If The Shoe Fits (16 page)

And then Uncle Vinny arrived, which was always
cause for celebration. He traveled a lot with his job and was
rarely in town. She loved him as if he were her father and missed
him terribly when he was gone, but his arrival now only added to
the day’s upheaval.

“
Mi Bellisima!” Her father’s
second cousin’s booming voice echoed through the restaurant as he
enveloped her in a hug.

Uncle Vinny had been there for her when the
accident had shattered her existence, and he’d tried to help her
put the pieces together ever since.

“
Ah, Bella. It’s so good to see
you again.” Uncle Vinny kissed her on both cheeks, then held her
away from him with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his
Mediterranean-blue eyes—just the way she always pictured him. Vinny
might be a top-echelon golf course designer and shrewd businessman
to the rest of the world, but to her, he was an old softie. “I
heard Connie DeLeo’s party was a success.”

“
In more ways than one. We’ve
gotten two referrals so far from it.”

“
I told you, Bella, I’m willing to
give you a loan—”

“
And we both know the message it’d
send to the judge: that I can’t take care of Sophia on my own, and
that would negatively affect my case. Why would a judge alter the
current custody arrangements if I can’t provide for my sister from
the outset? No, we’ve been over this, Uncle Vinny and your lawyer
confirmed it. I have to show the court that I can take care of her
myself, or it’ll be tossing money away. And if I lose, God knows
where Madeleine will send Sophia. I can’t take the risk; I have to
go into this with a clear shot at winning.” And until then, she had
to play by Madeleine’s rules.

Uncle Vinny bit back the words she knew he
wanted to say. He had the same opinion of Madeleine that she did,
but there was nothing he could do about it. With all his traveling,
there’d been no hope of him getting custody after Dad had died. His
lawyer had said that Madeleine’s lack of a career actually
helped
her cause.

Bella bit back the bitterness. Madeleine
didn’t have a job because of Dad’s money and this business. The
very thing Bella was counting on to help her out of the mess was
the thing that kept her in it.

Luckily, Gus barreling through the swinging
door from the kitchen got her mind off the endless loop of
helplessness.

“
Vincenzo! About time you visit!”
Gus grabbed Uncle Vinny by the arms and pulled him into a
double-cheek kiss. “Is good to have you back. You stay a while, eh?
See Bella’s big night? She is a good business woman.” He tapped
Vinny’s chest with the back of his fingertips. “Our little angel,
she flies high these days. And with an American football player, no
less!”

“
What?” Uncle Vinny raised an
eyebrow.

Bella rolled her eyes. Leave it to Gus to make
more of the situation with Reese than it merited.

She tugged Uncle Vinny into one of the booths.
“Don’t listen to Gus. I’m doing a job for Reese Charmant. The
annual hospital auction. Gus’s food sealed the deal.”

“
She lies. It is because of our
Bella that we do this.” Gus wagged a plump sausage of a finger at
her while pushing his way into the booth beside her. “The man, he
saw her—” he held her chin in his hand—”and this beautiful face. He
was
incantato
. The man, he knows beauty when he sees
it.”

“
Enchanted?” Bella tugged her chin
away.
If only
. “Really, Gus. Even if I were Miss America,
Reese wouldn’t hire me if the food wasn’t good. You sealed the deal
for us.”

Gus and Uncle Vinny looked at each other with
such a look that Bella knew when to throw in the towel. “All right,
I can tell when I won’t win against you two.” She untied her apron
and scooched across the booth, making Gus stand up. “And I’m not
even going to try. You two stay here and chat all you want about
something completely incorrect while I get Sophia off the bus.” She
kissed both men on their cheeks. “Behave. Both of you.”

She didn’t believe their angelic expressions
for one minute.

***

“
He’s interested in her, isn’t
he?” Vinny asked Guiseppe the minute Bella left.

“
Sì
. But Giacomo and I, we
don’t know in what way. Well, of course, we know in
that
way—the man, he is not dead—but we will watch to be sure he treats
her as a princess,
capisce
?”

“
Yeah, I understand.” Vinny
scratched his jaw. He and the guys had been looking out for Bella
ever since Sal took sick after the accident. Vinny was all for
Bella having someone in her life, but he was around pro athletes
all the time, and while most were decent, there were those who had
an ego bigger than the venues they played in, and behaved—or
mis
behaved—accordingly.

He ought to tag along with Bella on this
appointment. Check the guy out. He knew
of
him, of course,
and what he knew he liked. But the real guy? That took firsthand
knowledge. And since his own celebrity status gave him some common
ground with Reese, no one would think anything of him tagging
along. One sports guy to another.

Vinny chuckled. Okay, maybe
he
had one
of those egos he was talking about, but that only made his radar
hum for Bella’s sake.

So, yeah, he was definitely going to pay Mr.
Reese Charmant a visit. Bella needed someone to watch out for her;
it’s what her father would have wanted. Since Sal couldn’t, it was
up to him.

After all, he
was
her
godfather.

***

Madeleine paced in the master suite and, for
the first time since she’d married Sal, she didn’t care what her
heels were doing to the plush carpet.

Bella could ruin everything.

That Board position had been
right
in
her hands. Talia had suggested it would happen at the flower show
last week and, as the Recording Secretary, she would know. They’d
been waiting for the tea to tell her.

Then there’d been the frantic whisperings when
Talia had arrived. Of course she’d been late so Madeleine had had
to deal with her devastating disappointment while surrounded by the
rest of the Board.
She
ought to get an Academy Award for her
performance, not that
actress
they were now
considering.

