Chapter 16
16
ENNIO
T he familiar clatter and sizzle in the kitchen at The Lodge felt like a foreign language I’d forgotten how to speak. My hands moved on autopilot, chopping carrots with mechanical precision, but my mind was a thousand miles away—or precisely, an hour east, in Seattle, where Marnin’s touch still lingered on my skin.
“Focus, Ennio,” I muttered, shaking off the memory of how his hands had moved over my body with a confidence that left me breathless, how his cock had filled me so good, how his kisses had made me feel almost high. And we’d fallen asleep together on the couch. Instead of leaving me there alone, he’d stayed with me until we’d both woken in the middle of the night and made it to the bedroom. Together. In his bed.
I tried to keep my thoughts centered on the dinner service at hand. Still, his scent—a mix of sandalwood and something uniquely Marnin—clung stubbornly to my senses, refusing to be ignored.
As I seared the filets for the evening’s special, I replayed every moment of our weekend together. It wasn’t just the sex—though, holy hell, that alone could’ve set the Skykomish river ablaze—it was the new closeness between us that had never been there, the way he’d looked at me during the orca watch, how he made me laugh with his sarcastic, cynical wit, even when I tried hard to stay mad at him for some quip or another.
“Ennio, table three asked if you could… Are you all right?” My sous chef’s voice cut through the fog in my head, and I realized I’d been staring at the sizzling pan without really seeing it.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” I gave him a tight smile before turning back to the stove. I plated the dish with careful attention, trying to channel all my turbulent emotions into the presentation, making it look as perfect as possible.
I couldn’t stop the onslaught of thoughts though. Was I falling for Marnin? The idea sent a shiver of excitement, but also sheer terror, through me. Marnin didn’t do relationships. He was upfront about it. His own history was too messed up for anything long-term. Yet I couldn’t deny the growing emotional connection that threatened to yank me under like a riptide.
But as I watched the server whisk away the dishes to the guests eagerly awaiting their meals, I had to admit—with a mixture of elation and dread—that my heart might not be on board with being sensible. Not when it came to Marnin Rosser.
“Ennio, can you step into my office?” Mrs. Coombe’s voice sliced through the kitchen’s din, sharp as the knives hanging on the magnetic strip. Her tone didn’t bode well—Mrs. Coombe wasn’t one for pleasantries or idle chitchat—and my stomach dropped. This could mean only one thing. Fuck.
“Sure thing, Mrs. Coombe.” I wiped my hands on my apron, plastering on my brightest smile—though it felt brittle enough to shatter—and followed her.
Her office was as cool and organized as she was. Nothing out of place, not even a speck of dust dared settle on the polished oak desk. She didn’t waste time on small talk. “Ennio, The Lodge has been sold.”
A cold sensation spread through my chest like someone poured ice water down my back. “Who are the new owners?”
My voice sounded distant, hollow. The Lodge had been my second home, my sanctuary. Even though Mrs. Coombe wasn’t exactly the ideal boss, I’d given it my all and poured every ounce of my culinary creativity into this place.
“It’s a gay couple.”
Gay? Well, that at least offered me some hope. “And what are their plans?”
Her face softened a little. “They’re starting with a big renovation that’s expected to last at least two months but possibly longer, so they’ll be closed. And considering they’re not sure of the direction they want to go, they’ve asked us to let everyone go.”
Oh god, oh god, oh god. I was losing my job. “Starting when?”
“Two weeks, as per the terms of your contract.”
Two weeks. My heart thudded, panic clawing its way up my throat. In two weeks, I’d be out of a job…and money, thanks to Rudy Catanzaro. I’d spoken extensively with an FBI agent, but that had only confirmed what the first one had already told me. My money was gone. I’d been such a fool, dazzled by sweet words and sweeter promises. Now, all I had left were ashes of dreams and an eviction notice from life as I knew it.
“I’m sorry, Ennio.” She even managed to make it sound sincere.
“Thank you.” I straightened my shoulders. “I’ll go back to finishing the service now.”
I finished the dinner service on autopilot, only sharing a few words with Lou, my sous chef, after he’d gotten the same bad news. The comfort that I wasn’t the only one, that it wasn’t personal, was a small one, but I’d take it.
