Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
I groan and shove a forkful of food into my mouth. Jacob chuckles as he watches me.
“No worries, I’m not offended. I totally get where you’re coming from. Sometimes, I wish I could run the kitchen on my own. The noise of it all can be frustrating when you just want to zone out and be in the moment with the masterpiece you’re working on,” he says.
“I never thought of that. I’ve been to a few of the restaurants and the kitchen can be a bit noisy. It’s also the heart of the place.”
“This is true. Tell me, what’s your favorite part of working for the Di Lorenzos? You’re there from the beginning of the process, no?”
I furrow my brows. There’s a slight shift in his speech. It’s very small, but it catches my ear. My thoughts start to process it and I tune out for a moment.
“Like, do you like the process of purchasing the restaurants, the building of the locations, the acquisition of the new chefs, or opening day when it all comes together?”
His words draw me back to the conversation. The change is gone and now his questions have my attention. Yes, on occasion I’ve been a part of all that, but not everyone knows this. Gio has dragged me along from time to time to assist Dante, but even I hadn’t realized how often that has been.
“I’ve been Dante’s schedule assistant. I book his dates and travel. I can’t say what I enjoy about the process,” I reply.
“He seems like such a serious guy. Working for him has to be intense.”
“You work for him. You tell me,” I say, getting annoyed.
Like, are we on a date, or is he trying to go through me to date Dante himself? Jacob flushes and rubs the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit nervous and I didn’t want to spend dinner fanning out on you. I thought work would be a safe area to talk about,” he says quickly.
“No problem. How about this? Tell me about yourself. I’m a good listener when I want to be. Go ahead, you have my attention.”
I’ll be honest, I’m curious to see if his speech pattern changes again. I can’t shake it from a few moments ago.
With a smile, he launches into telling me about himself. I listen to every detail and how he tells them. Unfortunately, or maybe not, he doesn’t make the slip again. Maybe I was hearing things.
****
Charming, that’s what I’ll call Jacob. As I walk through the door of my new home, that’s what plays in my head. Jacob is charming and sweet. Not my type, but I’d hang out with him again.
When he tried to kiss me good night, I turned my face and let him kiss my cheek. I then climbed into my car and took off. I don’t kiss on the first date.
I find myself more excited to learn about Bella’s date with her father and to give her the little gift I had Denise create for me. I stopped by her place to pick it up before my date.
I stop in my tracks as I find rose petals on the other side of the threshold. They lead from the door up the stairs. I start to feel awkward, wondering if Dante has a date set for after his evening with Bella. Could that be why he wanted me here to help put her to sleep tonight?
I never thought about him bringing a woman home. I hate that I feel jealous. The man is so out of my league—heated stares and words or not. I know I don’t have a chance in hell.
I glance up the stairs to find Dante with Bella in his arms. She looks back at me with a sleepy grin, waving me forward.
“You have to follow the petals,” she calls down to me.
I tuck my braids behind my ear and start for the stairs. When I get to the top of the stairs, Bella leaps into my arms. Dante places a hand on my back to steady me on my heels. I release a small laugh as my cheeks heat.
“Daddy has a surprise for you,” Bella says.
I look up at Dante and lift a brow. He gives a half smile and shrugs. Something has changed again. He doesn’t seem as on edge as he did earlier.
I follow the rose petals, trying not to trip over my own feet as Dante keeps his hand on my back. It feels so heavy and warm.
“Bella brought it to my attention that we didn’t ask you to be our valentine.”
“Right.” Bella nods. “You couldn’t know we wanted you with us if we didn’t ask. We’re going to fix that.”
Dante chuckles. The flowers lead into Bella’s playroom. When we step inside, the lights are off, but Bella’s star projector lights up the ceiling and walls with red and white stars. Bella wiggles to get free, so I place her on her feet. She’s dressed in a cute red pajama set. Her hair is pulled up in a ponytail on top of her head. She looks like she’s fighting to stay awake.