Page 74 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
Catarina chuckled.“They both have large extended families.It could be a very lucrative thing for you.”
“I will give you a call later to officially welcome you to dinner at my house,” said Rhonda.“I need to get permission from Jean-Luc and others to have Chet and Philippa available.We’ll check on Harper and Luciano.”
“Thank you.A visit to your home is a lovely gesture,” said Catarina, turning as two white-haired men made their way to the sand.“Here the grandfathers are now.Come meet Enrico’s father, Angelo Ferrara, and our family friend, Giovanni Bolino.”
We followed Catarina to greet them.
She made the introductions, and I couldn’t help thinking how adorable the men were.Small in stature, their eyes held a hint of amusement as I shook hands with each of them.
“Sei bellisssima,” Giovanni said softly, smiling at me.
Angelo turned to him and nodded.
“You will be my guests,” said Rhonda.“For true Italian food.”
“Ah,grazie mille,” said Angelo.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” said Catarina.
“Enjoy your day,” I said, and followed Rhonda back to where we’d left our shoes.
Smiling gleefully, Rhonda rubbed her hands together.“This is going to be so fun.I’m so happy we’re going to be a part of it.”
“Hold on, we can’t get too involved,” I said.
“We’ll see,” said Rhonda, beginning to hum a song.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
We entered the hotel and went directly to the kitchen.Jean-Luc had returned to duty wearing a special leg brace.He was determined not to lose control of his domain, and we didn’t blame him.
We told him about the dinner Rhonda and Chet would work on at Rhonda’s house and he had no problem with Chet working there.He was in training, after all.
“It’s wonderful to see you back,” I said.“But don’t overdo it or Lindsay will be upset with not only you but with Rhonda and me.”
He laughed.“Believe me, she was glad to have me out of the house.And she knows how much I love my work here at the hotel.”
“You rest when you need to,” said Rhonda.“Use the chairs in the breakroom.”
We installed a couple of lounge chairs there.For people working on their feet all day, it was a way to give their backs and legs some relief.
We went to Consuela’s part of the kitchen to get coffee and a treat.
“Hello, ladies,” she said.“You’re getting an early start to the day.What do you think about the news of Jonny being killed?”
“I think he made too many enemies,” said Rhonda.
“Still, I was surprised,” I said.
Consuela shook her head.“He was not well-liked.His staff hated working there.I don’t know what will happen with that restaurant.It’s bound to be better.”
Rhonda and I accepted the plates she handed us and grabbed our cups of coffee.
We were sitting in the office when Rhonda’s cell phone rang.
She frowned at it and picked up the call.“Rhonda Grayson.”
A smile broke across her face.“Hi, Vinnie.Thanks for calling.Yes, Ann and I are fine, but I want to thank you again for taking us away from what could’ve been a nasty situation.”
