If The Shoe Fits Page 16

  Staci took a step back as Mother came closer. She’d never seen her like this. Usually Mother’s words spoke volumes, not her tone.

  “I struggled to claw out of the slum where I was born. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be so hungry you’ll eat other people’s bread crusts?” Mother was beyond stopping. She backed Staci against the foyer wall, jailing her in place by planting her hands on the wall beside Staci’s head.

  “I swore I’d never do that again, that I’d do whatever it took to get out of that hell and rise to the upper echelons of society.”

  Mother’s face was so close Staci had a hard time focusing. But Mother’s tone got through and it frightened her. She’d never seen Mother so out of control.

  “And what happened once I worked and saved and struggled just to get beyond Fifth Street? I find a man who promises to be everything I need him to be. Your father. Only his promises turn out to be gin-soaked.”

  For a brief second, Staci swore she saw the glint of a tear. But only for a second. Mother never cried.

  Mother turned away and straightened her shoulders. “A man who saw a young girl and swept her off her feet by pulling the rug out from under her. As he continued to do with any pretty girl he met. Five years and two kids later, I was right back where I started. But at least then I had smarts.” She spun back around. “And a plan. No man was ever going to take advantage of me again. And when Sal came along, it was just too perfect to pass up. A financially well-off man who was completely dependent on me. Who was I to pass up the gift that’d been dropped into my lap?”

  Probably not the time to remind Mother that she had, in fact, gone after Sal when she’d read about the car accident.

  “But, no. Again, I’m thwarted by the lust of a man. This time for a dead woman.” She pointed one of her long fingernails at Staci. “But you, Anastasia, you will learn from my mistakes, from my experiences. I don’t ever want you to be at the mercy of some fickle man, to be used and cast aside as the mood suits him.” She picked up Bella’s phone and held it out. “Which is why you are going to end whatever this little fling is with this Luke person. We need to keep an eye on Reese, and, so help me, Staci, I will send you away with Sophia if you ruin this. I need you to keep tabs on that man and make sure Bella is never alone with him.”

  “Why, Mother? What good will that do any of us?”

  Mother yanked Staci to her until they were nose-to-nose. “Because his mother is the woman vying for my place on the Board and I’m counting on you to ensure that she doesn’t get it.”

  “And just how do you plan for me to ensure that, Mother? No one on the Board is going to listen to me.” Mother was putting a lot of confidence in her. A first. And it made Staci suspicious.

  “Please, Anastasia. We both know you are not cut out for this time of work. It’s bound to turn into a fiasco. And if by some grace of God it runs smoothly, you’ll be on board to turn it around in our favor. His mother won’t want her son’s name dragged through the mud if she gets appointed.”

  “You want me to sabotage the auction?” Staci didn’t know whether to be insulted or appalled. Though the fact that Mother expected her to fail, had meant for her to work with Bella so that she would fail, was a pretty compelling reason to go with insulted.

  “Sabotage is such a harsh word, Anastasia. I want you to make sure that Reese’s sterling reputation is tarnished just enough to reflect poorly on his name.”

  “But that will do the same thing to Casteleoni’s.”

  “Not if you play your cards right. And with me dealing your hand, you will. You just have to do what I say.”

  So nothing had changed. Mother still thought so little of her that she thought she could insult her with no repercussions.

  But she wasn’t the brainless idiot Mother obviously thought she was. She had her own plan for her life and just because Mother hadn’t found a man to stand by her didn’t mean Staci couldn’t. And, yes, Luke was a long shot, but he’d come around. He would. If she stood her ground and didn’t give in to him until he realized that she wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known, he’d come around. Oh, she knew all about what his ex-wife was trying to do; it was in all the magazines, but she was the best thing for him and he’d figure it out and then they’d have their own happily ever after. Just like she deserved.

  Just like Bella and Reese and little Sophia deserved. And Staci was in the position to make it happen.

  “All right, Mother. I’ll see what I can do.”

  ***

  Oh no she would not.

  Jonathan almost fell out of the hanging basket on the front porch. True, it might have something to do with the yellow jacket that decided to give him a sniff, but Staci’s agreement bowled him over as well. This would not do. He’d had such high hopes for the girl.

  Jonathan adjusted his fedora, shook his head one more time at Staci’s duplicity and Madeleine’s utter lack of compassion, and whisked himself back to Home Base. He was going to have to get other Guardians involved.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Look, Bella, there’s Aunt Staci.” Sophia ran across the crowded cobblestone plaza near the primate enclosure by the zoo’s entrance gates. “Hi, Aunt Staci!”

  Staci had managed, yet again, to surprise her because Bella would have bet that the only time her stepsister had been this close to a monkey was on a date with the gangly and extremely hairy Mark Kurter in tenth grade.

  Bella caught up to Sophia just as Staci handed her a few dollars she’d fished out of her teeny tiny candy apple red clutch. Madeleine might have toned down the clothing and hair color, but she still had her work cut out for her with the accessories.

  “Thanks.” Sophia turned those Casteleoni blues that could melt glaciers Bella’s way. “Can I feed the baby monkeys?”

