birthday, she’d dared to eat a meal with him at a restaurant outside the castello, even knowing they could both get into terrible trouble.
Caught up in the memory, she drove to Cisliano and found a parking place at the end of the street near the Rho Bistro. She and Bianca had spent two divine hours here with Vincenzo and Dimi. The need to recapture that moment took her inside, but the place was packed. As she looked around, her gaze suddenly collided with a pair of silver eyes staring at her between black lashes.
Vincenzo—her heart knocked against her ribs. He was here?
She watched as he got to his feet and walked over to her. “It appears you and I had the same idea this evening. As you can see, the whole world is here. You’re welcome to join me at my table. I think I have the only free one left.”
Gemma couldn’t believe this had happened, but to turn him down would be churlish at this point.
“Thank you. I have to admit I’m starving.”
No sooner had he held a chair for her to sit down than the waiters started bringing the food. The menu included antipasto, risotto, sautéed mushrooms, roasted polenta and potatoes, with a dessert of limoncello and iced cookies.
After a few bites she said, “I had no idea you were here.”
“That works both ways.” He sipped his coffee. “Seeing you again has made me nostalgic for my happy past, and I found myself driving here. The meal we enjoyed on my birthday will always stand out in my mind.”
“Truthfully, I’ll never forget it, either,” she confessed. “On the way back to my flat, I decided to drive by and see if this place still existed. We were fed so much food, I didn’t think I would ever eat again.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“I was frightened someone from the castello would find out and word would get back to my mother. She would have grounded me forever.”
“Three weeks after my birthday, I was in New York, ending our one and only over-the-castello-wall experience.”
Over the wall was right! But Gemma didn’t want to think about the past and changed the subject.
“After the last meeting in the kitchen, Cesare told us to go home and get a good sleep before we report in the morning ready to dig in. I didn’t expect to see you here, but since we have bumped into each other, I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be the pastry chef. It is the chance of a lifetime.”
“If anyone should be doing the thanking, it’s me,” he came back unexpectedly. “When I saw you walk into the ballroom this morning, I was able to breathe again. Later in my office I started looking over the menus. You and Maurice stimulate the brilliance in each other. There’s no doubt in my mind the food at the Castello Supremo Ristorante will bring the world to our door.”
“Coming from you, that’s a great compliment.” But Gemma wished he’d stop being so...so nice and charming the way he’d been years ago, the way he’d been today during the orientation meeting.
He kept talking. “Cesare is the true expert. The light in his eyes after he’d studied the menus and handed them to me told me all I needed to know about how excited he is about our new chefs.” He drank more coffee.
“That’s very gratifying to hear.”
He flashed her a penetrating glance. “I can’t believe you aren’t married.”
She drank her limoncello too quickly and started coughing. Had he been hoping she’d found a man? Would it make him feel less guilty for disappearing from her life? Why not turn things around on him?
“What about you, Vincenzo? You’ve been in New York all this time. I don’t see a ring on your finger.”
His mouth tautened. “I’ve been too busy conducting business to think about getting married.”
No woman could resist him, so he couldn’t have suffered in that department. But there probably weren’t that many available princesses on the East Coast of the US to consider marrying. For that, he’d have to return to Europe. No doubt there’d been a short list compiled years ago for Vincenzo to consider.
She cleared her throat. “Labor-intensive work does have a way of interfering. Being an apprentice at the school hasn’t allowed me the time to consider marriage. They require nine to ten years from you. That doesn’t give you a spare moment to breathe.” Except for that one month with Paolo, which was a mistake.
“Understood. As long as we’re together, would you be willing to answer a question for me? Your last name is Rizzo, yet you used Bonucci on your application. Why?”
They were wading into dangerous waters now. “That’s a long story.”
“Is there some secret?”
Her eyes closed tightly. If he only knew.
“Bonucci is mother’s maiden name. When we moved to the apartment above my aunt’s bakery, Mamma told me to put Bonucci on my application. That way when I attended pastry school, it would be an easy identification with her family’s bakery.”
“Mirella was an intelligent woman and was always very kind to me and Dimi.”
Just hearing him say her mother’s name made her eyes smart. She nodded. “People love her. I love her terribly.”
“Gemma,” he murmured. “Don’t you know I’ve missed that old life more than you can imagine? I know she’s your whole world and you are hers. Interesting that after you left the castello, no one knew you as Gemma Rizzo. That’s why neither Dimi nor I could find you.”
Oh, no. She clenched her fists beneath the table. “Mamma would have done or said anything she could to—” Gemma stumbled “—to increase my chance to succeed.”
She knew by the flicker in his eyes that he’d caught her correction. Vincenzo was a shrewd, brilliant businessman, and she was afraid he wouldn’t let it go. “Your mamma got her wish. My colleagues have been praising your expertise.” Heat crept into her cheeks again, but this time anger wasn’t the culprit.
“That’s very nice to hear. Now I’ve got to go so I’ll be fresh for tomorrow.”
“Gemma,” he whispered. “What aren’t you telling me?”
The tone in his voice reminded her of the old Vincenzo. Slowly, steadily, he was breaking her down. His magic was getting to her. Damn, damn, damn. Her heart pounded so hard, she was certain he could hear it. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You forget I’ve known you since you were four years old. When you’re nervous or afraid, your voice falters. You did it just now. You said that your mother would have done or said anything to...to what, Gemma? You left out something of vital importance. What was it?”
She felt sick inside. “You’re wrong.”
“Now your cheeks are red. They always fill with color when you’re not telling the truth.” He wouldn’t stop until he’d wrung it out of her.
Vincenzo, Vincenzo. “Mamma said