She sat on the settee at the foot of the bed.
How dare they take this from her. That woman had done nothing for
this town but leave it to make a name for herself. Then she comes
sashaying back as if she were royalty, expecting all doors to be
opened to her, all accolades bestowed upon her.

Madeleine
deserved this.
She’d
worked her fingers to the bone taking care of Salvatore Casteleoni.
She’d
hurt her back helping him to and from that godforsaken
chair. And then she’d had to play the grieving wife, always at his
hospital bed when the man hadn’t had a prayer of recovering. She’d
known that from the day they’d admitted him. Yet she’d done her
duty. Acted the concerned and caring wife, always mindful of the
respect the townspeople held for him. Her. She’d been the face of
Casteleoni’s and how did they pay her? By making her second
best?

No. It could not happen. Some Hollywood chippy
was
not
going to take what was rightfully hers.

Chapter Fifteen

“
Bella and a Mr. Casteleoni to see
you, Reese.”

Reese was halfway out of his chair when
Kelly’s announcement registered.

The Husband.

Now
he was meeting her Husband? Father
of her child, the man legally and morally entitled to do things to
and with her that Reese had no business imagining.
That
Husband?

He wasn’t ready.

“
Oh, yes.” Kelly’s barely
contained amusement interrupted his dread. “And a Miss Staci
Fontaine, as well.”

Reese could hear Staci “humph” in annoyance as
Kelly cut her off.

Never had he imagined he’d be glad to see
Staci, but today she’d be a buffer between the happy couple and his
wayward thoughts.

Okay, he could do this. “Send them
in.”

Bella, looking beautiful in a light pink
frilly feminine blouse and cream pants that brought to mind a
vanilla ice cream cone he’d love to lick, walked into the office
with a presentation portfolio clutched in front of her and a
mountain of a man walking behind her.

Reese immediately started summing the guy
up—as the guy did to him—and the air suddenly came alive with
testosterone zinging around the room like wayward bolts of
lightning. Bella seemed oblivious. How, Reese couldn’t begin to
guess. He sure as hell wasn’t.

And he’d thought puberty had been a trial? It
was nothing compared to having The Husband stare him down like a
man staking his claim. Which was exactly what the guy was doing.
Alpha male to alpha male, they squared off.

“
Hello, Reese.” Staci pushed past
the Casteleonies to greet him with more warmth than was
professional, but just the right amount to provide cover for him.
At least, he hoped so.

“
Staci. Bella.” He greeted the
women before turning to The Husband. “You must be—”

“
Vincent Casteleoni,” the mountain
answered, a large hand extended.

Reese shook it, his mind reeling as he made
the connection he should have guessed. Vincent Casteleoni?
The
Vincent Casteleoni? The famous golf course designer?
Married to Bella? Why, she was young enough to be the man’s
daughter, for God’s sake.

What had possessed either one of them? No
wonder
he hadn’t met The Husband—the guy had probably been
jetting around the country half the time.

And where did that leave Sophia? Without a
father for most of her life?

Reese’s manner turned cooler than he knew it
had a right to. But he was appalled. Indignant. Angry.
Pissed.

Jealous as hell.

“
My Bella tells me you’re having
her cater the auction.”

Vincent Casteleoni skewered him with his gaze.
He
knew
Reese was having thoughts he shouldn’t. And he was
letting him know that he knew.

The cavemen vibes sailed over the women’s
heads. Bella seemed absorbed in her own thoughts and Staci was
being Staci: sidling up to him and coiling an arm around his as if
he were a meal for a pet snake. The woman was an open
book.

“
And me, too.” Staci pouted.
“Bella and I are doing it together. Right, Reese?”

She dug her nails into his arm, literally
getting her hooks into him. And yet, he wasn’t discouraging
her.

That would be because he didn’t have a death
wish.

He put on his game face and answered her
Husband’s question. “I
have
hired Bella. Your business came
highly recommended.”

“
Oh, it’s not my business. It’s
all Bella’s, start to finish.” The lucky SOB wrapped his arm
possessively around Bella’s shoulders and squeezed.

Reese couldn’t even think of him as Vincent
Casteleoni, who, in any other situation would be a potential
celebrity to book for jobs. Now, he was just The
Husband
.
With that damn capital H.

Staci, showing more smarts than Reese had
given her credit for, ping-ponged her gaze between them. “Reese.”
She tugged on his arm. “We brought updated menus to go over with
you.”

He ushered them to the conference room
adjacent to his office. Filled with floor-to-ceiling windows that
framed the river beyond like a painting, with plush gray carpeting
and maroon wainscoting, the room normally had a calming effect on
him. It didn’t now.

“
Please have a seat.” He indicated
the head of the table closest for The Husband, then took the one at
the far end for himself. He had to put as much distance between
them as possible.

Not that it mattered. The entire time Bella
was speaking, Reese had to struggle to focus on the content and not
the way her lips moved when she said things like
asparagus
spears
.

God, he had it bad.

And The Husband knew it. Reese could feel it
rolling off the guy in waves.

“
And for dessert—”Bella shuffled
more papers and brought out another list that Reese barely saw
because he was thinking exactly
what
he’d like for
dessert—”I wasn’t sure if Baked Alaska would be too predictable or
too over the top, but it always makes a great impact when the wait
staff parades it in in flames. It’ll be a spectacular ending,
especially under a starry sky.”

Reese forced some words past the pasted-on
smile that was purely for The Husband’s benefit. “I think it’s a
great idea. We’re going to have fireworks over the river and that
will tie in nicely.”

Nicely
? What was he, a choir boy?
Thinking of licking that Baked Alaska meringue off her body, one
stroke at a time, was so much more than
nice
that he was
amazed
he
didn’t suddenly go up in flames.