Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Toni showed the last of their guests out of the door, found a single malt scotch under the bar and drank straight from the bottle. He took another swig as his gaze slid to the windows and locked on the lights of the kitchen. Ten years he'd been building this and it was already crumbling after one night.

He could see it now. The bad reviews would trickle in tomorrow, leaving a black mark on his family's reputation. He was avoiding the kitchen, unsure that he was ready to talk to Dani.

What the hell happened?

Everything had been going perfectly. The food editor of The Evening Standard had even pulled him aside and raved. But that was before the fourth course. He looked toward the window and saw bussers and servers taking plates back to the kitchen.

Few guests had stayed for the seventh course and those that did had left several dishes untouched. By the start of the dessert course, the dining room was near empty. Toni jerked off his tie and took another deep drink.

He wanted to scream at her and yet his body yearned to hold her. He knew she was just as distraught. This wouldn't bode well for her reputation either.

After another pull from the bottle, he looked up and caught a glimpse of Dani through the opened doors. Her hands were on her face and her fingers were wiping her eyes. Was she crying? His feet were in motion before he could think to stop himself. He was making quick work of the hallway when he spotted Sophia holding herself in the corner.

"Cara mia, you should be in bed."

"I want to go home, Papà."

"Nonna left the back door open. You can go—"

"No, I want to go home. I want to sleep in my own bed." Toni frowned. Her eyes were puffy as if she'd been crying and she wasn't meeting his eyes. He felt guilty suddenly that she was being affected by the family troubles.

He'd met her—dare he say it—boyfriend earlier in the evening and although he still had his misgivings, he seemed like a decent boy. Some chaperoned "dates" could be arranged, but that was it.

"Sophia, I don't want you worrying about this."

"But Mamma said the restaurant will fail now." Toni gritted his teeth at Ava's loose tongue.

Grace appeared and put her hands on her hips. "Nonsense. No one listens to those critics anymore. We will open next week as planned. I don't care what they write. It was a soft launch for a reason. Nothing is perfect on the first night."

Toni nodded his head at his mother's bolstering pep talk, but their exchanged glances over Sophia's head said otherwise. His gaze shifted over his mother's shoulder toward the kitchen.

"Mamma, what happened?" He asked low.

"My love, I don't know. I'm telling you, everything was perfect. She was fantastic. Go talk to her."

"I am, I just—" He shook his head. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't yell at her, Papà." Sophia wiped at her eyes and he again felt that she didn't need to be around the drama. Maybe it was best that he took her back to Milan.

"I'm not going to yell at her. Come, I'll take you home."

When Toni looked up, Ava was standing off to the side with a martini in her hand.

"I'll hitch a ride, too, if you don't mind." Toni didn't like that snide, satisfied look on her face. It gave him the feeling that she had something to do with the night's events. Grace gave Ava a once-over and left the hall.

"I thought you drove here," Toni said, wary of the little smile on her face.

"I took a car. I can't drive in these shoes." She did a little pose and pushed her stilettos forward. Then she held up her drink. "And I wanted to have a few of these."

He had wanted to speak to Dani first, but thought maybe a drive would cool his temper. They could talk when he got back.

"Fine. I'll get the car."

After a quick run to the main house, Toni parked in front of the restaurant. He left the car running as he got out and helped Ava down the stairs, her body swaying against his in what he felt were extra theatrics. After lowering her into the car, he made his way to the driver's side.

He had one foot in when the front door opened and Dani stood in her black coat and ponytail. The streaks on her cheeks almost pulled him from the car.

"You're leaving?" Her voice quivered.

"I'll be back."

They stared at each other for a moment, then he saw her gaze shift to the passenger side. He hated how it looked but had no choice. He told himself he'd explain later. He quickly ducked into the car, revved the engine and sped away.

The sun still hadn't risen when Dani woke in Grace's home. She groaned, that sunken feeling she'd had all night hadn't left her chest and her thoughts drifted to the sight of Toni driving away in the car.

He had been avoiding her. It was the only explanation for his not coming back to the kitchen. If only she could explain...what? That she had no clue how cayenne pepper made its way into her pasta sauce? It didn't matter how. She was responsible for the food. Ultimately it was her fault.

She had planned to wait for Toni at the restaurant, but after an hour she had decided to wait in her room. She figured he would find her there but he must have gone to his room. Dani tied her robe around her waist and went to look for him. She quietly opened the unlocked door and descended the stairs, her mind focused on what to say, but her explanation speech was forgotten when she saw that his bed was empty. And hadn't been slept in.

Ava. He was with Ava. She knew it in her bones. That image of him driving away in the car wasn't what bothered her, it was him driving away with his family. Ava was trying to get him back and what better way to do it?

Dani went back to her room and scrolled through her phone with hopes of a text from Toni. Nothing. There wasn't even one from her mother, who never showed. She swallowed back tears as she packed and zipped up her suitcase. Talk about getting kicked when you were down. If there was any other time when she felt like a ghost, this trumped them all.

Dani called a car service then left her bags at the foot of the stairs, intending to write Grace a note. There was so much to say. She had crumpled up three pages when Grace appeared in her robe. The older woman hugged Dani and tried to convince her not to leave.

"Please, stay. He'll come back and you can talk."

"He doesn't want to talk to me, Grace. I understand. The restaurant—"

"Bah! You think this is the first time our family has struggled? No. This will work out. But you and Toni, that's what I'm worried about."

Dani didn't know how to say it was just sex.

"We're not together, Grace."

Grace grabbed her shoulders.

"You're falling in love. Don't throw it away over this."

"No, we aren't. He's with Ava."

"He would never. I know my son."

