After the movie ended and Nick passed out on the couch, Kate rose to go to her room. She covered him with a blanket and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She said a silent prayer that everything would work out with his kids. Knowing what it was like to not have her child around, she hated to see him going through so much turmoil.
She got into her nightshirt and slipped into bed. Life was too short not to be spending it with those you love. That was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep and dreamt of a dark-haired man with blue-gray eyes pulling her against his bare chest. In her slumber, she curled into him and murmured his name, “Edward.”
****
Kate arose early Saturday morning at her parents’ house and dressed for her usual three-mile jog. She selected a playlist from her iPod and set off in the direction of the cemetery. It was chilly, but the cold helped clear her mind and prepare her for the day.
She should be tired given that she spent the evening at the orphanage with Lucas and then worked on the curtains with her mother until two in the morning. But for some reason she couldn’t fathom, she’d awakened early and couldn’t fall back asleep.
At the end of the block, she turned left and ran two streets over before cutting right again. She passed the small row of stores where her family’s pizzeria was located. It sat on the corner, down the street from a hair salon and bridal shop. Despite its location, the city council had been working to create a small town feel in that section of town. Light from the decorative lamp posts lining the street guided her as she ran, and reminded her of hearing her mother say there’d been talk of getting approval to redo the sidewalk in brick.
When she reached the cemetery, she circled it three times before pausing at Tony’s grave. She wiped off some dirt that had blown across the headstone. She knelt and spent around fifteen minutes talking to her son, filling him in on what was going on with the restaurant.
Some may think her crazy, talking to her dead son, but it helped her feel close to him. Today she talked to him about Lucas and asked him to help her know what to do.
A light breeze blew and she felt a chill down her spine. She jumped up half expecting someone to be behind her but when she turned, she was alone. A quick scan of the other graves didn’t reveal anyone skulking around, but she couldn’t let go of feeling someone was watching her. She shrugged away the feeling of uneasiness that settled upon her and headed back toward her parents’ house.
The scent of blueberries greeted her when she opened the door. Her mother must have gotten up right after she’d left and started baking. Nothing beat her mother’s blueberry muffins.
“Mmmm, it smells wonderful,” she said, walking into the kitchen.
“The first batch is just cooling,” Carmen said. “They should be ready to eat after your shower.”
“You’re the best, Mama. I’ll be quick.”
She ran upstairs to get ready. When she returned to the kitchen, her mother sat drinking coffee.
“I made enough so you can bring some to the restaurant for the workers,” Carmen said, pointing to the rows of muffins on the cooling racks.
“Great. I’m going to take the curtains over and see how they look. Father Dominic is going to bring Lucas by for lunch. Then I thought we’d come back here and make Christmas cookies. We’ll need them for the party next weekend.”
“That Lucas is one sweet little boy. He’d make a good son for some lucky person,” Carmen said.
“Lucas is a nice boy and I enjoy spending time with him. Don’t read too much into it, Mama,” Kate replied, ignoring her mother’s ploy for more information about Kate’s intentions.
Carmen shot her a sidelong glance. “What’s there to read?”
“Exactly my point,” she said and dropped a kiss on the top of her mother’s head.
Kate bagged the muffins and filled a travel mug with coffee.
“Vinnie and Vicky are still planning on stopping by, right? I want to go over the menus with them.”
“Yes, I’ll send them over when they wake up.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “I just hope that’s sometime before lunch.”
Once at the restaurant, Kate greeted the workers, all of whom were happy to see her with homemade muffins. Her father updated her on the progress and an hour later Edward arrived, looking sexier than ever with his unshaven face. She’d briefly seen him Friday afternoon when he returned from Vegas. He’d told her he wouldn’t be able to come down until today and that he most likely would be returning to New York that night. Still avoiding her, she supposed.
She weaved through the construction maze over to him.
“Hi,” she said and held up a muffin. “A peace offering.” She hoped he was receptive to her ploy to ease the tension between them.
He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize we were at war.”
“We’re not. At least I don’t want to be.”
“Neither do I.” He accepted the muffin and broke off a piece. “These are fantastic. Compliments of you or your mother?”
“Well, I can make these, too, but my mother made them today. I saved one for you, otherwise, the men would have eaten them all.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
She turned as Vinnie and Vicky came bursting through the door, in the middle of some argument.
“Hey, you two. It’s about time you got here,” Kate said.
“I don’t see why we had to come all the way here. It would have been just as easy to have this meeting at the house,” Vicky grumbled and plopped onto a stool.
Edward mumbled good luck to Kate and headed toward the back of the restaurant.
Wimp.
“I’ll show you why.” Kate grabbed one of the curtains she’d laid over a chair. “Come help me, Vin.”
With the three of them, they were able to take turns holding up the curtains against the windows.
“What do you think?” she asked Vicky, who appeared more interested in reading something on her phone.
