Page 42 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
The door opened and a boy of about four grinned at us.“Here’s Mommy.”
Lindsay stood behind him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.“Merci,Jacques.Welcome Ann and Rhonda.Please come in.The patient is in the den.”
We walked inside and followed Lindsay to a room that held one wall of bookshelves.
Lying on the couch, facing a large television screen, Jean-Luc looked up at us and grimaced.“I’m sorry.Such a stupid thing to do.”
“What happened?”I asked.“We didn’t get the details.”
“I was climbing a ladder to put in a new lightbulb, and it tipped over.I fell on my right ankle.”
“You could’ve been hurt much worse,” said Rhonda.“Don’t worry.We’ve got the kitchen covered.”
“But we want you back as soon as you’re ready,” I said, seeing the flash of alarm cross Jean-Luc’s face.
“Who’s handling things?Ricardo?”he asked.
“Ricardo and Chet are teaming up together.Tonight, and tomorrow, we’re offering a special prix fixe Italian dinner.Ricardo didn’t want to mess with a few specials of yours.”
“Thanks for that,” said Jean-Luc.“The doctor doesn’t want me on my feet until the swelling goes down.Then he’ll see about a cast or surgery.”
“Jean-Luc’s willing to do anything, even lie on the couch with ice packs, to move things along,” said Lindsay.“You know how hard that is for him to do.”She stroked the back of Jean-Luc’s neck and his expression softened with love.
A child cried in another room.“Excuse me,” said Lindsay.“I have to go get Damon.”
“We can’t stay,” I said.“But we had to make sure Jean-Luc is all right.He’s an important part of our hotel family.”
Lindsay’s lips curved.“Yes, I know.No one, not even Jonny Arno can compare to him.”
Jean-Luc chuckled.“Wait until Jonny sees you’re putting on an Italian dinner.When is his restaurant due to open?”
“In a couple of days,” said Rhonda.“Guess who hasn’t received an invitation to the grand opening?”
“Bah!We don’t need to be there,” Jean-Luc said, curling his lips.“We know it will be a … how do you call it?… a shit show.”
“Probably.”I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.“Get well soon.We miss you.”
Rhonda came over to him and squeezed his hand.“It’s not the same without you.”
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We left the house, and instead of driving back to the hotel, Rhonda headed north.
“Where are you going?”I asked.
“I want to get a look at Osteria Arno.I’ve purposely stayed away, but now might be time to take a gander at our so-called competition,” said Rhonda.
“I don’t want to be seen spying there,” I said, wishing we weren’t in Rhonda’s flamboyant car.
“I do.I want Jonny’s team to know we’re not afraid to be seen,” said Rhonda.“Remember, I grew up in a neighborhood where some of the guys were similar to Jonny.Big, loud bullies.”
A few miles down the road we turned away from the beach and drove through a stone entryway for Osteria Arno.We cruised up to the front of a building still undergoing finishing touches.
“Wow, Annie!Would you look at that?”Rhonda gaped at it and turned to me wide-eyed.
I shook my head, unable to believe that something so garish was our so-called competition.The white wooden structure had a white stone front with four fake wooden columns, two on each side of wide double doors painted bright pink with gold trim and accents.
From the side of the building, Brock Goodwin saw us and came meandering over, wearing a self-satisfied smile.“Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
