AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 7
Carla
I just nonchalantly threatened a girl’s life and instead of being disgusted he wants me to sit down. I don’t understand him. “Fine,” I grumble, pulling out a chair on the opposite side of him.
“The soup is delicious,” Philippe tells me with a wide smile. “We don’t have things quite like this back in Germany. While there are Italian restaurants . . . I can’t lie to you and say they have food of this quality.”
This causes me to ask a question I’ve been wondering. I’ll obviously be moving to Germany when we’re married, but I’ve been curious about what I’ll be doing when I get there. “Are you going to allow me to open a secondLa Bellezzain Munich?”
Philippe chuckles, “You are not a dog who I have a leash to, Carla. You can do whatever you please as my wife, just as you can now. If you wish to open another restaurant I won’t be here to step in your way,” He pauses, taking a look around at the interior ofLa Bellezza.“What you’ve done here is amazing, especially the wall of flowers.”
I look over to what Philippe is speaking about, “Bougainvillea,” I say, turning back to stare at him. Picking up his wine, I take a sip. A little hair of the dog may end up taking the edge off. This headache is killer. “Did you know every flower in the world has a symbolic message behind it?Bougainvilleaare known as welcoming flowers. I want whoever comes into my restaurant to feel welcomed like no other.”
He smirks, giving me one of those smiles that make my panties want to melt off. Damn, Philippe has Prince Harry good looks and I don’t think he has a clue. Therefore, I don’t need a reason to snap at women the way I just did with Giuliana. I hope he realizes I won’t put up with a cheating fleabag. Since we’re getting married I expect to live a faithful life to one another. Our vows aren’t just words, they’re a sacred oath in front of God. While I might be a little more promiscuous than my family knows, my faith is not a show. It will never be a fabricated charade.
“You are a bit of an enigma. I’ll be honest with you. Last night threw me for a loop. In all my years I’ve never walked into something like that. I’ve heard of it . . . but, well, what can I say.”
“You can say anything as long as you don’t tell me you’re a prude, or a virgin.” I snicker, finishing off his wine.
Philippe laughs loudly, causing a couple who are a few tables away to turn and look in our direction. “God, no. I’ve been around the block a few times, dear. While I may be conservative, I know my way around . . .” He stops speaking while his eyes travel all over me, “you know,”
“Idoknow.” I reply, smirking as I grab his spoon and soup. Usually when I’m hungover I can’t stand the smell of anything, but I’ll take some soup. After I finish swallowing a bite of food I question Philippe. “Why did you really come here?” I somehow don’t buy what he said earlier.
“I wanted to try the food, and see another side of you like I stated earlier. Now that you’re here with me, maybe we can even get to know one another a bit.”
Normally, I’d tell any man who said those exact words to fuck off. But Philippe isn’t just any man. He’s the man I’ll be spending the rest of my life with. Still, part of me wants to keep my walls up and not say a thing. To make him put in all the effort. I’m the type of woman who only knows how to play hard to get. Hopefully Philippe is good at the game.
I’m fully prepared to play hardball until Philippe asks me a question that hits me straight in my heart. “Why did you decide to open a restaurant of all things?”
Unlike many restaurateur’s I don’t have a bullshit answer I tell people. I didn’t do this to make money, because hell if I haven’t learned just how much you have to put into your restaurant. While my father may have bought this establishment and transferred it into my name as a way to buy my cooperation, it didn’t look like this when I was handed the keys. I was able to get a loan and I have the restaurant as collateral. It took me over three hundred thousand dollars to turnLa Bellezzainto what I’ve always dreamed it to be. However, that doesn’t include the construction going on out back to give us a bit of square footage on the water.
“My family is dysfunctional at best. We definitely don’t have the same opinions on important matters, but the one place we could put all of it to the side was the dinner table. I wanted to create a similar experience, so that’s why I decided to open a restaurant. It makes me think of the one place I’ve always found peace, at the table.” I think Philippe will accept this answer, but he cocks a brow and runs his hand over his chin.
We’re interrupted by Italia, one of my waitresses, who comes over with two glasses of wine and a meal. “I’m terribly sorry this is late. We didn’t realize Giuliana had disappeared . . . and I’m so sorry I didn’t see you were here Miss. Moretti. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s okay, Italia. Giuliana won’t be back. I fired her. Bring me a tiramisu and I’ll forget about your absence.”
“Sure thing,” Italia smiles and darts off.
“You have a way of instilling fear in them, although they look up to you. You have so much power and I don’t think you realize it.”
“Oh, on the contrary. I realize it,” Two parts of me are fighting a battle with the other, wanting to keep my secrets inside, but also wanting to reveal them. The open part of me wins and I tell Philippe the real reason I wanted to openLa Bellezza.“Mynonnaused to let me stay in the kitchen with her. From a very young age I saw her command everyone’s attention, even the men. She gave me good advice on that day. I’d say I couldn’t have been older than four or five but she told me the one way to ensure you have power over a man is through his stomach. I remember the way she looked at me, how she grabbed me by the neck to never let a man have power over me. Sadly, there’s only been one man who’s ever been able to.” I grab the new glass of Pinot Grigio Italia brought over and bring it to my lips, savoring the sweeter taste.
“Who might that be?”
“My father. Who else?” I roll my eyes, taking another heavy sip.
I realize in this moment my father’s power over me is being lessened every day. One day soon, I’ll be a free woman. In a sense that is.
