Chapter 5 The Rush Rule #2
His throat tightened. He looked down before she could see too much.
“But talent doesn’t get to be careless because a pretty girl walks by.”
He almost laughed. Didn’t. Smart.
“I’m not trying to be careless.”
“Then prove it on the line.”
He nodded.
Antonia leaned against the desk. “Do you want a future here?”
“Yes.”
The answer came fast because it was true.
“Then act like it. I don’t need perfection. I need discipline.”
“I can do that.”
“I believe you can. But you have to believe the work is worth your full attention.”
“It is.”
“And Sophia?”
He stilled. Antonia waited.
Vinny swallowed. “She is too.”
“Yes,” Antonia said. “But not at the same time as hot pans.”
He huffed a breath. Not quite a laugh. Close.
Antonia’s mouth twitched. “This is now a rule.”
He had a bad feeling. “What is?”
“No flirting during rush.”
His eyebrows lifted. “That sounds targeted.”
“It is.”
“Feels unfair.”
“It isn’t.”
“Can we define rush?”
“No.”
“Worth a shot.”
“Vinny.”
He held up both hands. “No flirting during rush. Got it.”
“And no making Sophia feel like she has to apologize for being near you.”
That one hit softer but deeper.
“Got it,” he said.
Antonia studied him for another second. “If you want to ask her out, do it off-shift, away from the pass, and give her room to say no.”
His chest went tight. He hadn’t said that part out loud. Antonia knew. Everyone knew. He might as well hang a sign over his head.
“I was thinking about it,” he admitted.
“Think it through before you ask her.”
“That is a low bar today.”
“Yes.”
He deserved that.
Antonia opened the office door. “Back to work.”
He stepped out, then paused. “Chef?”
She looked at him.
“I really don’t want to mess this up.”
“The job or Sophia?”
He could have joked. He didn’t.
“Either.”
Antonia nodded once. “Then slow down.”
That was the last thing anyone expected to hear in a restaurant kitchen. It was also probably exactly right. When Vinny came back to the line, Gia was wiping the prep counter.
She glanced up. “Alive?”
“Mostly.”
“Rule?”
He looked at her. “You heard?”
“The office door isn’t soundproof, and I was right there.”
“No flirting during rush.”
Gia’s eyes lit up.
“No,” he said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You looked like you were about to start a parade.”
“I like rules when they cause trouble.”
“You don’t respect rules.”
“No,” she admitted. “But I respect entertainment.”
Vinny grabbed a clean towel. “Please don’t make it worse.”
Gia’s grin faded a little. “I won’t.”
That surprised him.
She bumped his arm. “Not that part.”
He looked toward the dining room. Sophia was at table six, smiling gently at an older woman who was pointing to the menu. She looked fine. No. Not fine. Sophia was trying to look fine. He could tell the difference now.
Gia followed his gaze. “She blamed herself, didn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
“She does that.”
“I noticed.”
“Then stop giving her reasons.”
He looked at Gia.
She shrugged. “What? I can be helpful.”
“It’s unsettling.”
“I know.”
He almost smiled. Then he went back to work.
For the rest of the rush, Vinny kept his head down.
Not in a sulking way, but in a work way.
He moved clean. Checked plates twice. Kept his eyes on the line.
When Sophia came to the pass, he used her full name or no name at all.
No jokes and no nicknames. No almost-smiles that pulled her into the middle of the room.
It was awful. It was necessary. He hated both things.
At ten-fifteen, the rush finally broke. The dining room thinned.
Antonia moved from the line to check in with a regular customer.
Gia leaned against the bar like she had personally fought every table and won.
Victoria counted cash tips with the focus of someone preparing for war.
Sophia stood near the service station, writing something on her order pad even though there were no orders left. Vinny looked at her.
Then looked away. No flirting during rush. Technically, rush was over. He told himself not to argue technicalities. He wiped his station instead. A few minutes later, Sophia came into the kitchen carrying empty bread baskets. He was at the sink rinsing a pan. She stopped near the prep table.
“Hi,” she said.
He turned off the water. “Hi.”
She looked at the floor for a second, then back up. “I’m sorry about earlier.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“But I distracted you.”
“No,” he said again.
