Page 75 of Greed

Giuseppe was back before she could think of a good comeback.

“Have you decided?” He asked cheerily.

She had no idea what she’d like. Most of the items on the menu were foreign to her. “Why don’t you bring me what you’re famous for? I can’t decide. It all looks amazing.”

“I like you, Signora. You are wise.” Giuseppe smiled and gave her a wink. “The usual for you, Signore?”

“Yes, and we’ll also have one of each appetizer and dessert.”

“I now remember why I love you. Always my best customer.” Giuseppe walked away, and her breath caught as Riker’s hand slid an inch higher.

He turned toward her, his hand never stopping its gentle and intoxicating swirl. “Tell me about yourself, Minny.”

She couldn’t stop the nagging fear that he was going to find her boring once he got to know her. James had always told her as much, and it was his patented reason for cheating on her. But, there was no point in making things up. Riker would see through it anyhow.

“I grew up on a small farm in Maryland. It was the best. I loved that spot. I sold it recently. It just didn’t seem right to hang onto it now that no one was living there, and I needed the money for my mom’s nursing home expenses. She has to have twenty-four-hour care, and it’s part of the reason I stay at the call center in New York rather than going home. It pays a lot more. Anyway, my childhood was normal until my dad passed away. After that, a lot changed, and it took a lot of effort for me to find joy in my life again when my mother ended up ill as well. I liked to write and read to lose myself and of course, spending time with nature made me feel a little normal again. Kids don’t really want to hang around the girl that spends all her time sitting in a hospital, you know?”

Riker stared at her, his expression unwavering, and it unsettled her more than if he’d asked a million more questions. Feeling compelled to continue talking, she cleared her throat of the frog that felt lodged.

“I like simple things. I read a lot. I love my dog and taking him for walks. I like to listen to music, sunsets, and the smell of rain on a hot summer day.” She smiled a little. “I really love baseball, my dad was a huge fan, and I try to see the Yankees on his birthday every year. I dated the same guy most of my life and only recently told him to take a hike. I love my job, and one day I hope to have a family, and I sound really pathetic right now, I know.” She looked away from his intense stare and grabbed her wine glass to take a healthy gulp.

“I don’t think you’re pathetic, you confuse me some, but you could never be pathetic.” He tucked a loose strand from her updo behind her ear. “So, you and your dad were close?”

“Yes, we were. What about you?”

Riker snorted. “I would describe my father-son relationship as tenuous and abysmal at best.”

“I’m sorry.” She reached out mimicked him, and she rubbed her thumb against his jaw, earning her a smile.

“I have a confession to make,” he said, and she froze, wine glass halfway to her mouth. “I was at your family farm.”

“What? When? Why? I don’t understand,” she stuttered.

Riker held his tongue as the servers placed six different dishes on the table for appetizers, but she couldn’t focus on food until he answered the question.

“You intrigued me, Minetta, right from the first moment you fell at my feet.” He lifted an eyebrow as her cheeks flushed. The memory all too clear. “I wanted to find you, and you’d left town. I have many resources and tracked you to your family home, but you were already gone when I arrived. Unfortunately, shortly after that, you found me in a very compromising position at the office.”

“That was a very tasteful way of saying sleeping with the neighborhood.”

Riker laughed, his hand moving from her leg for the first time, and oddly she felt naked without his touch. “Yes, let’s say I am not always the best person.”

“So, is that what I am, another number? I pulled the little paper tab from the dispenser and will end up another conquest in the endless line of those that can’t get enough,” she said, dramatically and batted her eyes at him as she made fun.

“Quite the contrary, I can’t seem to get you naked. I must be losing my touch,” he teased back, placing a number of the delicious-looking items on a plate.

“It is most certainly an image that one cannot forget easily.” She looked down at the food he’d given her, but his finger lifted her chin to meet his stare.

“I want to try a different approach with you, Minetta. I will not lie to you. I may not last long with this whole relationship idea because I haven’t been in one in a very long time, but I’d like to try. If you are willing to try with me, of course?”

“If we are playing the honest game, you worry me, making me tentative to say yes. I have had enough heartbreaks in my life. I don’t need another.” She looked away from his eyes, unable to hold the intense stare. “Let’s just see how these couple days go, and I will let you know.” She looked up and almost laughed. His mouth was hanging open like she’d just given him the biggest shock of his life. “Are you okay?”

He sat up straight, a slow smile spreading across his face. “You should know. I love a challenge.”

“And you should know, you can’t buy my affections.” She returned his smile before digging into the most wonderful meal she’d ever tasted.

As I anticipated, the meal was a success, I was certain that Minetta had enjoyed herself, but she was so genuinely nice and happy it actually made it harder to tell. She had Giuseppe wrapped around her finger by the end of the meal, and he came out from the kitchen once the doors were closed and enjoyed a dessert and coffee with us.

Her enjoyment was infectious, and I found myself smiling and laughing with her as she talked dramatically about the meal, the sites, and the countryside as we made our way toward my villa. Things I never noticed, she pointed out with exuberance.