Table for Two

by Brandy Bruce

  “You’re one more thing, Amanda.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re my daughter, and I’m proud of you. It’s clear I haven’t said that enough. But it’s true.”

  * * *

  Leo leaned closer to his laptop, looking over the latest financial report for the Franklin Romano’s. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant was doing well. Year after year, his father’s restaurant flourished. What did surprise Leo was how well his own Romano’s location was doing. The restaurant was off to a tremendous start, no doubt partly because of the connection to the Franklin restaurant. But in the current economic climate, with so many businesses struggling, the success of his restaurant astounded him. And worried him. With both restaurants doing so well, he couldn’t realistically entertain the thought of closing one of them.

  Leo pushed his chair back and swiveled around in his father’s office, looking over the decor his mother had chosen. A knock at the door caught his attention. Leo stood up as Isabella walked in.

  “Hey, bro.”

  Leo grinned and sat back down. “What brings you here?”

  Isa plopped down in the chair across from him. “Free lunch. I have to work at two o’clock so I thought I’d stop by and see if my big brother would feed me.”

  Twenty minutes later, the two of them were seated at a booth in the back of the restaurant, eating salami and cheese panini sandwiches and drinking sodas. Leo couldn’t begin to count the number of times he and Isa had had this same experience.

  “You haven’t made any changes to the office,” Isa mentioned and Leo shrugged.

  “I hate to make changes to things Mom decorated.”

  Isa shrugged. “So ask Mom to redecorate for you. She would love to feel included. Give her some direction and let her go for it. You know she’ll do a great job.”

  Leo rubbed his chin. “Why didn’t I think of that? Good idea, sis.”

  Isa nodded. “What else do you need my help with?”

  Leo took a swig of his Coke and folded his arms across his chest. “Tell me how to find time for a social life in between running two restaurants.”

  Isa looked at him with sympathy. “I know it’s not easy. Delegate, Leo. Ask for help. Bring in good people. Hire another manager. Dad constantly struggled with balancing family life and work. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he didn’t. No one expects you to be perfect at this.”

  “I don’t want to fail him.”

  Leo watched Isa pause as those words sank in. She reached across the table and rested her hand on his arm.

  “I promise that you won’t, Leo.”

  “There’s one more thing you can help me with, Isa,” Leo stated.

  “Bring it on. What can I do?”

  “I’m planning to bring a new friend to family dinner Monday night. Be nice to her. I want her to feel welcome.”

  Isa’s mouth fell open. “You’re dating someone? And no one told me?”

  Leo chuckled. “Yes and yes.”

  Isa’s eyes softened and Leo could see relief on her face. He knew she’d been praying for months for him to move on from his broken engagement. The realization of that stopped him in his tracks: In a very real sense, Mandy was an answer to a prayer.

  “So who is she?” Isa pressed.

  “Mandy Seymour, a food critic for Denver Lifestyle magazine. I’m taking things slowly—”

  “Perfect,” Isa groaned. “Every girl wants a guy who moves at the pace of a turtle.”

  Leo burst out laughing. “Not that slowly. Hey, I’m inviting her to family dinner! That’s something.”

  Isa nodded, her eyes dancing. “True. And I can’t wait to meet her.”

  After Isa left, Leo called his mother and asked her to redecorate the office. The sheer happiness in his mother’s voice told him that he owed Isa big-time for that idea. With that conversation out of the way, he dialed Mandy’s phone number.

  “Mandy Seymour,” she answered.

  “Did I catch you at the office?” Leo asked.

  “Leo, hi. Yes, you did. But that’s okay. I mean, you can call me anytime,” she stammered.

  Leo stood up and paced the length of the office, trying to quell the delight that he felt from just hearing Mandy say his name.

  “Are you interested in having dinner with my family and me Monday night?”

  “Yes.”

  Her answer was so automatic that Leo guessed Mandy felt the same delight that he did.

  “You’re sure?” Leo said.