She frowned a little. He dried his hands because having something to do made this easier.
“I got distracted,” he said. “That’s different.”
Sophia held the baskets tighter. “I was standing there.”
“You work here.”
“Antonia said that.”
“She’s right.”
Sophia’s mouth curved a little. “She usually is.”
“Don’t tell her that. It’ll make her stronger.”
The smile grew. Small. Still there. He wanted to chase it with another joke. He didn’t. Sophia watched him not do it. That seemed to matter.
“I don’t want to be a problem for you,” she said.
“You’re not.”
“Vinny.”
He liked that she said his name like that. Like she expected him to answer properly.
“You’re not a problem,” he said. “But I need to get better at not turning liking you into one.”
Her face went pink. He had said liking you out loud, which felt great, terrifying, and impossible to take back. Sophia looked down at the bread baskets. He waited.
She looked back up. “You like me?”
This was where a smoother version of him would have said something easy. Something cute. Something with a grin. The smoother version of him could go fall into the trash compactor.
“Yeah,” he said. “I do.”
Sophia stopped breathing for half a second. Not scared. Hit. He saw it. He made himself stay still.
“I’m not asking anything right now,” he said quickly. “I just don’t want to act like this is only joking when it isn’t.”
She blinked. Her eyes looked too big. He wanted to step closer. He didn’t.
Sophia swallowed. “All right.”
“All right?”
“Yes. All right.”
That didn’t explain anything. It still meant something.
She set the bread baskets on the counter. “I like talking to you.”
It was the most Sophia answer possible. It was all she could say honestly. It still made his chest feel stupid.
“I like talking to you too.”
“You talk to everyone.”
“Not like this.”
She looked at him then, fully. The kitchen around them had gone quieter. The dishwasher was in the back. Gia and Victoria were out front. Antonia was somewhere near the bar. The office door was open, which Vinny appreciated and hated.
Sophia’s voice lowered. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Me neither.”
She gave him a look.
“What?” he asked.
“You have dated before.”
“Yeah.”
“So you know more than me.”
“Not about this.”
Her expression changed. He leaned back against the sink, keeping space between them.
“I know how to flirt,” he said. “I know how to ask someone out when it doesn’t matter much. I know how to act like I’m not nervous. None of that is helping me right now.”
Sophia’s fingers moved along the edge of a bread basket.
“That sounds honest,” she said.
“It was painful.”
A soft laugh slipped out of her. He smiled.
Then Antonia’s voice came from the pass. “If this is flirting, define rush very slowly.”
Sophia jumped. Vinny closed his eyes.
Gia appeared behind Antonia like she had been summoned by the word flirting. “Oh, we have a rule now?”
“No,” Vinny said.
Antonia looked at him.
“Yes,” he corrected. “We have a rule. But rush is over.”
“Dangerous argument,” Gia said.
Victoria came through the dining room door. “What rule?”
Sophia whispered, “Oh no.”
Vinny looked at the ceiling.
Antonia crossed her arms. “No flirting during rush.”
Victoria’s face brightened in a way Vinny didn’t trust.
“I support this rule,” she said.
“Of course you do,” Vinny said.
Gia tapped her chin. “We need signage.”
“We don’t need signage,” Antonia said.
Victoria nodded. “Maybe laminated.”
Sophia covered part of her face with one hand.
Vinny pointed at Victoria. “I thought you were a model, not a cop.”
“I can multitask.”
Gia snapped her fingers. “No flirting during rush and no kissing near dairy. This place has too many rules now.”
Sophia made a low sound of despair.
Antonia looked at Gia. “No one is making signs.”
Gia sighed. “You hate morale.”
“I hate glitter near food.”
“Fair.”
Vinny looked at Sophia. She was embarrassed, yes, but still smiling behind her hand. Not enough for him to start flirting again. But enough. Antonia’s gaze cut to him.
He straightened. “I’m cleaning the sink.”
“Excellent choice.”
Victoria stepped closer to Sophia. “Are you all right?”
Sophia lowered her hand. “Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Victoria looked at Vinny. “You behaving?”
He nodded. “Trying.”
She looked back at Sophia. “Acceptable?”
Sophia hesitated.