Vicky gave a brief glance at the curtains. “They’re fine.”
“Fine? Mama and I were up until two this morning and all you can say is fine?”
Vicky shrugged. “Yup. That’s pretty much it.”
Kate felt like smacking her sister’s blasé attitude out of her. “Edward, Daddy, can I get your opinion?”
They joined them by the window.
“It’s perfect, Kate,” Edward said, walking forward to inspect them. “It will really pull together the tone of the room.”
“I like them, Bella. You and your mother did a great job on them,” Joe said.
“You made them?” Edward asked.
“Yes. Mama and I’ve made all types of things. This only took a few nights.”
“Well, aren’t you the perfect one, as usual,” Vicky muttered.
“Did you ever think that if you showed some ambition and stopped bitching about everything you wouldn’t feel so inadequate?” Kate snapped. “It’s getting old, Vick, and I’m sick of it. It’s time to grow up and show us what you can do.”
Tears filled Vicky’s eyes and after a hard glare at Kate, she fled to the kitchen.
Kate sighed and dropped her end of the curtain, annoyed for losing her temper. But someone needed to tell her sister what they’d all thought for years.
“You didn’t have to be so harsh,” Vinnie said, handing her the other curtain.
“I didn’t mean to be, but she needs to stop feeling sorry for herself.” Kate’s shoulders dropped and she felt as though she were carrying extra weight on them. “I’ll go apologize to her.”
Edward touched her arm. “If you want, I can talk to her.”
She snorted. “Fine. Lots of luck, though. My sister isn’t at her most reasonable when she’s having one of her tantrums.”
“It’s a good thing I have experience reasoning with someone almost as temperamental,” he said in a teasing voice.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” Kate started to challenge, knowing he was referring to he
r. But with the slightest of grins and a wink, he turned and started toward the back of the restaurant.
How the man could basically both insult and flirt with her was a mystery. Regardless, maybe he would have better luck getting through to her stubborn sister. He couldn’t do any worse than any of her family.
****
Edward found Vicky crying on the floor of the room that would serve as the pantry.
“What, did you draw the short straw?” Vicky snapped when he walked in.
“No, I offered to talk to you.”
“Humph. Well, I’d rather not talk to anyone, if you don’t mind,” she muttered and wiped her eyes.
“Fine. I’ll talk, you listen.” He was amused by her childish attitude—a younger version of her sister, although he doubted she’d appreciate if he pointed that out.
He moved around until he faced her. “Did you know I’m younger than Charles by four minutes?”
She scowled. “And your point is?”
“Because of those four minutes, I’ve always felt like the less-favored son. Growing up, our father used to bring Charles to the office to explain the business while I had to stay home and study. Charles was the one who got to spend a year learning the business from our grandfather after our father passed away.”
“I take it you resented it?”
“Bloody right I did. Sure, Charles was more serious than I, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to learn. I was a kid and wanted to play, too. I didn’t want to sit in a boring office building with a bunch of dotty old men.”
He sat on the floor across from her and leaned against one of the racks.
“My parents thought my more relaxed attitude meant I wasn’t as interested in the business and was irresponsible. But in truth, I desperately wanted to be the one my father chose to take into the office. I wanted him to look at me with pride, like he did my brother.”
“And did he?”
“When I was fifteen, Charles found sketches I had drawn over the years. Even then he had an eye for talent and brought them to my father without my knowing. When Father called me into his office one night, I thought I was going to get into trouble for sneaking a snake into the governess’s room. But rather, he asked me about the drawings. We talked for a while and it was as though he saw the real me for the first time. The next day, he asked me, just me, to go to work with him. It was the best day of my life, one I’ll always remember.”
“Was Charles upset that you were asked and not him?”
“Charles had always been uncomfortable that Father favored him over me. On the days he went into the office, he’d come home and tell me everything that happened. Not to brag or anything, but so I could learn, too. He was pleased when Father started taking notice of what I could do.”
“Things were good then?”
“They were better, but I would always be second best in Father’s eyes. I was the wild one and fucked up a lot. I partied too much and slacked off on my studies. Charles used to help me out by taking tests for me—one of the benefits of being a twin, even a fraternal one. At the time, we wore our hair similarly and we have the same build. So with a baseball cap on, the professors couldn’t tell who was who unless they got real close.”
“Wow, he really did that for you?”
“Charles would do anything for me and I for him. He’s my brother and best friend. I took advantage of him a lot, which I regret, but I’ve tried to make up for it in recent years. I ran the London office without his help and pull my weight in the New York office. I’m more social so I’m better at getting new clients, while he likes to obsess with the fine details of a design. We’ve learned to leverage each other’s strengths and that helps us excel together in business.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I think you have a lot of potential but are too stubborn to show everyone what you can do because you feel like you’re in your sister’s shadow. And you’ve allowed yourself to be.”
Vicky stuck out her jaw in a gesture that mirrored one he’d seen her sister do on many an occasion. “I have not.”
