Read Online Tempting by Susan Mallery - Free Book Online

hugging and for Dani, it felt long overdue.
    A few minutes later, the party broke up. Her brothers headed out, but Dani lingered. Gloria settled back on the sofa.
    â€œTell me about your meeting with your father.”
    Dani gave her a brief outline of what had happened. “I thought there would be more,” she admitted. “I guess that’s not fair.”
    â€œSometimes we don’t know our expectations until we’re in the situation,” Gloria told her. “Alex sounds interesting.”
    Dani laughed. “Are you matchmaking? Don’t bother. My luck with men is hideous. Besides, he’s so the wrong guy for me. We’re practically related.”
    â€œYou’re not blood relatives at all. How was Katherine?”
    â€œElegant. Gracious.” Dani sighed as she remembered the other woman’s patience with her children. “Their family is like something out of a movie. All those kids and the household runs smoothly. Ian’s in a wheelchair and a couple of the kids have Down’s syndrome. Trisha’s deaf. I know the others are special-needs kids, as well, but I don’t know the reasons.”
    â€œWhy that woman would burden herself and her husband that way is beyond me,” Gloria said. “Who needs eight children with problems? It’s ridiculous. She’s practically a martyr. Does she want to be on a stamp?”
    The mini outburst was vintage Gloria. Dani couldn’t help smiling. “So you haven’t changed totally.”
    Gloria sighed. “Apparently not. But I’m working on it. I’ve met Katherine a few times. She’s lovely and gracious—reasons why we were never close.”
    â€œShe was so nice to me. I don’t think I would have been able to act that way if I’d been her.”
    â€œPerhaps not. Still, watch yourself. The situation is complicated.” Gloria shook her head. “You’ll do what you want to do. You’ve always been stubborn.”
    â€œI get that from you,” Dani said, then pressed her lips together. “I mean—”
    Gloria grabbed her hand. “Stop! Stop backtracking. You do get that from me. Maybe it’s just from watching me be stubborn all your life. Dani, I still want to be your grandmother. We have a history. I want you to think about forgiving me for all I did. Is that possible?”
    Dani wasn’t sure. Did forgiveness imply trust? Because she wasn’t totally ready to believe Gloria wouldn’t turn on her again. Still, under the circumstances, saying “Of course it’s possible,” seemed the right thing to do.
    Â 
    D ANI FLIPPED THROUGH the receipts for the night. Not bad for a Wednesday, she thought as she did a quick mental tally. Nick’s pasta special had been a huge hit and they’d sold a fair number of her wine pairings, as well.
    It had taken Dani the better part of a week to convince Bernie to offer wine pairing suggestions. He kept telling her that guests found it insulting to be told what wine went with what foods. As if the management assumed they were too stupid to figure it out themselves.
    Dani argued that people liked being given ideas that allowed them to try a wine they might not have taken a chance on otherwise.
    Their compromise had been to add a wine pairing to half the specials and see if they sold. She had a feeling Bernie would want to add more pairings to other items on the menu.
    Her minor success pleased her. She wanted to do well in her work. This was her first real job outside the Buchanan empire, so in her mind, it was a make-it or break-it situation.
    â€œDani, one of our guests wants to talk to you. He didn’t say why.”
    Dani smiled at the server. “Thanks, Eddie. Which table?”
    â€œFifteen.”
    â€œI’ll head right over.”
    A request to see a manager could mean anything from a tirade to praise for exceptional service. Things ran smoothly enough at Bella Roma