5 #4
Mrs Ferretti came over and sat down next to her.
“So, Daniella, tell me a little about yourself.” Dani felt herself heat up under her intense gaze.
She contemplated correcting her about her name preference but then thought better of it.
She actually rather liked the way her name rolled off Mrs Ferretti’s tongue in her thick Italian accent.
Mrs Ferretti smiled warmly at her making her feel more at ease.
“Well, er… I used to live in London and managed a bar down there. I moved up here last week. My sister and her family live in Harewood.” Kuch slipped an espresso in front of Mrs Ferretti and she nodded her thanks. “I see. Would you like an espresso?”
“Yes please.”
Kuch busied himself with her coffee as Dani waited for the next question from Mrs Ferretti.
“So you haven’t any other family, then? Mother? Father?”
“No. They both passed away. My father when I was eighteen, and my mother four years ago.”
“I’m sorry. My boys lost their father when they were young too. He died twenty years ago.” Mrs Ferretti smiled tightly.
Kuch placed Dani’s coffee in front of her.
“Thanks.” He winked at her and smiled, then busied himself with what seemed like stock checking.
A pretty blonde girl called Nicole that Dani had seen up at lunch was helping him.
Dani presumed she was bar staff too. They interacted well together, seemingly familiar and comfortable.
Watching them made Dani think of Jez and how they’d worked together.
Her errant thoughts were disrupted by Mrs Ferretti. “So you don’t have a boyfriend?”
Dani clenched her teeth and shook her head.
Mrs Ferretti nodded, understanding Dani wasn’t altogether happy about talking about her private life. “Well, La Casa has been around for fifteen years now.”
“It’s a lovely restaurant, Mrs Ferretti.”
“Thank you, Daniella.”
“I’m crazy about food, especially Italian, so it’s going to be great working here.”
Chef came over to where they were sitting and stood by Mrs Ferretti. “Do you want me to bring you over the bookings for lunch, Gia?”
“No, Peter, I’ll come over to the desk. I just wanted to meet Daniella, get to know her a bit.” Mrs Ferretti looked at him warmly.
Dani could see they were close by the proximity of Chef’s stance. He rested his hand protectively on the small of her back as she slipped off the stool. “She prefers Dani, Gia,” he corrected, and Mrs Ferretti’s eyebrows shot up.
“That’s okay, Mrs Ferretti, I actually like the way you say my name,” Dani blurted out, then kicked herself, worried she might have offended her.
Mrs Ferretti laughed slightly, throwing her head back, and Dani blushed. Peter shook his head and grinned. “The accent, eh?”
“Well, yes it makes everything sound… well… better.”
“I like you, Daniella. You’ve got spunk. Please call me Gia from now on though.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I’ll be back in a bit to go over how we work. Okay, Dani?” added Chef with a stifled smirk.
Dani nodded as Gia and Chef walked over to the desk. Dani sipped her espresso and watched the restaurant staff as they prepared their stations. Chef went up to each section giving them their reservations.
“She likes you.” Dani turned to look at Kuch, who was leaning up against the bar. “It normally takes her a few weeks before she lets you use her first name.”
“Oh. I thought I might have offended her.”
“No, she definitely likes you. So, you’re here alone, then? No boyfriend? Fiancé?” He grinned cheekily at her.
Dani looked down at her coffee and shook her head. “No. Bad breakup.”
Kuch nodded as he pursed his lips together, realising it was still painful for her. “So, was he a psycho or a cheater?”
Dani’s eyes shot up at his comment and stared at him for a second. He grinned at her and she shook her head in disbelief at his perception. “A bit of one, and a lot of the other,” she replied, and Kuch bobbed his head knowingly.
“Yeah, there are some assholes out there. He was an idiot, if you ask me. You’re better off without him.”
“Thanks, Kuch. I had to get away.” Dani’s voice was quiet as she shifted on her stool.
“Two hundred miles will do it, then.”
“I hope so.”
By one o’clock, the restaurant was practically full.
Dani watched on in awe at how smoothly the service went.
Gia was an outstanding hostess. Everyone got special attention, new and regular customers.
It was soon clear that the reason people came to La Casa d’Italia was not only because the food was out of this world, it was because of Gia.
She gave the restaurant glamour in an unthreatening way. Men and women alike loved her.
Dani scanned the restaurant. Chef was checking the tables discreetly as the waiters and waitresses busied themselves, showing no signs of stress at all.
