“Naturally the money was important, but I also realized that if I was asked to play a part I couldn’t abide, then it wouldn’t have mattered how much I was offered.”
“I know what you mean,” Reese inserted. “If I’d been asked to play the role of Melissa, I wouldn’t have done it. I’m not an actress at heart. I couldn’t act the part of a person of whom I didn’t approve, even if it was all for pretense.”
“That makes sense. The first few scripts I read didn’t interest me either. In both cases I was supposed to play a mobster from the underworld. I didn’t want to start out like that and then be typecast forever doing the same roles.”
“You were smart.”
“Not really. The truth is, they held no appeal. I wanted something different. Out of the blue my agent asked me if I could do an Italian accent. Since one of my good friends was Italian, that was easy. I just mimicked him for my agent, and he took matters from there.”
Reese smiled. “As my aunt told me, you’re the quickest study she ever met.” She’d said a lot of other wonderful things about him, too, but Reese didn’t dare tell Alex or he would realize how deep her feelings for him went.
“It’s because of that accent I got the part of Fabio Andretti, the priest who left the monastery because his soul was conflicted.”
“Just as yours was,” she said quietly.
He studied her for a minute before nodding his dark head. “It tore me apart to leave Greece. It tore me apart to stay.”
“I’m sorry you had to be in that kind of pain, Alex. No wonder you played the part of Fabio so convincingly. Many times during our scenes I felt it and knew it had to come from someplace deep within you.”
She kneaded her hands beneath the table. “Has your sorrow diminished at all?”
“Of course. No one stays in that dark place forever. One day I took a drive and ended up here. The minute I saw this damaged gallery, I could envision my grandparents’ villa. It would be like planting an old vine in new ground.
“Once that idea took hold, I never let go of it. By December, I had enough money saved to make an offer on the property. A Christmas present to myself.”
Her eyelids prickled with unshed tears. “It’s a fantastic plan. But-”
“But what?” he broke in.
“There’s always a fire danger here. Malibu’s not protected from the worst of the Santa Ana winds like Orange County or San Diego.”
“I’m aware of that fact. The Realtor warned me I might find myself having to remodel again in a few years, or even be forced to build an entire new restaurant.”
He leaned toward her. “It doesn’t worry me. As long as I have my memories, I can rebuild anywhere.”
She averted her eyes. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Believe me, I didn’t mean to sound negative. More than anything I want your project to be a great success.”
“I know you do, and I appreciate your concern.”
“What are you going to call your restaurant?”
“Kousina Sofia.”
“Your grandmother’s name.” Her eyes lifted to his face once more.
“That’s right. Sophie’s Kitchen.”
“She’ll be overjoyed.”
One black brow lifted expressively. “You believe in the afterlife?”
“Don’t you?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact I do.”
Reese was enjoying their exchange too much. “So…how will you fulfill your dreams to run a busy restaurant and balance your acting career at the same time?”
He closed the cover of the looseleaf binder before flashing her a piercing glance. “No one told you yet?”
She frowned. “Told me what?”
“I didn’t renew my contract. I’ve left the show, just like you.”
Alex had left the show?
“Today was my last day, too.” He answered the question she hadn’t voiced yet because she was so stunned.
“Your news has to be this year’s best kept secret-” she blurted.
“That surprises me. Usually everything leaks out.”
“Not this time!”
She took a deep breath while she tried to sort through this new development. Except that what he did or didn’t do was no longer supposed to be of any consequence to her. He was in love with someone else!
“What are the writers going to do about Fabio?”
“As I told you earlier today, he’ll go back to the monastery. Melissa will manage to infiltrate, believing she is torturing Fabio. But when he finally removes his hood, she’ll discover she’s been harassing the wrong monk.
“He’ll tell her Fabio has gone, and no one knows where he went.” Alex spread his hands. “That’s as much as Stan would tell me.”
Reese started to laugh. “Oh, boy. I can’t wait to watch when she hears the news.”
Alex chuckled. “I can’t either. Leah’s the best at being the worst.”
Though they shared an amusing moment, Reese was dying inside. He wouldn’t be on the show anymore. From here on out the woman who loved him and had the right to love him would claim his undivided attention.
It was still too much for her to process all at once. She had dozens more questions to ask, not knowing where to start first.
“H-how soon do you expect to open for business?” she stammered.
“Two months. Hopefully six weeks, but that would probably be pushing it.”
“I see. Are you going to live in Malibu, or commute from Culver City?” Her aunt had contacted a friend who’d helped him find a good apartment there.
“That depends on a variety of factors. I’ll worry about it later. Right now my main concern is to get this place ready. I’m of two minds how to treat the windows. I’ve known you quite a while and have discovered we have similar tastes in a lot of things. I’d like your opinion.”
“But I’m not Greek!”
“You’re a woman with a woman’s instincts for what works.”
“What does your girlfriend think?”
“I’m asking you,” he asserted. “When you walk in here two months from now, do you want to be able to see the ocean through a wall of glass?”
“That sounds very contemporary.”
“It would be a concession for those tourists who’ve come from all over the world to visit Malibu and eat by the water.”
“That’s true. But I thought the whole idea was to reproduce your grandparents’ Greek villa.”
“It is.”
She frowned. “Don’t you see that the great charm of their home lies in the small-paned windows peeking out from plants and flowers growing all around?”
“Then much of the ocean view would be shut out.”
“They’ll get the view coming and going from your place. But when I think of Greece, I imagine an inn that’s a little darker on the inside. You know. Cozy and intimate. Take a look at this one picture.”
She reached for the looseleaf binder and opened it to the page she wanted him to see. “It’s so delightful to discover this adorable patio room partially hidden by all the greenery.
“That’s the secret of a place like this. You feel like you’ve come across this rare treasure suddenly. The element of surprise causes you to forget what’s outside. You want to go in and shut out the world for a little while. The small-paned windows give it the feel of an enchanted cottage.”
“Enchanted is an interesting choice of word.”
“People love to be transported by the atmosphere when they dine out. If I were you, I’d reproduce every square inch of their wonderful house. Let your guests get a real taste of what it’s like to eat in Sophie’s kitchen.”
“So you believe my idea will work?”
“You don’t need me to tell you that. After they leave your restaurant, they’ll savor the memory of it while they watch the ocean on their way to wherever they’re going.
“As for the locals, they live next to the water. They see it every day and crave a different ambience while they eat. I think I’d be a lot more concerned about finding me the best landscape artist there is to make your slice of Greek living look exactly like it does here.”