Once the dinner service was finished and we’d cleaned up, I headed home immediately. I was about to fall apart, and hell if I was gonna do it in front of Mrs. Coombe. My pride was still too strong for that.
The moment my front door closed behind me, my legs gave way, and I slid down against the wall, the dam holding back my emotions finally bursting. Tears streamed down my face, hot and relentless. My chest heaved with sobs that seemed to tear me apart from the inside out. I pressed my palms to my eyes, futilely trying to stem the tide. All the sunshiney optimism I prided myself on, all the color and flamboyance that was so quintessentially me, dimmed under the weight of this new, crushing reality.
Without The Lodge, without the security of my savings, what did I have left? I would be jobless, penniless, and utterly adrift. What the hell was I going to do? Where would I be able to find a job on such short notice? I cried until I was hollow, until I had no more tears to shed.
I forced myself back up, blew my nose, and cleaned up my smudged mascara. Time to make a plan. Maybe I should start by calling that FBI agent in charge of the investigation into Catanzaro. It was eight by now, so he was probably home, but I’d give it a try. Much to my surprise, he picked up.
“Special Agent Marshall.”
“Hi, this is Ennio Frant. I’m one of Rudy Catanzaro’s victims.” I hated using that label for myself, but it was the truth.
“Ah, yes, of course. What can I do for you?”
“Sorry to disturb you this late, but I was wondering if you had any updates.”
There was a pause, and I could almost hear Derek shuffling papers, the sound grating against my frayed nerves. “We’ve tracked him to a country in South America, but it’s complicated,” Derek admitted, frustration seeping into his tone.
“Complicated how?” I asked, clenching the phone tighter.
“He’s got connections there, and extradition is going to be tough. And so far, we haven’t been able to trace most of the money. Unfortunately, what I told you the first time we spoke is still true. The chances of recovering your funds are slim. Very slim.”
I’d known this was coming, but the words still hit me like a gut punch, stealing what little air I had left in my lungs. “Thanks for being straight with me.”
“Ennio, I promise we’re doing everything we can,” he assured me, but the comfort he meant to offer felt hollow. “I will reach out if we have any updates.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I ended the call, clutching my phone. That was it, then. I officially was screwed now. Oh god, what was I gonna do? I had maybe two or three months until I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage. If I told my parents, they’d step in, but that couldn’t last indefinitely. I needed to find a new job, and I needed to find it fast.
My hand hovered over Marnin’s name in my phone, and then I hit the call button. Somehow, I needed to hear his voice. He was good at being analytical. Maybe he could help me find an angle to focus on, something to take hope from.
“Ennio? This is unexpected,” he said, a hint of warmth underlying the surprise. “What’s up?”
No small talk for Marnin. The man was so predictable. “Marnin, I…” My throat tightened. “I’m in trouble.”
“Trouble? What’s going on?” I could picture his brow furrowing, his analytical mind already whirring into motion.
“I lost my job.”
“Mrs. Coombe fired you?”
“The Lodge was sold, and the new owners don’t want any of us. We’re all out of a job.”
“Goddammit.” He let out a sharp sigh. “That sucks. I’m sorry, Ennio.”
“So am I.”
“But you have savings, right? Enough to tide you over for a bit?”
I took a deep breath. “Not anymore. I trusted the wrong person, and now it’s all gone.”
I told him about Rudy Catanzaro and how I had thought I was making an adult decision, a smart one to invest my savings. My voice broke more times than I cared to admit, but once the dam broke, there was no holding back the river of fear and uncertainty that followed.
“You’re telling me someone swindled you out of your life’s savings?” Marnin’s voice, usually so controlled, now thundered with unrestrained fury.
“Everything,” I whispered, my throat aching as if the words were shards of glass. “He stole twenty-seven thousand dollars from me. I’ve got nothing left.”
“That fucking bastard!” He let out a growl of indignation that sent shivers down my spine. “I hope the FBI catches him and nails him to the wall.”
“Even if they do, I still won’t have my money back. God, Marnin, I don’t know what to do,” I admitted, feeling raw and exposed in a way that terrified me. “I’m so scared. I could lose my house, everything.”