  “Of course. Can I ask your dad for his autograph?”

  Leo laughed. “Should I be jealous?”

  “Probably.”

  “We’ll have to work on that. I’ll text you the directions. Dinner usually begins around seven-thirty.”

  “Sounds wonderful. Thank you for inviting me. Can I bring anything?”

  The kindness in Mandy’s voice swept over Leo like a warm blanket.

  “No. Just you.”

  Leo was still smiling long after the phone call had ended. He finished going over financial statements, his employee payroll, his personal investments, the menus for both restaurants and the inventory list for the kitchen. He spent over an hour carefully reviewing résumés that had come in from potential chefs for the Fifteenth Street restaurant.

  By the time the evening rush began, he wished he’d reserved some energy for cooking. He drove to the Fifteenth Street restaurant and walked into the kitchen, already tired and knowing he had hours to go before he could rest.

  * * *

  Sunday after church, Ashley invaded Mandy’s closet. Mandy sat cross-legged on her bed while Ashley stood scowling.

  “When was the last time you went shopping, Mandy Seymour? ’Cause I’m thinking it was around 1998.”

  Mandy ignored Ashley’s melodrama since the two of them had gone shopping together just a few weeks before.

  “It’s Colorado, Ash. It’s cold. There’s snow out there. My options are jeans...or jeans. I’m thinking jeans. Your thoughts?”

  Ashley sighed. “No jeans. You can wear your black dress with stockings and dangly earrings.”

  “It’s family dinner. What if everyone else is super casual?”

  “So ask Leo.”

  “We’re not there yet.”

  “You’re not where? To the place where you can ask him if ‘family dinner’ is casual?”

  Mandy fell back on her pillows. “Fine. I’ll text him and see what he says.” Mandy grabbed her phone and punched in a message to Leo.

  Family dinner...casual?

  Within a minute, her phone beeped with an incoming text.

  Yes.

  Mandy thought for a moment.

  She texted back. How casual?

  Again, the response was nearly instantaneous.

  You can wear whatever you want.

  Mandy showed Ashley the text and Ashley rolled her eyes. “Very helpful. You’re meeting the family. How casual do you want to be?”

  “Well, I don’t want to look like I’m ready for an Easter Sunday service while everyone else is in T-shirts.”

  Ashley tilted her head to the side. “Fine. I’ll think of something.” She turned back to sift through Mandy’s clothes.

  “Ash?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Do you think this is all happening too fast? I mean, we just had our first date not that long ago. Then he meets my mom. Now I’m meeting his family. I’m just a little nervous about all this. I told you about his broken engagement. Maybe he’s just lonely and this is a rebound thing.”

  The bed creaked as Ashley sat down next to her.

  “Honey, don’t do this.”

  Mandy looked up. “Do what?”

  “You know. Don’t
sell yourself short, don’t let your insecurities get in the way of something that might be fabulous.”

  “I just feel... I’m not sure why he likes me. Or if he’s serious about this.”

  Ashley shook her hair back. “All right. Listen up. Time for one of my famous pep talks.”

  Mandy closed her eyes and motioned for Ashley to continue.

  “One, I don’t think he’d bother introducing you to the family if the boy didn’t have some serious intentions. C’mon, he drove to Evergreen to cook you dinner. That spells love in any language. Two, he likes you because you’re likable. I mean, sweetie, you are a great catch.”

  Mandy snorted at that comment.

  “Three, if it lasts or if it doesn’t—you have to take this risk for one important reason.”

  Mandy frowned and opened one eye. “What’s that?”

  “Because you’re borderline nuts about him. And you’d be crazy not to be. Don’t be such a scaredy-cat, Miss Seymour. And if it doesn’t work out, tell Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome to call me.”

  * * *

  Mandy double-checked her GPS to make sure she was in the right place. She and Ashley had compromised and Mandy felt as comfortable as she could hope to be in her favorite gray pants, a black sweater and dangly earrings.

