by Laurie Roma
“Ah, your napoleon del lampone. I have very fond memories of you making these in that quaint little château in Nice. Ah, I see I have angered your lover again, si? Il mio amico, my friend, there were several of us there, and you have no reason for distress. Although I have loved this woman for years, we have always been just friends. Never lovers. But, she is easy to love, no? And it is just as easy to see little Bella’s heart is yours. You are a very lucky man.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I am no threat to you and yours, my friend.”
“If I thought you were, you’d be dead right now,” Jason answered, expression impassive, but Gio just laughed amicably.
Bella rolled her eyes and leaned up to press a soft kiss on Jason’s lips before going over to speak to a pair of students. For the first time since his arrival, Gio lost his smile as he focused his intense gaze on Jason.
Jason could tell this man wanted to say something to him and crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning back against the wall in a casual pose, he waited patiently until Gio seemed to come to a silent conclusion.
“She is special, our Bella. A truly wonderful friend. The best I have ever had. If I thought you were anything like il bastardo, I would not hesitate to take you out before you hurt her. There was a time when I was too late, but never again. You understand this, no?”
Jason couldn’t help but respect the loyalty this man showed to Bella. “I protect what’s mine, and she is mine. She means everything to me.”
Gio’s smile returned as he slapped Jason on the shoulder. “Excellente. I see she does.”
* * * *
Class was over, and the men were busy gorging themselves with sweets as Bella watched them in absolute wonder. Man, she was going to have to recalculate quantity for the party if this snack was an indication to how much they ate.
It was a shame Jenna hadn’t stuck around to chat with them, but Bella knew that Jenna was running from the Savage brothers. She had watched the byplay between the three of them with amusement. It was easy to recognize that while Rock and Adrian terrified Jenna, interest was there. Jenna had a hard time keeping her eyes off the two men, and Bella had caught her sneaking glances their way the whole day. The men had not been as circumvent with their interest. One or both of them had watched Jenna from the moment she had walked into the room that morning until Jenna had all but fled in panic with the last of the students. Little good it would do. If they decided to find her, they would sooner or later. Until then, Bella would do what she could to give Jenna the space she needed.
“This is like heaven in my mouth.” Adrian sighed as he reached for another piece.
Rock was studying her intensely, and she turned to him with a questioning look. “I’m just trying to figure out how you get all that hair in that hat.” He earned a laugh, and she reached out to squeeze his hand.
Just like that, Jason mused. One look, one touch, and Bella captivated those around her. His men were goners, just like him. She was his joy, and it soothed his soul that his men respected and liked his woman.
“Okay, seriously, guys, I was going to take some of this back for the others at home. Let me get a few pieces for Brett and your other friend.” At their combined stubborn expressions, Bella rolled her eyes. It seemed as if they weren’t going to stop until there was nothing left. “I promised!”
They let her take a few pieces for Brett and the injured Lynx before taking over again, pulling the trays away from her protectively. When she told them she needed to take another piece for her brother, they pulled the trays further out of her reach.
“I give up. You’re going to make yourselves sick.” All she got were grunts in reply as they continued eating. Resigned, she switched topics. “Gio, what are you doing in Chicago? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I’m surprised.”
“Your e-mail, tesoro. If il bastardo is looking for you, then I am here. My service, whatever you may need, is yours.” At Jason’s growl, Gio simply shrugged then with a wink added, “As a bonus I was very curious to meet this new man in your life. This fiancé of yours, he will do. It is obvious he loves you deeply, as he should.” Without pausing for breath, he switched subjects. “It is good you are back in the kitchen. Although I am distressed with you wasting your time teaching. You should be creating, si? For the favored few, not for students. Now, for the real reason I am here, a proposition for you.”
Bella rested her chin on her hands and raised an eyebrow. Jason was sitting next to her, and his hand stilled on her back where he had been rubbing at the mention of a proposition.
