Vincenzo’s pride in her accomplishments brought a lump to his throat. At the same time he couldn’t stop his eyes from fastening on the lines of her beautiful figure.
Cesare continued to introduce the entire kitchen staff that also included the sous chefs, dishwashers, and front of house staff. Takis followed by introducing the front desk group, the head of housekeeping and the laundry staff. Then it was Vincenzo’s turn once more to present the estate manager and gardeners. The security men made their own presentation.
After a ten-minute break, his partners met with the employees under them to get down to specifics on the job, including the hours they would work. That left Vincenzo to circulate.
He visited Takis’s group first and added a few words. Then he walked to the kitchen, where Cesare laid out the hours for each shift and their duties, which included room service and the dining room. Vincenzo refused to look at Gemma. After saying a few more words of greeting, he made certain he stayed on the far side of the room away from her.
Gemma and Maurice had been asked to make out a day’s worth of sample menus for the three meals they’d serve the day of the grand opening. Cesare looked them over before passing them to Vincenzo for his opinion. Since he didn’t want to give Gemma any fuel to leave and never come back, he took the menus and walked to his office.
After sitting at his desk for a few minutes, he realized that having to distance himself from her was going to be the hardest thing he would ever have to do in his life. The key was to focus on work.
He spent the next few minutes studying her dessert choices, including the rolls, breads, preserves and jams she’d suggested to accompany Maurice’s entrées and specialty dishes. They were both masters at what they did. He put his seal of approval on them.
But thoughts of Gemma made it impossible for him to stand his own company any longer. He walked to Cesare’s office to give him the menus. His friend wasn’t around. Vincenzo left them on his desk and went in search of Takis, who was still in the ballroom directing some of the newly hired staff to put the chairs away.
He waved. “Ehi, Vincenzo—all in all, I think it went well.”
“I agree.” But it would have been a disaster if Gemma hadn’t shown up.
“Want to have drinks on the east patio later?”
“Sounds good, but I’ll see. I have to run an errand, but I should be back soon.”
Vincenzo hurried out of the castello to his car, too restless to stay put. After getting behind the wheel, he took off and drove aimlessly. He had a hunch Gemma had spent last night at the same pensione as before. If he returned by way of Sopri later, he assumed he’d see her car parked in front. But much as he wanted to find out where she was staying, he didn’t dare.
Instead he ended up in the little village of Cisliano, only three miles from Sopri. He passed in front of the Rho Bistro. The owners had had the unique idea of waiting for all the customers to arrive. Then they started cooking the same menu for everyone and served it at one time.
Vincenzo had eaten there several times in his youth after a bike ride with Dimi, always being followed by a guard his father had hired. On his eighteenth birthday, he and Dimi had slipped away from their tutor and the guard. They’d arranged to meet Gemma and Bianca here.
He remembered that Friday as if it had been yesterday. Bianca’s mother had taken pity on him and his cousin. She’d dropped the girls off and come back for them two hours later without telling Gemma’s mother, who would have been upset.
The memory of that red-letter day had taken hold of him. Wanting to relive it, he decided to go in, but parking was difficult. He ended up driving around the corner to find a spot. For the moment all he cared about was soaking up those moments when he knew they’d been crazy in love with each other.
As usual, he discovered the noisy, unpretentious place was filled with summer customers at the dinner hour. There was one empty table in the corner partially separate from the others, probably available for any overflow. He grabbed it and was served coffee while everyone waited to be served.
AFTER HER LAST meeting for the day, Gemma left the castello experiencing so many emotions, she didn’t know where to go with all her feelings. Cesare’s comments about her in front of the whole assembly had been very touching. She’d enjoyed the various sessions and had gotten on well with Maurice. But overriding everything was the realization that Vincenzo was back in Lombardi.
Along with his partners, they’d turned the castello into a hotel and restaurant that would definitely be the envy of other resorts in Italy. She’d felt the camaraderie among the people hired and had heard their praise for the new owners. The favorable whispers about Vincenzo would have pleased him.
Part of her had wanted to go to his office and thank him for this opportunity, but it was too difficult for her to be in such close proximity to him. She feared she wouldn’t be able to fight her attraction to him. But the other part of her would always struggle, because he hadn’t felt she was good enough to confide in before he’d disappeared. He’d created a deep wound that would never heal.
Where was the Vincenzo she would have done anything for? On his eighteenth birthday, she’d dared to eat a meal with him at a restaurant outside the castello, even knowing they could both get into terrible trouble.
Caught up in the memory, she drove to Cisliano and found a parking place at the end of the street near the Rho Bistro. She and Bianca had spent two divine hours here with Vincenzo and Dimi. The need to recapture that moment took her inside, but the place was packed. As she looked around, her gaze suddenly collided with a pair of silver eyes staring at her between black lashes.
Vincenzo—her heart knocked against her ribs. He was here?
She watched as he got to his feet and walked over to her. “It appears you and I had the same idea this evening. As you can see, the whole world is here. You’re welcome to join me at my table. I think I have the only free one left.”
Gemma couldn’t believe this had happened, but to turn him down would be churlish at this point.
“Thank you. I have to admit I’m starving.”
No sooner had he held a chair for her to sit down than the waiters started bringing the food. The menu included antipasto, risotto, sautéed mushrooms, roasted polenta and potatoes, with a dessert of limoncello and iced cookies.
After a few bites she said, “I had no idea you were here.”
“That works both ways.” He sipped his coffee. “Seeing you again has made me nostalgic for my happy past, and I found myself driving here. The meal we enjoyed on my birthday will always stand out in my mind.”
“Truthfully, I’ll never forget it, either,” she confessed. “On the way back to my flat, I decided to drive by and see if this place still existed. We were fed so much food, I didn’t think I would ever eat again.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“I was frightened someone from the castello would find out and word would get back to my mother. She would have grounded me forever.”
“Three weeks after my birthday, I was in New York, ending our one and only over-the-castello-wall experience.”
Over the wall was right! But Gemma didn’t want to think about the past and changed the subject.
“After the last meeting in the kitchen, Cesare told us to go home and get a good sleep before we report in the morning ready to dig in. I didn’t expect to see you here, but since we have bumped into each other, I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be the pastry chef. It is the chance of a lifetime.”
“If anyone should be doing the thanking, it’s