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He smiled. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
She spotted Grady come out of the kitchen, heading their way. “I know.”
Grady smiled warmly at Marcos and held his hand out. “Marcos. It’s good to finally meet you. I’m Grady. Molly’s second in command.”
Molly was relieved when Marcos smiled warmly back at him. “It’s good to finally meet you, too.”
She smiled at them. “Okay. I need to get back to my tables.” She reached up and kissed Marcos’ cheek. I’ll come to check on you when I can.”
~ ~ ~
Marcos sat down and smiled up at Grady. He’d decided before he arrived that the best approach would be to make friends with the guy. He was a big part—and an important part—of Molly’s everyday life. He had no reason to be jealous, he knew that.
Grady smiled back at him. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a glass of prosecco and what do you recommend to eat?” He smiled. “I’m working my way through the menu. So far I’ve had the filet, the lasagna, and the stuffed chicken breast. What do you like best? I’ll try that tonight.”
Grady smiled. “You’re making an effort, aren’t you?”
Marcos held his gaze for a moment, wondering if he was being antagonistic. He wasn’t. He seemed pleased, so Marcos nodded. “I am, yes.” He gave him a rueful smiled. “If I’m honest, I didn’t want to, but I’m in my thirties now, not my teens.”
Grady laughed. “Molly told me I wasn’t to act like a kindergartener.”
Marcos had to laugh with him. “She won’t stand for any shit, that’s for sure—from either of us.”
Grady nodded. “I don’t plan to give her any, and as long as you don’t, then I think we’re good.”
Marcos’ hackles rose a little at that. Who was this guy to tell him not to give Molly any shit? Marcos forced himself to calm down. Grady was her friend, and not only did that gave him the right to look out for her, but it also made Marcos appreciate him—if not completely like him yet. “All I plan on giving her is a long and happy life together.”
Grady smiled. “Good. Then we won’t have any problems.”
Marcos nodded. He wanted to be mad. He felt like Grady had come out on top of that conversation, when he should have been the one asserting his authority, as her boyfriend and hopefully soon-to-be fiancé and then husband. He couldn’t be mad, though. He was grateful that the guy was looking out for Molly. She was the one who mattered in all of this—not his ego.
“I’ll go and get you that prosecco—and if you like the sound of it, I’d suggest the salmon.”
“That sounds great.” He watched Grady go back into the kitchen, then spotted Molly watching him from the servers’ station and winked. He hoped she’d be proud of him.
Grady was back with his drink in a matter of minutes. “There you are. Enjoy, and your salmon should be out soon.”
“Thanks.” Marcos wanted to strike up a conversation, but he knew Grady was busy with other tables—maybe later when it had quieted down. He looked around the restaurant. It was the usual mix of tourists and a few locals, some dressed to the nines, some looking as though they’d just finished work. He’d only been in here a few times since Molly had taken it over. Her dad still ran it when he lived here, and he hadn’t felt right coming in whenever he was back visiting. He’d avoided it, except for the few occasions when him staying away would have been more awkward than coming in with his family and friends.
Grady reappeared at his table with bread rolls. “I’m sorry. I forgot to bring these out.”
“Thanks. That’s okay.”
Grady stood there longer than he needed to, and Marcos looked up at him. “Something to say?”
Grady smiled. “It just occurred to me to ask. If you two work things out, you don’t plan to take her away, do you—back to Italy?”
Marcos almost bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure if Grady knew and was having a dig at him, or if he had no idea how dumb his question was. He knew he had to react as if it were the latter. “No. There’s no question of that at all. If she’ll have me, it’ll be on her terms, right here.”
Grady looked puzzled. “I sense there’s a reason for that?”
Marcos had to chuckle. “You can say that again.” For some reason, he was pleased that Grady didn’t know his history with Molly. Maybe it meant that she wasn’t all that close to Grady. Maybe it meant she hadn’t deemed Marcos important enough to talk about. Or maybe he was relieved that this guy didn’t know how foolish he’d been.
“Okay, that’s good to know.”
“Why did you ask?”