Gio shot Jason a knowing smile before continuing. “I am considering moving here, to your fine city of wind and snow if you, my sweet Bella, will partner me in a new restaurant. Our restaurant. Bella Gio’s will be the premier ristorante in the city,” Gio said waving his hand in the air.
Bella was shocked, a dreamy smile on her lips. Years ago they had joked about opening a restaurant together. Her smile disappeared as she remembered that things had changed. Too many things. Gio’s smile faded just as quickly and turned into a fierce frown.
Before she could say a word, he was raging at her, passion lending strength to his rapid Italian. “Do not even begin to give me that bullshit about your hand! Your hands create excellence, you create excellence! None of that has changed. This was your dream, our dream! You cannot let this stand in the way of a future, your future, our future! Stop being so stubborn, woman!”
“Gio, you know I would love to, but I don’t know if I could handle the work.”
“Impossible! You will do the work. And how could you fail with me by your side! A small place, si? Intimate. Keep them waiting for our genius, panting, begging for more. I will not accept any other answer but yes!” He made a slashing gesture in the air as if she had no choice in the matter.
Jason continued to rub Bella’s back slowly in comfort as he considered the idea thoughtfully. He knew from personal experience that Bella was a master at her craft, and he begrudgingly had to agree that Giovanni Cossi was quite talented. Jason had eaten at Gio’s restaurant, Perfetto, in Italy, and it had been a very memorable meal. How could he begrudge this man who was trying to make Bella’s dream come true?
“It’s a brilliant idea.”
Bella turned to Jason in shock. Unguarded doubt shone from her eyes, and it left an ache in his chest. “Darling, think about it. A small place where you can change the menu at will. Imagine how much fun you could have. Plus you can hire a brilliant staff so the workload would not be that bad.”
“Not too small,” Adrian argued with an encouraging smile. “You would need enough space for all of us. You know, tables for your regulars.”
Gio looked him and his brother up and down before saying, “As long as you pay. We would go broke in no time flat if we gave you free food regularly.”
Rock scoffed at Gio’s dry tone.
Bella trailed her fingertips along the counter, ignoring their banter. She had wanted this for so long. Was it really possible? “Give me some time to think about it, Gio.”
Gio wanted to argue but he conceded with a quick nod. Getting Bella to think about it without her flat out turning him down was a small victory in itself.
“Good, good.” Gio’s smile was back. “I am staying at your apartment, or should I say your old apartment. Antonio let me in. Now what is this about a party the delectable Jenna was telling me about?”
Both the Savage brothers tensed, and Gio winked at Bella. Of course he had noticed the interest the twins had paid to her assistant. As jovial and carefree as Gio acted, Bella knew he never missed anything. She laughed as tried to figure out how to con Gio into helping cook for her army.
Chapter Nineteen
“No, no, no! Too much basil in the sauce!”
“Shut up, you arrogant swine! Do not tell me how to make my sauce! Don’t touch it! I’ll kill you, I swear. You philistine! You overrated line cook! Go finish the ravioli dell'aragosta over there. Stay away from me or I
’ll take a meat cleaver to your head, you crazy bastard!”
Slade and Finn sat in absolute shock, watching as Gio reached over and smacked a kiss on Bella’s snarling mouth. Tony, Danny, and Liz simply smiled as they were used to Bella and Gio’s volatile nature while in the kitchen.
Jason fought the need to shift in his seat, restraining the urge to go pound on the man cooking in his kitchen as he did every time Gio touched her. The urge had weakened as Jason watched them bicker like siblings or bitter enemies throughout the day and he saw firsthand the lack of physical intimacy involved. Sure, Bella and Gio were both passionate people who obviously loved each other, but that love was similar to the love between Bella and her brothers.
As the day continued, Jason found himself ridiculously pleased each time Bella’s voice rang out a dire warning of the promise of violence. He hated having any man’s hands touch Bella but his own. It was an uncomfortable feeling for a man who had never before suffered the pains of jealously, but he tried to hold back the need for violence every time he saw another male come into contact with her. She was naturally affectionate to those around her, and he knew without a doubt she would have a great deal to say if he voiced his opinions on the matter out loud. Hell, she was likely to take a meat cleaver to his own head and accuse him of having another stupid male moment as she called it when she thought he was being unreasonable.
