by R. M. Healy
Tomasso stepped forward, and Esther went to hold out her hand but was surprised when he embraced her. He was a big man, broad and tall like the rest of the Romano men.
Anton was as tall but slimmer than the rest of the men. His body was a lot more toned, and Esther suspected he had hardly any body fat on him. It suited him, she thought.
She again found herself wondering just how much of his body the fire had scarred. It didn't matter, of course, for he would still be just as handsome with or without them.
"How lovely to meet you! You are the famous boss lady I hear so much about, yes?" Tomasso said with a strong Italian accent, much like Anthonys and Rosa's.
"Ha, I hope what you've heard is good!" She joked back.
Tomasso leaned back and looked at Rosa and Anthony, "of course! They must really like you for you to be here with our family. Speaking of family, where is everyone else?"
"Sebastian and the gang should be here soon. Clover had an appointment about the pregnancy," Luca said, walking over to sit beside Lucy.
"I wanted to tell you some good news. Our application to adopt has been successful, and we are just waiting to be matched."
"That is fantastic news! I can't wait to meet my new nipote. This family is getting so big, it will be like when we all lived in Italy! I miss those times,” Tomasso exclaimed.
Rosa turned away, and for some reason, the news had made her emotional.
"Me too," Anthony said and walked over to stand behind her, on hand wrapped around her waist.
"I will get it," Tomasso said.
Esther watched Anthony kiss his wife on the head and whisper something in her ear, and Esther couldn't help feel touched at seeing them.
How many people had that kind of love? Would she ever meet someone who was so in touch with her feelings? She needed to start dating seriously soon. She was beginning to feel lonely watching everyone around her.
"Wow, it smells delectable in here," Sebastian said, pushing a pushchair with a sleeping boy in. The boy inside was just as cute as Luca's son, Theo. Again, Esther felt broody.
Following Sebastian was a stunning blonde with flawless skin and piercing blue eyes and an extremely handsome young man. Although the man had brown eyes and hair, his straight nose and full lips were the same as the stunning blonde.
From what Rosa had told Esther, she knew the blonde was Sebastian's wife, Clover, and the young man was Clover's little brother.
"The food is almost ready! Anthony, please go and find our son. Everyone else, please take a seat!"
Esther felt the atmosphere light up as everyone hugged and welcomed each other, cooing over each other babies. Feeling slightly out of place, Esther walked over to the oven, where Rosa was pulling out a tray of various foods.
"Here, I will take this," Esther picked up the giant pot of pasta, and Rosa shook her head as she did so.
"Oh Esther, you are a guest here," Rosa said with one hand on her plump frame.
"I am doing this for selfish reasons. The sooner it's on the table, the sooner I get to eat!"
Rosa laughed as she turned back to the pizzas she was cutting into slices. As she did, Esther picked up the dough balls, ham platter, and her personal favorite, the sausage spinach stuffed peppers.
Everyone had begun to take their seats around the table as Esther placed the side dishes down. Still, there was no Anthony or Anton.
After another trip with more plates, Esther picked up the four wines that had already been left out in front of the wine shelf and split them along the table. She had no problems serving food and drink since she'd done it her first few years of working for the Romanos anyway.
"Rosa, sit down. I can get that," Esther said to the visibly stressed woman who was pouring a second pitcher of water for the table.
"I just want it to be perfect for Anton. He hasn't left his bedroom since he got home. This is important."
Esther hid her shock at the woman's words. Did Rosa seriously think throwing a huge family gathering would be suitable for someone who hadn't left their room in almost a week? Anton was probably afraid to face reality after what he'd been through, and Rosa had invited everyone to his home.
She felt sorry for the woman, who clearly wanted nothing more than to help her son but had no idea how.
"Come, let's sit down and relax while we wait for him to come down," Esther took the pitcher and gently gripped Rosa's arm, and led her over to the table.
Everyone was talking loudly and animatedly across the table while waiting for Anton and his father. Esther thought perhaps Rosa was right in arranging this. All his family was in one room, here to let him know that they cared.
Rosa chose to sit at the head of the table, and Esther sat next to her. The only other two empty seats were either at the head of the table or across from Esther. She hoped Anton would sit at the other end of the table.
"It seems what my brother and his wife were not lying when they said what a brilliant woman you are!" Tomasso said when Rosa sat down beside him.
"She is!" Rosa said, smiling fondly at Esther. Esther felt awkward as everyone sitting at the table looked at her.
"I think Rosa would like nothing more than for you to marry her son, a perfect wife, and daughter!" Tomasso clapped his hands together, and everyone at the table laughed.
Anthony walked in and took his seat, laughing too. Esther didn't laugh and instead coughed awkwardly. Suddenly the room went quiet, and everyone turned to the doorway.
"She will have to keep on wishing because I don't want to marry her," a harsh voice snapped.
"I'm glad to see we agree on something Anton," Esther said, raising her brows as she stared at him.
Half of his face was covered, and his arm was strapped in a bandage, exposed by his black vest. The bags under his eyes and messy dark hair were evidence of his tiredness.
