Cinderella's Millionaire

But suddenly logic had flown out the door. He remembered why he’d avoided the place. He’d met Mary here. It had been the summer before he started college. They’d met near the end-cap with the homemade Italian cookies. Mary had been from New Jersey and missing home. Joe had brought her to his family, and the rest had been history.

The smell overwhelmed him—spicy oregano, pepperoni and garlic. They were the scents of his boyhood and brought with them dreams he’d done his best to forget. He paused in the doorway, doubts penetrating the desire that had been motivating him since he’d met Holly. What the hell was he doing?

Holly bumped into him. “Is it too crowded?” she asked.

Joe shook his head. Only in his mind was it crowded—with two women who looked the same. Actually, there was only a couple of teenage boys at one of the tables in the front and Robert behind the deli counter.

“Joseph, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen you. Mama, come out here and see who is in the shop,” Robert said in his heavily accented English.

Joe embraced the shorter older man with true fondness. