“Because you’ve fallen in love with him,” her mother concluded. “And that scares you.”
The carrot stick snapped in half. Gina stared at it in surprise, then looked at her mother with even greater shock. “You can see that?”
Her mother grinned. “Darling, you never were any good at hiding your emotions. Even your father figured this part out. What we didn’t understand was why you didn’t just admit it. It’s obvious he cares about you, too. Whatever complications there were at the beginning will resolve themselves in time.”
“I thought so, too, for a while, but he hasn’t been in touch lately. And now there’s another wrinkle. It just came up this week when Tony got back.”
“What’s that?”
“Tony asked me to go into partnership with him.” She took a deep breath, knowing that her parents were going to be delighted by the news, though they would never try to influence her decision. “He and Francesca want to spend more time in Italy. He says eventually the business would be mine, if I want to stay here.”
Just as she’d expected, her mother was wise enough not to reveal her reaction. Instead, she asked, “How do you feel about that?”
Gina permitted herself a slight grin. “I really, really want to do it. Despite all of the chaos the past few months, I’ve loved being here. Until I came back I hadn’t realized how much I missed you guys and my friends and even Winding River. I really don’t want to live in New York anymore.”
“Which brings us back to Rafe,” her mother guessed.
“Exactly.”
“There’s only one way to figure out what to do,” she told Gina. “You have to go to New York, settle things with Rafe and with Café Tuscany, then make a final decision. You can’t make such an important decision in a vacuum, certainly not from here, when everything involved is across the country.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Gina said, reaching the same conclusion. “That is exactly what I have to do. If I can get a flight, I’ll go in the morning.”
Unfortunately, because of the holiday, she couldn’t get a flight until the middle of the following week. When she called Rafe’s office from the airport, they told her he was out of town on business and not expected back for a day or two.
“Is this Lydia?” Gina asked.
“Yes.”
“This is Gina Petrillo. When he gets back, will you tell him I’m in New York and that I’d like to see him?”
“You’re back? That’s fantastic. I know you’ll be the first person he wants to see when he gets back. I’ll tell him,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Gina wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. Since the next stop on her agenda was Café Tuscany, she put off considering Lydia’s words until later and took a cab straight from the airport to the restaurant.
When she walked through the front door, waves of pride and nostalgia washed over her. The restaurant was every bit as elegant and tasteful as she’d remembered. She had accomplished that, she and Bobby.
As she stood there basking in the good memories, Deidre stepped out of the kitchen and caught sight of her. Her eyes lit with delight. “You’re back,” she said, striding across the room to hug Gina. “I am so glad to see you. We have really missed you around here.”
“It doesn’t look like it. The place looks terrific.”
Deidre waved off the compliment. “The cleaning crew keeps it spotless. Are you here to stay?”
“We need to talk about that,” Gina said. “Can you come into the office? Is Ronnie here?”
“He’s in the kitchen. Shall I get him?”
“Do that and bring some cappuccino with you,” Gina suggested. “I need a jolt of caffeine.”
When the two of them were settled into the chairs opposite her desk in the cramped office, she announced, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while I’ve been away.”
Deidre’s face fell. “You’re going to close it down, aren’t you? You’re going to stay in Wyoming and close this place down. I knew it when you didn’t come back right away. That Tony guy you were always talking about made you an offer too good to refuse.”
“Whoa!” Gina said, chuckling at the rush of words. “You’re only half-right. I am considering the possibility of staying in Wyoming.”
Ronnie Carson, a quiet young man with a good head on his shoulders, as well as tremendous potential as a chef, studied her intently before he spoke. “But you have a plan for this place, don’t you? You’re not just going to shut the door and walk away.”
“No, but whether or not it is feasible depends on the two of you and what you want.”
As Deidre and Ronnie exchanged a look, Gina thought she caught a glimpse of something more than colleagues awaiting word on their fate. She had a feeling they had discovered each other while she was away. There was a distinct stirring of romance in the air. Maybe they’d wind up like Tony and Francesca, bound not only by love, but by working together at something they loved.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” she said. “Since you have managed to not only keep this place afloat under extremely daunting conditions, but to make it thrive, it occurred to me that you might be interested in taking over for me permanently.”
“You mean we’d go on running it?” Deidre asked cautiously, her expression brightening ever so slightly.
“And eventually buy it from me,” Gina said. “I’m in no rush about this. I don’t need the money for what I want to do in Wyoming, at least not right away. We could work out a price and an arrangement that would give you time to get your feet on the ground financially. That could take a while because the first thing we’d need to do is get all of the old investors paid off. But I’d say in four or five years this would be yours, if you want it. Are you interested?”
“Ohmigosh,” Deidre whispered, her
