Renzo (The Ciprianos of Kellington)

by Bergman, Jamallah

  Renzo pointed to the crowd of people waiting to get a seat. “You see all of those people? You are going to have to wait just like the rest of them. That is unless you want to tell all of them you think you’re special and have privileges. My dear, just because we were married at one point in time doesn’t mean a thing to me. You will just have to wait or go someplace else.” His expression was blank. He refused to let her get the best of him.

  With a snarl of her upper lip and a roll of those green eyes she told her friends, “Let’s get out of here!” The group left the restaurant as he patted Lisa’s shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Cipriano, she does this all the time.”

  “No worries, Lisa, I know, but thankfully I was here this time.” Walking away from the front, Renzo went back to his duties of being a good owner despite the fiasco that almost ensued up front.

  * * * *

  “Pretty flowers,” said Delia when she came back from lunch.

  All Jaslyn could do was smile. Delia handed her the bag of fruit. “Where’d you get those from?”

  “A delivery boy came and brought them to me. When I looked at the card, I found out that they were from Mr. Renzo Cipriano himself.”

  “Oh my God, how do you know he sent them to you?”

  “It came with a card, silly. Didn’t you just hear me say I looked at the card?” Jaslyn giggled at how funny her friend was looking at her.

  “Let me see this card! I can’t believe you got flowers from him,” Delia said. Jaslyn handed her the card and laughed when she saw Delia’s eyes almost pop out of her head while reading it. “Oh my God, Jaslyn, he’s so into you.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t ‘what’ me. He’s into you big time. You want to know why I say that, and it’s not just because of these flowers you got,” Delia teased.

  Taking a deep breath, she stopped looking at her laptop. “All right, Sherlock, how do you know so much?”

  “During the entire time you and his mother were having tea he kept looking right at you. I asked him if he want to look at something in particular, but he told me that he was all right. So, I pretended to be dusting. He kept looking at you through the bookshelves and armoires. He stood right over there.” She pointed out where. “I saw how he was eyeing you when he gave you that check. I haven’t seen a smile on that man’s face that big in years. He’s smitten with you, Jaslyn.”

  Shaking her head and laughing, Jaslyn couldn’t believe her friend. “Delia, what would a man like Renzo Cipriano want with someone like me in the first place? Like you’ve told me before about these Cipriano men, they are all players and women chasers. I guess he’s looking for another notch in his belt and it has my name on it. But I am so not that type of girl…at least not anymore I’m not.” Taking a deep sigh, a nerve in her neck pinched, and she quickly rubbed at it.

  “Is your neck still bothering you?”

  “Yeah and it’s gone down to my back. I’m going to have to call Chi for a massage.” Grabbing the phone, she dialed Chi’s number. After the second ring, the phone picked up as she heard her distinctive voice, “Hello Chi’s, how may I help you?”

  “Hey, Chi, this is Jaslyn. I need to come in for a massage. My back is killing me.”

  “Why hello, Jaslyn, sure come on in right away. You haven’t been to see me for a couple of weeks. Oh, do you have any new pieces I can come and look over?”

  “I think I do. You get first pick. I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes.”

  “All right, I’ll be waiting. Bye.”

  “Do you think you can handle things for the rest of the day?”

  “Of course I can. Call me when you get home,” Delia said.

  Jaslyn got her purse and coat from the back. Giving Delia a hug, Jaslyn headed out with an umbrella as she walked toward her car in the rain. She knew her back problems had to do with the changing of the weather, but it was something she couldn’t help. Mother Nature had her own way of making life just a bit miserable for everybody and for Jaslyn, it made her whole body feel awful.

  Thank goodness for Chi.

  The ride to Chi’s home only took fifteen minutes. Once she pulled into Chi’s driveway, she got her umbrella and made her way to the porch. When she opened the door, the smell of incense calmed her senses while the tranquil sounds of nature came through the speakers of the room. Soon she saw Chi come from behind a beaded curtain. “Hello, Jaslyn, my dear. Come in the back and change out of those clothes.” She was a small woman and even though she never told her how old she was, Jaslyn had come to the conclusion Chi was in her sixties even though she looked like she was in her thirties.

  Once she changed out of her clothes, she immediately laid down on the massage table. Chi came in and covered her bottom half with the sheet. “How have you been doing, Jaslyn?” Chi asked.

  “Been doing pretty good thanks for asking, and business has been picking up lately…ouch!” Jaslyn shouted when she hit the nerve on her neck.

  “Yup, you should have been coming to me sooner, my dear. This is going to take more than an hour to get back into shape again. From this moment on, I want you coming here at least every two weeks and don’t worry about payment. Whenever you get a piece I might want just let me know. Don’t ever not come and see me, Jaslyn.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jaslyn told her through the pain and grunts. Throughout the tugs, pushes, and pulls Jaslyn had never felt more relaxed before in her life. When they were through, Chi left the room while some nature sounds played over the speakers. This was something that she would often do to help the client relax.

  Jaslyn thought about what Delia had said about how Renzo had been eyeing her during their visit. How absurd is the whole idea of him having anything to do with her. When she first moved here, she went out on dates, but they lead to nothing more than disappointment. She wasn’t about to get her hopes up too high on some whim from the observational skills of her friend.

