me. If you’re going to learn the business, autumn is the best time to do so. You’ll see. The job gets easier the longer you work here.”

He didn’t intend to work here for long. The words, however, clogged his throat, refusing to exit into the air. So he said nothing and concentrated on pulling the linens off the table as if world peace depended on his success.

When he had several tablecloths balled, she settled them against her chest, almost like armor. “Would you mind a little friendly advice?”

Advice? Whatever she planned to say, he probably didn’t care to hear. Still those Bambi eyes silently implored him to listen. Taking her vulnerable pose into account, he offered a casual shrug. “No. I’m here to learn, right?”

A tremulous smile appeared. “Right. Umm…” She turned to place the linens on a cart. “The thing is, I know you’re not used to this. I mean, back home you probably had servants who waited on you, you know?” Without waiting for a reply, she returned her attention to a table, tracing circles in the dark wooden top. “But here, well, in this restaurant, the customer’s our top priority. We get a lot of return business, even in the off-season like now, because we treat everyone like family. Do you think you can remember that?”

In other words, she’d noticed the way he’d cringed at handling the dirty dishes, his sighs when someone took forever to order, and his eye rolls, coinciding with a child’s lisping command for “pisketti.”

Yet her censure came out with such sweetness, he had no choice but to nod. He would’ve loved to argue. Still, she’d taken him in, given him a chance to win back what he’d lost. So if he had to wear a humility suit for a month, he could manage the dent in his pride. The long-term prize far outweighed the short-term inconvenience.

After a long moment, Gianna took the hint their conversation had ended and bustled to the counter with the condiments.

In the silence that ensued, Kyle swore he heard his heart beating in his ears. Before he could relax his guard, though, Gianna returned.

“
Where are you from? Originally?” At a cleared table, she sank into a chair, and then gestured for him to join her.

Great.
Now
she wanted to talk. When he’d asked her to sit with him earlier, when he’d been alert, she was too busy. Naturally, the minute his guard failed due to exhaustion, she honed in for the kill. If he hadn’t suspected she’d assume something suspicious in the action, he would’ve crossed his arms over his chest. What magical powers did this dark-haired angel hide behind an ethereal face and a heavenly body? How did she manage to chip away at his barriers time and time again?

Okay. He could handle her interrogation. Fisting his hands at his sides, he decided to pretend this was a spy movie. He’d provide nothing more than name, rank, and serial number.

“
I grew up in Croton-on-the Hudson. And I have—had,” he corrected quickly, “a place on Central Park West.”

You’ll get nothing from me. I’m closed up tighter than a biosphere.

“
How did you wind up here?” She pointed out the storefront window at the parking lot and beyond, the occasional car zipping down Main Street. “In the sticks of Setquott Beach, I mean.”

He flashed an easy grin. “Do you know how expensive it is to be homeless in Manhattan these days?”

Her tinkling giggle reminded him of the wind chimes Lana hung on his balcony one summer. She’d claimed their soothing music would relax him, and it had, until the noise caused animosity with his neighbors. Then he’d removed them. Funny, he hadn’t thought about those stupid chimes in ages.

Lana, on the other hand, haunted him night and day. He always recalled the same vision of her. With hatred flashing like sharpened knives in her gray eyes when he’d confessed the severity of his misfortune. And the long curve of her back when she’d walked away a moment later.

“
I’ll take your word for it,” Gianna said, snapping him into the here and now. “What did you do for a living?”

Uh-oh. Dangerous question. Yet one he felt compelled to answer. He owed her some sort of explanation. Maybe if he kept his background shadowy, she’d let the subject drop. “I handled investments. Stocks and bonds, estates and trusts.” Mainly his own, but she didn’t need to know that.

“
And what happened?”

Unable to look her in the eye, he toyed with the salt and pepper shakers.
Clink! Clink!
“I lost it all.”

She placed a hand over his, effectively stopping the glass-on-glass noise. Then, she gave a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

A flood of warmth enveloped him, but he shook away the coziness to stay on point. “Well, unfortunately, I have no one to blame but myself.”

“
You don’t have family or friends who could have helped you?” Her voice was whisper soft, without demand or indignation. “At least until you got back on your feet?”

Given the opportunity, her doe eyes could easily melt the steel encasing his bones.

“
Nope.” Righteous anger clipped his words, a clear warning she should back off.

“
No one?”

Rolling his eyes heavenward, Kyle sent a silent plea to the Almighty to call her off.

“
I mean,” she said, pulling her hand from his. “Surely there must have been someone, a friend or client, willing to help.”

Apparently, the Almighty held no more sway over Gianna than mortal men. Time to change the subject before she probed too deeply. “What about you? What’s with this wedding Claudio told me about earlier?”

In an instant, her face paled to the color of milk. “Claudio told you about Frank’s wedding?”

“
He said you need a date. Don’t tell me a pretty lady like you doesn’t have a guy to accompany her.”

This time, she backed
her
chair from the table. “It’s a long story.” She rose and turned away.

Interesting. He’d obviously touched on a sore point. But he didn’t push. He couldn’t. Wasn’t he being cagey about his background? Those who knew him might call him many things, but hypocrite wasn’t one of them.

No matter. Eventually he’d find out her secrets. And then, perhaps, she wouldn’t enchant him. He’d discover she was like all the others, sweet and loving when he pleased them, cold and harsh when he didn’t.