Usually, his hair was perfectly groomed, and his olive skin was flawless, and he always wore expensive fashionable clothes. Not an old vest, jogging bottoms, and football socks.
Any feelings of pity Esther might have had gone straight out the window when he spoke again.
"Why are you all here?" Anton asked, still standing in the doorway. His father had already taken his own seat at the table, and now everyone sat awkwardly looking at Anton.
"Because we love you and want to spend time with you!" Rosa's eyes were visibly watery as she looked at her son.
Anton shook his head and suddenly laughed loudly, surprising everyone.
"Love? I barely speak to any of you people. Admit it. You've all came to see if I look like a monster. Guess what folks, doctors not coming around to change the bandage till tonight, so you'll have to wait to see the freak show."
As Rosa began to cry, Esther got out of her seat and bent down to embrace the woman who still sat in her chair. Anthony stood from his own place so quickly that the wooden chair fell on the floor. Esther had never seen Anthony angry before. He was pretty intimidating as he began to talk to his son.
"Come with me. Now."
Anthony pointed back out to the corridor, and Anton rolled his eyes and walked ahead of his father. The door slammed, and the kitchen fell silent beside Rosa's tears.
"My poor baby," Rosa said through deep breaths.
"Let's not let the food get cold, Rosa. Your son is hurting, but he is alive and will get over this," Tomasso said, reaching over to grip her hand, "he will come out of this a better man.; trust me."
Esther didn't miss the look that passed between Tomasso and his own son, Luca.
"He is right. Anthony will know what to say to him," Esther rubbed Rosa's back and sat down in her own seat.
"Yeah, Anton knows we love him. Even if I punched the little jackass before," Sebastian joked, causing everyone to laugh, even Rosa.
"You punched him?" Esther questioned.
"It was a couple of years back, long story," Lucy said, shaking her head at Sebastian.
"I love hearing about my nephews fighting, but I love my food
much more. Since my brothers are not in the room, I will be the one to say, Tuck IN!" Tomasso said, scooping a large spoon of pasta onto his plate.
The chaotic race to scoop up the food left Esther feeling amused, and she could see from Rosa's expression, she was beginning to feel a bit better.
No one paid attention when the two men walked into the room, clearly a deliberate attempt to make Anton feel less like everyone was watching him.
Since Anthony took the head of the table, that only left the seat in front of Esther since all the other 9 places were taken.
Anton didn't acknowledge her as he pulled the seat out in front of her. She didn't look at him either and asked Rosa what food she wanted.
As Esther put Rosa's food on the plate, she heard Anton and Rosa begin to talk. She chose to ignore them and listen to Tomasso's story about him and his brothers when they were younger. It was a shame that Sebastian's father was no longer alive, but it was lovely to see how the family was still so close regardless of that.
Since her own father's family still lived in Korea, and her mother’s parents had died, it had only ever been Esther, Jessica, and her parents. She loved witnessing such a large family together.
"Anything else, Rosa?" Esther asked, putting the full plate of food in front of the woman.
"No, this is enough, thank you. Anton, will you please eat some?" Rosa said.
Esther dished her own food up and was glad when she was finally able to tuck into it.
"So if this meal is for people who supposedly love me, then why are you here, Esther?" Anton asked as he watched her eating. Swallowing a piece of pasta, she looked up at him and put her knife and fork down.
Everyone else was still absorbed in their own conversations. Even Rosa and Tomasso were speaking between them in rapid Italian.
"I came here because I care about your parents."
"Care about them or their money. Maybe this will get you a promotion at work?" He raised his dark brows and rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he leaned forward.
"You think I would put up with your company for a promotion? No. If I wanted to, I could walk out and get a better-paid job tomorrow. I love my job and your parents. Your opinion on that is irrelevant to me."
Her anger only seemed to make Anton more amused, and it bothered Esther that he was getting under her skin. Instead of saying anything else, she continued eating her food, fully aware that Anton was still staring at her.
"So Esther, do you have a boyfriend?" Tomasso asked randomly.
"Nope," she said, hoping that would be all he'd ask. Of course, it wasn't.
"Why not? You're a beautiful young successful woman!"
"I've been busy recently. Perhaps in the future."
"Yes, who knows," Tomasso immediately looked to his nephew. "What about you, Anton? Any future wife?"
"I don't intend to marry," Anton said bluntly. His dark eye's looked out of the window behind his mother, away from Tomasso. It didn't stop the man from asking more questions.
"Ah, that is what my son said! And look at him now! Besides, what about your mother? She is so desperate for a grandchild!"
For a moment, Esther thought Anton was going to laugh. It seemed she'd read him completely wrong.
"What a shame. Because now her only living child looks like a monster, it's not going to happen," he stood up and looked up and down the table at the guests before shaking his head and walking out.
It was clear he was really struggling with what had happened to him. And who could blame him? Esther had no idea how bad his burns were. The only thing she could tell from the bandages was that the scars would cover a large portion of his body.
And what did he mean about their only living child?
Had they had other children that Esther didn't know about? She didn't think now would be an appropriate time to ask since Rosa walked out of the room with her husband following her.
It was fortunate that everyone had eaten more than enough of their share of food since it was clearly evident the meal was over.