Dani let her eyes roam over to the kitchen and all seemed to be running like clockwork.
She looked around, feeling like she could really feel at home here.
If it was this busy on Thursday lunchtime, Dani could only imagine what a Saturday night would be like.
“So how was your first glimpse of La Casa?” Dani’s heart raced as the now-familiar raspy voice of Jerome jolted her out of her thoughts.
She slowly spun around in her seat to find Jerome resting himself against the bar.
She took a sharp intake of breath just at the sight of him.
She’d presumed he’d left, seeing as he hadn’t been around since they’d finished lunch.
His eyes bored into hers and she tried hard not to think about what was under that immaculate suit he was wearing.
Using all her effort to get her brain out of the bedroom and into gear, she answered. “It’s an amazing place, and so busy.”
He sniffed and smiled at her comment. “This isn’t busy.
” His eyes quickly darted to something or someone behind her and he smiled widely and nodded.
Dani turned to see who it was. A party of six businessmen had walked in and were obviously pleased to see him.
“Excuse me, Dani. I really have to say hello to these customers.” His tone was genuinely apologetic as he shrugged at her.
“Of course. Don’t worry about me.” He gave her a curt nod, narrowing his eyes and hesitating as though he was about to say something, then he thought better of it.
Dani’s eyes followed him, watching him stride gracefully over to the businessmen.
They seemed thrilled to see him and to Dani’s surprise, they all hugged him affectionately.
He then directed them towards the raised dining area separated by the thin curtain where Pino, one of the waiters was waiting. Then something extraordinary happened.
As Jerome worked his way through the now-full main body of the restaurant, he was stopped by a number of customers.
He took time to talk to every one of them, oozing charm as he gave them his undivided attention.
He laughed at the comments they made and seemed to be familiar with most of them.
Dani stared on, totally mesmerised as she saw the complete and utter transformation from the intense, brooding businessman to the charming, social host. It seemed that Jerome not only had his mother’s extraordinary good looks but also her most outstanding feature, her charm.
Dani couldn’t take her eyes off him. She’d seen Jez in action when he turned on the charm at the bar, but this – this was in a whole other league.
Then it struck Dani. Jerome was being genuine.
This was who he was. He clearly loved being here and talking to all the familiar faces.
His restaurant wasn’t just his business, it was him, a true embodiment of who he was: warm, welcoming, stylish with a unique flair and totally intoxicating, and his whole being changing into this alluring lethal weapon.
Jez had only played his part to get what he could from people. It was purely business for him.
It took Jerome fifteen minutes to get back up to the table of businessmen. He talked to them while they drank their drinks and left them a menu. Then he walked over to the kitchen and went inside.
Dani turned back around and was faced with Chef observing her. “So, think you’ll be able to handle it tomorrow?”
“I’ll do my best. I can’t believe the buzz. It’s very…” she searched for the right word.
“Lively? Loud? Busy?” suggested Chef as he cocked his head at her, amused at her enthusiasm.
“Intoxicating, I was going to say.”
“Really? Intoxicating.” He mulled over the word.
“I suppose you’re right, you do get a buzz from being here.
It helps that Jerome’s here today.” He eyed Dani as he spoke and she looked around nervously.
“He’s not been here much these past few weeks and the customers have missed him.
La Casa is Gia and Jerome. They’re a formidable team,“ he continued.
Dani’s eyes flew up to Chef’s face. “They are. I can see that just from the couple of hours I’ve been here.”
“Well, you can leave if you want. I think you have a feel for what you’re letting yourself in for tomorrow,” Chef joked. Dani smiled.
“I’ll go and get my things from the locker and head off, then.”
“Ten thirty tomorrow,” Chef reminded her and Dani nodded. Chef shook her hand and walked off towards a table that was about to leave.
“Here you are, Dani.” Kuch put a polystyrene container on the bar.
“What’s that?”
“Carmen sent it out for you, mascarpone cheesecake with an almond crust. She said she promised to give you a piece to try.”
Dani looked down at the box stunned. “Really? For me? I won’t get her in trouble will I?”
Kuch laughed and shook his head, “Carmen’s Jerome’s cousin, Dani. She won’t get into trouble.”
Jeez, was everyone related to the Ferrettis? “Tell her thank you. I don’t want to go in there when they’re in the middle of service. Are you related to the Ferrettis too?”
“Ha! They wish I was,” joked Kuch.
Nicole chuckled at his comment and shook her head. “I’ll tell her for you.”