Page 124 of Boss of the Year

The dining roomtable could easily seat twelve, but our small group made it feel intimate rather than cavernous. Sofia regaled us with stories from school while Lucy banged her spoon against her tray with aplomb. Lucas looked on like he’d been smacked in the face but was glad for it.

“Oh myGod,” he groaned after his first bite of the bolognese. His hand found mine under the table as if he were looking for support. “Marie. This is incredible. Why haven’t you ever made this for us at home?”

“You’ve never made them Nonna’s bolognese?” Frankie asked. “I assumed that’s how you got yourself hired in the first place.”

“It’s a family recipe.” I shrugged off the compliment. “Nothing fancy.”

The meal planning at Prideview required a bit more flair when the expectation was Michelin-level dining. Plus, how could I explain that for me, the sauce was personal? I’d only ever had it at a table surrounded by people I loved. How could I share it with anyone different?

As Lucas took another bite, the dove in my chest flapped its wings again.

“Maybe it’s better you don’t,” he said. “They’ll never let you make anything else. As it is, I’ll probably request it on the side at least once a week if I can get it.”

I didn’t even have to ask myself to know that I’d be making a weekly batch of secret bolognese whether Lucas remembered to ask me or not.

We were just finishing when Xavier’s phone rang. His expression grew serious as he answered and left the room to conduct a hurried conversation.

“I have to go,” he said when he returned. “There’s been a problem in Kendal. A fire in one of the tenant cottages. No one was hurt, but I need to be there tonight. Ces, do you want to stay?—”

“Absolutely not.” Frankie was already rising from the table. “You know our rule. You don’t deal with Kendal without us.”

Something unspoken passed between them. It was strong, built from the kind of bond that only came when you knew something hard was going to happen—or maybe it already had—and that you could weather anything together.

My heart ached.

It wasn’t just love that Frankie and Xavier had. It was a partnership. Trust.

Within twenty minutes, they had packed their things and called their driver to take them to the train station, and I was kissing my nieces goodbye at the door.

“Sorry to rush out.” Frankie hugged me. “But it’s a two-and-a-half-hour train ride, and we need to be on the seven thirty. I’d like the girls to sleep a little tonight.”

“Of course.” I squeezed her hard. “We’ll lock up behind us.”

“Don’t bother.” She pressed a key into my hand. “We’ll be in Kendal until this is sorted out, so the flat is yours for as long as you need it. You and”—she cast a quick glance over my shoulder at Lucas— “whoever else you want.”

I looked down at the key. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” But as her family prepared to leave, she tugged me into the foyer, out of Lucas’s earshot while he said his goodbyes to Xavier.

“That man is in love with you,” she said quietly.

My heart skipped. “Frankie?—”

“But I don’t think he knows it yet,” she continued. “And that’s the most dangerous kind.”

Before I could respond, Xavier appeared beside us and began shepherding his family toward the elevator with the same protective intensity I’d seen in him since the day we’d met.

The doors closed as my sister and nieces waved goodbye.

And Lucas and I were alone.

25

CHICKEN PASTINA

*zest a bit of lemon rind into the broth for a more complex flavor.

“Towels are in here, I think.” I opened a closet in the hall of to reveal a wall full of impossibly fluffy linens. “And the last two rooms at the end are the guest rooms. Take your pick.”