Chapter 16

Sixteen

Leo

T he pressure was mounting for me to confront my parents about their business plans. When I wasn’t covering the dining room, I spent my time gathering data for the proposed expansion and worrying about what the rest of my family would think when they found out about me and Harper.

When I was with Harper and Evie, everything made sense. I didn’t worry about the what-ifs and the is it possible , but when we weren’t together, it was another story.

My parents were spending all their free time this week at the restaurant, preparing for their vacation. I wanted to suggest they do the opposite, but it was hard to tell them what to do. They didn’t want to hear that we had it handled and didn’t really need them.

We were afraid to say it out loud, even though it was true. We’d been running this place for years; it could operate without them.

The restaurant was a little crowded today with Matteo in the kitchen, Carlo in the office, and my parents moving around the dining room, greeting guests.

“You ready to take a look at the numbers?” Carlo asked.

We’d discussed it many times, and he thought it was possible for us to open another location, but he’d spent time running the numbers for every possible scenario.

We huddled together in the small office. “We could manage it, especially if the reputation of this location translates to a neighboring town.”

“You don’t think we could open one in Annapolis across town?”

“Since we’re opening the same kind of restaurant, I think we’d be competing for the same customers. Those who travel here will just frequent the other location. Whereas, if we open in a nearby town, you’d have a new clientele. Theoretically speaking, of course.”

Carlo tilted the screen so I could see the rows and columns of numbers. The amount necessary to procure a location, renovate, and obtain the equipment and furniture necessary for another restaurant was significant. “I’m not saying it’s not risky. It could fail, and if so, we will have invested for nothing.”

“But if it works—”

Carlo nodded. “This could be huge for us. Next level.”

“There are three of us hoping to carry on the family business.” We made a modest income, but not enough for true wealth or a sustainable future. Especially if we had families. Then there were my parents to think about. The restaurant was their retirement. They never invested in retirement funds or accounts. They didn’t trust them.

Carlo knocked his knuckles on the countertop. “This is a way to increase business and give us room to grow. Matteo can take over this location, and you can run the second.”

I nodded. “He’s always wanted to do more than just the kitchen.”

“Or you can manage both, and Matteo handles the kitchens.”

“I think it’s too hard to manage kitchens that far apart. He’d do more driving than managing.”

“I agree.”

“Should we present this to our parents before they leave?” I asked him, eager to have an answer.

“I found several possible properties that could work.” Carlo clicked off the spreadsheet and over to an online search of commercial properties. “An Italian restaurant just closed. It would be the perfect location.”

I frowned. “But if it failed, doesn’t that mean we will, too?”

“Not necessarily. It was a fancier Italian restaurant. The area couldn’t sustain it. There were several in town already.”

“What about other pizzerias?”

“There are only chains there.”

Excitement flowed through me. “That could be good for us.”

“I think so. It would also cost the least to renovate. The bones are already there.”

Matteo came into the room, smelling of marinara sauce and cheese. “I’m on board. It’s stifling with the whole family in one restaurant.”

“For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about the future. We can grow and expand, earn more money for our families.”

“I ran the numbers if we were to expand with a third restaurant, and in five years, we could easily sustain the next generation of Giovannis.”

“Isn’t there some saying about how one generation makes the money and another spends it?” Matteo asked.

“We won’t do that, and we won’t raise our kids to do that,” Carlo said firmly.

I imagined Evie working next to me when she was older, as a hostess or even in the kitchen. She’d learn the business. I’d never require it, but any child of mine could work there. I wouldn’t make it a requirement for them to stay, but the idea of one of my kids working alongside me was attractive. “We’ll eventually hit a wall with things here. This is the logical next step.”

“I think so too,” Carlo said.

Matteo raised his hands. “I’ll defer to you for the money side of things, but I’d like more autonomy. We all know that. I want to run the restaurant, not just the kitchen. And I want the freedom to try new things.”

Our parents were stifling our growth and creativity. They raised us in the restaurant, and all three of us had good business sense.

“What’s all this?” Papà asked as he stood in the doorway. The space was too tight for more than three people to move around.

“We were looking at Carlo’s projections to open a second location.”

“Not this again,” Papà said. “It’s too risky.”

Sometimes I was surprised my father ever opened a business. He was too scared to try something new. It was a lot of pressure, but the risk was worth it.