  Though she had to admit, he had a very nice smile. She had to find out more and if these crazy ideas were true or not. Maybe Renzo Cipriano did have something for her. Well, she thought there was only one way to find out.

  * * * *

  It had been three days since Renzo sent the flowers to Jaslyn. He had yet to hear one word from her. He thought she would have at least called or come by the restaurant or something. But he got nothing at all and it irked him. Despite being Sunday, he didn’t have much to do before the restaurant opened, so he decided to go by her store. When he walked inside, the first thing he noticed were the flowers sitting on the table where she had sat with his mother. He smiled.

  “Hello?”

  Looking to where the voice came from, he saw her walking from the back with a clipboard in her hands and a smile on her pretty face. “Why hello there, Mr. Cipriano, how are you today?”

  Even her smile made his heart skip a beat. She was strikingly beautiful even wearing a simple, royal purple dress with a wide belt accenting her hips. Her long legs went on for days tucked inside a pair of brown suede boots that went to her knees. Renzo needed to say something before he ended up looking like a goofball in front of this woman. “Please call me Renzo, Ms. Whitman.”

  “And you can call me Jaslyn. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to thank you for the flowers. They were lovely.”

  “I’m glad you liked them. As long as my mom is happy then I am happy.”

  “I’m the same with mine as well. So what can I do you for today?”

  Now what Einstein? What are you going to tell her your reason for being here is? You should have thought of something before you walked in here, stupid. Take a deep breath and just figure out something. “I came to find something for my living room.”

  “Oh, well are you looking for some type of furniture or just an accent piece?” Those hazel eyes of hers twinkled at him. God, he could stare at them for days. But he could see by the look in her eyes, she was waiting for his answer.

  “I’m looking for an accent piece for my livin
g room. Like a new lamp, vase, or something different or maybe something for my office.”

  “Well, come with me and I will show you some pieces that you might like.” As he followed her through rows of pieces of furniture, Renzo released a huge sigh of relief. She showed him several pieces, all of which were beautiful, but he hadn’t a clue on what he wanted to pick. “Your mother told me that you weren’t accustomed to shopping for things,” said Jaslyn.

  “Yeah, my ex took most of the stuff in the divorce. I ended up getting a designer friend to redo everything in my place. But I would like to get a vase or another lamp for my office.”

  “Now a desk lamp, I have some of those around here. Well, I do have one around here somewhere. I had three of them, actually, if I remember. Oh here they are…over on this desk here. I also have one on that table right there and another on that mahogany desk.” She pointed over toward them as he saw the three in question.

  They were all beautiful pieces in their own right, yet he still had a hard time figuring out which one he wanted to get. “Pick one.”

  “What?”

  “Pick one out. I told you I wasn’t good at picking out furniture and stuff. Now anything dealing with food I’m all good. But interior stuff like this, I’m totally clueless.”

  She laughed. “It’s unusual I get to pick out a piece. I mean sure I give people my input on certain items we have here, but most of the time my customers know what they want.”

  If she only knew what I really wanted, Renzo thought as she picked up a desk lamp with a beautiful blue lampshade. “I like this one because it’s stained glass. This is an antique banker’s desk lamp. I like the pretty flowers and the dragonfly…see. The blue is an unusual color.” She walked over to him with lamp in hand. He should have been looking at the lamp, but Renzo was too busy looking at her beautiful hair. He had a sudden urge to touch it, run his fingers through it and take a deep whiff to see just how it smelled.

  Steady, old man, easy before you do something stupid.

  “Do you think this will look nice on your desk?” she asked.

  “Since it’s as lovely as you, Jaslyn, it will make a nice addition to my office,” he said watching a silly smirk spread across her lips turn into a cute giggle.

  “I’m sorry for giggling. Let’s go up front and I’ll write you up a ticket.” She walked away leaving him there as he smacked his own head for saying such an asinine comment. Boy, did he feel like the village idiot while walking back toward the front.

  * * * *

  Jaslyn knew she was wrong for laughing at his comment, but she couldn’t help it. She figured the real reason for him coming to the store was to see her and she thought it was adorable. She had been too busy with new clients, thanks to Mrs. Cipriano, she never got the chance to thank him for the flowers. When he came into the shop, she had to compose herself. It seemed since she last saw him, he had gotten more handsome. “I can box it up for you and have it delivered to your place or you can just take it as it is.”

  “Umm, can you have it delivered then?”

  “Address, please.”

  “Yes, it’s 9812 Thomason Way. Can you have it delivered around noon? I should be home by that time. Anytime afterwards I won’t be home.”

  “Where are you going to be?”

  “Family get together, it’s been a long time since we’ve had one so it should be good.”

  She liked it when he smiled. It made those eyes of his sparkle and the fact he had dimples made him even cuter. Who the hell would fuck up the chance of being with this man? What is his ex, a ditz or something?

  “How long has it been?” The smile was gone and Jaslyn realized she had completely caught him off guard by her line of questioning.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Let me be a bit more specific. How long has it been since your divorce that you’ve been with a woman?” She watched his lips form a gorgeous grin.