“So you don’t have any opinions about the restaurant?”
“A little but…” She paused.
“But what?”
“I really don’t want to work at the pizzeria or the restaurant.”
“Why are you, then?”
“I don’t have a choice. Nick and Kate each have their own careers. Vinnie went to school to be a chef and everyone just kind of assumed I wanted to go into the restaurant business, too. They never asked or gave me the option of saying no.”
Now Edward was starting to see where her resentment came from.
“So what do you want to do?”
She looked at him with confident eyes. “I want to be a pastry chef. I want to open a bakery and make fancy wedding cakes.”
“That sounds fantastic and not too far off the mark from your family’s current business.”
“No, but they want me to hostess and manage the staff and bullshit like that. I just want to bake.” She paused and bit down on her lower lip.
“Go on.”
“Well, I even have this idea that maybe you can give me your opinion on.”
“I will if I can.”
“Once this place opens, Daddy is going to close the pizzeria and give up the lease. Current patrons who want a DiFrancesco pizza will be able to order take-out from here. I’ve dreamt of turning the pizzeria into a bakery and café. I’d have fresh breads, pastries, cakes, and coffee. I would do custom orders for showers, parties, and weddings. What do you think?”
“I think that sounds like a brilliant idea.”
“But I don’t know where to start. I don’t have any money to start a business and don’t know the first thing about writing a business plan or applying for a loan. What if I can’t do it?”
“You won’t know unless you try. First, you need to build a plan on paper and see if it makes financial sense. Then you bring your plan to the bank and hope you get money. I can help if you want.”
“Really? You’d do that for me? I haven’t been very nice to you since that episode in your room a few weeks ago. I’m really sorry and embarrassed by that, by the way.”
“No hard feelings. It’s been forgotten.”
“Would you be able to come to the pizzeria tonight? I can show you around and share my ideas for what I’d like to do.”
“I’d be delighted to.”
“But I don’t want anyone to know yet. Can this be our secret, especially from my sister?”
“I think Kate will be very supportive if you tell her.”
“It’s not that I don’t think she will be. It’s just that I want to do this on my own and she has a tendency to…”
“Take control?” Edward said with a smirk.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much her in a nutshell.”
“For now I’ll keep your secret only if you agree to tell your family once we have a plan figured out.”
“Deal,” Vicky said, holding out her hand.
They shook hands and he helped her up.
“I guess I have to go apologize to her now. I hate that.”
Edward laughed and put his arm around her. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”
Chapter Eight
Kate stood at the island in her parents’ kitchen guiding Lucas’s hands as she instructed him on how to roll dough for butter cookies. It was a hard skill to acquire for a young child, and one part of the dough would be thick and the other super thin. But he was having fun and that was all that mattered to her.
“Can I put the sprinkles on?” Lucas asked.
“Of course. We have to let the cookies cool, frost them, and then you can add the sprinkles. How’s that sound?” Kate said.
“Good. Can I eat another piece of dough?”
How could she refuse him when he gazed at her with those sparkling eyes and animated expression? She laughed and brushed her hand at a sprinkling of flour on his cheek,
only making it worse.
“Another small piece. You don’t want to eat too much or you’ll get a tummy ache. Besides, you want to leave room to sample the cookies when we’re all done, right?”
He licked his lips and gave her a dreamy expression when he popped another piece of dough in his mouth. “Mmm.”
They worked as a team for the next two hours, rolling, cutting, icing, and sprinkling cookies until all the counters and kitchen table were covered with cookies. When the last cookie was done, Kate poured them both a glass of milk and let him choose one to eat. He studied them carefully before picking up a large star. He took his time biting and chewing, as though he were savoring every bite.
“How are they?” she asked.
“Great,” he said with his mouth full. He finished chewing and swallowed. “They remind me of the cookies my mom used to make.”
Kate’s heart lurched. She hadn’t expected that. He’d never shared anything about his family with her, and she wasn’t sure of the best way to handle it.
“Did you used to make cookies with your mom?”
“Yes. She used to let me help make the cut outs, too.” He lowered his head and hunched forward. “I miss her,” he whispered in a croaked voice.
Kate blinked back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes and wrapped an arm around him. “I’m sure you do, baby, and she misses you, too. You should always hold onto the memory of making cookies with your mother.”
He nodded and sniffled. “Did you ever make cookies with your son, with Tony?”
“No, I never did get to make cookies with Tony.” She pushed his bangs back from his eyes. “But I think if I ever had, it would have been a lot like making cookies here with you.”
He seemed to think about that a moment and then nodded. “Do you know what I want from Santa for Christmas?”
“Hmmm…let me think…A Nintendo DS or maybe a Wii?” she teased, thinking of the bright orange DS she’d already bought for him.
He shook his head. “Those would be nice, but what I want Santa to bring me more than anything is a mom.”
Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) Page 9