Page 44 of Empire of Temptation

“I couldn’t possibly trouble you for that.” I placed a hand on my stomach. “Besides, I’m not sure I can keep it down.”

“Nonsense. Food is the remedy for most of life’s ailments.” He was already heating a sauté pan, his heavily-tattooed arms moving rapidly. “Sit, signorina.”

“Yes, sit. Per favore, Val,” Roberto said, pulling over a stool for me. “We will talk while we wait.”

I tossed my bag onto the clean prep station, then lowered myself onto the stool and crossed my legs. “I’m sorry I drank so much last night and left you to lock up,” I told Roberto. “Book club got a little out of hand.”

“Ma dai,” Roberto said, his brown eyes kind as they studied me. “That is what young women do. You deserve a little fun. Allora, I thought you would be mad at me for calling Signore DiMarco.”

I remembered Luca coming into the restaurant, eyes wild until he spotted me. Then he circulated the bar area, speaking with each of the men there, and somehow convinced them all to leave. He hadn’t raised his voice or caused a scene. Instead, he remained quiet and in control, yet forceful enough to clear the room. Normally, I had to threaten and yell to clear the bar on a book club night.

“I’m not mad at you,” I said. “But I don’t understand why you called him. Did something happen?”

Roberto shook his head. “Signorina, it was what could have happened. Those men in the bar were waiting, circling like hyenas. Young women who drink too much are at risk in such situations.”

“But that’s what we do every month. No one gets hurt and the bar makes a lot of money.” Something occurred to me and my memory was too fuzzy. “Oh, shit—did the men pay their bar tabs?”

“Signore DiMarco paid the tab.”

“For all of them?” Surprised, I swayed on the stool and had to put a hand on the stainless steel to steady myself. “That had to be more than a thousand dollars.”

“Twelve hundred. And he gave Chase a gratuity, as well.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised, not after Luca gave each of my tables a hundred dollars the other night. He must always carry a lot of cash around. “I vomited on him last night,” I blurted, needing to share my shame for some crazy reason.

A bark of laughter came from the direction of the stove, while Roberto glanced away, eyes dancing with laughter. “Go ahead,” I told him. “I can tell you want to laugh at me, too.”

“I am not laughing at you, signorina,” he said kindly. “More at the idea of Signore DiMarco being vomited on.”

“Hello?” a voice called from the kitchen entrance.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Bev stepping through the back door. In her hand was a frozen coffee with chocolate swirled on top.Dear Lord, please let that be for me.

“Hi,” I said. “What are you doing here? It’s not even one o’clock.” Her café stayed open until three.

“I came to check on you.” She slid her sunglasses up into her short gray hair. “And bring you a treat since you didn’t stop by this morning.”

“Oh, god. I love you.” I reached for the cup eagerly.

“Are you sure that won’t make you feel worse?” Roberto muttered, his lip curled in distaste.

“It’s oak milk,” Bev explained.

I took a sip and the cold sweetness was pure heaven. “That is so good.”

“Where is my treat, signorina?” Roberto asked Bev, a small smile playing at the edge of his mouth.

“Your espresso, you mean?” Bev’s cheeks were slightly red as she turned to me. “I’ve never seen a human being gulp a hot drink so quickly. You’d think the café was on fire every morning.”

Wait, was something happening between these two? Their reactions to one another was very telling, and Roberto was obviously spending a lot of time at Bev’s cafe. “Every morning?” I asked him, lifting my eyebrow meaningfully.

He tilted his head in the direction of the dining room. “Just until the men install the new espresso machine.”

“Speaking of, how are the renovations going?” Bev asked, regaining my attention.

I hesitated. With Mayor Lombardi threatening to drown me in paperwork, I had no idea how long this could take. No one from the Buildings Department had shown up yet, but the possibility was still there. I needed to deal with him soon—and the thought caused my stomach to turn over.

Setting my coffee drink on the pass, I said, “There may be some issue with permits.”

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