"I will clear up," Esther said, picking up a couple of plates and walking over to the sink.
She started washing the pots and pans Rosa had used while cooking and left the family to talk about what had just happened without an outsider listening in. The sound of the water drowned out the conversation, for which Esther was relieved. She didn't want to be involved in another family drama. She just hoped Rosa and Anthony were ok.
As for Anton, she wished him well. For although his skin was scarred, he still had his life and would be physically well soon enough. But the idea that Rosa and Anthony had another child niggled at her. In the 11 years that she'd known them, there had been no mention of any other children of theirs.
If they had lost a child, it would explain a lot about the way they treated Anton. In his parent's eyes, it seemed he could do no wrong, and they let him get away with things most parents would go crazy with their child for.
Had Anton lost a sibling? Is that why he had no real friends in his life? Because he found it too hard to get close to people?
As all the questions went through Esther's mind, Sebastian's wife, Clover, dragged her back to the present moment when she placed a large stack of plates and cutlery beside where Esther stood at the sink.
"Hey, want me to take over? I don't mind doing these," the blonde offered with a polite smile.
"No, I find it therapeutic. Thanks for offering," Esther said and put the plates in the now-empty ceramic sink and turned the hot tap on.
"It's terrible what's happened to Anton, isn't it. I've met him a few times, and he's always been the most confident guy on the planet. Maybe even too confident at times," Clover said with humor in her voice.
"Would his confidence and forward attitude have anything to do with your husband punching him?" Esther asked, trying to keep the mood light and not talk about Anton's accident.
Clover laughed and shook her head, "how did you guess? Let's just say Anton said the wrong thing about me to Sebastian, and he got a little possessive."
"Typical Anton. He loves a pretty face," Esther said as she continued washing the plates.
"Yep. It’s obvious he has a thing for you. I saw him staring at you from down the other side of the table."
Despite Esther agreeing with Clover that Anton was staring at her, she knew the reason was purely for his own ego.
"Maaaaa!" The little boy shouted from the sofa. Clover immediately turned and walked over to her son.
Esther was relieved not to carry on the conversation. She didn't want to seem rude when she told Clover she and Anton would never be a thing and, if anything, resented each other more than liked.
Everyone stood around the sofa's fussing over the two little boys who were now wide awake. Esther decided it wouldn't be rude to search Rosa's cupboards for Tupperware to store all the leftover food. After finding tons of storage containers, Esther made several boxes for people to take home and some to store in Rosa's fridge.
When she was done, she began to feel a bit left out. The people were virtual strangers, and the two people who she had come to see hadn't come back in the room for at least twenty minutes.
"I need to leave now guys, it's been nice meeting you all. Tell Rosa I am sorry I left without saying bye."
As Esther attempted to leave, almost every family member embraced her and said their goodbyes. They were lovely kind people, but Esther wasn't going to hang around as an outsider on a family night in.
Walking down the drive, she wrapped her coat around her tighter as it began to lightly snow.
Looking back up at the house, she was sure this time that the curtain moved on the top floor and paused to see if it opened. Even though she waited, the curtain didn't twitch again, and Esther got into her car.
Tomorrow, she would order some flowers to apologize to Rosa for leaving abruptly and email Anthony to see if he wanted to reschedule their next meeting for a more suitable time.
She didn't intend
to go to their house until she was sure Anton had recovered and got back to his usual routine. He would soon be jetting back off around the world, and Esther would feel a lot more settled again.
Chapter Six
"It's been in like, so many newspapers! I literally did not know he was that famous! I have seen it all over social media and the mags, including pictures of those hot cousins of his," Stacey said as she stood in the office doorway. "Oh, and did you hear about Sebastian Romano's secret brother?!" Stacey whistled loudly to make her words more dramatic.
Esther rolled her eye’s about to tell Stacey to get back to work when the woman spoke again.
"And don’t get me started on Erik Romano! I mean, how much drama can happen to this family in one month? It's insane! But hey, at least it's sent business through the roof, huh? This is the busiest we've ever been in my whole two years working here."
"Since we are so busy, shouldn't you be out on the floor, Stacey? I've got to look at recruiting another chef for one of the other restaurants and more staff for this restaurant if the expansion gets accepted," Esther said as she sifted through applications.
"Oh, I hope it does! I know it won't happen for like months, but it's all just so exciting, isn't it!"
Esther gave Stacey a final warning look, and the young woman put her hands up and smiled, "ok, I'm going!"
When the door shut, Esther breathed a sigh of relief. Stacey was helpful, but sometimes she was a bit too much to handle. Besides, she really did have a lot to do. Anthony had emailed her back saying he still wanted to continue with the meeting and would be coming to the restaurant that night.
It had been over a week since the dinner, and Esther was glad things were still on track.
She had to get all the paperwork ready to show him that everything was in going smoothly with a new restaurant opening that was happening in Chicago.
This was the first one she hadn't personally overseen herself, and it had fantastic success in its first month, something that she knew Anthony would love.
The main thing she wanted to discuss was her ideas for expanding the first restaurant they'd ever opened. Although it was still brilliantly successful, it drastically needed more seating and had done for years.