“
Why don’t you go upstairs?” she suggested. “Claudio and I can finish here.”

Okay, I can take a hint. I know when I’m not wanted.

Kyle rose and, bidding her goodnight, strode out the side door to the hallway leading to his temporary quarters upstairs.

Gianna headed for the kitchen where Claudio already stood up to his elbows in soapsuds, washing dishes.

“
Why you let Kyle go?” He jerked his head toward the closed door. “I thought he was gonna be the new busboy.”

Arms folded over her chest, she leaned one hip against the counter. “Have you seen his hands? That man has never done any physical labor in his life. Why shame him with it now?”

“
So we hired him to look pretty,
cara
?”

“
No, but we didn’t hire him to escort me to social occasions, either.”

Claudio shrugged off her anger as he would a jacket four sizes too big. “If he no gonna work, the least he can do is look good on your arm for a night. Besides, if not him, who will you ask to go with you? You can’t go alone.”

She dropped a handful of silverware into the water with a plop. A balloon of suds splashed up and smacked him between the eyes. “
Chiuda in su
, Claudio.”

“
What? You don’t agree so you tell me to shut up?” He wagged a soapy finger. “If your papa were here, he’d turn you over his knee for speaking so rudely to poor Claudio.”

“‘
Poor Claudio’ gives as good as he gets. And Dad would probably say, ‘
Brava, cara
,’ for the way I’m handling things in his absence. Including you and all your nonsense.”

Claudio cocked a silver eyebrow. “You think so, eh? You think he be thrilled to know you still cry yourself to sleep?”

She whirled from the steel table behind him, her hands full of dirty ceramic casserole dishes. “I do not!”

His finger waved again. “You no lie to Claudio. You still pine for that no-good heartbreaker. How can such a smart girl be so dumb? Go home, Gianna. I finish cleaning here and I lock up when I’m through.”

****

Gianna leaned back in the chair in her best friend’s kitchen. Sipping decaf coffee, she inhaled the subtle hint of cinnamon and stroked Bomber’s dense multi-colored fur. The big cat purred and dug her claws into Gianna’s thigh, only to retract them again and again.

“
So, how soon will you hear about the loan?” Hayley asked over her cup.

Didn’t anyone have anything else to talk about? Why did her problems take up so much interest with her family and friends? First Joey, now Hayley. Even the ROMEOs had harped on the status of the daycare center tonight. Until she’d promised to let them know the moment she had her approvals in hand. While her best friend deserved more information than the old men, Gianna still had no compulsion to divulge.

Hiding her frown, she nuzzled the cat. “Not for another week.”

“
Have you looked into the permits yet?”

“
Why bother?” She shrugged. “I don’t have the money yet.”

Hayley’s blue eyes opened wide in surprise. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to get building permits? To find a decent contractor to do the renovations? And you haven’t filed for anything except the bank loan?” She clucked her tongue. “What about that lawyer referral? Did you follow up with him, at least?”

With every question Hayley hammered, Gianna sank a little deeper into her chair. “No.”

“
Have you gone to Town Hall to see about rezoning the property?”

“
I don’t own the property. How can I apply for rezoning without a deed?”

“
Gi, it takes weeks just to find the department head who’ll tell you it takes months to get the approval for a rezoning.”

She refused to look at Hayley, concentrating on the cat on her lap. “So?”

“
So?” Hayley parroted. “You need a workable plan to get the loan from the bank. Do you know how much money it’ll cost to bring that site up to code? Even if you get the loan, you need a whole bunch of stuff to obtain the state approval. Just to apply for the license for a daycare facility requires...” Hands splayed, she counted on her fingers. “...a list of employees with background checks and references, detailed plans and procedures for the day to day operations, your financial plans. What are you waiting for?”

“
I don’t know,” she admitted, self-consciously running a hand through her hair. “I just can’t think straight right now—”

Hayley slammed her palms on the table, bringing Gianna’s head up with a snap. “Because of Frank’s stupid wedding invitation.”

The crushing weight of failure slouched her until she was almost part of the chair’s upholstery. “Let it go, Hayley.”

“
No, I won’t let it go. But you should. Frank was a snake, but that part of your life is over. Don’t let him continue to ruin your future, especially since he’s out of it.” Her lips pursed in a moue of thoughtfulness. “Did you find a date yet?”

Oh, goody. Let’s move on to the next tragedy.
When had her life become the stuff of soap operas? And when would the temporary amnesia set in so she could escape for a while? She frowned. “Yes and no. I made the mistake of confiding in Claudio, and he mentioned the idea to Kyle.”

“
Kyle? The Dumpster guy?”

“
He’s not a ‘Dumpster guy.’ He’s actually very nice, and not bad-looking.”

“
Define ‘not bad-looking.’”

“
Tall.” She lifted a hand above her head. “Dark curly hair, hazel eyes, cleft chin, broad shoulders…”

“
Yum.” Hayley smacked her lips. “Sounds like the perfect specimen. Of course, if you decide to take Mr. Yummy, you’ll have to get him something to wear. Knowing your brother, I doubt his closet’s chock-full of formal attire.”

“
I know.” She sighed. “And even if there was a tux hanging in there, the fit would be positively indecent on Kyle.”

“
Really?” Piqued interest flowed into Hayley’s tone with the force of an oil derrick atop a gusher. “Gee, maybe I should start hanging around Dumpsters to meet men. Sounds like you found a real prize in yours.”