by Brandy Bruce
Unable to speak, Leo bowed his head for a moment. The stress he was under was suffocating him. He couldn’t handle it. Something had to give.
God...help me to trust You through this.
He felt a peace rush over him and he wondered why he’d fought it so long. He recognized the feeling of acceptance, of giving in, and he welcomed it.
“I don’t understand all of this, Dad. But...I think I have to trust that God does.”
“Sometimes, Leo,” his father said, his voice soft and weary, “that’s all we can do.”
Mandy inundated Leo’s thoughts all over again. Hadn’t she told him the very same thing? Leo knew instinctively that both she and his father spoke the truth. And that God had intentionally placed both of them in his life.
Leo looked back at his father. “Dad, what do you think of Mandy?”
His dad smiled. “I think she’s the one for you, Leo. But more importantly, what do you think of her?”
Leo looked back at the article on the computer screen. He could almost hear Mandy saying the heartfelt words directly to him. It was right there, clear as day—how she felt about him.
“I know she’s the one for me,” he said, more to himself than to his Dad.
Now he just had to take back all the nonsense he’d told her. He needed to convince Mandy Seymour that she could trust him with her heart—and that his heart already belonged to her.
Chapter 17
Mandy honked her horn twice. The door to Ashley’s townhome opened, but all Mandy could see was Ashley’s hand reaching out, giving her a “hold on!” gesture, and then disappearing back inside. Mandy sat back in annoyance and checked the clock again.
We’re going to be late.
At the last minute that Sunday evening, Mandy had decided to force Ashley to be her plus-one at Gabriel Romano’s retirement party. Going with Ashley sounded better than showing up alone. At least it had, until Ashley proceeded to make them both late. The front door finally opened and Ashley dashed out to the car.
“Ash—” Mandy began as Ashley slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
“Waitin’ on you now, honey. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Grrr!” Mandy said loudly in vexation, and Ashley chuckled.
“All right, I’m sorry it took me a little longer than I thought to get ready. You’re taking me to a restaurant that will be teeming with Italian men. I obviously need to look my best.”
“You’re there to be my wingman, not to find an Italian husband.”
“You obviously don’t understand the concept of a wingman, or wingwoman.”
“Ashley!”
“You’re right. Let’s drop it.”
Mandy found a parking spot in the last row in the lot.
“Looks like a good turnout,” Ashley said cheerfully as they walked together toward the entrance of the Franklin Romano’s. Liz held the door open as they approached.
“Mandy!” she exclaimed with a grin.
“Hi, Liz.” Mandy reached into her purse for her invitation. “Do you need to see the invite? I know the party is by invitation only.”
Liz shook her head. “I know you’re on the list. Let me just check which table you’ve been assigned to.”
“Assigned tables?” Mandy repeated and Liz nodded, her eyes on the iPad in front of her.
“There are so many guests that Leo’s mother felt it was necessary to do a seating chart. Okay, here you are. Table twenty-five. All the tables are numbered tonight so you should find it pretty easily. Make your way to the right. There’s a buffet dinner set out—you’ll see it. Grab a plate and find your seat. I think Gabriel’s going to speak during dessert.”
Mandy and Ashley found their table quickly and then went through the buffet line.
“It’s not noticeable that I’m looking around for Leo, is it?” she whispered into Ashley’s ear.
Ashley grinned. “Of course not. I think the family is all seated together. Look past our table, farther to the right.”
Ashley was right. Gabriel Romano sat at the head of a long table that seated maybe twenty people. But Leo was nowhere to be seen.
The girls went back to their table and were quickly joined by a man who introduced himself as the Romano family attorney, along with his wife and two members of Leo’s staff. Mandy noticed a woman with a camera taking a steady stream of shots, and assumed she was a professional photographer.
“Look!” Ashley said, pointing to a satellite table near the family. “That’s the mayor. I saw him on TV last night!”
“He must be a friend of Gabriel’s,” Mandy surmised, her eyes scanning the rest of the room. “Oh, wow, Ash. That’s Giovanni De Benedetti over to the left!”
“Who’s that?”
“Only one of the most respected chefs in this country!”
Ashley shrugged. “Oh. Cool. Have you tried this chicken Alfredo? It’s to die for.”
With difficulty, Mandy turned her attention away from the myriad guests and onto her plate of pasta.
* * *
Leo checked the dessert trays before the staff took them to the dining room. While many of his father’s long-standing staff were at the party as guests, Leo had also arranged for several waitstaff to come in to serve. Adam was running the kitchen tonight. Leo nodded his approval of the dessert trays and the platters went up on the shoulders of the servers as they filed out of the kitchen.
Leo made his way back to the dining room. Thankfully, his father was having a good day. He seemed energized by the guests. As Leo weaved through the tables, stopping to shake hands with friends and family, the sight of unruly, wavy brown hair distracted him.
Mandy.
As usual, his composure wavered when he saw her. He walked to her table and leaned over her shoulder.
“Chicken Alfredo? Tsk-tsk. I asked Adam to bring out the Lobster Magnifico just for you, Ms. Seymour.”
