“No, we’re in a brownstone.” She took another breath. “Julie does the bookkeeping for Wedding Belles and there really isn’t enough other work for a full-time accountant, so I have additional clients on the side.”
He glanced around. “Places like this?”
She tilted her head in question. “Gina’s is a very popular restaurant.”
“I can see it’s popular, but I don’t see anybody eating.” His gaze paused meaningfully on the men playing pool.
“This used to be a biker bar. Every once in a while a group wanders in, expecting a different atmosphere.”
He laughed.
She finally smiled. “Really, they’re harmless. After a time or two of trying to shoot pool in a place that’s playing Dean Martin’s Italian love songs, they pretty much don’t come back.”
When the waiter returned with Dominic’s coffee, Audra said, “Bring Mr. Manelli a plate of manicotti. Put it on my bill.”
“Sure.”
The waiter scampered away again.
“I’ve had lunch.”
She shrugged. “So, you’ll only have a bite to sample it. Then you’ll understand why I think this restaurant is going to be Boston’s next big thing.”
“And you’ll be the accountant for Boston’s next big thing?”
She smiled. “Yeah. Nothing wrong with that. I like upstarts. People at the beginning of something big. Dreaming and then making those dreams come true.”
He’d never heard that kind of excitement in her voice. “You like what you do?”
“Of course, I do.” She toyed with her fork, then looked him in the eye. “Before I met David, I had a dream of someday becoming a CEO. Of running something really important. I think I forgot that.”
“Oh?”
She took a breath. “Yeah. I was sort of trying to tell you this the other day in the nursery, but—”
“But I kissed you, then asked you to leave.”
She nodded.
He sat back on his chair. “Huh.”
Audra said nothing. That was as close as she would allow herself to come to telling him that she’d accept a date if he offered.
He looked around again, brought his gaze back to hers and said, “How does this fit into that plan?”
She laughed. “It’s a very long road to get to the office on the top floor. So I’m creating my own. I’ve already started my own accounting firm.” She shrugged. “Who knows? With enough clients like this—clients who expand—pretty soon I might be able to hire help.”
She motioned in a circle. “Gina and Tony are already looking at a second location for Gina’s in the city. They can do that because they built up a rental property business, long before they opened Gina’s. Not just so they’d have capital to invest, but also to have money to live on.” She smiled at him. “Someday, when you’re looking for an investor, you may just be coming to them.”
He glanced around. Audra’s heart was in her throat. She couldn’t be more plain if she spelled it out on a blackboard, yet he didn’t seem to be getting it.
The waiter returned with the manicotti. “This is Tony, by the way. Tony, this is Dominic Manelli.”
Dominic rose to shake his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“You, too.” Tony bobbed his head. “Taste Gina’s manicotti. See if that doesn’t make you weep and thank your Maker.”
Audra laughed gaily. Dominic glanced at her as he sat and then reached for his fork. He slid the pasta manicotti into his mouth and his eyes squeezed shut. “Oh, Lord.”
Tony’s chest puffed out with pride. “It’s good, right?”
“It’s the best food I’ve ever eaten.”
Tony scampered away saying, “I’ll tell Gina.”
Audra laughed. “You better hope I don’t tell Joyce… or my mother what you just said.”
He tilted his head, studying her. “I can’t believe the difference in you.”
“What?” She plucked a cucumber from the salad beside her laptop and popped it into her mouth.
“You’re…you’re…sunny and focused and different. Businesslike but in a happy way.”
She laughed. “Gina and Tony bring out the best in me.”
“I can see that.”
“This is the real me. The Audra I was before David.”
“And this Audra is happy?”
“Happy. Strong. Smart.” Sucking in a breath for courage, she caught his gaze. “And not above having a little fun. Just going out to have fun. I used to like to have fun. I used to date to have fun. My mistake,” she said, holding his gaze, “was thinking David would settle down.”