Ruby sipped her juice. “Who is it, dear?”
“It’s a message from Phillip. He says, ‘Did you see Mom’s email?’” She tapped a message. I’m busy. Haven’t checked.
Another message appeared. She wants an answer now. Like I told you before, I don’t care what you decide.
Ariana frowned and checked her email on her phone. “Listen to this. Phillip’s mother says she is devastated that Phillip is already seeing someone else, but she still wants to be in her first grandchild’s life.” She looked up.
“Even though Phillip denies it’s his child?” Ruby asked. “Interesting. And just what does she propose?”
“She’s suggesting that she hire a nanny for me to take care of the baby.”
“Generous,” Ruby said cautiously.
“At her house while I work.”
Ruby ran her fingers along the bright Venetian-glass necklace she wore. “Don’t they live in Santa Barbara?”
Ariana read the rest of the email. “Seems I’d be welcome to pick the baby up on Friday night or Saturday morning for the weekends.” She shook her head. “It’s ironic. If I hadn’t quit my job, I might have considered this.”
Ruby’s eyes flashed with sudden anger. “Absolutely not. That woman aims to take over your child. Before long, she’d file for custody.”
“I don’t think she would do that,” Ariana said. Or would she?
“Never leave your child.” Ruby’s voice rang out like a command. She was visibly upset. “You don’t know how easy it is to lose your baby.”
“It’s okay,” Ariana said, smoothing a hand onto Ruby’s trembling shoulder. It wasn’t like her aunt to jump to such a conclusion. Though, could she be right? A chill coursed through Ariana. “I’ll tell her I’m not interested, but I’ll thank her.”
“Just know this,” Ruby said, jabbing her finger. “That woman is not acting magnanimously. I met her at the chapel, and I can smell a charade.”
Ariana tapped a quick reply and turned off her phone. She wouldn’t accept the offer, but she was puzzled by Ruby’s intense reaction. Anger, but also fear. She’d never seen her aunt like this.
* * *
Ariana watched while Alessandro walked the length of the shop. Lorenzo and Cesare looked on. The shop space was perfect for what Ariana had in mind. She’d create an airy, welcoming ambiance filled with chic, casual clothing in luxurious fabrics. Thinking about it was exciting, and she couldn’t wait to get started.
After she’d recovered from quitting her job, Ariana had taken Ruby’s advice and plunged into the deep end. She’d called Alessandro, who’d sounded delighted to hear from her. She began sketching elements of a line to sew samples and take orders. The more she planned and thought, the more excited she grew. But first, she had to negotiate a fair price on the lease.
Alessandro spoke briefly to Cesare.
“The location is good,” Alessandro said. “Although there is quite a lot of competition in the area.”
Cesare spread his beefy, manicured hands. “There will always be competitors. You have to be better or different.”
“The last shop here struggled because the rent was too high,” Alessandro said, raising his hand to an imaginary bar for emphasis.
Ariana was surprised to hear that, but she didn’t show it. When she’d called Alessandro and mentioned that she was considering leasing this space, he had offered to meet her here.
“No, no, no,” Cesare said. “The failure was the shopkeeper’s fault. Not enough money for marketing, not enough sales.”
Alessandro shook his head. “You charged almost double what other landlords do. Who can afford a marketing campaign when the rent is so high? You promised sales from foot traffic would more than cover expenses and give the woman a nice profit.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cesare said.
“Your last tenant was my friend’s wife,” Alessandro said. “I’m very well aware of what you did.”
“Supply and demand,” Cesare said, shrugging. “I had many people who wanted to rent this space.”
Not to be outdone by Alessandro, Lorenzo turned to the landlord and began speaking rapidly in Italian. Ariana couldn’t follow what he was saying, but Cesare’s face was turning red.
Ariana withdrew a notebook from her purse and flipped it open. After making some calculations, she turned to Alessandro. “Here’s what I was thinking,” she said, tapping on the page. “What do you think?”
Alessandro considered her numbers. “That’s a good figure. Maybe a little low, but then, he made a lot of money from the last tenant.”
“That was terrible,” Ariana said, keeping her voice low. “I hate to see people driven out of business by greed.”
Alessandro leaned closer and whispered. “Between us, my friends can well afford it. I think it was more of a lark to her, and she grew tired of the responsibility. Still, the rent was far too high.”
“I don’t have that luxury.” Ariana cleared her throat. “Excuse me. I have an offer to make.”
Lorenzo and Cesare turned toward her, and Ariana named her figure, along with improvements she would need.
Cesare’s face grew even redder. “At that price, you take food from my children’s mouths.”
Lorenzo chuckled. “Your children are grown and skiing at St. Mortiz, Cesare.”
Ariana rolled her eyes. She’d also seen the landlord arrive in an expensive new car. “Or you can leave the shop vacant,” she said straightforwardly. “But I won’t risk my finances because my rent is too high relative to my revenue. Especially in the beginning, as I build my clientele. Like your previous tenant, I’ll need a marketing budget, too.”
Ariana could feel Alessandro’s eyes on her. Glancing at him, she detected his approval. Ariana was good with budgets and projections because that had been part of her responsibility at the studio.
“Tough American woman,” Cesare sputtered.
“I’m realistic,” Ariana shot back. She rather enjoyed being called tough, because the alternative was to be taken advantage of. As a woman, she understood the coded meaning of the landlord’s words all too well. With a man, it was a negotiation. With a woman, she was a—
“That’s impossible,” Cesare said with a huff.
“Then, I’m finished here.” Ariana turned to leave. She was one step from the door when Cesare called her back.
Acting considerably less haughty, Cesare said, “If we keep this deal between us, you can have the space at that price.”
Ariana named her move-in date. She’d need time to create her line and buy other inventory, as well as design the space.
Cesare agreed, and they shook hands. He promised to send the lease agreement for her to review.
After Ariana left with Alessandro, he suggested they walk along the water’s edge by the mulberry trees. “I have a proposition for you,” he said.
“And what might that be?”
“Will you come to supper at my home tonight?” Alessandro asked. “With the children and me,” he quickly added. “Sometimes we play games after we eat or Sandro and Carmela play outside. Then I read to them and hope they go to sleep without too much fuss. After they go to sleep, we could have a glass of wine or limoncello.”