Oh, for goodness sakes.
Nick followed behind her, suspicion already darkening his not cloudy brown eyes. Nick Basanelli was tall, broad, and brilliant. He had topaz eyes, Italian straight features, and dark wavy hair. “Hello.”
“Oh, my.” My grandma smiled guilelessly. “What a surprise. You really must join us.”
“No—” Nick started gently just as his grandmother all but hopped into the booth. He paused. “That would be nice. Thank you.” Then he sat across from me and very slightly lifted an eyebrow.
I tried to look as innocent as possible, but my cheeks grew warm. Yeah, I was blushing. “Hi, Mrs. Basanelli.”
“Oh, you call me Gerty, sweetheart.” Gerty slapped my hand. “It’s so lovely to see you. I’m sorry about that unfortunate bar fight the other night. Your sister Tessa wasn’t really involved, was she?”
I dutifully shook my head. “No, she wasn’t. Not at all.” Considering she’d taken on an ATF agent, I might have to go to confession for lying this week. For now, I had two goals. One was to keep my Nonna happy, and the other was to somehow run interference for Tessa, even though this was kind of my fault.
Gerty’s hair was cut in a short salt and pepper bob which swished around her face as she talked. “Good. That’s what I figured.”
Our waitress hustled up and set down bright orange water glasses. She looked to be in her early forties with sparkling eyes. “The specials are on the board, and here are menus.” She reached for the counter and turned to give us each a folding menu.
I slowly started to relax. All right. I didn’t even know this woman.
Nonna smiled. “You’re a sweet person and I hate to be a pain, but could you ask Tessa Albertini to take care of us. She’s my granddaughter, and I just don’t see her enough.”
Nick lowered his chin and stared right at me.
I quickly turned to the waitress. “We don’t want to cause any difficulties. If Tessa is elsewhere, we’ll just catch up with her later.”
The waitress rocked back. “It’s no problem at all. We can switch a table or two.” She looked toward the other end of the restaurant and gestured. “Here she comes.”
Tessa reached us, and to her credit, she looked calm and slightly amused. “Hi, all. The special is the clam chowder with a fruit salad, and I’ve heard the tuna salad sandwich is exceptionally good today.” She caught my gaze and her eyes twinkled. “What can I get you?”
Nonna leaned toward her. “Hi, sweetheart. Is there any chance you can take a break and eat with us?”
Gerty nodded. “You look peckish and should really eat something. What do you say?”
Tessa didn’t crack a bit. “I wish I could, but I already had my lunch break, darn it. I ate one of the specialty salads, and it was delicious.”
Man, my sister was smart. She’d even offered proof that she’d eaten. Nicely done. “I’ll have the special,” I said, trying to distract the grandmothers.
Gerty was not to be distracted. “What time do you get off today, Tessa? I really worry that you in the younger generation don’t take time to eat properly. I know that Nicolo doesn’t. Maybe you could meet and have dinner so your grandmothers wouldn’t worry so much about you.”
Subtle. Man. I sighed.
“Grams,” Nick said.
Nonna tapped her fingernail on the menu. “I’ll have the cheeseburger with no onions and an iced tea.”
“I’ll have iced tea, too,” I quickly said.
Tessa looked at Gerty. “How about you? Our burgers are always very good.”
Gerty glanced at her menu and then back at my sister. “Don’t you need to write this down, honey?”
Tess pushed a wayward strand of her reddish-blonde hair out of her face. “No worries, Gerty. I’ll remember the orders.”
Gerty shoved an elbow hard enough into Nick’s side that he winced. “She doesn’t need to write it down. She’s a smart one, Nicolo.” As if she hadn’t just bruised her grandson, she beamed up at Tessa. “I’ll have the chicken salad sandwich. Is that a good one?”
Tessa smiled. “It really is. The grapes are fresh and the celery very crunchy. Anything to drink?”
“A Pepsi,” Gerty said.