  The Romano home perched on a hill, with a perfect view of the mountains. A line of cars crowded the circular driveway. Mandy took a deep breath before leaving her car and walking toward the large home. She knocked once and the door swung open. A dark-haired young woman who resembled Leo stood in front of her with a wide smile on her face.

  “Mandy Seymour, welcome. I’m Isabella Romano, Leo’s sister. Please call me Isa. Leo’s told me all about you. I’m under strict instructions to stay by your side. So come on in!” She stepped aside and Mandy walked through the door. The sounds of voices and music drifted through the house.

  “Is Leo here?” Mandy asked, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice.

  “He’s running late.”

  What!

  “Don’t worry. He’ll be here any minute. Come meet everybody.”

  Meet everybody?

  Mandy gritted her teeth, promising herself that she could be mad at Leo later. Right now, she was about to meet his family and needed to appear perfectly calm and relaxed. Isa led her down a hallway into the kitchen. Mandy froze, feeling as if she’d entered a scene from a movie. People filled the kitchen from one corner to the other, laughing, talking—Mandy noticed that several conversations were in Italian. But, as if a switch had been flipped, the room fell silent and every eye was on her.

  “This is Mandy, Leo’s friend,” Isa explained. Surprise dawned on most faces, but one petite woman who could only have been Leo’s mother stepped forward.

  “I’m Rosalinda. Mandy, tonight, you are family. Welcome.” She pulled Mandy into a gentle hug.

  The swoop of silence was replaced with the chatter of at least fifteen voices speaking at once. Mandy tried to keep up as people introduced themselves. Isa stayed at her side, giving Mandy the support she needed.

  “Hey.”

  Mandy turned around, relieved to see Leo, but she hoped the “You’re in trouble” look she was giving him was registering.

  He grinned and leaned down by her ear. “Yes, you can yell at me later. I’m sorry I’m late. Last-minute stuff at the restaurant. Now, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Mandy nodded. Delicious tingles shot up her arm as Leo took her hand and laced their fingers together. He guided her through the crowd to the kitchen table where the one and only Gabriel Romano sat.

  “Dad, this is Mandy.”

  Gabriel Romano looked like an older version of Leo, handsome with vibrant eyes, silver hair and a charming smile. He reached a wavering hand out to Mandy, and pain shot through her heart.

  Why? I just met him.

  Mandy held his hand and looked right into his eyes and she understood her reaction.

  It’s because of Leo, isn’t it, Father? I already feel so connected to him that seeing his dad this way hurts me, too.

  The thought unnerved Mandy. Without waiting for Leo, she pulled out a chair and sat down next to Gabriel.

  “I fell in love with your tiramisu a long time ago, Mr. Romano.”

  The beaming look on Gabriel’s face told Mandy she’d made an instant friend.

  “Call me Gabriel. Let’s hope you fall in love with my son.”

  Mandy’s face turned bright red, but probably not as scarlet as Leo’s.

  “Dad!”

  Gabriel waved him off without a glance. “I’m talking with Mandy. Go help your sister with the lasagna.”

  Leo raised his eyebrows at Mandy and she knew he wouldn’t leave her unless she gave him the okay to do so. She nodded and smiled and he headed toward the stove, calling out for Angelina to set the table. Mandy recognized Angelina as the server from Leo’s restaurant. It seemed that every inch of the Romano home buzzed with activity. The room radiated warmth, no doubt a result of the hot stoves and large crowd.

  “Now, Mandy, tell me, do you love Jesus?”

  Mandy blinked in surprise. “I do,” she answered.

  “Good, good. Do you love food?” he asked and Mandy burst into giggles.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Those are the only two requisites for joining our family.”

  “Well, I’m in, then,” Mandy responded and Gabriel laughed loudly. As their laughter died down, Gabriel patted her hand and lowered his voice.

  “I’m sure Leo has told you of his disappointment—his broken engagement.”

