“Don’t go there.” Dante’s brusque tone caught her off guard.
She took a second to suck down her emotional response. “Listen, I know there’s something wrong between you and your father. When he enters the room, you leave. Your contact is bare minimum.”
Dante shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“No. It’s definitely something. And take it from someone who never knew their father and would have moved heaven and earth to get to know him—you need to fix this thing before it’s too late.”
“But it’s not me. It’s him. There’s nothing about me that he approves of.”
“Aren’t you exaggerating just a bit?”
“Not really.” Dante raked his fingers through his hair. “But you don’t want to hear any of this. Compared to you, I have nothing to complain about.”
She worried her bottom lip. In her effort to make him realize how lucky he was to have a family, she’d made him feel worse. “My background has nothing to do with yours. But I would like to hear more about you and your father, if you’ll tell me.”
Dante stared at her as though trying to decide if she was being on the leve
l or not. The silence grew oppressive. And just when she thought he was going to brush her off, he started to talk.
“We didn’t exactly get off to a good start as he got stuck with a newborn baby in exchange for losing his wife. Not exactly a fair trade.”
“Still, it’s nothing that you can be held responsible for.”
“I resemble my mother in more than just my looks. Instead of being drawn into the vineyard like my brother, I got restless. My father didn’t understand why I wasn’t interested in the family business. We fought about it continually until I moved to Rome.”
“And that’s where you found your passion for cooking.”
He nodded. “I thought I had found my calling until Massimo left. It hasn’t been the same since.” Dante turned to her and looked her straight in the eyes. “If I tell you something, will you promise it’ll go no further?”
She crossed her heart just like she used to do as a kid with Jules. “I promise.”
“I’m in negotiations to sell the ristorante—”
“What? But why?”
“I figured that it’s time I moved home. Make amends. And do my part.”
“And you think that’ll make you happy?”
He shrugged and looked away from her. “I think it’s the best thing I can do for my family. Maybe at last it’ll make my father happy.”
Lizzie bit back her opinion. She’d have to think long and hard about what to say to him because she didn’t have much experience when it came to families. With it just being her and Jules, they’d been able to work things out pretty easily. But this bigger family dynamic had her feeling like a fish out of water.
“Why don’t you talk to your father? Tell him your plan.”
He shrugged. “Every time I try, we end up arguing. Usually over the choices I’ve made in my life.”
She heard the defeated tone in his voice and it dug at the old scars on her heart. “Don’t give up. Promise me. It’s too important.”
Dante’s eyes widened at her plea. “I’ll do my best.”
That was all she could ask of him. And she believed him. Though she didn’t think that selling the restaurant and moving back here was the answer to his problems. But that was for Dante to figure out on his own.
“Now, where did you say I could find your father?”
* * *
Was she right?