“Because I was hoping that now that we have this agreement, you’d be ready to go back to New York.”
“If you’re anxious to go home, go,” she said, though her heart felt suddenly empty at the prospect of him leaving. “Emma or I will keep you posted if Bobby turns up.”
Rafe shook his head. “Not that I don’t trust you, but I’ll feel better if I’m around to keep a close eye on you.”
Something in his voice alarmed her. “Because you still don’t trust me?”
“No, because we have no way of knowing whether Bobby took that money because he’s desperate for some reason.”
“Desperate? What on earth do you mean?”
“If he’s gotten himself mixed up in something bad, something like gambling debts or big-time drug deals, he could be in danger. I don’t want him dragging you into that.”
The thought of there being any actual danger in all of this had never occurred to Gina. The prospect of losing Café Tuscany had been daunting enough.
“Surely, if there were any danger, he would warn me,” she said slowly but without much conviction. After all, if Bobby had been concerned about her at all, he would never have put her in this position in the first place.
“We can’t be sure of that,” Rafe said, his expression grim.
He brushed a finger across her forehead. “Don’t look so worried. I am not going to let anything happen to you.”
He held out his hand. “Let’s go. I recommend a big plate of pasta and some wine.”
Gina sighed. Normally that was a prescription she would recommend herself. Tonight, though, she had a feeling it was going to take a whole lot more to chase away the sudden butterflies in her stomach.
She was still unnerved when they reached Tony’s. Peg Lafferty, who’d been with Tony since he opened, led them to a table near the kitchen. “I know Tony’s going to be running in and out to talk to you, so this will be more convenient.”
“Where’s Francesca tonight?” Gina asked.
“Home. She’s not feeling well.”
“What’s wrong? Do you know?”
“I’m not sure,” Peggy said, her expression filled with concern. “She’s been staying home a lot lately. Tony doesn’t talk much about it, and I haven’t wanted to pry.”
He hadn’t said anything to Gina, either, but she had none of Peggy’s reticence about prying. She intended to get to the bottom of this. “Tell him I’m here, okay?”
“Will do,” Peggy promised. “Everyone’s eating late tonight, it seems. He’s got a half dozen orders going right now, but he’ll be out soon. Can I bring you a bottle of Chianti while you look over the menu?”
“Chianti would be good,” Rafe told her. When she had gone, he regarded Gina with concern. “Don’t start taking what she said and exaggerating it in your head. Francesca may be perfectly fine. She might just be taking some time off.”
“You don’t know her. She doesn’t take time off, not willingly.” She started to stand up. “Maybe I should go over there to check on her.”
Rafe tugged her back down. “Maybe you should wait and let Tony answer your questions before you go charging over to see her.”
“These are my friends,” she said, “not yours.”
“That doesn’t make my advice any less sensible,” he said mildly.
Gina sighed and relented. “You’re probably right. I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill. Tony would have told me if it was anything serious.”
“Exactly,” he said just as Peggy returned with the wine and a promise that Tony would join them shortly.
“Do you want to order before that?” she asked.
“No,” Gina said at once. “I want answers before I want food.”
“Speak for yourself,” Rafe said. “How about a plate of antipasto for the time being?”
“You’ve got it,” Peggy said, then went off to check on another group of late arrivals.
When the antipasto arrived, Gina realized that she was ravenous. Since there was nothing she could do until Tony emerged from the kitchen, anyway, she picked up a carrot stick, then a stalk of celery, then reached for the warm garlic bread that Peggy had brought with it. Rafe watched her approvingly.
“That’s better,” he said at last. “You’ve got some color back in your cheeks. I was worried there for a bit. This tendency of yours to take on everyone else’s problems is not a good thing.”
“These are my friends,” she said defensively. “What would you have me do?”
He sighed. “I imagine telling you to maintain a little distance would be a waste of my breath.”
She studied his expression, trying to gauge if he was actually serious. “Can you do that? Can you maintain a nice, safe distance when your friends are in trouble?”
Her question seemed to catch him off guard. “Truthfully, there are not that many people I consider friends.”
Gina stared at him. “Surely you can’t mean that.”
“It’s true. I have business acquaintances. There are dozens of people at my law firm who are colleagues, but friends? People I’d call up just to go out and have a drink for the fun of it? I haven’t had the time.”
“But that’s awful,” she said without thinking about her own barren social life in New York. Was she any better? “Everyone should have friends, people they can count on, people they would go the extra mile for without question.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Do you expect me to believe that there is no one important in your life?”
“That’s the truth.”
“What about your mother? You said you jumped into this case because of her,” she said triumphantly. “You must care about her.”
“I don’t like to see anyone swindled. That’s why I took the case.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true.”
Before she could probe any deeper, they were joined by Tony, who looked more tired than she had ever seen him. Rafe looked relieved to have her attention shifting away from him and on to Tony, but she had no intention of forgetting about his admission that there was no one in his life who really mattered to him.
“Are you okay?” Gina asked Tony.
“It’s been a busy night. That’s all,”
