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She giggled. “I like him.”
“Of course you do,” Dante said dryly.
“Come on, let me take you to one of the best seats in the house.”
Ray showed them to a table next to a wall of windows with a view of the parking lot.
After taking their drink orders, he asked Annabelle what she was in the mood for. “Or if you like, I can make a recommendation,” he added.
She scanned the menu that he placed on the table. “I’d love a recommendation. Tell me about your seafood options.”
Ray pointed to a dish. “All our meals are delicious, just ask Dante. But the salmon is one of our most popular dishes, and if you enjoy turnips, you’ll absolutely love the turnip and mushroom sides that come with it. The whole fish is another popular menu item, elevated by the mint chutney it’s served with. You can’t go wrong with either.”
Annabelle tapped her lush mouth, and Dante’s eyes idled on her features, the way her brow creased as she focused. She always had a hard time deciding what to order.
Finally, she sighed and handed over her menu. “I’ll take the salmon. I haven’t had salmon in a while.”
“And what about you?” Ray asked Dante.
“The whole fish.”
Ray scribbled on his notepad. “Got it. Would you like an appetizer to start?”
“Nothing for me. I want to save room for dessert,” Annabelle said.
“Dante…?” Ray lifted an inquiring eyebrow.
“What my wife said.” He handed over his menu. “Who’s in the kitchen tonight?”
“Dolly. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
When they were alone again, Annabelle looked at him with curiosity in her eyes. “How do you know this restaurant and the people?”
“It’s a long story, but I’ll give you the short version. Dolly is from the Philippines, and her husband, Rafe, is from El Salvador. They take turns running the kitchen. Since she’s working tonight, he’ll work tomorrow, and she’ll be off. They’ve been at this location for years, and every night right before closing, instead of throwing out the food they have left, they prepare plates and distribute them to anyone who comes to the back door.”
“You were one of those people,” Annabelle guessed.
Dante nodded. “One night, I asked Dolly if they needed help in the kitchen. I offered to literally work for food. To this day, I don’t know if they really needed help, but several nights a week, I came in and cleaned, mopped the floors, washed dishes, whatever they asked me to do. In exchange, I received extra food.” Which meant he could send more money to his family in Venezuela.
“You had a rough start,” Annabelle said, her voice low and compassion in her eyes.
“I did, but thanks to people like Rafe and Dolly, I did okay. They are good people but stubborn. I offered to move them to a new location, but they refused. They said they can help more people in this part of town. I offered to fix their building, but they said its condition is part of the charm.”
He laughed to himself, shaking his head.
“Dante!” A petite Asian woman appeared beside the table with her hair in a ponytail and a long, stained apron tied around her waist.
Dante immediately came to his feet.
“I can’t hug you, I’m filthy,” she said.
“You know I don’t care.” He pulled her into his embrace.
She laughed and squeezed him back, her small hands lovingly patting his back.
He enjoyed coming to see Dolly and Rafe whenever possible. To them, he wasn’tel diablo guapo. He was simply Dante, a roughneck kid who’d done good.
“This must be your beautiful wife.” She clasped Annabelle’s hand in hers, and to his surprise, Annabelle stood and gave her a hug, too.
