If The Shoe Fits (14 page)

“
Charmant, Mother. Reese Charmant.
The quarterback.”

“
Yes, whatever.” She waved her
hand. “You’ll need to keep tabs on him, spend time with him,
enthrall him as you’ve done with so many other men.”

This was new. Mother was usually berating her
for her choice in guys. “I don’t know that that’s possible. He
seems to have a thing for her.”

“
I don’t care if he wants to marry
her, Anastasia. Well, actually I
would
care about that; it’d
be disastrous. I want you in his face,” said her mother and Staci
wasn’t enjoying being on the receiving end of Mother’s
directives
.

“
But, I’m dating Luke, Mother.
He’s perfect for me.”

Madeleine slammed her fork onto the table top.
“And that’s precisely the problem with you and your sister. You
have no idea who or what is perfect for you. You’re always willing
to settle for good enough. I did, and look what happened. We end up
here, stuck on the fringes of society. I thought Sal was good
enough, rich enough,
pliable
enough, to mold for our entree
into society. But then he had to grieve himself to death over that
woman
.”

Madeleine never could say Ana’s name. She
could barely stomach the thought of her, which was why she’d
removed every trace of their stepfather’s first wife from this
house after she’d married him.

Every trace except for Ana’s look-alike
daughters.

“
You are not going to settle for
some hind end, Anastasia.”

Staci couldn’t help snorting at that. Luke
would go ballistic if he ever heard his position called a “hind
end.”

“
You are going to make sure Reese
Charmant knows who you are. And wants you, not Bella.” Mother took
another sip of her coffee. “We’ll go shopping today.”

“
Shopping?”

“
You don’t think you’ll hold his
attention looking like that, do you?” The look Mother gave her
would have done a construction worker proud. “Tacky, but the genes
are there. No, you’re only good for a weekend fling looking like
that. And much as I hate to admit it, Lucinda does have a certain
style. Obviously, you’ll have to be more like her to catch his
attention.” She gathered the paper and, wonder of wonders, picked
up her own plate. “I’ll take care of it. We’ll start with a cut and
color, and then move on to your wardrobe.”

“
But, Mother—”

“
There will be no more on the
subject, Anastasia. Your stepsister
cannot
have anything to
do with that man.”

Staci followed her. She had no idea why Mother
was so set on this, but the woman’s will was formidable. She just
wondered who was going to tell that to Reese.

Chapter
Thirteen

Cheers greeted Bella as she entered
Casteleoni’s for her shift Monday morning, the Society page on
every table.

All the regulars were there: Mr. Campanale
raised his cup, Tony and Rose stopped talking to smile and wave,
Mrs. Angelelli—and even Joey, her nephew, was there early to take
his aunt to her morning bridge club.

Giac flew from the kitchen and threw his arms
around her neck. “Congratulations! We saw the write-up in the
paper.” He steered her toward the counter and pulled out one of the
vinyl-covered stools.

As Bella allowed herself to be settled on the
seat, Giac pulled another one up for himself and slid onto it, his
elbow coming to rest on the counter, his palm cradling his chin.
“Tell me all about it.” He tapped her arm. “What was Constance
wearing? Was it a little black number or did she do
belle-of-the-ball? Sleek and sexy or uppercrust?” He sighed. “That
woman has looked gorgeous since grade school.”

Bella chuckled. “She had a very pretty dress
on. But what’s with the interest in fashion?”

“
Oh.” Giac actually blushed—and
that was odd because he
never
blushed. “I can’t tell you
right now, but we’ve had some success. Gus has found a new creative
outlet, and,
phew
! the man has been on fire.”

“
You are not telling my secrets?”
Gus boomed from the back.

“
No, but hurry up or I might!”
Giac shouted back.

At least they weren’t arguing, so that was
something.

Hopefully this new
creative outlet
didn’t involve cooking. Since Gus had started experimenting with
their menu, he’d put on considerable weight. And so had poor
Willow.