Dani's phone chimed with a text that her car had arrived. Sure enough, a black car rolled slowly toward the house. Grace watched her with a pleading look in her eyes. Dani didn't want to disappoint Grace, but she needed to go. "Tell him I'm sorry."

Grace lowered her eyes then nodded. Dani grabbed her bags and shut herself away in the town car. During the ride she scanned the blogs for reviews, but none had posted yet. Doom was imminent, but for now she could ignore what was coming.

The closer the car got to her hotel, the more Dani thought about her mother's absence. And by the time she slipped her key card in the hotel room door, Dani was spoiling for a fight.

She found her mother in her infamous pink silk robe in front of the bathroom mirror peeling off a face mask. The surprise in her mother's eyes set Dani off.

"Too busy to come to your daughter's big night, huh?"

"Well good morning to you, too. What are you doing here so early?" Francesca asked Dani's reflection.

"That's what you have to say? You skipped my opening!" Francesca calmly put down her washcloth and turned around. Her mother's eyes held none of the concern she'd seen in Grace's eyes this morning, and it pissed her off. "Are you that ashamed of me?"

"Danica, I have never been ashamed of you."

The scathing laughter Dani let out came with a sneer. "Bull. You didn't come to the launch at Via L'Italy either? You've never once talked about me in your interviews. You prefer people not know that you have a daughter. I'm a black smirch on your perfectly manicured image. No one this fabulous could have a fat daughter who is a failing chef."

"Failing chef? What is this about? Did something happen last night?"

Dani blinked rapidly. "You're not listening to me."

Francesca stood from the vanity in the bathroom and walked past Dani to the breakfast table. She slid open a chair. "Sit down."

"No."

"Now!" Her mother's lips were a thin line.

Dani sat, biting her cheek, wondering why this woman still had so much power over her.

Her mother sat in a flurry of silk, angrily poured them both glasses of water, then took a deep breath and leaned in.

"Do you know what happens when I walk in a room full of press?"

"Mother—"

"Shut your mouth. Camera's pop out of nowhere, every one wants a quote, attention gets drawn away from the main event. My name gets splashed all over the press while yours gets buried. Your debut is important. I refuse to ruin that for my daughter."

Dani took a gulp of water, hoping she could drink the tears away. So many rebuttals and recollections of past hurts came to mind, but she shut her mouth and listened.

"I raised you to be a capable, independent woman. You don't need me there and I have a feeling you didn't even think about it until you were feeling unstable. You only look for me when something is wrong. So what's wrong?"

Oh God, she hated it when her mother was right. There was a moment when she had looked for her mother, but honestly her mother's presence was an afterthought. She felt like a bad daughter. Was this reverse psychology?

"No. No way, you are not going to do this to me. You didn't skip the opening for me. You were too busy. You are always too busy. Always working, where I am never allowed. Because you are ashamed that I'm not svelte and gorgeous like you."

Francesca frowned hard, her eyes filled with confusion. "Young lady, have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Every day, Mother."

"And what do you see? Do you see what I see? What I know that Toni sees."

"Stop calling him that Toni—"

"You're beautiful, honey. Don't give me that look. You've always been beautiful."

"If you thought that you wouldn't have made me see your trainer."

"You were learning pastries that year and that's all you ate. It wasn't healthy!"

"See what I mean? You're always so critical of me. I know my weight is why you wouldn't let me come to your work."

Francesca sighed. "Not this again."

"So it's true."

"Danica, those people at my work are vultures. Yesterday I was told to only drink smoothies for a week. The samples don't fit me. I can't have my precious daughter with her grandmother's curvy figure anywhere near those fools. But I see it got to you anyway. It's my fault, I know. You see me starve myself and think I want you to look like this. But it couldn't be further from the truth. Never have I been ashamed of you."

"What about that time you told everyone I wasn't your kid?"

Francesca laughed. "You remember that? My agent told me to hide the fact that I had had a child. At the time the industry didn't want their cover girls being mothers. It promoted the wrong image, as if being a mother is wrong. But that's the way it was then. Christie had a baby and went from the cover of Vogue to the cover of Ladies Home Journal. Things are different now, hence our photo shoot together. Which is happening. So get ready. Once the cameras start they'll be telling you to suck it in, Photoshop this, stand this way so your wobbly bits look firm." The model rolled her eyes. "After all these years you'd think I'd be used to it. It's not what I want for you. That's why I didn't want to do the shoot."

Dani dabbed at her eyes. "Why have you never told me this?"

"You get defensive when I try to protect you."

Damn her mother's logic. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, baby. Now I'm going to order you some breakfast. Then you can tell me what's really bothering you."

Dani felt lighter as she ate and unloaded the event of the night. Her mother listened while sipping a fruit and kale smoothie.

"You were sabotaged. Sounds like Ava. I warned you."

Dani put down her fork. Could she have?

Her mother left the room to dress and Dani checked her phone. No calls or texts from Toni. Nothing. She was about to call him when her phone lit up with the Google alerts.

A Recipe for Disaster—The Daily Meal

Peppered with Brilliance—New York Magazine

Bittersweet to Taste—The Evening Standard

Dani read each review twice, her phone signaling more postings as she scrolled. The decor was praised while the food critiques were more specific about her failure. One thing was unanimous: they were delighted until the fourth course. Several of the articles skewed toward the idea that had Marcello been there, the disaster wouldn't have happened.

It was a silver lining for the restaurant. The critics had faith that once Marcello got back into the kitchen the restaurant would be spectacular. Dani chose one of the better reviews and texted it to Toni, disappointed when he didn't respond.

Danica Nilsson had failed, but the restaurant could survive. She put down the phone, feeling slightly better knowing that once she was no longer attached to the restaurant, Toni and his family would be okay.

But would she be okay?