So Irresistible Read Free Page A

Gabriella—he hadn’t overseen all his pizzerias quite as diligently as he ordinarily would have. As far as Gabriella could tell, that misstep had led directly to their family’s business becoming vulnerable to a buyout bid.
    In a sense, the whole horrible snowball of events was all Gabriella’s fault. At least it felt that way to her.
    But still . . . hallucinations ? It was either that, or her parents really had just given her the slip. Inexplicably. They definitely weren’t anywhere in sight anymore.
    Ordinarily, Gabriella was much tougher than this. The pressure must be getting to her. If she didn’t let off some steam soon . . .
    “Hey, Gabriella!” The mushroom guy held up his hand. “How’s it going? Are you guys planning to reopen Reggio soon? It’s the pizzeria closest to my house. I hate seeing it shuttered.”
    “Me, too.” The Grimanis owned six pizzerias throughout Portland. All were named after cities the Grimani family had once lived in in Italy. Reggio, Abruzzo, Tropea, Salerno, and Benevento were temporarily closed, thanks to the expenses her father had incurred while trying to fight the takeover. Now, only Campania remained to carry on the family tradition. “If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have the other pizzerias up and running soon.” She eyed the mushroom vendor, belatedly recognizing him. “If you have any leads on kitchen staff looking for work, send them my way. Staffing’s been a beast.”
    “Yeah. I heard you’ve been having problems since you came back.” Idly, he rearranged a basket of chanterelles. “It’s not that surprising. Nobody wants to work for a bad house.”
    “Campania isn’t bad!” Gabriella was shocked he would say so. Especially to her. “ None of our pizzerias are—”
    “Ever going to reopen?”
    “—bad.” Surprised by his hostility, Gabriella regrouped. Obviously, she’d missed something here. He’d sounded friendly enough at first, but she’d been distracted. Evidently, she’d misinterpreted him. “As soon as I get my feet under me—”
    “You’ll run away to Astoria again?”
    His bitter tone made Gabriella frown. Her split from the Grimanis’ pizzeria business was pretty well known around town. Especially in foodservice circles. But that didn’t mean she deserved to be attacked this way. She had an urge to hit back—say, with a snarky comment about his foraged mushrooms—but decided not to. Being defensive and combative wouldn’t help. She needed to be smart. So she squared her shoulders and faced this situation the same way she did everything else in life.
    Straightforwardly.
    “Exactly what is your problem with me?”
    He seemed taken aback. “Wow. Hostile, much?”
    Argh . She hated it when people got passive-aggressive. It didn’t solve anything. “Quit taking shots at me and explain yourself. Otherwise nothing will ever get sorted out.”
    “Hmmph. I can’t imagine why you have staffing issues.”
    “Sarcasm isn’t helpful, either.”
    “Geez.” He pulled a goofy face. “Settle down, will ya?”
    “I’m not the one who picked a fight.” She crossed her arms and waited. “I don’t need to settle down. You need to explain.”
    “I was just saying .” The mushroom vendor glanced around at the other farmers market visitors as though beseeching them to come to his rescue. “You don’t have to get all bent.”
    With effort, Gabriella held on to her patience. She didn’t understand why people went through all these gyrations, when they could just as easily speak their minds. Deliberately, she softened her voice. “You’re right. I can be blunt. Big deal.” She smiled at him. “At least you know where you stand with me.”
    That seemed to get through to him. The mushroom vendor inhaled deeply. He gave her a sheepish look, then said, “My brother worked at Reggio. He lost his job when it closed.”
    Aha . “Then you weren’t asking about reopening Reggio because you have a die-hard craving for a