There was a beat of silence, and for a moment, I feared I’d pushed him too far, asked for too much from a man who kept his emotions locked away like priceless artifacts.
“Hey, hey, breathe, Ennio. I’m here.” Marnin’s tone shifted, something fierce and protective simmering beneath his words. “We’ll figure this out together, okay?”
His words were a salve to the open wound of my vulnerability. “I need another job. I have two weeks left, but Mrs. Coombe said she’s willing to let me go sooner if I find something else. But where? I haven’t heard of any openings in Forestville or towns around us.”
“Come to Seattle. There’s plenty of jobs here.”
“I know, but where would I?—”
“You’ll stay with me.” His tone left no room for argument. “Tell Mrs. Coombe to go suck a dick and get your ass over here. My place is your place for as long as you need it.”
His offer slammed into me like a tidal wave, overwhelming in its suddenness, leaving me gasping for air. That, too, was Marnin. Oh, his walls were almost impenetrable, but once you’d scaled them, once he’d adopted you into his tight circle of friends, he was as loyal as they came and so goddamn generous. “Marnin, I?—”
“No,” he interjected, the crisp click of what I imagined to be him pacing across the hardwood floors of his Seattle apartment in the background. “Don’t give me any of that ‘I couldn’t possibly’ nonsense. This is what friends do. And beyond that, Ennio, I…” He trailed off, and I could almost see the internal struggle, the way he battled his own emotional restraints.
“Thank you,” I managed, the two simple words heavy with all the gratitude swirling inside me. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
“Actually, I think I do.” His tone softened, a rare moment of tenderness breaking through his usual armor. “Hang tight, okay? We’ll get through this together. I promise.”
A surge of warmth flooded me, a stark contrast to the bone-deep cold I’d felt since hearing the devastating news earlier that day. “I’ll need to talk to my parents…and Auden.”
He muttered a soft curse. “Can you let me break the news to Auden? About you staying with me, I mean. He’ll have an opinion on that, and I don’t want you to get caught in between. Best to let me handle that.”
I chuckled. “I’d be happy to let you have that particular conversation. The one with my parents is gonna be tough enough as it is.”
“They don’t know about that bastard stealing your money?”
“No. I told Auden, but not them. I was kinda hoping I wouldn’t have to.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but I’ll still feel… You have no idea what it’s like to be Auden’s little brother. He’s, like, the most competent man in the world, so much like our dad that it’s scary. And then there’s me, about as far on the opposite spectrum of the tough, masculine sheriff as I could possibly be.”
“But they love you as you are…”
“I know that.” I had to swallow away the new tightness. “They do love me…but that doesn’t mean my dad doesn’t prefer Auden over me. They have an easier time connecting since they have so much in common. He already thinks I’m a little flaky and not good with money, and when I tell them this… This would’ve never happened to him or Auden. Or to you.”
He hesitated but then opted for the truth, as always. “No, probably not, but that’s not a dig at you. It’s because your brother and I have seen too much and become too jaded to trust that easily. You, on the other hand, have somehow managed to hold on to this innocence, this optimism that is so rare these days. I admire you for it, you know?”
“You do?”
“You’re special, Ennio. You’re a little ball of sunshine in an otherwise dark and cynical world.”
That was the sweetest compliment anyone had ever paid me, and what made it even more special was that Marnin hadn’t even said it to compliment or appease me. He’d said it because he meant it, because that was how he truly saw me. Marnin didn’t do white lies. “Thank you. That’s very sweet of you.”
“Sweet…” He snorted. “You’re talking about someone else because I’m not sweet.”
“You can be.”
“That’s your rosy glasses again, sweetheart.”
Arguing with him was fruitless, so I gave up. “Let me know when you’ve talked to Auden. I’m having dinner with my parents tomorrow, and I want to tell them before they hear it through the grapevine.”
“I will call him tonight. Promise.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” Marnin was probably one of the few people who meant that literally.
“I’ll see you soon,” I said, a small smile finding its way onto my lips despite the tears still drying on my cheeks.
“Count on it.” His reply was a gruff murmur, but it echoed like a vow.
Whatever lay ahead, at least Marnin would be there, a steadfast presence in a world suddenly turned upside down. It offered far more comfort than it should have.