The Vineyards Of Calanetti. Rebecca Winters

about the roof?”

      “We’ll hope it doesn’t rain?”

      Louisa laughed. “I’m serious.”

      “Well, I have a chance for a job at a restaurant.”

      “You do?”

      She smiled. “Yes. Nico knows someone who needs a hostess.”

      “Oh.”

      She ignored the dislike in her friend’s voice. “What better way to find a good contractor than by chitchatting with the locals?”

      Louisa smiled and shook her head. “If anybody can chitchat her way into finding a good contractor, it’s you.”

      “Which is also going to make me a good hostess.”

      “What time’s your appointment?”

      “Lunchtime.” She winced. “From the address on this card, I think we’re going to have to hope there’s a car in that big, fancy garage out back.”

      * * *

      Standing behind the podium in the entry to Mancini’s, Rafe struggled with the urge to throw his hands in the air and storm off. On his left, two American couples spoke broken, ill-attempted Italian in an effort to make reservations for that night. In front of him, a businessman demanded to be seated immediately. To his right, a couple kissed. And behind them, what seemed to be a sea of diners groused and grumbled as he tried to figure out a computer system with a seating chart superimposed with reservations.

      How could no one in his kitchen staff be familiar with this computer software?

      “Everybody just give me a minute!”

      He hit a button and the screen disappeared. After a second of shock, he cursed. He expected the crowd to groan. Instead they laughed. Laughed. Again, laughter!

      How was it that everybody seemed to be happy that he was suffering? These people—customers—were the people he loved, the people he worked so hard to please. How could they laugh at him?

      He tried to get the screen to reappear, but it stayed dark.

      “Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.”

      He glanced up to see an American, clearly forgetting she was in Italy because she spoke English as she made her way through the crowd. Cut in an angled, modern style, her pretty blond hair stopped at her chin. Her blue eyes were determined. The buttons of her black coat had been left open, revealing jeans and pale blue sweater.

      When she reached the podium, she didn’t even look at Rafe. She addressed the gathered crowd.

      “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said in flawless Italian. “Give me two minutes and everyone will be seated.”

      His eyebrows rose. She was a cheeky little thing.

      When she finally faced him, her blue eyes locked on his. Rich with color and bright with enthusiasm, they didn’t merely display her confidence, they caused his heart to give a little bounce.

      She smiled and stuck out her hand. “Daniella Tate. Your friend Nico sent me.” When he didn’t take her hand, her smile drooped as she tucked a strand of yellow hair behind her ear. But her face brightened again. She rifled in her jeans pocket, pulled out a business card and offered it to him. “See?”

      He glanced at Nico’s card. “So he believes you are right to be my hostess?”

      “Temporarily.” She winced. “I just finished a teaching position in Rome. For the next four weeks I’m sightseeing, but I’m trying to supplement my extended stay with a temp job. I think he thinks we can help each other—at least while you interview candidates.”

      The sweet, melodious tone of her voice caused something warm and soft to thrum through Rafe, something he’d never felt before—undoubtedly relief that his friend had solved his problem.

      “I see.”

      “Hey, buddy, come on. We’re hungry! If you’re not going to seat us we’ll go somewhere else.”

      Not waiting for him to reply, Daniella nudged Rafe out of the way, stooped down to find a tablet on the maître d’ stand shelf and faced the dining area. She quickly drew squares and circles representing all the tables and wrote the number of chairs around each one. She put an X over the tables that were taken.

      Had he thought she was cheeky? Apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg.

      She faced the Americans. “How many in your party?”

      “Four. We want reservations for tonight.”

      “Time?”

      “Seven.”

      Flipping the tablet page, she wrote their name and the time on the next piece of paper. As the Americans walked out, she said, “Next?”

      Awestruck at her audacity, Rafe almost yelled.

      Almost.

      He could easily give her the boot, but he needed a hostess. He had a growing suspicion about the customers laughing when he lost his temper, as if he was becoming some sort of sideshow. He didn’t want his temper to be the reason people came to his restaurant. He wanted his food, the fantastic aromas, the succulent tastes, to be the draw. Wouldn’t he be a fool to toss her out?

      The businessman pushed his way over to her. “I have an appointment in an hour. I need to be served first.”

      Daniella Tate smiled at Rafe as if asking permission to seat the businessman, and his brain emptied. She really was as pretty as she was cheeky. Luckily, she took his blank stare as approval. She turned to the businessman and said, “Of course, we’ll seat you.”

      She led the man to the back of the dining room, to a table for two, seated him with a smile and returned to the podium.

      Forget about how cheeky she was. Forget about his brain that stalled when he looked at her. She was a very good hostess.

      Rafe cleared his throat. “Talk to the waitresses and find out whose turn it is before you seat anyone else.” He cleared his throat again. “They have a system.”

      She smiled at him. “Sure.”

      His heart did something funny in his chest, forcing his gaze to her pretty blue eyes again. Warmth whooshed through him.

      Confused, he turned and marched away. With so much at stake in his restaurant, including, it seemed, his reputation, his funny feelings for an employee were irrelevant. Nothing. Whatever trickled through his bloodstream, it had to be more annoyance than attraction. After all, recommendation from Nico or not, she’d sort of walked in and taken over his restaurant.

      * * *

      Dani stared after the chef as he left. She wasn’t expecting someone so young...or so gorgeous. At least six feet tall, with wavy brown hair so long he had it tied off his face and gray eyes, the guy could be a celebrity chef on television back home. Just looking at him had caused her breathing to stutter. She actually felt a rush of heat careen through her veins. He was that good-looking.

      But it was also clear that he was in over his head without a maître d’. As she’d stood in the back of the long line to get into the restaurant, her good old-fashioned American common sense had kicked in, and she’d simply done what needed to be done: pushed her way to the front, grabbed some menus and seated customers. And he’d hired her.

      Behind her someone said, “You’d better keep your hair behind your ears. He’ll yell about it being in your face and potentially in his food once he gets over being happy you’re here.”

      She turned to see one of the waitresses. Dressed in black trousers and a white blouse, she looked slim and professional.

      “That was happy?”

      Her pretty black ponytail bobbed as she nodded. “Sì. That was happy.”