“Get out! Nick hired you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Yes, he did. Why do you ask?”
“I like it when you get all ice princessy on me. Very nice. I bet that makes Nick nuts.”
“I don’t think much fazes your brother. And he hired me because you’re leaving early for school.”
He looked honestly chagrined by the reminder. “I know. But Mama Bennie and Nick understood. I just figured they’d find someone without having to advertise.” He studied her a second. “Unless one of my cousins got married without me knowing, or you’re Italian on your mother’s side about six times removed.”
She laughed again. “Nope. No Italian in my history.”
Joey’s grin returned. “Well, then, I guess my brother finally came to his senses.”
“Actually, it was Mama Bennie who—”
Nick came into the office. “Sunny, your cab is—Hey, Joey.” He caught his brother in an affectionate bear hug. “I thought you were already headed east.”
“I was. But then Steve backed out on me.” He turned to Sunny. “What a pal, huh? I mean, he agrees to sublet my apartment, then backs out on me when his girlfriend invites him to move in. I ask you, is that fair?”
“Perhaps she made a more tantalizing offer,” Sunny teased. Then the light bulb went off in her head. “Hey, maybe I can help you out.”
Nick stepped between them. “No.” Gone was the easy affection he’d exuded moments ago.
“What do you mean, no?” Joey moved his brother behind him and pasted on a wide smile. “This is between me and the lady.” He looked over his shoulder. “Unless perhaps you were planning on her stayin’ at your place?”
“No!” When Sunny and Joey’s eyes widened at his sudden vehemence, Nick frowned and tried again. “I mean, where she stays is none of my concern, as long as she reports to work on time.”
Joey turned to Sunny. “Perfect. Because it will be hard for her to be late if she’s sleeping right upstairs.” He held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll show you the place and we can talk terms.”
Sunny blinked. “Upstairs? You live over the restaurant?”
“You bet. It’s a great place. I even cleaned it up for Steve. The bum. Although I’m thinkin’ now maybe I owe Steve, you know?” He hustled her from the office. Over his shoulder, he said, “Cancel the cab, Nick. She won’t be needing it.”
Nick responded by grabbing Joey’s arm and dragging them both back to the doorway. “Hold on just a minute. She’s only here short-term. I’ll find someone to rent your place. Just leave me a spare set of keys.”
“Excuse me,” Sunny said, extracting her arm from Joey’s grip and moving between the two brothers. “I believe this is between Joseph and myself. Even if I don’t remain under your employ, I will need a place to stay.”
Joey chuckled. “Don’t you just love it when she talks like that?”
Nick scowled. “Don’t do this, Joey.”
Joey was totally unaffected by his brother’s demand. He shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one who hired her.”
Nick turned to Sunny. “Surely a Chandler can do better than renting a one-bedroom walk-up in this part of town.”
Joey started to say something, but Sunny cut him off. “This Chandler will reside wherever she sees fit. And right at this moment, I think Joey’s place sounds great. So, if you’ll excuse us?”
Nick swore under his breath. “I knew this was going to be a huge mistake.”
Joey punched his brother on the arm. “Lighten up, will ya? If she lasted a day with both you and Carlo on her case, she’s already outlasted the first six women you hired for the kitchen. And they were your cousins.”
Suddenly feeling better than she had all day, Sunny tossed Nick a victorious smile and allowed Joey to lead her to the back stairs.
4
SUNNY PRIED OPEN one eyelid, peered at the clock and groaned. It couldn’t be time already. Surely she’d just fallen into bed minutes ago. Then she remembered. It was her day off. Her first in a week. She didn’t have to rush out and run her errands before work. She had all afternoon. She might even put her errands off until evening. The idea of being off her feet for an entire day held an almost orgasmic appeal. She smiled sleepily and snuggled deeper beneath the covers.
Then shot dead upright when she heard a door banging open and people talking. Inside her apartment. Before she could wet her throat enough to call out, the invaders found her.
“Up and at ’em, sleepyhead. We need you. Father Sartori needs you. And you know the good father preaches patience better than he practices it.” A tall, striking brunette stopped short in the doorway. “Well, surprise, surprise.”
Sunny clutched the bedspread to her chest and pushed her hair from her face. “Um, who are you?” Had she been a little more awake, she’d have noticed the resemblance. But when the shorter, plumper woman pushed past the taller one, she knew without a doubt who had come calling. “Nick’s sisters?”
That stopped the shorter one, who glanced at her taller sister with a speculative look in her eyes. “She said Nick, not Joey.” They both turned their smiles to Sunny, who immediately understood what was going through their minds.
She shook her head. “No, no, you have it all wrong. I work for Nick. I’m the new kitchen help. Joey sublet me his apartment when his friend backed out. He’s with Mama Bennie until Sunday, then he’s going to school.”
The taller one nodded approvingly. “Smart, concise and rational.” She and her sister shared a laugh. “Definitely not Nick or Joey’s type.” She stepped forward and held out her hand. “Sorry to intrude on you like this, but since we have, I’m Marina.” She shook Sunny’s hand. “And this is my younger sister Andrea. And I might as well warn you, there are two more of us about to show up. Rachel and B.J., the younger ones, that is, except for Joey. He’s the baby.”
“In more ways than one,” Andrea added, looking at the various posters on the walls. “I don’t suppose he’ll let you redecorate while you’re here, will he?”
Sunny smiled. “With all that wonderful food I’m around all day, I figure staring at Heather Locklear and Elle MacPherson every night is a good thing. Keeps me on the straight and narrow.”
“Definitely not Joey’s type,” Andrea agreed. “Well, we’ll get ourselves out of your bedroom now. We’re all used to tramping in and out of each other’s houses, but had we known—”
“We’d have at least knocked first,” Marina finished with a smile. “And then barged in anyway.” She wasn’t in any apparent hurry to leave, however. “So, when did you start? Usually the D’Angelo grapevine works better than this, but with school just letting out and Cecelia’s new baby finally home from the hospital and B.J. announcing she’s expecting her second and third one early next year, it’s been, well—”
“Normal,” Andrea finished with a laugh.
Sunny felt like she was at a tennis match, her head was going back and forth so often. She wondered if they always completed each other’s sentences. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to grow up with so many siblings. Or any siblings, for that matter. Not for the first time, she felt a little pang of envy. “It must be wonderful to have that kind of support network.” She didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud until Marina answered.
“Yes, it is,” she said without hesitation. “Of course, we never had the bathroom to ourselves, Nick and Papa Sal scared off most