Chase snickered. “There is at least one person who isn’t. The one who had the vision to start a whole new division of the company business, the one who branched out and took a chance. I know a lot of us tell our mothers first, and I have never met your parents, but maybe you should have a talk, one on one, with your dad.” God, he hoped to hell his logic was correct.
“I’ll give it some thought,” Antonello said, and Chase smiled. “Now I think we need to get back to work. I have a number of things I need to finish before I’m done for the day, and I bet you do too.” He pulled open the door between their offices. “Enjoy your lunch.”
Chase thanked him and went back to his tasks.
An hour later, well into the specs for another project that he was involved with, he picked up his phone when he got a text message. It was from Bianca, saying that Ricky wanted to know if it was possible to play with Santo and Gerardo.He’s been asking a lot.
Chase answered that he would arrange it and that he’d take Ricky to Isabella’s for dinner tonight. That should make Ricky happy, and it would mean that he didn’t have to cook, which was always a good thing, especially after a full day of work.
I will tell him, Bianca messaged, and after a few minutes, he received a bunch of smiley-face emojis. Chase figured his answer had been the right one. He smiled and put his phone aside, then finished up his tasks before getting ready to leave.
“Hey, we’re going to Isabella’s for dinner. Ricky wants to play with the boys, so I’m going to take him over. Are you available to join us?”
“Let me check,” Tio said, and after typing, he nodded. “I can. I have a dinner with my family tomorrow that I must attend. My mother is holding a fundraiser for the Uffizi. There are some pieces that are expected to come up onto the market soon that the museum is hoping to add to the collection. Apparently they were scattered from the museum at some point in the past, and Mother is determined to get them back for Florence.” He continued typing for a minute and then closed his laptop and slid it into his Gucci bag. Then he left the office. “Do you want to meet at Isabella’s in an hour?”
“Perfect.”
“Good. I’ll call her to let her know we’re coming.” Tio grinned. “Ciao.” He strode down the hall and down the stairs to the first floor, with Chase following his bouncing buttcheeks the entire way. Outside, they parted ways and Chase headed home, where he greeted Ricky at the door.
Ricky practically bounded into his arms. “Hey, buddy.”
“I’m ready to go,” Ricky said, holding up a fabric bag.
“What’s that?”
“Legos. They don’t have any, so I brought mine.”
Chase loved that Ricky wanted to share. “How about you leave those here, and I’ll talk to Miss Isabella about letting the boys come over? You can play Legos then.” He could just imagine Lego obstacles spread all over the streets of Florence.
“But Daddy,” Ricky said, complete with lip pooch.
“Don’t try that. Now go get your shoes on,” he instructed, and Ricky half sulked back to his room as Chase checked in with Bianca before she got ready to leave. She was a godsend, and he thanked her and paid her for the week. Then she left, and Chase quickly changed his clothes before getting Ricky and heading out.
The walk to the restaurant was wonderful, the cool night air, complete with a breeze, almost perfect. Ricky raced ahead as soon as the saw the restaurant. The boys met him, and soon they were off playing soccer down the cobbled pedestrian street while Chase sat at the table with Tio, who poured him a glass of wine.
“I see you started without me.” He sat back, smiling as he sipped. “I’m really beginning to think of this place as home. It’s familiar now, and I’m starting to make friends.” He raised a glass as Isabella came out. He stood, and she greeted him with light kisses. He was about to ask her what magic she had in store for them when she stilled, staring. Then she whispered in Italian, and Tio turned, going white.
“Who is that?” Chase asked.
“My mother,” Tio answered as a woman who seemed dressed more for a theater opening than dinner glided down the street toward them. She passed the kids, who stopped playing. Ricky ran over and stood next to Chase. She approached Tio but didn’t take her gaze off Chase and Ricky.
“Antonello,” she said gently, standing next to her son, “you need to introduce me.”
He seemed shocked and didn’t speak at first. “Mamma, this is Chase Anderson and his son, Ricky.” She didn’t extend her hand or even say anything, but her gaze went to him, then Antonello, and back to him and Ricky. He wondered what was going on behind her intense brown eyes, and he shivered slightly. Her lips pursed slightly, and then her expression reverted back, almost exactly as it had been, except for pure determination. Chase felt the blood drain from his head as fear settled in his gut. The old fight-or-flight response was so real, and all Chase wanted to do was grab Ricky and get the hell away from her.
Chapter 14
ANTONELLO’S MOTHERseemed to scan Chase and Ricky like her eyes were radar. Antonello was about to interrupt her when she snapped back to her usual cool aloofness. “I see.” He wasn’t sure what had put her off.
“Chase is the representative from Smithson,” he said gently and then switched to Italian. “He is a business associate, and the contract he’s working on is important to us. Remember?” He glared at her, wanting to snap at her about remembering her manners, but her lips turned upward.
“Of course. You’re here for a few months. Are you enjoying our beautiful city?” she asked Chase in English. After a second or two, he nodded.
“Yes. I am. We are having a nice experience here.”
Antonello noticed that Isabella was nowhere around, and even her boys were quiet and had moved near a corner of the restaurant, ready to disappear at any moment. Kids and dogs had good instincts, because his mother was formidable. He often wondered if she would make a good Disney villain.
“It was good to meet you,” she said to Chase before turning slowly, almost like she was walking a runway, and then she glided off to the right, all eyes on her until she disappeared.