“Carlo ran the numbers, and it’s more than possible,” I said.

“If we don’t do something, we’ll outgrow this location. We all want to be challenged to have a restaurant of our own to manage. If we open a restaurant in another town, we can increase awareness of our brand and bring in more people from other counties,” Carlo said.

“We’ll be spread too thin,” Papà insisted.

“It’s the opposite. There are five of us here today, and we’re tripping over each other. We don’t all need to be here. We’ve all been doing it for years, and we have a reliable customer base, but some nights we are too busy.”

Papà crossed his arms over his chest. “Why not open a restaurant close, then? Why another town?”

I hoped this meant he was at least considering our idea.

“We don’t want to split our customers. We want a new pool of people,” Carlo said.

“You all agree this is what needs to happen?” Papà looked around the room.

“We do,” Matteo said. “It’s the natural next step. Especially if we want to support our future families with the income.”

Papà nodded. “If you think it’s necessary, I’ll look at these numbers Carlo prepared.”

“We’d like you to do more than consider it. We’d like the go-ahead before you leave for Italy. There’s a perfect location available, and it won’t be on the market for long. We need to jump on it,” Carlo said, pulling up the images.

Matteo stepped aside so Papà could get a better look.

“This is our best bet. Good location. It was already a restaurant.”

“But it failed,” Papà said, his voice flat.

“I polled the people nearby and asked what they think happened, and I realize it’s not necessarily accurate, but they said it was too fancy. They wanted a more casual restaurant to get pizza with their families.”

Papà’s chest puffed out. “That would be Giovanni’s.”

“Exactly. They want what we can provide. Consistent quality and a family atmosphere. We won’t skimp on what people have come to expect from us.”

“We have to expand, or we’ll be stagnant soon. We need some way to increase revenue to continue to support you and Mamma in retirement, as well as our future families.”

Carlo was appealing to what mattered most to Papà—family. He loved the idea of us settling down and finding women we could marry and have kids with. He wanted all of us to be involved in the business.

Papà’s brow furrowed. “But what does Gia think?”

Matteo shook his head. “Gia has her own business to think about. She’s not involved in this.”

“But if it’s to support future generations, then doesn’t her opinion matter?” Papà persisted.

“She supports herself with her business,” Carlo explained carefully. “If she wants to come back, we’d find a place for her, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“I hold out hope.”

Carlo touched his shoulder. “I know you do, but she’s happy doing what she is.”

I wasn’t sure she was happy without our father’s approval, but she was driven and successful. I had a feeling she wasn’t satisfied yet. She was always looking to expand and get better. Just like me. The only difference was, I think she was trying to prove herself to Papà, and I wasn’t sure she’d ever get what she was looking for.

“Mamma wants to travel and spend time with family. You know she does,” Matteo reminded him.

“I’ll talk to her, and we’ll have a decision before we leave. If this is what you want—”

“It is,” I said, and my brothers nodded.

“We want you to be happy. We are so proud that you three have taken over the business and that you’re happy here. I want the Giovanni name to live on.”

“And it will,” Carlo said firmly.

“We will make you proud, Papà,” Matteo said.

“You already do,” Papà said, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He was fiercely protective of his family, and he was proud of us. He just didn’t always show it.

When he left to find Mamma, Carlo said, “I think that went well.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Me too.”

“Hopefully, he wasn’t placating us,” Matteo said.

“He wasn’t. He wouldn’t have said he’d consider it if he didn’t mean it. Plus, he said he’d talk to Mamma, and we already know she’s on our side. She wants him to take a step back. To give us more autonomy,” Carlo said.

“Thanks for doing the work,” I said to Carlo.

“That’s my job. I haven’t been this excited about something since Papà gave me this position.”

As kids, Carlo hated working in the restaurant itself. He always preferred the office and looking at the numbers. It took Papà a long time to realize his talents weren’t in the kitchen or the dining room. He studied accounting and finance in school, and his education was coming into play now.

“I’m confident this is the right move for us to make,” Carlo said.

“This thing you have going with Harper. It’s not going to get in the way of this, is it?” Matteo asked.

I frowned. “Why would it?”

“If Papà thinks you aren’t focused on what’s happening here, he won’t trust us. He won’t like it.”

“He doesn’t need to find out,” I said, but the words felt like ash in my mouth. I wasn’t doing our relationship a favor if I kept it hidden from my family. Especially since she was so close to them.

