“Have you eaten?”
“I haven’t had the time.”
Gina jumped up. “Then you sit right here. I’m going to fix something for all of us. And if anyone else comes in, I’ll handle it. Have a glass of wine. Talk to Rafe. Relax.”
Tony patted her hand. “You’re a good girl, cara mia.”
“And a better cook,” she reminded him with a grin. “I’ll make you two a meal that will make you weep.”
Rafe started to protest, but Gina silenced him with a look. “I need to do this,” she said quietly. “It won’t take long.”
“It will take as long as it takes,” Tony chided, his expression stern. “Good food cannot be rushed.”
Gina pressed a kiss to his pale cheek. “Advice from the master,” she teased, managing to keep a smile plastered firmly on her face as she left the two men to their wine and their conversation.
But once she reached the kitchen, she sagged against the door. Something was terribly wrong. Suddenly her own problems with Bobby, her confusion over her relationship with Rafe, none of it mattered. How sad that Rafe didn’t understand the meaning of such deep and abiding friendships.
But maybe, once she’d dealt with whatever was going on with Tony and Francesca, once Karen’s life was settled again, maybe then she could take the time to teach him.
Chapter Twelve
Rafe studied Tony’s tired face and concluded that Gina was right to be concerned. He might not know the man well, but there was a general air of despondency about him that was unmistakable even to him.
“Gina’s worried about you,” he said.
“And I am worried for her,” Tony responded. “The longer this business with her partner drags on, the sadder she becomes. I don’t like it. If I knew this man, I would wring his neck myself.”
“Join the club,” Rafe said, though he chafed at Tony’s evasive change of topic. Apparently, he really was lousy at this friendship thing. Surely a man with his skills at cross-examination should have been able to get a direct response. He considered his words, realized then that unlike his courtroom style, he’d made a statement, rather than asking a probing question. It seemed like he was even out of practice at being a decent lawyer.
“But I wasn’t really talking about Gina. I was asking about you. Is everything okay?” he asked more pointedly. “Peggy said something earlier about your wife that made Gina conclude that she might not be well.”
If anything, Tony looked even more dispirited. “Francesca grows more homesick day by day. Her only sister, who lives in Rome, is not well. Francesca wishes she were there with her, but she refuses to go back to Italy alone, and I cannot simply close the business and leave.”
“There is a solution,” Rafe said thoughtfully, hating himself for even thinking of it, much less voicing it. He needed to get back to New York one of these days, though amazingly the pressure seemed to lessen with every day he spent right here in Wyoming with Gina. He was beginning to adapt to the slower pace and friendlier lifestyle. And except for court, he was able to keep up with most of his work. Lydia kept his fax machine humming, and what was too lengthy and complicated to be faxed she shipped overnight.
“Oh?” Tony said, his expression brightening hopefully. “What solution?”
“Let Gina take over. She’s insistent on staying here for the time being because of her friend Karen. It would give her something to do.”
Tony seemed startled by the suggestion. “Were you not the one who warned me not to expect her to work here again?”
“I meant permanently,” Rafe said, then shrugged. “Who knows, though? Maybe I was wrong about that, as well. Gina is not an easy woman to read.”
Tony looked shocked by the assessment. “Gina? She wears her heart on her sleeve. Anyone who knows her can see that.”
“Then maybe I don’t know her as well as I thought.”
“Or perhaps as well as you would like to?” Tony inquired, looking amused. “Or is it that what you see terrifies you, so you pretend not to see it?”
Rafe glanced toward the kitchen, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman in question, but the door remained steadfastly closed. “It’s possible that you’re right,” he admitted, turning back to Tony. “Maybe I do see things that scare me, even though a part of me wants what she wants.”
“This is a good thing,” Tony said enthusiastically. “I am very pleased. Admitting what you want is always the first step.”
“First step to what?” Rafe asked.
“The future.” He grinned. “Now, what would you like to know about our Gina? Ask, and I will tell you.”
His sudden openness startled Rafe. “Why the change of heart? You’ve been refusing to discuss her with me before now.”
Tony’s amusement seemed to grow. “Because you have changed. As has your reason for being here, I suspect. Now, tell me, what is it about Gina that you do not understand?”
Rafe asked the first thing that came to mind. “Is she a good chef?”
“Of all the things you might have asked, that is what you pick?” Tony said with a sad shake of his head. “Perhaps I was wrong about you, after all. I was expecting something personal.”
“I thought cooking was personal to her. It’s what she does.”
“Yes,” Tony agreed. “But not who she is. Besides, I cannot believe you have never eaten in her restaurant.”
“Never, though my business associates dine there all the time.” Rafe thought of Lydia and added, “And my secretary loves the place.”
“Because Gina has a passion for food. She understands it. She knows what will add to a meal and what will distract. She shares all of that when she cooks.”
“Then why hasn’t she fought harder to keep Café Tuscany afloat? I know she came here for that reunion, but I thought she would go back at once and charge into battle to save the restaurant. Instead, there have been times when I’ve had to
