“I’m not a server anymore,” I admitted. “I got a promotion.”
“Well, isn’t that nice?” Twila said sincerely, looking from face to face. The tension around the four of us could’ve been cut with a knife. “Um… David? Do you want to tell her or can I?”
Unlike the substantial height difference between myself and Marco, Twila stood only an inch or two shorter than my brother. Her eyes sparkled like jewels in her face and I wondered what was going on.
“Someone should tell me whatever it is,” I said, nervousness slicing my patience to shreds.
“We’re engaged!” Twila said, as a broad smile brightened her features. She stuck out her left hand, showing me a modest but glittering diamond ring.
“That’s…” Stunned, I tried to come up with the correct thing to say. “That’s fantastic. Congratulations.” I embraced her, then David, who hugged me back, though his posture remained stiffer than normal as he continued to squint over at Marco.
“I’d say this calls for a celebration,” Marco remarked graciously, all sophisticated cultivation. Any caution or trepidation he’d been exhibiting had vanished, almost as if he’d wiped his expression clean. His chiseled face had become a blank slate. He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a bottle of champagne.
“We’re not drinking with you,” my brother said as if insulted, his voice flat. Then, seeming to realize how rude that must come across, he gestured at their uniforms. “We can’t. We’re about to go on duty. Night shift.”
“Another time, perhaps.”
“Yeah. Perhaps.” David’s Philadelphia accent, one that typically became more pronounced when angry or aggravated, was thick as lava.
Twila, maybe feeling the need to smooth over a tension she probably didn’t understand, offered Marco her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so over the moon I’ve forgotten my manners. I’m Twila Hanover. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Marco Varasso,” he took her proffered hand, only to k
iss the back of it rather than giving her a handshake. “And the pleasure’s all mine.” Even though my boss wasn’t downright flirting with Twila, he’d definitely ramped up the charm. I felt a spasm of jealousy swirl through my gut, which if his hateful scowl was any indication, David felt, too.
“Why are you strutting around here like you own the place?” my brother didn’t attempt to camouflage his sharp tone as he seized his fiancée and pulled her behind him, regarding Marco as if he were a hissing viper. Marco’s charm dissolved into an icy coldness.
“I do own the place.”
“Since when? Where’s Ian?” David demanded, and my nerves, already high-strung, raised to the point that I could barely breathe.
“I purchased this establishment from Ian a few months ago, so he could attend to some business overseas.”
“Overseas.” My brother articulated the word slowly and with so much incredulity that I started to grow afraid. He was behaving like he might accuse Marco of something or even arrest him outright, and I sincerely didn’t know what I’d do if that happened.
No longer able to merely stand by, I decided I needed to distract them. “So, have you set a date?” It was a lame attempt, I knew that, but I had to act before things got out of hand.
“Stay out of this, Kelly,” David snapped at me, and Marco stepped between us so fast that if I’d blinked I would’ve missed it.
“Watch your tone with her,” my boss said, his deep voice more of a growl. I’d never seen him this furious before, the predatory look I’d once ascribed to him at a dangerously high level. It took a second for me to register that Marco meant to defend me, to protect me.
My brother’s eyes widened in disbelief before they narrowed in what I’d only witnessed a couple times in my life: white hot rage. “Is there something going on here that I need to know about?” his voice loud enough to carry beyond the hallway.
“Hey there, boss. Everything all right?” this came from Larry, one of Marco’s new hires, and the current cook on duty. He’d rushed out of the kitchen, his gloved hands still coated in flour. He must be preparing the dough to rise overnight for the freshly made bread we used for our sandwiches.
“Everything is just peachy,” Marco answered him, evenly. “Isn’t it, Officer Carr?”
David sneered at my boss, staring him down. And for a moment, I didn’t think things would stay peachy at all. But then Twila laid a hand on David’s arm, and he released his breath in an audible burst. “Fine,” he barked out, but more quietly now. “Things are fine.”
Ire continued to hold court over every line of his frame, but he yanked his gaze away from Marco as if he’d decided not to pursue the chase. But then, my brother’s eyes caught mine. He looked at me as if disappointed by my actions, and upset by this, I reached out to him. “David, I…”
But before I could make contact, he did an abrupt about-face and stormed off toward the exit, leaving his fiancée to follow in his wake.
12
Marco
I watched Kelly as she reacted to her brother’s abrupt departure, tears in her eyes. She was close to shattering, to falling utterly apart, and given the curious glances we’d attracted from the closing crew, I knew such a scene would only make matters worse. I took her arm and led her gently away from prying eyes and ears.