  Mandy nodded, glancing back toward where Leo stood slicing a loaf of bread and simultaneously arguing with an older woman in Italian. He caught her eye and winked.

  He speaks Italian? How did I not know that?

  “I’m sure that was difficult for him,” Mandy said, her gaze still on Leo.

  Gabriel’s eyes saddened. “Yes, it was. As it would be for anyone. But Leo is strong, stronger than he knows. And God has a plan for his life. I was so glad to hear that Leonardo was bringing a guest tonight. It’s been a long time. In fact, he’s only ever brought one other girl to family dinner...and he thought he would marry her. I believe you must be very special, Mandy.”

  Those words seemed to hover over Mandy before plunging into her. Along with the understanding that bringing her to meet Leo’s family meant more than she realized, Gabriel’s comment that she must be very special touched that vulnerable place inside in Mandy that always resisted believing that sort of thing.

  Mandy looked around at the bustling room, thinking about how much she was enjoying this moment, surrounded by the energy and vitality of the Romano family, taking in the essence of everything that made Leo...Leo.

  Mandy turned her attention back to Gabriel. “Romano’s is such a phenomenal restaurant, Mr. Rom—Gabriel. It’s one of my favorites, and believe me when I say I’ve tried nearly all the restaurants in Denver. You have a true gift for creating great food.”

  Gabriel’s hands jerked and Mandy noticed the tremors go up his arms.

  “God allowed me to use my hands for many years to pursue my passion to cook, to create food that would bring people together. But ever since he was a child, we all knew that this was Leo’s gift, as well. He was creating culinary masterpieces before he knew that that’s what they were. This is his time now. I only hope it’s not too much for him. I know from experience how demanding restaurant life can be.”

  “He can do it.”

  Mandy looked to her right as Leo’s mother joined the conversation. Rosalinda placed her hands on her husband’s shoulders. “Leo’s enthusiasm for cooking matches his father’s. Not to mention his talent,” she told Mandy. “Sometimes administration and leadership have to go along with the role
of a good chef. But other than Gabriel, my son is the most capable man I know. He’ll rise to the occasion.”

  Rosalinda leaned down to speak in Gabriel’s ear. “Gabriel, it’s time for your medication. Should I bring it to you?”

  He shook his head. Leo walked back over to the table, drying his hands on a dish towel.

  “Leo, help me up to my room, son. I’m feeling tired all of a sudden and I think I’d like to lie down after I take my medication.”

  Mandy watched as Leo’s brow furrowed with concern. He tossed the dish towel on the counter and helped his dad stand up.

  “I’ll be back, Mandy,” Leo said. Within seconds Isa was right at Leo’s side.

  “Dad?” she said, taking his other arm. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. I’m sorry, Mandy,” Gabriel said with a tired smile. “My family likes to make a fuss over me.”

  “Of course they do,” Mandy said. Leo and Isa walked on either side of Gabriel through the kitchen.

  “When his hands start to shake, it becomes somewhat difficult for Gabriel to feed himself,” Leo’s mother murmured, her eyes following Gabriel. “He still manages when we’re home by ourselves. But sometimes it makes him uncomfortable in a gathering like this.”

  Mandy’s heart ached for Gabriel, for Leo, for all of them.

  “He’s a remarkable man,” Mandy said softly, thinking of Gabriel’s talents, his success, but more than anything, his beautiful, loving family.

  Rosalinda looked at Mandy with a tender smile. “Yes. And Leonardo is just like him.”

  Mandy watched as Leo walked down the hallway with his dad, and the feeling that came over her as she stared at Leo felt suspiciously like love. “Yes, I can see that.”

  Chapter 10

  Mandy was halfway through the most scrumptious plate of lasagna she’d ever tasted, trying to follow two conversations. Across the table, Leo’s twenty-year-old cousin, Nick, hadn’t stopped talking about his new car. On Mandy’s left, Isa was talking about the frustrations of working the night shift at the hospital.