The three sisters ate dinner together on Sundays, and Rocco, Jonathan and Sam now joined them most weeks for the family meal. With their disjointed schedules, it was the one time Sive, Aoife and Mimi could usually guarantee they’d be able to get together. Rocco and Mimi took turns hosting it at their house, but today Rocco was going to cook here while they got on with their meeting.
Sive opened the door to find Rocco standing on the step carrying two large bulging shopping bags. ‘What are we having?’ she asked as he stepped inside.
‘Sea bass.’ He leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Ooh, yum! Come on in.’ Rocco was a major Hollywood star, so dinners at his place tended to be more lavish than Sive and Aoife’s humble offerings, which were usually veggie-based. Sive sensed he made a deliberate effort to spoil them.
He followed her down the hall to the kitchen, where he slung the bags onto the worktop and began unloading them. From one, he took out an enormous fish, stiff and bright-eyed with freshness.
‘Wow! That’s quite a specimen.’
‘It’s wild,’ Rocco told her, sliding a finger along the silvery skin.
‘Ooh, very posh! I made bread,’ she told him, pointing to where it stood cooling on a rack.
‘Mmm, it smells amazing,’ Rocco said, bending over it and inhaling. Then he turned it over and tapped the bottom. It made a satisfying hollow sound. ‘Good job!’
‘Thanks. Well, you know where everything is, right?’
‘Yep. I’m fine. You can get back to your meeting.’
‘If you need anything, just shout.’
‘Do you think one of us should go and help Rocco?’ Sive asked Mimi, returning to the living room.
‘Nah, leave him to it. He enjoys it.’
Mouth-watering smells of garlic and herbs emanated from the kitchen throughout the rest of the meeting.
Sam arrived just as they were wrapping things up. He handed Sive a bottle of wine as he stepped into the hall.
‘Something smells amazing!’ He licked his lips. ‘Anything I can do to help?’ he asked, nodding in the direction of the kitchen.
‘Ask Rocco. He’s cooking.’
Sam went down the hall to join Rocco in the kitchen, while Sive returned to the dining room and she and her sisters tidied away their meeting stuff and set the table for dinner.
‘Grub’s up,’ Sam announced, sticking his head around the door, and they all busied themselves bringing dishes in from the kitchen, pouring wine and water, and lighting candles.
‘This looks fantastic,’ Sive said as she placed a platter of sea bass in the centre of the table. ‘Thanks, Rocco.’
‘Just a little something I rustled up,’ Rocco said with a shrug.
It tasted even more delicious than it looked, if that was possible. The sea bass was bursting with vivid Mediterranean flavours, cooked in a garlicky tomato sauce with olives and capers, and fragrant with herbs. Served alongside it there were little rosemary roast potatoes, a bright green salad and Sive’s crusty bread.
There were groans and murmurs of appreciation as everyone began eating.
‘This issogood,’ Sam said to Rocco. ‘If the acting gig doesn’t work out for you, you could definitely have a career as a chef.’
‘It’s going okay so far, but it’s always good to have something to fall back on.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Sive said. She’d forgotten what a marvellous cook Rocco was.
‘Well, it’s all thanks to my Nonna Gianna. She taught me everything I know.’
‘Your family is Italian?’ Jonathan asked him.
‘On my mother’s side. My grandparents were from Genoa and we used to spend summer holidays there when I was growing up. My nonna was an amazing cook and my sisters and I were all roped in to help make these big family feasts.’ He smiled at the memory.
