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“Like Mr. G.?”
Leo cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, but I appreciated he was trying to navigate it. Manny would have said whatever came to mind, not worried about how a child might take it. “Not exactly. I want to be a father figure, if you’ll have me.”
“I do,” Evie said, and then she surprised us by getting down from her chair and climbing onto Leo’s lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
“Well, that’s settled,” Leo said, even though nothing was, because we hadn’t told anyone about us. In our little circle, things were good, but it was the outside I was worried about.
But I allowed myself to imagine that this was real. That everyone knew about us, and they accepted us. That Leo’s parents listened to him about the expansion, that we found a way to keep Gia’s business profitable, and most of all, that we were a family.
Like everything, it felt too good to be true, and that’s when I panicked in the past. But this time, I was going to let myself feel it, even if it was only for a day or a few weeks. It was unlikely that I’d get everything I wanted, and it certainly wouldn’t last forever. But I’d take the little bit of time I could get.
I’d remember the time we were happy, and everything was okay.
Sixteen
LEO
The pressure was mounting for me to confront my parents about their business plans. When I wasn’t covering the dining room, I spent my time gathering data for the proposed expansion and worrying about what the rest of my family would think when they found out about me and Harper.
When I was with Harper and Evie, everything made sense. I didn’t worry about the what-ifs and theis it possible, but when we weren’t together, it was another story.
My parents were spending all their free time this week at the restaurant, preparing for their vacation. I wanted to suggest they do the opposite, but it was hard to tell them what to do. They didn’t want to hear that we had it handled and didn’t really need them.
We were afraid to say it out loud, even though it was true. We’d been running this place for years; it could operate without them.
The restaurant was a little crowded today with Matteo in the kitchen, Carlo in the office, and my parents moving around the dining room, greeting guests.
“You ready to take a look at the numbers?” Carlo asked.
We’d discussed it many times, and he thought it was possible for us to open another location, but he’d spent time running the numbers for every possible scenario.
We huddled together in the small office. “We could manage it, especially if the reputation of this location translates to a neighboring town.”
“You don’t think we could open one in Annapolis across town?”
“Since we’re opening the same kind of restaurant, I think we’d be competing for the same customers. Those who travel here will just frequent the other location. Whereas, if we open in a nearby town, you’d have a new clientele. Theoretically speaking, of course.”
Carlo tilted the screen so I could see the rows and columns of numbers. The amount necessary to procure a location, renovate, and obtain the equipment and furniture necessary for another restaurant was significant. “I’m not saying it’s not risky. It could fail, and if so, we will have invested for nothing.”
“But if it works—”
Carlo nodded. “This could be huge for us. Next level.”
“There are three of us hoping to carry on the family business.” We made a modest income, but not enough for true wealth or a sustainable future. Especially if we had families. Then there were my parents to think about. The restaurant was their retirement. They never invested in retirement funds or accounts. They didn’t trust them.
Carlo knocked his knuckles on the countertop. “This is a way to increase business and give us room to grow. Matteo can take over this location, and you can run the second.”
I nodded. “He’s always wanted to do more than just the kitchen.”
“Or you can manage both, and Matteo handles the kitchens.”
“I think it’s too hard to manage kitchens that far apart. He’d do more driving than managing.”
“I agree.”
“Should we present this to our parents before they leave?” I asked him, eager to have an answer.
“I found several possible properties that could work.” Carlo clicked off the spreadsheet and over to an online search of commercial properties. “An Italian restaurant just closed. It would be the perfect location.”