Speaking of which, she wondered where the
kitten was. She’d brought him back to the restaurant and he’d made
a beeline for the trashcans out back. Not that she could blame him,
and thankfully, he always showed up whenever Sophia came around. It
wasn’t optimal, but at least it kept the Health Department off her
case and Sophia happy.

“
Fine, fine. I’m coming.” Gus
shoved himself through the door, and flourished a gift-wrapped box
from behind him and set it on the counter. “For your
success.”

Everyone in the restaurant stopped talking as
Bella opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful soft pink satin
fabric.

She lifted it out. It was a blouse. But not
just any blouse; there was nothing ordinary about this. The
delicate fabric was cut into a tuxedo style with three-quarter
sleeves with flared, angled cuffs. The neckline Vee-ed to an
opening fastened with three oversize opalescent buttons and a
tapered waist, and her name was embroidered in silver on the left
side.

“
It’s beautiful, Gus. Thank you so
much.” She squeezed his hand, squeezing her eyes at the same time
so she wouldn’t cry. He’d made this just for her and it touched her
more than any expensive gift ever could.

“
Black, she is no good for you,”
Gus said, gruffly—because he was a softie when it came to her and
Sophia. “Now, when you work the big parties, you must look
beautiful. As good as the food we make.” He puffed out his chest,
tapping it with one meaty fist. “I make the gift for you so people
ask, ‘Who is this girl? I meet her and learn her name.’ “ He
brought his thumb to his first two fingers and shook them backward
in a familiar gesture from the old country. “They see, they talk,
they like, and they buy.” He kissed the grouping of his fingers
with a loud smack. “You make much money and we say ‘Ciao,
Madeleine!’ Good idea, eh?”

Bella laughed. It was good to see him happy
and excited about something. Even though his logic was faulty—it’d
take more than a piece of clothing to best Madeleine—she couldn’t
fault his attitude. Or his effort. The blouse was truly
spectacular.

Bella leaned across the counter and kissed his
cheek. “Thank you, Gus. This is perfect.”

Gus beamed and tapped Giac on the chest with
the backs of his fingers. “My first Guiseppe Sorcio original. But
not my last, eh?”

“
No, Guiseppe.” Giac kissed those
fingers, then folded them against his heart. “Definitely not your
last.”

The bells jingled then and Perla’s “Dollface!”
curtailed the rest of what Bella wanted to say to her two friends
while everyone else went back to their normal routine.

She hurried over as Perla tottered in on
spike-heeled sandals. Nice weather signaled the advent of pedicure
season and Perla was the leading dignitary at Nina’s Nails. She
even bought her shoes to display them accordingly. Shoes that
Casteleoni’s had helped finance.

“
Quick, doll,” Perla
stage-whispered to her, “what’s Gus’s special today? I want to
prepare myself before Harry hears it.” She tapped her manicured
fingers on the Formica.

“
Actually, Perla, it looks like
Gus is taking your suggestion to heart. I got a beautiful new
blouse today and there is no special.”

Perla clapped her hands together, bangle
bracelets clanging, with a small hop in her heels. “Oh, wonderful!
When do I get my new outfits?” She pushed off from the counter.
“I’ll go talk to the dear man right this instant. Harry and I are
going to the beach with the family this summer and I need a whole
new wardrobe.” She scurried off. “Won’t Francesca just
die
when I show up with designer originals,” she said to no one and
everyone; that was Perla. “Of course, I’ll need shoes too. I should
probably try that new shoe store, too—oh, doll. I almost forgot.
There’s a cute guy asking for you over there.” The word
subtle
was lost on Perla as her voice carried throughout the
restaurant. The cute guy—
Reese
—was sure to hear.

Bella’s stomach flip-flopped as she
turned—

But the flips flopped as she saw, not Reese,
but someone else. Tall, dark, and definitely good-looking, he wore
a business suit and carried a briefcase. Gray eyes and hair the
color of steel completed the whole package, but Bella had no idea
who he was. Referral business from the DeLeos’ party,
perhaps?