  “Sure thing, Sprite. Just be careful, okay?”

  “ ‘Kay!” Sophia skipped over to the vendor to buy the approved treats.

  Bella let Staci follow her to a bench that was close enough to keep an eye on Sophia, but far enough that her sister wouldn’t overhear their conversation.

  “Why are you here, Staci?”

  “I was hoping to run into you. Or Reese.”

  “Reese?” Bella refused to notice the little leap her heart made. It was probably that cold soft pretzel she’d eaten.

  “He called your phone. I saw it was him and told him you’d brought Sophia here.”

  Staci held out Bella’s phone, the one Bella had purposely left behind so Madeleine couldn’t track her down. She’d never imagined Reese would try to.

  “So if you told him where to find me, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, Mother happened to overhear that conversation and she—”

  “Sent you to run interference.”

  “Something like that.” Staci looked at her fingernails. It was a nice manicure, but Staci was more prone to showing them off than studying them.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Staci grimaced. “She doesn’t want you to be alone with Reese.”

  “Why on earth not? Please don’t tell me she wants him for herself.”

  Staci laughed. “No, I can safely say that that is definitely not what she wants.” She looked at Bella. “She’s counting on me to ruin the auction.”

  “How?”

  “Sabotage.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  ‘It does if you’re Mother.”

  Bella pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t understand any of this. Why would she want to sabotage the auction?”

  Staci took a deep breath. “Carolyn Charmant is up for Mother’s position on the stupid Board. Mother thinks that if the auction’s a fiasco, Reese’s mom will stay on the sidelines instead of dragging his name through the papers. Or that she’ll be guilty by association and the Board won’t want her.” Staci held up her hands. “Hey, it’s my mother’s reasoning, not mine.”

  Bella’s mind was reeling. Madeleine wanted to sabotage
Bella’s best chance at making a name for herself and the restaurant just so she might win a Board position? “Why are you telling me this?”

  Staci bit her lip. “I’m sick of Mother’s manipulations. She doesn’t think of anyone but herself. She never has. Not really. She can say she’s done what she’s done for me and Drew, but it’s always been about her. As for her plan, I don’t know all the specifics. She just dumped the whole thing on me before I left to come here. Apparently, she was expecting my natural ineptitude to handle it for her.” She turned on the bench and looked at Bella with a tear in her eye. “She doesn’t even see how insulting that is, can you believe it?”

  Bella felt sorry for her. At least she knew why Madeleine didn’t like her; it must be really tough for Staci when her own mother had no faith in her.

  “Well now that we know, we can make sure it doesn’t happen.”

  “Yeah, but she can’t know that we know or she’ll start with the threats to send Sophia away again.”

  “So you have to let her think you’re on her side, then tell me what she’s planning and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen. We’re only two weeks’ out. We can do it.”

  Staci sniffed. “How do you do it, Bella? How do you deal with her like this day after day, year after year?”

  Bella patted Staci’s hand. Finally, someone on her side. “I keep my eye on the prize, Staci.” She just wasn’t going to trust Staci with what that prize was at the moment. Sure, Staci seemed to have had a change of heart, and Bella really hoped she had, but the custody battle for Sophia had to remain a secret until she could finance it.

  “Reese!” Sophia’s shriek startled Bella for a moment until the word registered.

  “I better go.” Staci gathered her clutch and shot to her feet. “You have a nice time with him, Bella. Don’t let my mother get in the way of your happiness. I’m not going to.”

  Before Bella could answer, Staci headed off in the opposite direction.

  It was a nice thought, but there was so much more involved with her happiness than just Reese. If only it were that easy.

  “Hey, Sophia!” Reese said, looking really good in a pair of khakis and red golf shirt. “How are you? How’s Willow?”

  “Fat and happy. That’s what Giac says.” Sophia dragged Reese by the hand back to the bench. “Look who I found, Bella.”

  “I see, Sprite.” She looked at Reese. “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed to see you.”

  “Why?”

  To kiss her senseless. It’d been his only objective on the ride over here after he’d reconciled it with his no fraternization rule. The problem with Devin had been that they’d wanted different things. He hadn’t wanted to settle down. But with Bella, he did. And with her sense of family, she had to want the same thing.

  “Will you feed the monkeys with me, Reese?” Sophia tugged on his hand.

  “Hey, Soph.” Bella pulled money from her shorts pocket. “Reese and I have some business to discuss. Why don’t you do it and we’ll join you when we’re finished.”

  Sophia pouted. The kid was going to be a knockout when she grew up. Just like her sister.

  Sister.

  He still couldn’t get over the flood of relief at the news. He wasn’t a lowlife scum-bucket for wanting her.

  “Okay, but you better hurry. They’re going to be full soon.”

  He watched her skip away. “Your sister is adorable.”

  “Yeah, and she knows it. Gets away with way too much.”

  “I bet you were the same way.” He shoved his hands into his pockets because they were itching to show her just how adorable he thought she was.

  “Me? Hardly.”