Then said, “Yes.”
Vinny felt that yes in places he didn’t want to examine in front of a sink.
Victoria nodded once. “Fine.”
Gia looked disappointed. “That felt reasonable. Annoying.”
“Go close table seven,” Antonia said.
Gia left, muttering about wasted drama. The night ended in pieces.
Sophia and Victoria finished front-of-house side work.
Gia counted receipts and complained that math after ten at night should be illegal.
Antonia checked inventory. Vinny cleaned the line like his future depended on it, because maybe it did.
When the staff finally started leaving, Vinny stayed behind to take out trash.
Not because he needed to, but because Sophia was still by the host stand getting her coat, and he wasn’t going to follow her out like a creep, and he was definitely not going to ask her anything after a night where Antonia had just invented a flirting law.
Slow down. Antonia’s words stuck. Slow down didn’t mean do nothing. It meant do it right.
Gia passed him near the back door with her bag over her shoulder. “You look painfully serious.”
“I’m taking out trash.”
“Same face.”
“Goodnight, Gia.”
She stopped. He immediately regretted the tone because Gia stopping usually meant someone was about to suffer. But her face was less teasing than usual.
“You really like her.”
Vinny tied off the trash bag. “Yeah.”
“Don’t make me regret not being meaner.”
“I’ll try.”
“No. Do better than try.”
He looked at her. Gia held his gaze. For all her jokes, Gia had watched Antonia almost lose Bella Luna before it even became what it was now. She noticed more than she admitted and cared more than she liked to show.
Vinny nodded. “I will.”
Gia seemed satisfied. “Good. Also, your almond spill was embarrassing.”
“Balance restored.”
“Couldn’t leave without balance.”
She left. Vinny took the trash out through the back.
The alley was cool and smelled like rain, garlic, and city brick.
He tossed the bag into the bin, then leaned there for a second.
Inside, he could hear muffled voices. Gia laughing.
Victoria saying something sharp. Sophia’s softer answer.
He wanted to ask her out. Not tonight. Tonight had too many witnesses, too much public embarrassment, too many almonds on the floor.
But soon. He would ask her on a real date.
Not his apartment. Absolutely not. She deserved to feel safe.
She deserved room to say no. She deserved not to have everyone watching her face when he asked. He could cook. That part he knew.
Maybe a picnic somewhere public, with simple food and no pressure.
A bench if they wanted to talk after. The kind of thing where she could relax because nothing was expected except eating and maybe laughing at him if he overpacked.
He smiled a little. He would definitely overpack.
When he came back inside, Antonia was waiting near the office door.
He stopped. “Am I in trouble again?”
“No.”
“Great. I’m suspicious.”
“You should be.”
He nodded. “Balance restored.”
Antonia handed him a little container. “Take this home.”
He looked inside. Leftover soup.
“Thank you.”
“You did better after we talked.”
The simple praise hit harder than it should have.
He looked down at the container. “I’m trying.”
“I know.” Antonia leaned against the doorframe. “You have strong instincts, Vinny. But strong instincts still need training.”
He nodded.
“Sophia isn’t the only thing you need to be careful with,” she said. “Your future here matters too.”
He looked up.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
This time, he meant it. He wanted Bella Luna, the kitchen, Antonia’s trust, and Sophia, and wanting all of it meant changing how he acted.
Antonia studied him, then nodded. “Go home.”
“Yes, chef.”
He made it to the staff door before Sophia’s voice stopped him.
“Vinny?”
He turned. She stood near the hallway with her coat buttoned and her bag over one shoulder. Victoria hovered behind her, pretending not to hover. Sophia looked nervous. Still, she had called his name.
“Yeah?”
She glanced once at Victoria, then back at him. “Goodnight.”
It was only goodnight, but she had chosen to say it to him. After the almonds. After the rule. After he said he liked her. Vinny smiled. Not big or too much.
“Goodnight, Sophia.”
Her face warmed at the full name. Then she left with Victoria. Vinny watched the door close. Antonia made a sound behind him.
He looked back. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing.”
“It was me deciding not to comment.”
“I appreciate that.”
He went the other direction, already thinking about a picnic he had not asked for yet. For Sophia, he could learn slow.