Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Three days later Dani donned her black coat and took her place at the kitchen. Her kitchen. It was surreal and she planned on thanking Marcello by cooking the best meal Milan had ever seen.

But by the looks of the dining area, Milan wasn't ready to eat it. It was prime dining hour and several tables were empty.

"Coming in!" She recognized his voice before he entered. Charcoal suit and black tie, Toni looked dashing, and she immediately asked for his touch. It has been too long since the hotel room, but they had spoken every day and sometimes night on the phone. Something had shifted between them. He was more territorial with her well-being, more attentive than before. She had to admit that she liked it.

He greeted the staff, then sent her a wicked smile. She noticed a medium-size shopping bag in his hand. "Chef, may I see you in my office?" That meant the meat locker. She entered the cold storage room and was immediately pulled into a feverish kiss. Three days of pent-up desire rushed through them both. "Miss me?"

"Of course. How was business?"

His gaze roamed over her face. "I got what I needed." In their phone conversations he'd been cagey about what he was doing. Something about the warehouses blah, blah, blah. She got the sense it was something else too. He had hinted as much.

"And what was that?"

He presented the bag and she reached inside, delighted to find a familiar rolled knife bag. Marcello's knives. "I had them sharpened."

Tears rose. "That's so thoughtful."

"There's something else in there."

She checked the bag and found a small velvet ring box. Her heart thumped as she met his steady gaze. He nodded. "Open it."

There were no words. A canary yellow diamond as big as her knuckle sat in a platinum setting of diamond baguettes.

"I love you, Danica Nilsson. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I would have told you the other night, but it didn't feel right without the ring. Regardless of what happens with the restaurants, I want you to know that I need you in my life."

She could no longer hold back the tears. She stared at the ring, her mind racing and her heart full for the man that stood in front of her. In her meat locker. She laughed.

"You're laughing."

"I'm not! This is just surreal."

"Say yes."

"Toni—"

"Look who's chickenshit now."

"Yes! You bully. Yes! I love you and I want to marry you."

Their kiss was freezing cold and wonderful. He took the ring and brought her hand up to receive it, but she pulled it back. "Toni, I can't cook with that on my finger. I love it, but I can't wear it right now."

He smiled and cocked his head. "I know, Chef, so I got you another one." He pulled another box from his pocket and opened it to reveal an angel hair–thin platinum band encrusted with the smallest diamonds she'd ever seen. It was perfect.

Opening night went without a hitch with Dani working endlessly to prepare her best meal. Every night is opening night, as Marcello used to say. She and the staff had begun cleaning when Toni and a wide-eyed server burst into the kitchen holding a table napkin.

"Dani, look at this." She took the outstretched napkin and saw handwriting in pen all over the surface.

"Who defaces a cloth napkin like this?" Dani squinted at the cursive letters.

Toni's eyes flashed. "Read it."

Miss Nilsson, I was devastated to hear of Marcello's passing and had come to this establishment to pay my respects. I know it was supposed to be his triumph. I must tell you that you have big shoes to fill, and from what I can tell, you are wearing them quite comfortably. Velvet artichoke soup? Never have I tasted anything so simple yet so rich. I must confess I was unaware of your contribution to the kitchen of L'Italy in New York until recently. Are you aware they have lost two stars? I will be retracting the scathing review I left. Although if you recall, I said the veal shank was excellent. My review will be posted tomorrow. Good luck, Chef Nilsson. I look forward to more from you.

—The Taste.

One year later

"It's time, Dani." Liz burst through the door of the kitchen, almost knocking over Dao and the tray of chocolates he was preparing. Dani frowned at her friend, who backed away with her hands up.

"Dao, put one of those little chocolates on each of the plates and a drizzle of Lambrusco sauce, please."

"I can't believe you. You have guests out there." Liz put her hands on her hips and raised her brows.

"Almost done." Dani swirled the icing over the seventh tier of the cake. "Dao, it's ready." She handed her sous-chef the knife and watched as her staff carried the cake away. Once she was satisfied that everything was set, she hurried toward the double doors.

"Woman, take that black coat off!"

"Oh!" Dani unbuttoned her chef's coat, revealing a floor-length strapless wedding dress with a mermaid hem and short train. She kicked off her Crocs and slipped her feet into her sparkly Jimmy Choos.

Liz tsked, then smiled at her friend. "You look gorgeous."

Dani walked with Liz back into the dining room, her eyes settling happily on their hundreds of guests, most of whom she had just met. But her heart filled to see Destin and Nicole, her mother, Grace and Sophia, and her father chatting animatedly with Toni.

She strode toward the two, her father looking stately in his suit, his neck tattoos peeking from the collar also making him look like an older David Beckham. "You look lovely, darling." Her father wound an arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.

"Thank you, Daddy. You look nice too."

"Do you think your mother thinks so?"

Francesca was watching them from the side of her eye, and then she quickly turned away. She was ravishing in a blue sequined gown, and she knew it. Francesca was doing her best impression of ignoring her father, but it seemed a little more like foreplay. Gross. "Yeah, I think she does." Dani turned to her husband. "We have a cake to cut."

"Yes, Chef."

Dani spread Marcello's knives on the table and cut her husband a generous slice of marble cake with lots of red wine buttercream icing. His finger made it into the slice before she could serve him.

"You are asking for it."

"And I hope I get it," he said after sucking his finger. "Will you make this for me every night?"

She held his piece to his mouth and their eyes met in challenge. If she smashed the cake on him, he'd do it to her. She let him have his cake and when it came her turn, he was behaved, if not a little impish when he slid a fingertip into the icing and slipped a little more between her lips. He didn't know it yet, but she had made extra icing.

The crowd cheered and her staff rushed in to cut and serve.

"Where is the champagne?"

"I vetoed the champagne."

Her husband's head whipped around. "What? Why? I had the warehouse send the Clos." He looked over her head and whatever he was going to say died on his lips. The staff was pouring sparkling red for their guests.

"It's the Dolcetto. Marcello's Dolcetto. I asked them to bring it from our warehouse, but don't worry, as your supplier I made sure you got a discount."

His eyes were filled with love. "That's cute. Come here."

They kissed among yells and clinking glasses.

"Are you ready for your cake? It's the chef's special," Dani whispered, suggestively rubbing against him.

"You get the icing," Toni teased.

"And you get the Clos."

Toni's smile was wicked. "Sì, Chef. Whatever you want, Chef. Forever."