“You’re very brave,” I say. “But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll love it.”
“Liar,” he says, guiding me to the table.
Leo lights the candle and then disappears into the kitchen, returning moments later with two bowls, and a bottle of wine under his arm. I stand up and take the bottle from him, turning it to see the label.
“The Spumante from the ferry?” I say, surprised.
“I ordered a case,” he says, “so it was ready and waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“For you,” he says. “For you, Olive.”
It makes me blush, and I cannot control the urge to kiss him. I put the bottle down and remove both of the bowls from Leo’s hands and place them on the table.
Then I reach my arms around his neck and wait until I see him smile and his eyes start to sparkle. “Worth the wait, though,” he says.
I kiss him, softly, on the mouth. He puts his hands on my back, gently moving them to my waist, where he holds me firm, pulling me into him.
I pull back. “Whoa there,” I say. “I plan on eating first.”
Leo adjusts his trousers and laughs. “This meal is going to be excruciating in more ways than one,” he says.
“We have stuff to talk about.” I nod, sliding into my seat. I peel the foil back on the Spumante. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to jump you.”
I pop the cork, with a brow raised for comic effect, and we both tuck into the soup.
“You can’t serve these bubbles with this soup,” I say, after almost inhaling the entire bowl in minutes.
“I love how you eat.” Leo laughs. “But can you start by saying something nice?” he says, cautioning me.
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s divine. It’s even sweeter than the soup you made for me at Chiara’s. I love it.”
“Thank you,” he says, putting down his spoon.
He looks at me, puts his hands in his hair.
“Olive, I want you to know two things. Firstly, I sent my CV to a bunch of places, and I got some offers. One of them is pretty exciting. It’s at DeLuca’s on Shaftesbury Avenue. I would love that job, okay?”
I nod. He’s giving me a guilt-free out.
“But the other thing is, if you’re considering it... If you might want to give this a go... I have some money. It isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to have some ownership of the business.”
“Leo,” I say, “I already spoke to the bank.”
He nods, looking down at his soup. “I get it.”
“No, I mean, I already spoke to them aboutyou. Property rights aside, if you invest the money from the book. It’s a decent amount. I can get you in for a healthy share in the value of the business.”
Leo’s head snaps up. “What?”
“The restaurant isn’t worth much as a business for sale,” I say. “The turnover is too terrible. It’s a bargain. Most of the value is in the property, which would remain mine. We’d lease off me, so to speak.”
“What, so we’d be partners?”
“Can you get that money together?” I say, reaching into my bag and handing him a folder with all the financial details.
“So, it would be mine too?” he says.
