Tony’s hands stilled. “You want me to turn her down, even if she comes back and says she is certain it is what she wants?”
“No, of course not. Just don’t count on her staying forever. She loves that restaurant in New York. She’ll regret it if she gives up on it. She just needs a breather until her fighting spirit comes back.”
Tony’s gaze narrowed. “Is this some ploy to get her back in New York where you can drag her into court?”
“Absolutely not,” Rafe said, offended, even though on some level he could understand the man’s suspicion. He had not come here with good intentions toward Gina. Only in recent days had that changed.
“Then what makes you think you know what is best for our Gina? Do you care for her?”
Rafe debated lying, but Tony’s knowing eyes would see straight through him. “More than I have any right to, given my role in all of this,” he finally admitted.
The back door opened just then and Gina stepped inside, a look of grim determination on her face. When she caught sight of Rafe, she frowned.
“What are you doing here?” she asked suspiciously.
“He is learning how to make pasta from a master,” Tony said, giving Rafe a wink.
“I had no idea you were interested in the finer points of making your own noodles,” Gina said, her gaze locked with Rafe’s.
“It’s a recent interest,” he said easily.
“I see.”
“What brings you by, cara mia?” Tony asked.
“Do I need a reason to visit?”
“Never, but you usually have one. It has not been long enough for you to have given careful thought to what we discussed yesterday.”
Once again she regarded Rafe with suspicion, but then she turned to Tony. “I still want a job.”
“You have a job,” he replied. “In fact, it seems to me you have been away from it too long, all things considered.”
Color bloomed in her cheeks and she whirled on Rafe. “What have you been telling him?”
Tony interceded. “I do not need anyone to tell me things where your best interests are concerned. This business of yours does not run itself. Mine certainly does not and yours is more demanding, yes? Especially now.”
“Are you saying you don’t want me here?” she asked, a hitch in her voice revealing just how close to tears she was. “I thought you just wanted me to think it over. Are you saying now that you don’t want me at all?”
“Never!” Tony said. “You have a place here always. I just don’t want you to use my kitchen to hide out from your troubles. I want you to face them like the brave woman you are.”
Her gaze flew from Tony to Rafe and back again. “Is that what the two of you think, that I’m running away, that I’m hiding out?”
“Aren’t you?” Rafe asked quietly. “That call from Bobby yesterday morning was the final blow, wasn’t it?”
“No, the final blow was finding you in here conspiring with a man I’d always thought was my friend,” she retorted angrily, then ran for the door, slamming it behind her as she left.
Tony started after her, but Rafe stopped him. “I’ll go. It’s me she’s furious with.”
Tony nodded. “The job is hers if she doesn’t change her mind. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Of course,” he said, then went to try to undo some of the damage he’d caused, not this morning, but over the past few weeks.
Gina ran until she was out of breath and had a blister forming on her heel. She was cursing Rafe O’Donnell every step of the way, with a couple of healthy epithets reserved for Tony, as well.
She was limping and winded when Rafe caught up with her. She noticed that he was driving, not running, which meant he’d taken his own sweet time about pursuing her. He’d probably hoped that a little time and exercise would help her to work off some steam. It hadn’t. If anything, she was angrier and more hurt than ever.
“Want a lift?” he asked.
“No.”
“Don’t be stubborn. Get in the car.”
“No,” she repeated, though the thought of all that air-conditioned comfort was way too tempting. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“If you don’t get in, I’ll just be forced to park and walk with you. Then two of us will be miserable and courting sunstroke.”
He would do it, too. She could see the determination in the grim set of his jaw. “Okay, fine,” she said, grudgingly walking around the car to get in.
Rafe gave her a quick sideways glance. “Going anyplace in particular?”
“Away from you.”
His lips twitched. “Now that you know that’s out of the question, any other destination you’d care to try?”
“Home,” she said finally, then added hopefully, “alone.”
He shook his head. “Not an option. You don’t need to be alone, Gina. You need to talk this out with someone who knows all the facts, someone who’s a good listener.”
“Someone who wants to put me in jail?” she added wryly.
“Not you. Bobby Rinaldi,” he corrected.
She sighed and let that pass. She wasn’t convinced about that yet. Catching Rafe with Tony had shaken her. She had been counting on Tony to be the one person totally on her side, the one person who would give her a fresh start, no questions asked. His refusal to do so was Rafe’s doing and she wasn’t entirely sure of Rafe’s motives. Until she was, she wasn’t discussing anything about Café Tuscany with him.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company, at least for an afternoon. Whatever else he was, Rafe O’Donnell was definitely a sexy distraction, a far cry from most of the men she’d crossed paths with lately. He was certainly an improvement over Bobby.
“Pull over,” she commanded.
He regarded her with a startled expression, but he actually did as
