Chapter Twenty
“You’re shitting me.”
Around eight thirty that evening, I sat with Mike in Mangia and told him the whole story. Well, not thewholestory, because what Frisco told me was personal and private to him, and now to us; it was nobody’s business but our own. And I liked being part of an us with Frisco. Before I left his apartment, he confessed he was happy I’d come by, but he needed some time by himself to process everything that had happened both atUltimateand between us. At six o’clock I left with a promise to call him later, and I fully intended to return and make sure he was okay. Aside from wanting to be with him, I didn’t think he should be alone.
“Nope. Frisco is really Francisco Martinelli, the reviewer I’ve been ragging on for the past two years.”
“I can’t believe it. You hated him and everything he stood for.”
Uncomfortable with Mike voicing what I was afraid Frisco felt, I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I hated him.”
“Come on. And Frisco couldn’t have been your biggest fan either. It’s like two enemies falling for each other.” He sipped his wine. “So, are you two back to dating or whatever?”
Or whatever…I had no idea what that even was.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked out everything that happened, but he was pretty angry with me. He thought I kept it all from him deliberately.”
He rubbed his chin. “He can’t honestly believe that. You had no idea Frisco was Martinelli.”
I took a hit of my beer. “And now he’s out of a job partly because of me.”
“How do you figure that? They knew your opinion of him before they took you over.” It was a slow night, so we had time to talk between customers.
“You’re right, of course, but I can’t help thinking it.”
“And that’s always your problem, bro. You take everyone’s responsibilities on your shoulders. Frisco’s a big boy.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” a familiar voice said from behind me.
I choked on my beer and spun around on my chair to see Frisco standing there, eyes bright with amusement.
“What are you doing here?”
“Obviously listening to a recitation of my physical attributes.” He slid into the seat next to mine. “Continue, please. The night is young, and I have all the time in the world.”
“Oh God, please.” I couldn’t help groaning, but my heart beat faster.
“I get that too, although it’s usually coupled with ‘Don’t stop, please.’” His laughter rose between us, and he wiggled his fingers. “Keep going.” He put up a hand. “Oh, wait. I hear that as well.”
“Dude, this is a family restaurant.” Mike snickered. “Don’t get me in trouble.”
“Pity.” Frisco’s bright gaze swept through the restaurant. “How’s it going? Slow night?”
“A little, yeah. Frankly, I could use the break. Ever since your review…” Embarrassed, Mike bit his lip. “Sorry about that.”
“No need to be.” Frisco shrugged off his leather jacket and set it on the seat beside him. “Onward and upward. I’m glad to see that at least something I did helped someone. Now, more importantly, what’re your specials tonight?”
I let out a sigh of relief at Frisco’sblaséattitude toward his firing. I remained the angry one about the situation, but there was little I could do about it, and luckily, Frisco didn’t need the job to survive.
Mike slid a copy of the menu down the bar to Frisco.
“Nice. Good pairings of vegetables with mains. I like the addition of more soups. If you want, I can give you a recipe formazzamurruwhich I guarantee will become a bestseller. Easy as shit, and the taste is incredible. First thing I learned to cook when I lived in Italy for a summer.”
“Argh, dude, you’re killing me. I wish I could, but Jasper is working to the max and Luis can only do so much, ya know?” Mike pursed his lips. “And Val is getting on in her pregnancy, so I don’t want her on her feet all night. It’ll have to wait.”
“Let me do it.”
I whipped around with my mouth open. “You want to cook? Here?”