“You’re willing to keep it a secret for months, maybe even a year?” Carlo asked, and I felt sick to my stomach. “That long?”

“We could get held up with construction or permits. I planned for every possible scenario, but if Papà puts a stop to it because of Harper—”

“That would be crazy. You don’t really think he’d do that, do you?” I asked them.

Matteo shook his head. “I have no idea how he’ll react. He acts like Harper is another daughter, but does he want you to date her? Probably not.”

She wasn’t a nice Italian girl , as my mother always said, but was that really want they wanted? “I’m happy with Harper. If they can’t see that, then I don’t know where that leaves us.”

“We don’t want anything to get in the way of this deal going through,” Carlo said.

It seemed important to Matteo and Carlo, so I nodded. “We’ll keep it secret for a while longer.”

“Good,” Matteo said, and even though I was happy that my dream of a second restaurant might come true, I was worried about what it meant for Harper and me.

Would I have time to manage a second location and still spend time with her and Evie? Would it be too much? Would she understand that we couldn’t tell my parents about us? I had a feeling it would be too much at some point. That we were doomed, but I couldn’t regret being with her. I was the happiest I’d ever been, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t have had the confidence to pursue my ideas with my father without her support.

I avoided bringing it up with Harper for the rest of the week. If Papà didn’t agree to our expansion plan, then she’d never have to know about it.

I was on edge the entire weekend, knowing Papà would tell us his decision at family dinner. I spent Sunday morning at my house with Evie and Harper, cooking breakfast, playing games, and working in the yard. It was the perfect day.

When we got ready to leave, I said, “We should drive separately. My parents don’t know about us yet.”

Harper frowned. “Shouldn’t we tell them at some point? Get it over with? If they don’t approve, then we can decide. But to drag it out?”

“They haven’t decided about the expansion, and if they agree, I don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

Harper sucked in a breath. “You want to keep us a secret. You’re embarrassed of us.”

I shook my head. “No. Nothing like that.”

“That’s what it seems like,” Harper said carefully, and I got the impression she was holding herself together. “I won’t be with someone who doesn’t think I’m good enough.”

I rushed to add, “You’re good enough. I never said you weren’t.”

Her eyes flashed with hurt. “But not good enough to tell your parents.”

I drew an arm around her shoulders. “We discussed this. You might not be what my parents want for me, but that doesn’t mean they’ll come between us. I just want to make sure we tell them at the right time.”

“You don’t want me screwing up your business plans.”

“My brothers felt like we shouldn’t come out to them right now. Not before they make their decision.”

“But after, we can tell them?”

“When the timing’s right,” I said carefully, remembering how Matteo and Carlo were still concerned about how our relationship would affect the project.

“Will the time ever be right?” Harper asked, her voice flat.

I hugged her close to me. “You’re right for me. We just have to wait for the right time to tell my parents.”

She let out a breath. “Yeah, okay.”

“You’re willing to wait?” I asked, hopeful but worried it was too much to ask of her.

“For a little while. I won’t wait forever.”

“Of course not.” But my stomach twisted. I had a feeling Matteo and Carlo didn’t ever want me to bring it up. They didn’t want anything to get in the way of this expansion, and I couldn’t blame them. I wasn’t sure how my parents would react, and Mamma was on our side for the business things, but in this, she wouldn’t be. She had a vision of the right girl for me, and Harper wasn’t it. At the same time, I didn’t want Harper to think she wasn’t right for me.

“Evie and I will leave first so they won’t know we’ve been spending time together.”

“I appreciate it.”

“If Evie understands what’s going on, I won’t put up with it. If she feels slighted or less than, I’m out.”

Did that mean I’d made Harper feel that way? But Harper was already gathering up her things. I helped her get everything packed and ensured Evie was strapped into her seat.

Would Evie say something and give us away? That was something I couldn’t help. She’d always been affectionate with me, so if she didn’t say anything about us dating, we’d be okay. I couldn’t imagine why that would even come up.

Harper seemed a little distant when she got into the driver’s seat and said she’d see me soon. I tried not to think about whether I’d screwed things up for good. We’d be okay. We had to be. I wanted the second restaurant, my parents’ approval, and Harper and Evie. Surely, I could have it all.

But there was this feeling in my stomach I couldn’t get rid of, an unease that wouldn’t go away.