He smiled at the thought.
Although Bella had lived through a horrible situation, she was no one’s pushover. With her fiery temper and zest for life, she shone like the sun in the dark shadows of his world. She was his match in every way. Jason’s attention was brought back rather abruptly in the form of a sympathetic grimace as Bella threatened to cut off one of Gio’s rather favored appendages.
“Ouch.” Tony grimaced. “That’s not good. It usually takes longer to push her to that point.”
Danny laughed evilly. “Yeah, but you gotta admit it’s thoroughly entertaining. Don’t worry too much. Gio usually knows when it’s time to run.”
“Da-yum, Mac, she’s a bloodthirsty little thing. You ever worry she’s gonna kill you if you piss her off when she’s PMSing?” Finn gaped as he continued to watch the battle in the kitchen.
“No, but if you piss me off, I might just let her have a go at you with that meat cleaver.”
“Like you wouldn’t take him apart yourself if he pissed you off,” Slade scoffed.
“Too true.” Finn leaned back with a heavy sigh. “Jesus, Mac, the two of you are perfect for each other.”
Jason’s pristine kitchen had been converted into what looked like a war zone. Hours ago Bella had banned everyone but Gio and Jenna from the room, slapping body parts with a large wooden spoon if anyone dared to cross her. She and Gio had been waging their own private battle all day, making enough food to feed an army, which could have been served at the most elegant of restaurants. The fragrances drifting from the kitchen were making his mouth water in anticipatory greed. Sitting in the living room watching the chaos unfold, Jason leaned back and lit one of his rare cigarettes as he watched his sweet little love threaten murder for the fifth time in an hour.
Michael Bublé’s mellow voice crooned over the speaker system creating a musical backdrop for the creative genius at work in the kitchen. Jason had learned quickly that he could tell Bella’s creative cooking moods by the music she chose. He silently thought that a requiem would be more apropos considering her current murderous disposition.
Jenna was watching the fight up close and personal with wide eyes. Bella and Gio argued, laughed, and cooked with the same passion.
They were exhausting.
They were inspiring.
They scared the living shit out of her.
Bella turned to Jenna and laughed at her terrified expression. Throwing a wink to Gio, Bella motioned Jenna to her side. Jenna rushed over immediately. “So, Jenna, are you ready to run yet?”
“What? Of course not! I’m honored to be in the kitchen with the two of you.”
“Of course you are honored.” Gio smiled easily.
Bella groaned. “Why did I ever miss you and your ego?”
Gio scoffed. “When one is great, others should be honored. You miss me because you know I am right. Besides, Jenna, mi amore, your cake is a thing of beauty that fits well with our greatness. And the icing?” He put his fingers to his lips. “To die for. You will make that in our restaurant, si? Do you think she will survive working with us every day, tesoro?”
Jenna’s confusion was easy to see.
Jason had kept Bella company the night before while she did her prep work, and they had discussed what Gio had proposed. With his unwavering support he told her to take the chance and to follow her dream. By the end of the night Bella had agreed to go into business with Gio.
“I haven’t asked her yet, idiot.” Bella smacked his arm lightly. “Jenna, after our class is over, Gio and I are opening our own restaurant and we would like for you to come work with us—”
Before she could say anything more Jenna flung herself at Bella and hugged her tight. “Yes! Yes! Oh my God, yes!”
“Can we join in here?”
Adrian and Sal stood off to the side, having just come in to the apartment. Jenna all but jumped behind Bella, using her as a shield the minute Adrian had spoken.
Sal took a step forward to greet Gio and had his sister staring back at him incredulously, her voice low and mean. “Do you want to die?”
Sal’s head snapped up, and he grabbed Adrian, pulling him back out of the kitchen so fast they almost fell. “Shit, shit. Sorry, hon. I forgot for a second. Don’t punish me. I swear, we’ll leave you guys alone now.”