He could see the flush on her neck before she even turned to look at him.
“Leo, this is my friend Ashley. Ash, this is Leo.”
“Well, well. Leonardo Romano. I’ve heard lots about you!” Mandy’s friend spoke with a thick Southern drawl.
Leo straightened and reached over to shake hands with Ashley. He glanced at his father’s table and caught his mother looking at him. With a smile, she waved at him to stay where he was. After saying a quick hello to his father’s attorney, Leo pulled up a chair next to Mandy.
“You look beautiful, Mandy,” he said in a low voice. Her smile lit up her eyes.
“You don’t have to stay here with us, Leo. You should be with your family,” Mandy insisted.
And you should be with me.
Leo shrugged. “I’ll go back in a minute. You’re an honored guest tonight, Mandy. We’ve all read your article. My mother basically wept.”
At that, Mandy blushed again.
“She cried?”
“She did. Thank you so much for what you wrote. The tribute was really beautiful.” The words came easily to Leo. He only hoped Mandy understood how earnest they were.
“Liz mentioned that your father is going to speak during dessert,” Mandy said.
“Yes, if he’s feeling up to it. The dessert trays have been added to the buffet table, but in a moment, we’ll actually bring out a large Italian wedding cake in honor of my father’s retirement. Once we cut the cake, I believe coffee will be served and he’ll want to thank all his guests. There’s a microphone and a stand for him near the table.”
“May I take your photo?”
Mandy and Leo both looked up as the photographer stood in front of them, holding her camera. Leo had little doubt this photo op was prearranged by either his mother or Isa. Mandy looked at him, her eyebrows raised.
“Of course,” Leo ag
reed, moving closer to Mandy as they both smiled for the photographer. He eased back away once the photographer left, though he wished he didn’t have to.
“Leo!” Isa called out from the head table.
Leo spoke reluctantly, “I have to go. It’s probably time for the cake.”
Mandy nodded. “That’s all right, Leo.”
Leo lowered his voice. “Mandy, we really need to talk—”
“Leonardo!” Leo recognized the rising impatience in Isa’s tone and stood up.
“This is not the right time. But soon, I have things I need to say,” he told Mandy before he made his way through the crowd.
When he got to the family’s table, Isa grabbed his arm. “I think Dad’s too tired to stand. And he’s shaking,” she said in almost a whisper. “Bring the microphone over to where he’s sitting, that way he won’t feel obligated to stand.”
Leo nodded and did as she requested. He waited to the side as his parents stood together and cut the cake, then joined in the applause. Once his father was seated, Leo brought him the microphone.
“Everyone can hear you with this, Dad. You don’t need to stand.” His father looked ready to argue, but then he conceded. Leo could see his dad’s right hand tremble badly, so he held the microphone for him.
“Thank you all so much for coming,” Gabriel said, his eyes glistening. “This has been a night of celebration. I want to thank God for all He’s given me—my family, my work, my friends. I want to thank Mandy Seymour for her lovely article announcing my retirement.”
Leo’s gaze shot to where Mandy was sitting. When her eyes met his, Leo sensed the weight of all the things he needed to say to her. He felt the unmistakable pull toward her that came over him every time he was near her.
“I also want to ask you all to continue to offer my son, Leonardo, the support you have offered me throughout the years. I am so proud of him. He has taken on a very large responsibility, and to show our gratitude, his sister, his mother and I have a gift for him.”
His dad pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to him. Leo blinked in surprise.
“We all know that the life of a chef is a demanding one. But life, my son, is more important than work. I want you to work to live, not to live to work. And so we want to make sure you take a break every now and then.”
Leo opened the envelope and pulled out a plane ticket to Italy. He leaned down and hugged his father, then his mother, and finally Isa.
“Thank you,” Leo said.
“You’ve earned it,” his mother said with pride in her eyes.
His father held up a goblet of sparkling water for a toast. “To my son!” he called out.
“Salute!” the crowd responded.
* * *
When Mandy saw an opening, she rushed forward to talk to Gabriel. While she didn’t want to take any time away from his family, she couldn’t leave without speaking to him.
“Mandy!” His face lit up when he saw her. She noticed how fatigued he looked. Mandy leaned down and hugged him.
“Gabriel, I’m so thrilled you liked the article.”
He reached forward and took her hand in his. “It was perfect. I knew it would be.”
“Well, I appreciate your faith in me.”
“It meant so much to all of us.” His gaze turned to where Leo stood talking with a group of people. “But to me especially.”
Mandy stepped back. “I don’t want to keep you, but I wanted to thank you for inviting me. Not just tonight.” Mandy hoped he understood her meaning. She felt as though Gabriel had invited her into his life, into his family.
“We’ll see you soon, Mandy,” he said with confidence.
That confident tone stayed with her all the way back to Ashley’s.
“What did you think of Leo?” Mandy asked before Ashley got out of the car. Ashley reached for the door handle.
“I think he’s great, Mandy. Gorgeous, nice, sweet, good company and...”
“And?” Mandy prodded.