  “Not true. I’ve seen the way Gus and Giac dote on you.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re like family.”

  “What was your family like? Your parents?”

  The effect of his question on her was stunning. Well, she was stunning, but the sheer happiness that lit up her face at that question made her even more stunning. Breath-taking, and he was more than willing to let her steal his. Especially since it proved him right. She loved family as much as he did.

  “My parents were wonderful.”

  As was the smile on her face.

  Oh, hell. He was going to start spouting Shakespearean sonnets at any moment.

  “They were best friends and business partners. Everyone loved to be around them. It was like one big party in our house with neighbors coming and going all the time. They loved to be with people and wanted a big family. It was such a disappointment to them to have had only one child for so many years.”

  “Must have been tough on you.”

  “No really. I was their only child. They showered me with attention and love. I wasn’t even aware of what they were going through. But I do remember how happy they were when my mother got pregnant with Sophia. Dad threw open Casteleoni’s for free for a whole weekend and set Mom up in one of the booths like a queen. He had Giac and Gus run themselves ragged to keep everyone fed as our friends came to celebrate.” Bella laughed and Reese could see the scene. “It was even a bigger celebration when Sophia was born. You might’ve thought no one had ever given birth before—-my mother included—-with the way Dad treated her and fussed over her.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “I’m glad they’re together now. It was really tough for my dad after Mom died.”

  “But that left you with Madeleine and her daughters.”

  Bella sighed and dropped the hair. “True. But it could have been worse.”

  He glanced at the path Staci had taken as she’d left. “How?”

  “They could have had another sister.”

  Reese laughed at her make-lemonade take on her stepsisters, but his mind was replaying what she’d said about her parents. Business partners. It wasn’t a new idea, certainly. Many people worked with their spouse and had thriving businesses.

  “Did your parents start Casteleoni’s?”

  Bella smiled and, again, Reese felt as if the sun had dipped from the sky to sit beside him.

  Oh, man. He needed to go see a horror flick or something. Sit through a ball game. Go off-roading. Watch a wrestling match. A marathon of them. Cage fighting. Anything to retain his man-card.

  “My grandparents did. It was the only way they could get married.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They were engaged to a brother and sister. That’s how they met, and during their courtships, they fell in love with each other. They couldn’t bear the thought of marrying the one they were supposed to, so they had to find a way to buy out the dowries and keep the family honor. But they were immigrant kids—the only jobs they could get back then were in factories. That kind of work wouldn’t give them enough, so they came up with the idea of opening their own business. With my grandfather’s gift of gab and my grandmother’s cooking expertise, they started Casteleoni’s out of my great-grandmother’s kitchen. It wasn’t long before they were able to buy out the contracts and get married.”

  So her family business had started because of a relationship. “That’s a great story.”

  “I know. That’s why Casteleoni’s means so much to me. It’s not just a business; it’s my family’s history. Sophia’s and mine. Part of who we are.”

  And who she was was so very special. Reese fingered a coin in his pocket. God, he wanted to kiss her.

  “So why are you here, Reese? I thought we covered everything last night.”

  “We did.”

  Well, not everything…

  He kissed her. Took her beautiful face in his hands, tilted her chin up, and claimed her sweet soft lips in the way he’d wanted to since the kiss in the kitchen had whetted his appetite.

  God, she tasted good. Better than he remembered. He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, wanting entrance—

  What was he doing?

  Reese pulled away from the kiss. They were in a zoo, of all places, her impressionable little sister�
��sister!—was five feet away, and he had a plane to catch. Not optimal circumstances for making out with her, never mind the fact that he shouldn’t just walk up and maul her.

  “What was that for?” Her gorgeous blue eyes blinked at him and Reese prayed that was desire he saw in them, not disgust.

  He shoved his hands back into his pockets, out of temptation’s way.

  But then she said, “I thought you didn’t like kissing me.”

  “Where did you get that idea?”

  “You apologized. In the kitchen.”

  Hell. Utter lack of finesse, Charmant. “I thought you were married.”

  Her eyes widened and whatever desire he’d thought he’d seen disappeared. “You thought I was married and you still kissed me?”

  He was botching this. “No, not then. Not when I apologized. I didn’t want my attraction to you to interfere with our business relationship yet I’d just kissed you and, well, it wasn’t a good idea.”

  “So where does the married part come in and how on earth did you come to that conclusion? I live with my stepmother, for Pete’s sake.”

  “I thought you lived with Vincent. And that Sophia was your daughter.”

  It took her two heart-wrenching seconds to react. Two seconds for Reese to wonder if he’d blown it even before kissing her just now.

  And then she laughed. Full-on, belly-clutching, bending-over laughter.

  “Are you kidding me? You thought I was married to Uncle Vinny? What kind of woman do you think I am? And him? Oh my God. What does that say about him?”

  He grimaced. “I’m not saying I’m proud of it, I just put one and one together and—”

  “And came up with four thousand nine hundred and eight-seven.” She bit her bottom lip. “God, Reese, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “I know that now.” He wanted to run his thumb over that bottom lip.