“One of my favorite places in town. The only restaurant where I would willingly pay for pasta dishes. Plus, they have cannoli that is out of this world,” I said.
“Sounds great,” she said and sat back, her eyes still flickering to me as I drove.
We chatted casually as we made our way to Mary Rizzo’s, which was my hands-down favorite place to eat other than my mother’s. When we got inside, I was pleased to see that the hostess, the owner’s daughter, was still hanging around. She remembered me and guided us to my favorite table, back in the corner behind a fish tank that separated our booth from the others and gave us a sense of privacy, like we were the only people in the whole world.
As we ate, our conversation drifted from subject to subject, but never crossed over into talking about work or the bar. Instead, she told me stories of her teenage years, and I responded with ones of my own, often pointing out places she had seen since we had been here where my brothers and I had caused all manner of mayhem. As I finished the plate of delicious food and took a deep sip of the dark red wine, gazing into Amanda’s electric eyes across from me, I felt like even if there was a big world outside of this booth, not one thing in it mattered.18Amanda“Why won’t he just tell us what the evidence is?” Jesse asked.
“Because he doesn’t want to influence our thoughts,” Tom said.
It was a few days later, and we were at Mason’s house, talking about the private investigator and what he had discovered so far as he looked into the bar burning down.
“What does that mean?” Tyler asked.
“Apparently, he found something when he went to look at the bar, and he wants to show it to us to see if it means anything,” Mason said. “He doesn’t want to tell us what it is immediately because he doesn’t want us to jump to any conclusions. He said it could have something to do with the arson, and it could just be a coincidence. He wants us to see it and decide if we think it means anything, and then we can go from there.”
“Then, let’s go,” Matt said.
“Come on,” Tom said, looking at me.
“No,” Ava said. “Don’t go with him.”
“No?” I asked with a laugh.
“No. He’s just going to do boring guy stuff. Stay here with Robert and me,” Ava said.
I wasn’t sure if I completely bought into the idea of going to talk to a private investigator about potential arson being boring guy stuff, but I went along with it. I had been hopeful to have some time to hang out without the crew of brothers gathered around her, and I enjoyed spending time with her.
“Can’t really argue with that,” I said. “Boss, I think I’m staying here for the afternoon.”
He looked at me for a second like he was going to say something, then nodded.
“We’ll be back in a bit,” Mason said. “I’ll keep you updated with anything that might happen.”
He leaned down and kissed Ava, then kissed Robert on the head.
“We’ll be here for an afternoon of debauchery,” Ava said.
“Okay, well, make sure you give Robert the keys,” Mason said.
The guys left, and I dropped down on the couch beside Ava.
“Can you believe how crazy this is?” Ava asked. “It’s like a movie.”
I nodded and made an acknowledging sound. She kept talking, but I was barely aware of what she was saying. My mind was too far away. The sound of the doorbell made me jump. Ava settled Robert into my arms and went for the door. As soon as she opened it, I heard a familiar, cheerful voice.
“Hey, there,” Susan said. “Where’s my grandbaby?”
“He’s in the living room with Amanda,” Ava said.
“Oh, Amanda is here?” she asked as she turned the corner into the living room.
I smiled at her. “Hi.”
“Hey, hon. Good to see you. Glad to know you’re not just working your days away.”
“Well, she probably would have if Tom hadn’t brought her over here to meet up with the other guys,” Ava said.
“Where is Tom?” Susan asked. “And everybody else?”
“They went to meet with the private investigator,” Ava said. “He apparently found some sort of evidence when he was investigating the bar. He didn’t want to tell them over the phone what it was, so they all headed over there. I kidnapped Amanda and made her stay with me.”
“I think that was a very good choice,” Susan said with a smile. “I brought cookies in exchange for my grandson.”
Ava laughed and accepted the plate of cookies from her mother-in-law. I handed the baby over to her and reached for one of the cookies as Ava took the plastic off. They smelled warm and comforting. I took a bite and almost groaned with how delicious the cookie was.