“And most importantly—” Ashley looked at Mandy “—I think he’s 100 percent in love with you.”
Mandy shook her head. “Oh, sure. That’s why he keeps telling me he can’t be in a relationship with me.”
“Mandy, you should see the way he looks at you.”
Mandy remembered her mother saying almost the same thing.
“How does he look at me?” she wondered, hating that she couldn’t keep from asking. Ashley smiled.
“Well, for one thing—when was the guy not looking at you? When you talk, Mandy, it’s like he’s absorbing every word. He notices every move you make. And from where I was sitting, it was so glaringly obvious that he sees the real you, Mandy. The one I see. The one everyone sees...but you, I think.”
Mandy couldn’t answer.
“Listen to me. I know you’re afraid,” Ashley said gently. “I know you’ve had this perception of yourself for as long as you can remember. It stems from your mother and a whole lot of other issues. But it’s not who you are, and this is important, Mandy, it’s not who you ever were. You were never a failure, never inadequate or mediocre. Never pathetic or insignificant. We’ve been friends a long time. Long enough for me to know you’ve felt all those things at one time or another. But feeling them doesn’t make them true, honey.”
Mandy’s breath caught, and for a moment, the silence seemed to zero in on her and everything else melted away. Ashley’s words covered her like a balm.
“It’s time to see yourself for who you are. And if you can’t do that yet, start by seeing who Christ is in you.”
“I have been trying,” Mandy acknowledged. “I do want to see myself as God sees me, Ash. It’s just not easy for me.”
Ashley squeezed Mandy’s hand. “I know, sweet pea. Just keep reminding yourself that you’re loved with an everlasting love.”
“God loves me with an everlasting love,” Mandy repeated, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.
“That’s right. And that’s an incredible kind of love.”
Mandy nodded. “It’s the kind of love that gives you confidence.” She’d tried to convince herself of all of those same things hundreds of times over the years. But in that moment Mandy recognized a new sensation churning in her heart, an almost startling certainty—she was ready to believe those words were true.
* * *
Early Monday morning, Mandy woke to a snow-covered Denver, not unusual for early spring in Colorado. She quickly determined that it was a work-from-home kind of morning and settled in front of her laptop, wearing her pajamas and sipping English breakfast tea. Her cell rang, interrupting her latest review. Mandy’s heart rate doubled at the sight of the name on her caller ID. Bernice St. James.
“Mandy, I hope you have some good news for me!” her voice chimed.
Mandy sat silent for a moment. One thought invaded her consciousness.
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
A feeling of calm spread through Mandy.
I haven’t forgotten, Lord.
Mandy closed her laptop, her decision made.
* * *
Leo rubbed his weary eyes as he padded through his apartment. Exhausted or not, the party had been a success and Leo was thankful for that. From his kitchen, he clicked on the television, at once hearing reports of the six inches of snow that had fallen during the night.
I need a day off.
Leo looked at the ticket to Italy sitting on his kitchen counter. His parents had booked it for the last week in September but told him he could change the dates to whenever best suited him. Leo slid the ticket into one of the kitchen drawers.
I can’t even think about traveling anytime soon.
But his father’s words from the night before drifted around in hi
s thoughts.
Work to live. Don’t live to work. Life is the most important thing.
Leo poured a bowl of cereal, too tired to cook anything. His mind was inundated with images from the night before. One thing had stuck with him all through the night—the truth that, without a doubt, the success of his father’s life was seen in the group of people who surrounded him to show their care and support. His dad had touched so many lives. None more than Leo’s.
Leo walked to the kitchen window and looked out at the few stray snowflakes drifting down.
That’s the success I want. That’s the sort of life I want.
And whatever his life entailed, Leo knew one thing: he wanted Mandy to be part of it.
Chapter 18
Tuesday afternoon, Leo wrote Mandy an email, asking her if they could have dinner together Thursday evening. He’d checked his email off and on for three hours, restless as he waited for Mandy’s answer. When a letter finally showed up in his inbox, Leo dropped everything to read the one-line email from Mandy. Yes. My turn to choose: my apartment at 7:30 sharp. Be there.
By the time Thursday rolled around, Leo still had no idea what he was going to say to Mandy. He knew he needed to communicate to her how deep his feelings were for her, but just how he would do that eluded him. Snow had fallen on Denver for two days straight, so Thursday afternoon, Leo spent fifteen minutes scraping ice and snow from the windshield of his car.
Leo pulled into the empty parking lot at the Franklin location. He was relieved to see that the lot had already been cleared of the snow. He entered through the kitchen door and turned lights on as he made his way down the hallway to his office. When he flipped the light switch and opened the door, his mouth fell open and he dropped his keys to the floor.
Mom.
Leo scrambled to grab his keys and then just stood in the doorway, taking in the scene that was his office. His mother had done a complete overhaul. His father’s large, bulky furniture had been replaced by sleek black bookshelves, a simple black desk and two cream-colored leather chairs. The colorful walls were now white, with symmetrical black-and-white framed photos filling the wall space. Leo moved closer to inspect the photos and his heart ached once he saw the pictures his mother had chosen.