Bella pasted her most professional smile on
her face and walked over, arm extended. “Hi, I’m Bella Casteleoni.
What can I do for you?”

“
Hello. I’m Jake Adams. Reese’s
business partner.” He lifted his briefcase. “He asked me to stop by
and give you our subcontractor contract. Do you have a few
minutes?”

“
Sure. Let’s have a seat here.”
She led him to the booth in the back corner and tried to squelch
the disappointment that Reese hadn’t been the one to bring it by.
Of course, it was probably better that he hadn’t. Allowed her to
concentrate on business rather than the hot guy sitting across from
her.

“
Is Reese out of town or
something?” She asked oh-so-nonchalantly as she signed the
paperwork.

“
No, just tied up with meetings
and since I was on my way to see another client, it made sense for
me to bring them.”

The explanation, however logical, didn’t make
her feel any better. Her illogical reaction to it didn’t
either.

And Madeleine entering the restaurant at that
moment
really
didn’t make her feel good at all because the
last time her stepmother had set foot in the restaurant had been
when she’d wheeled her father in right before she’d wheeled him
down the Justice of the Peace’s courtroom aisle.

This time, as then, Madeleine coasted into the
suddenly-silent restaurant like the lady of the manor, a nod here,
royal wave there. To whom, Bella couldn’t imagine.

And she didn’t want to waste time trying to.
She excused herself from Jake to intercept her stepmother before
she could make it to the kitchen. God only knew what havoc the
woman was planning to wreak now.

Madeleine’s eyes flashed, but she quickly
reigned in her temper. Madeleine was always calm, cool, and
collected in public. Always image-conscious. Too bad she didn’t pay
that much attention to her soul.

She smoothed a hand over the French twist
she’d probably spent a week’s worth of receipts on, then rested it
on the top of a booth. Carlo Marinelli shrank back. Took a lot to
make Carlo back off; the guy was tough.

“
Why Lucinda, dear, is that any
way to greet a member of your family?” Politeness dripped from
every syllable as Madeleine’s obsidian eyes skirted the interior of
the restaurant.

“
Don’t remind me,” Bella gritted
through her teeth. “What could possibly bring you here?”

“
I thought it might be a good idea
to see how the restaurant operates, meet the clients, that sort of
thing.”

The whole speech was said through the phoniest
smile Bella had ever seen. Who was the act for?

“
What’s going on,
Madeleine?”

“
Whatever do you mean, dear
girl?”

Dear girl
? Madeleine had never
entertained the idea of Bella being dear to her in even the most
remote sense. Bella tried to figure the woman’s angle, but no
answers came.

“
Why shouldn’t I watch over
Sophia’s interests? I am, after all, her
legal
guardian.”

She smiled at someone. Bella fought the urge
to see who had betrayed her by greeting this witch. Though, in all
fairness, that person probably only returned Madeleine’s smile to
keep from getting struck with her metaphorical fangs.

“
Are there any of your catering
clients here today?” said witch asked, a tad too
interestedly.

Ah. She’d heard about the auction. And since
Staci came through the door just then, it was no surprise where
that info had come from—

Actually she
thought
that was Staci,
but the resemblance stopped somewhere at the eyes.

“
Staci? What did you do to
yourself?” The tasteful outfit her stepsister wore bore no
resemblance to any article of clothing the tacky girl had ever
worn. If it didn’t show cleavage, Staci wasn’t
interested.

Staci gave her sleek new cut a pat. “Do you
like it? I thought it was time for a change and since I’m going
into business with you, I thought perhaps I should hide my... um...
charms a little more. Keep the customer focused on the little hor
d’oeuvre-y things instead of the help.” Her smile was a glittery,
gloss-wrapped nightmare.

“
Going into business with me?”
Bella almost shouted. “Going into business? I don’t think so.” She
slammed her hands on her hips and glared at Madeleine. “If you’re
so anxious for Casteleoni’s reputation to get you on that Board, I
suggest you think twice before making me take her on. She may have
cleaned up nicely on the outside, but the minute she opens her
mouth, the whole façade crumbles.”