He chuckles and nods. “Very.” He takes a sip of his beer before setting it back down. “And what do you do, Victoria?” he asks, meeting my gaze.
“Uh, well, I graduated with a business degree last year, but I…I haven’t put it to good use yet.” I pick at the label on my beer bottle, the condensation making it easy to peel.
“I’d think jobs in this city are easy to come by,” he says, and it almost sounds like an accusation.
“They are,” I admit. “I just haven’t found the right…fit yet,” I say. What I can’t tell Damon is that my affiliation with my father has all my potential employers running the other way like their asses are on fire. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to find a job in this city, considering my father’s horrible reputation runs far and wide. I’m guilty by association, I suppose. But I can’t say I really blame them for not wanting to get involved with a ruthless business man moonlighting as a mob boss.
Desperately wanting to steer our conversation in a different direction, I ask him, “Did you grow up in New York?”
“Yeah. Not far from here,” he says, not offering any more than that.
“Same. My father still lives in the same house in Brooklyn that I grew up in.” Needing some liquid courage, I take a long sip of my beer. “My mother passed away when I was a little girl in a car accident.” I don’t want to get too personal right out of the gate, but I’m hoping that Damon will offer me something in return. I wait for him to say something, anything, but he remains silent.
“And your parents?” I inquire. “Do they still live in New York or…?”
A dark look passes over Damon’s face. “They’re both dead,” he says, his voice so cold it makes me shiver.
"I'm sorry," I quickly recant, regretting my words instantly. But the damage is already done.
Damon stands quickly and says, “I’ll go pay the bill.”
“Okay,” I say in response, but he’s already out of earshot and heading towards the cash register.
Sulking at the table, I finish my beer, completely amazed that we finished off an entire pizza and a six pack. Normally I don’t eat or drink that much, but I had a great time tonight. I just hope I didn’t ruin things by bringing up his family.
My attention is drawn to the other side of the restaurant when I hear a booming voice coming from the kitchen. A short and pudgy, older man with gray hair parted off to the side walks through the swinging door to greet Damon. He’s wearing a grease-stained, red shirt with the Dino’s logo on the front, and it’s stretched thinly over his large belly.
The two of them exchange a hug like they’re old friends. Damon says something I can’t hear, and then the man’s eyes widen as they land upon me. “You brought a date,” the man says, his loud voice carrying over to me. He motions for me to come to them, and so I do.
“You were going to come in and not say hello?” the old man accuses Damon.
“I didn’t want to bother you, Dino. I know how busy you are in the kitchen.”
Ah, so this is the owner of the pizza place.
The expression on Damon’s face is one I haven’t seen before. He looks more relaxed. He looks like he’s…home.
When I reach them, Dino grabs my hand with his big, meaty paw. “And you finally brought a woman with you to meet me.”
I’m surprised that I’m the only woman Damon has ever brought here, and I can’t help but smile.
Dino raises my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Bellissima,” he tells me, and I know it means beautiful in Italian.
“Hey, now, she’smydate,” Damon mutters.
Dino releases my hands and lets out a hearty chuckle. “Che begli occhi,” he says before turning to Damon and giving him a wink.
Damon rolls his eyes and shakes his head at the old man’s flirtatious ways.
“You look good, my boy,” Dino says. “You’ve come a long way.” Turning to me, he says, “I knew him when he was a boy living alone on the streets. I took him in one night, baked him a big pizza pie…gave him clothes…gave him a job.”
Dino’s words have my smile falling right off my face. Damon used to be…homeless? I try to picture him as a little boy fending for himself out there in the city, and all I can see is Arlo…hungry and dirty…
A shudder runs through me.
Dino beams proudly at Damon. “And now look at him. A businessman who has helped this old man out more often than I can even count.”
Damon remains stoic, his expression telling me nothing. But now I know that deep down under all that brooding seriousness is a man with a big, kind heart. He might not want to ever admit it, but now I know his little secret.
