“Hello.”
“What’s wrong?” Dario demands as soon as he hears the frustration in my voice.
I rub my temple. “Nothing. Are we still having lunch today?”
“Don’t, Carleen. I’m not in the mood. What’s wrong?”
I sigh and roll my eyes. This man has been my protector for over twenty-seven years. It’s one of the reasons I love him so much.
However, I hate to burden him with my problems. He carries so much responsibility with running our restaurant and training other chefs for his family’s locations throughout New York and New Jersey.
Suddenly, the weight of it all settles on my shoulders. The pressure is mounting, and the panic rises. It’s all too much.
I don’t want to fail Dario and his family’s legacy. I never should have spent all this money on this place and now I can’t even live in it. I burst into tears as the frustration of my situation comes to a peak. I hate crying, I always have.
“Where are you? I’m on my way.”
“Don’t. I’ll meet you at the restaurant. I need to get out of here.” I sniffle.
“What’s going on, Car? Talk to me.”
“It’s everything. My place is a mess. They’ve demoed everything. I’m going to have to find someplace to stay. Damnit, I don’t want to go stay with my parents. If I have to listen to one more rant about the career I ruined, I’m going to jump off this damn building.”
“Slow down. You can stay at my place.”
“No, I can’t. You’re leaving at the end of the year. I don’t know how long this will take.”
“Exactly why you can stay at my place. You can have it to yourself once I’m gone. There’s security and a concierge, you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Are you sure about this? I don’t want to be in your way or cramp your style.”
“You can have one of the guest rooms all to yourself. I don’t even have to know you’re there. Come on, with all the money you’re spending on renovating that place you don’t need to pay to stay somewhere, and you already said staying with your parents is off the table.
“You hate Blake’s husband and you and Toni would kill each other. I’m your best option. This will keep you close to the restaurant so you’re not driving across town in the middle of the night when inspiration hits you and you want to cook in the kitchen. Come on, Car. I’ve got you.”
I sigh, knowing every word spoken is the truth. Against my better judgment, I bite the bullet and agree.
“Okay, but I need to pack. Can we push lunch back?”
“I’m coming to you. I’ll have lunch with me. My car has more space. I’ll help you move before our shift. Apollo can handle prep for service.”
“Thanks, Rio. You don’t know how much pressure you just took off my shoulders.”
“Anytime, I’ll see you in a bit.”
Chapter 2
The Packing
Dario
I enter Carleen’s place and it’s a fucking wreck. They’ve pulled this place apart to the studs. I’m surprised because she was supposed to be able to live through this.
I get pissed and head for the contractor right away to find out what the fuck happened. Arms wrap my waist and my body hums. I know it’s Carleen instantly.
“Oh, no you don’t, Rio. Come with me,” she says as she starts to tug me in the other direction.
“How the fuck did this happen?” I ask as she tugs me into the garage.
I turn to look at her as I place the food on the folding table she has a suitcase sitting open on. She blows out a breath and rubs her forehead. There’s so much frustration on her face.
It broke my heart to hear her crying earlier. I know how much she wants this place done. It’s been her first big purchase since we opened the restaurant five years ago.
“I went on that girls’ trip so I wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. I didn’t think I needed to babysit these guys. This morning, I walked into this. Like, I don’t understand. The movers weren’t even supposed to empty every room. I still don’t know who told them to do this. If they hadn’t emptied the place, they wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
I blow out a breath and pull her into my arms. “Forget about it. It will work out. Remember when we were in high school, and we talked about getting a place together to become roommates?”
She laughs a little. “Yeah, my dad wasn’t having that and then you went off with Dante to travel the world when I was old enough to do whatever I wanted.”
I don’t tell her I purposely spilled and told her dad our plans because I knew I couldn’t live with her. Carleen came into full bloom senior year, gone was the skinny, lanky teenage girl I called a friend. She has one of those bodies that’s a showstopper.