Page 61 of The Sound of Silence

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Derek

Isat at the bar inside Camilla’s and sipped a Peroni as I looked through the glass front windows. Despite the late hour, Mulberry Street was bustling with tourists, each one wanting to experience authentic pasta dishes, desserts, and trendy clothing stores in Lower Manhattan’s Little Italy. Inside Camilla’s, the dinner hour was coming to an end, and the restaurant crowd had begun to thin. Camilla’s was one of the few restaurants in Little Italy to stop serving food after nine o’clock, which meant I could spend a little quiet time with Val at the end of her shift.

Val and Isabella were making final rounds to the tables of the remaining guests, and Christopher was wiping down everything behind the bar until it was sparkling clean. Seeming satisfied everything was to perfection, he tossed a dirty rag into a bin and headed toward me.

“This is the third night in a row you’ve graced us with your presence. I can’t help but think it has something to do with one particular pretty waitress who works here,” he said with a wink.

“You caught me,” I said with a grin. I glanced where Val was talking to a restaurant patron on the opposite side of the restaurant. She handed them their check and moved on to the next table of guests. Her hips swayed as she weaved between tables, not even realizing how provocative her movements were. It was just the way her body naturally moved. No matter what her intentions were, desire still gripped me, and I suppressed a groan. Tearing my eyes away from that gorgeous body, I took another long swig of my beer.

“Things are going good with her then?” Christopher asked.

“I guess you could say that. I took her to dinner the other night. The weather has been warm, so we did The Hatch dinner cruise. We had a really nice time.”

Before Christopher could pry any more, my sister sauntered over to us and took a seat on the wrought iron bar stool next to mine.

“You’ve barely taken your eyes off her since you got here, little brother,” she said with a teasing punch to my shoulder. “Please tell me you’ve finally made a move to ask her out. I’m getting tired of watching you pine.”

“Actually, he took her to dinner a few nights ago,” Christopher answered for me. Isabella immediately turned away from me, all attention now on her husband.

“Really? Where did they go?” she asked Christopher, her eyes alight with excitement.

“He took her on a dinner cruise over at The Hatch.”

“Oh, how romantic! What a great idea!” Isabella gushed.

“Yeah. I thought so too. Derek said the weather has been—”

“Yo! I’m sitting right here!” I laughed. I knew my sister would want all the details but before I could tell her more, Val headed our way. I smiled as she approached.

“You’re all huddled up looking like cats who swallowed the canary,” she joked. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing much. Only my sister and brother-in-law being nosey,” I told her as I placed a light kiss on her forehead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Isabella’s beaming smile. I couldn’t help wondering who was more excited about Val and me finally getting together—my sister or me. I shook my head and suppressed a grin.

“Val, if you want to visit with Derek, I’ll finish up in the dining room,” Isabella offered.

“Are you sure? I can—”

“I can handle it,” my sister reiterated. Christopher conspicuously disappeared into the kitchen as Isabella slid down from her bar stool. Leaning in to peck me on the cheek, she whispered, “Take all the time you need.”

As she walked away, I saw Val pass her a look of gratitude before silently mouthing, ‘thank you.’

“Now, I feel like I missed something,” I kidded. When Val only offered me a knowing look, my eyes widened in surprise. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing at all,” she all too innocently denied. “Are you hungry?”

I eyed her suspiciously. Something was definitely going on. I wasn’t sure what to think about this guileful side to her so I played along.

“I could be.”

“Well, then, follow me this way, Mr. Mills. Your table awaits.”

Once I was seated, Val brought me fresh bread and a plate of seasoned olive oil for dipping, then she disappeared through the door to the kitchen, leaving me relatively perplexed.

What in the hell was going on?

As the last customer exited the restaurant, Val reemerged from the kitchen. Christopher followed behind her and tossed a dish towel over his shoulder. Reaching into his pocket, he dropped a set of keys on the bar.

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