Renzo + Lucia: The Complete Trilogy - Bethany-Kris Page 0,168

him over like she knew he had some kind of secret he was hiding from her. “And what’s that truth, Ren?”

“I’ve been here before.”

Lucia arched a brow. “You said you’ve never been in San Fran—”

“No, I meant I came here—to this restaurant—this morning. Micheal came home from work early, and he had some news for me. You all were still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you up. It took me a little over an hour to come over here, talk to the owner, and then get back to the house. You were in the shower when I got home.”

“Why were you running all over the place this morning?”

Renzo chuckled. “Because we need a place to stay, and I need to make money.”

Maybe it was that statement that finally clued Lucia in to what Renzo had been hinting at because a smile lit up her features. “Here?”

“Yeah, I guess. The owner—Todd—knows Micheal. I guess he plays the drums some nights for the band if the regular drummer is sick, or whatever. Anyway, Micheal said Todd wouldn’t ask questions, he just needed a guy to do some work for him on the side.”

Lucia nodded. “Under the table, you mean?”

“Basically. Nothing …” Illegal, he wanted to say. Renzo settled on saying, “Just extra work that nobody else has time for, you know. Pay is good, and it gave me an opportunity for something else, too.”

The money was good enough for them—more than enough to pay rent, get food, and get them by. Which was really all they needed at the end of the day. Sure, it wasn’t going to be enough to continue paying for Rose’s schooling and everything else his sister needed. That was something Renzo would have to figure out as he went ahead. They still had a few thousand dollars stuffed away in one of their black duffle bags that he could use to carry Rose once the year was finished, and she ran out of money. But he didn’t have to worry about that right now, so he put it aside in his mind.

“Like what else?” Lucia asked.

“Have to wait for Diego to finish his food to find out about that, now.”

Lucia gave him a look, but Renzo only laughed in response. He liked teasing her probably more than he should, really. Lucia was always a little sweeter when he got her worked up, after all. Not that he was going to tell her that.

“All done!”

Diego’s punctuated his proclamation with a messy smile. Cheese, grease, and pizza sauce stuck to the side of his cheek, and painted his lips red. Laughing, Renzo got him cleaned up with the napkins left on the table with a bit of help from Lucia. It was only after they had paid their tab and were heading out of the restaurant that the owner—the same guy Renzo had seen earlier—noticed them as he loitered at the exit with an employee who seemed to be going out on break.

Todd, the owner, had apparently taken over the business when his father was too sick to continue on with it. Richie, hence the name, didn’t mind handing the reins over to his son.

“Ren, are you heading up there, then?” Todd asked, leaving his employee’s side to come and shake hands with Renzo.

“We are, yeah. Thought I would surprise them.”

Todd grinned at Lucia, and then little Diego, too. Or maybe his gaze just lingered a little too long on Lucia for Renzo’s liking. Then again, he hated when any fucking man looked at Lucia, even if this particular man was old enough to be her father and she had her arm wrapped around Renzo’s waist.

It didn’t matter.

Jealousy was a monster.

“And who is this?” Todd asked. “The woman you told me about?”

“Yeah, Lucia. Babe, this is Todd.”

Todd grinned. “That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lucia replied kindly.

“I’m Diego,” Renzo’s little brother said suddenly, shoving himself between the three to stare up at Todd with a smile. “Hi.”

The man laughed. “Hey, there.”

Renzo tugged Lucia a little closer to his side, adding, “We’re good for everything, right?”

Todd’s gaze came back to him.

Thankfully.

“Yeah, Ren. We’re great. Start tomorrow morning, huh? Don’t worry about the noise—no one will hear you over the restaurant anyway. And hey, say hello to your uncle for me.”

“You got it.”

“Hey, Todd, you’re needed back—”

“Gotta go,” Todd said out of the corner of his mouth before dropping Lucia a smile, too. “And it was nice to meet you. I hope to see your face around here more often.”

“Probably