  “It’s been too long, I’m afraid to say.”

  “Well, I’m afraid to inform you that even though you may have been without a woman’s affection, I’m not the one to give it to you.”

  “But, Jaslyn.”

  “I know all about you and your brothers’ escapades. How you get with any woman you want. Ever since I’ve been in this town, it seems like I’m on the single men’s radar or something. I’ve had many guys come in here with flowers and such trying to woo me. And then you come in here in your business suit, looking handsome as hell. But I have to remember in the back of my head you are a Cipriano and can get whoever you want. Honestly, do you think I’m easy pickings or something?”

  “No, I don’t think you’re easy. Listen, I know how my brothers and I have a rep with women. But I am nothing like that…maybe when I was younger and didn’t give a damn. I am not that type of man anymore. Jaslyn, I’ve completely changed. Hell, I haven’t been with a woman since my divorce. I just want to get to know you and let you know me. Wait just a minute, did you say I was handsome?”

  His smile was so broad she knew she’d opened up a big can of peacock-pride in him.

  “You must know that you are handsome. I mean you have women swooning over you all the time.” She watched him shake his head.

  “You have me all wrong, Jaslyn, you are going by gossip and not by truth,” he said.

  She wasn’t hearing it at all. “That will be one-hundred thirty-seven fifty-four.”

  “Can I at least take you out to dinner sometime?”

  She ripped the ticket from the book and put it down on the counter, sliding it toward him without saying another word. He looked defeated, but she was going to put a stop to this before it even started. Going into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet and got out his credit card. She ran it through the machine. Not another word was said as the slip of paper for him to sign came up and with another rip she handed it to him for his signature. “It will be delivered to your home at noon. Have a wonderful day, Mr. Cipriano.”

  “So that’s it then, you’re not going to accept my invite for dinner?”

  “I’m sorry, but no, I can’t have dinner with you, Mr. Cipriano. I just can’t get over the fact I’d just be another notch on your belt of women.”

  He nodded taking his receipt and walking toward the door. Delia walked inside and smiled when she saw him coming out. But when she noticed the somber look on his face as he walked past her, Delia immediately walked over toward Jaslyn saying, “What’s happened?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened at all.” Jaslyn walked to the back office and closed the door behind her. Leaning up against it, she took a deep breath remembering the look in his eyes when she turned him down. He looked like a poor wounded animal when she said she wouldn’t have dinner with him. At least it wouldn’t be her getting hurt instead. The pounding on the door made her open it to find Delia staring at her. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing at all, dammit. Get off my case, Delia!”

  “Not until you tell me what the hell happened, Jaslyn. What did you do to Renzo?”

  “He came in here, bought a lamp, and tried to ask me out. I told him flat out no.”

  “Why would you do that, Jaslyn? My God when was the last time you had a man like that come through the door and show any interest in you? He obviously likes you. He sent you flowers, came in, and bought something only to get the chance to see you.”

  “I’m not going to be made to look like a fool, Delia. Hell, there’s no telling what I would get myself into if I had decided to go to dinner with him. Wining and dining, then hot sex and then being the talk of the town. I would be just another conquest for a Cipriano. Besides, I would be a fool to fall for every man who sent me flowers. It will mess up my business and I can’t have that,” she argued. She had no doubt what she did was right.

  Why in the hell does it feel so wrong?

  “Jaslyn, hon, when will you ever have the chance to have love come walking through your door like that? He likes you a lot, what are you so
scared of?”

  “Getting hurt. I don’t plan on making another mistake like I did before.”

  Delia hugged her close. It was very much welcomed. Jaslyn laughed at first, but eventually the tears fell. Part of the reason why she moved to Kellington was to get away from her ex who was nothing more than a player and abuser wrapped up in a pair of tight jeans and fully loaded six pack abs. She’d never dealt with such heartache until him. Her mother had told her time and time again he was no good, but of course she fell too deep into his smooth words of love and promises of a better life.

  Only to have it all end with her being in the hospital for a month with broken bones and reconstructive surgery. Then there were the years of therapy. It took everything could think of to get her brother to promise he wouldn’t do anything stupid to get himself in trouble. However, one of her brother’s friends decided to pay her ex a visit for which the outcome of their meeting ended with her ex found dead in a field fifty miles from town. That caused her to have a nervous breakdown and three months of therapy for depression.

  “Sweetheart, you can’t beat yourself up. Why don’t you give him a call tomorrow and let him know that you’d like to have lunch with him here in the shop. I can make a place over in the corner just for the two of you. That way you can feel safe because I’ll be nearby. I think you are just scared of meeting someone new, but you have to understand about Renzo. He’s a good man, Jaslyn. He has plenty to offer, since he’s been hurt too. Not to the same degree as you have, but hurt nonetheless,” Delia said, grabbing a tissue from the box on her desk and handing it to Jaslyn.

  She wiped her eyes and blew her nose and nodded. She needed some time to think.

  Chapter Three

  Renzo didn’t know what to think when he looked back at the shop. He didn’t know whether to go back inside, grab hold of her and shake her until she heard him out or just forget about her altogether.