“What the—”
Knowing better, Sal hastily ushered Adrian away to the living room where the others were gathered, explaining in a low tones about Bella’s position about people in her kitchen when cooking. Adrian’s indulgent laugh quickly sobered to a stoic nod of agreement when Sal hissed that they would be denied food if they pissed her off.
“You have them trained well.” Gio snickered before going back to work.
A short while later Bella, Gio, and Jenna went to change their clothes for the party. Quickly throwing on a dress Bella joined everyone in the living room for an aperitif. The food was completed. They had made enough for several armies, but Bella could bet there would be nothing left at the end of the evening. Bella and Jenna laid out large trays of canapés for everyone to snack on, and Gio poured glasses of champagne for them. Bella took her drink and sat on the arm of Jason’s chair, but he quickly pulled her onto his lap to nuzzle her neck.
Moments later Brett came in with a woman using a cane. She was strikingly beautiful, tall with short dark curly hair and a perfect olive complexion. Bella admired her lovely violet eyes as Mikayla Lincoln politely thanked her for the pastry from yesterday. Bella knew that Mikayla had been shot on the last mission she was on and was surprised that she was already up and about. Sal immediately got up from where he had been sitting and forced her to take his seat on the couch.
Another woman stood with them, and Bella was introduced to yet another Mac Security-IAD agent named Shannon Montgomery. Shannon was a stunning woman, tall with yards of wavy blonde hair and electric-blue eyes. She looked like an Amazon queen. Her voice dripped of molasses and clearly proved her to be a southern belle. Gio quickly came over for an introduction and kissed her hand as he let free his abundant charm. Surprised pleasure flicked in her eyes before they shut down and became unreadable once again.
“Hey there, Legs. Do I get to kiss you, too?” Finn joked from his seat.
“In your dreams, Irish,” Shannon replied nonchalantly as she accepted a glass of champagne and sat on one of the couches next to Slade. Directing her gaze at Bella, Shannon explained. “Finn here insists on using nicknames. Jason is Mac, Sal is Toro, and so on. It’s his annoying little habit, but he’s got all of us doing it now.”
Finn grinned. “It’s my natural charm.”
>
“Mika here got her name back when we were in the service together, so we can’t blame that one on Finn. Since her last name is Lincoln, Lynx just fit.” Brett handed Mikayla a plate of food and winked at Bella. “Lynx, our wild cat.”
Bella studied the striking woman for a moment and could immediately see how the play on her last name for a wild cat suited her perfectly. Mikayla Lincoln’s large violet eyes were slightly slanted and did indeed remind Bella of a wild, untamed jungle cat. Her gaze shifted back to Shannon and took in the miles of legs the blonde had stretched out in front of her as she gracefully crossed them and could also see why Finn had taken to calling the woman Legs.
Bella watched, amused, as Jenna strategically sat down next to Shannon, leaving no room for Adrian to follow. Both women ignored the frowning man standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What do you guys call Tara?” Bella asked, intrigued.
“T-rex,” Finn answered with a fake shudder. “’Cuz she’s fierce and will eat you up and spit you out. Utterly ruthless.”
“Hey, watch it,” Adrian snapped sharply from where he hovered behind Jenna and Shannon.
“What? That’s why I love her.” Finn held a hand to his heart and sighed, making them laugh. Adrian slapped Finn on the head as he made his way back to the food.
Shannon smiled. “Don’t mind the animals. We haven’t quite gotten them housebroken yet.”
Finn leaned forward. “Adrian and Rock are just protective of T-rex. To them she is like a sweet little sister. Sweet my ass. That is one lady I never want to piss off, that’s for sure.”
Mikayla said nothing but raised an eyebrow in question as she popped an olive in her mouth.
Finn cleared his throat. “Actually, all the ladies we work with are pretty fierce.”
Shannon laughed and leaned over to tap glasses with Mikayla, winking at Bella.
Brett stood back up to once again make his way back over toward the food. “Truthfully I think you women are more dangerous than us men.”