Ask Mariah by Barbara Freethy

Enrico De Luca, to be exact."
    "Ah, the black sheep younger brother. I've heard about you." She set her tray on the bar.
    "What have you heard?"
    "That when the going gets tough, you get going."
    Tony felt the words puncture his heart like steel-tipped darts sinking into a board. He raised the shot glass to his lips and drained it. "You must have been talking to my big brother."
    "Is it true what he says?"
    "Would you believe me if I said it wasn't?"
    "Judging by the tequila you're swigging, probably not."
    "And what might your name be?"
    "Kathleen Shannon."
    "And what possessed my father to let a little Irish breeze blow through this place?" he asked, allowing his gaze to travel down her body. She was dressed in a short black skirt with a white blouse and a black bow tie, the typical De Luca's uniform. But her body was far too curvy and her legs far too slender and sexy to fit the supposedly demure nature of her uniform.
    "I suppose he thought I'd please the customers."
    "And do you please the customers?" he asked, enjoying her sharp wit more than was prudent.
    "Depends on how big a tip they'll be leaving."
    "Ah, but you don't know that until it's too late."
    "Oh, I can tell right away. Believe me, I know when to suck up." She tossed him a saucy smile.
    "Then you should be sucking up to me. I'm the owner's son. I could be your boss one day."
    She gave a full, generous laugh that lit up her entire face. "All the saints will be in hell before that happens."
    "Why do you say that?"
    "Some men are born to rule, some to follow, some to ponder, some to wander."
    "What the hell does that mean?"
    Kathleen laughed again and disappeared into the kitchen. What an irritatingly smug, arrogant woman. Gorgeous, too, not that it mattered. She was right about one thing; he was definitely not going to be her boss. Not that he could picture anyone being that woman's boss, least of all his brother Frank.
    His father walked over to the bar, and Tony hastily slid the bottle of tequila back in its place.
    "Tony, my son," Vincent said. "What do you think of the place?"
    "It looks the same."
    "We've been waiting for you to come back."
    His stomach knotted. He'd hoped the issue wouldn't come up right away, but his father wasted no time. He shouldn't have been surprised. De Luca's was always at the front of Vincent's mind.
    "I came home to visit, not to work. I've bought a boat. I'm planning to open my own charter business."
    Vincent shook his head. "No. You want to sail on the weekends, fine, but this is your business. This is where you belong. I'm not getting any younger. I want you and Frank to run the restaurant when I retire."
    "You're not going to retire for a long time," Tony argued.
    "This will be my last Christmas at the restaurant."
    "Is something wrong?" he asked in surprise.
    "I'm tired." Vincent waved his hands. "The customers are getting younger. They want new dishes. They don't recognize the people in the photographs on the wall. They don't talk about us in the Chronicle anymore. We're losing business. You and Frank can bring it back. Frank, he has the smart head. But you, you have the smile. The ladies, they will come to see you. Louis' son, Rico, will keep them here with his cooking, and Frank will make sure they pay the bill. It is the perfect solution."
    Yeah, if he wanted to run a restaurant -- which he didn't. "I'm sorry. Papa, but I can't do this. I'm not cut out to be inside all day long. I hate that it's so dark in here. I like windows and wide, open spaces and the sound of the ocean and the birds as they dive into the water to search for dinner. I belong on the sea, not here in this restaurant."
    Vincent's eyes filled with disappointment. "Those are the words of a young boy. You are a man now. I provided for you. I gave you a roof over your head, food in your stomach, clothes on your back, and you cannot do this for me? For your mother? For your brother? For the loving memory of your sister? We are a family. This is what the De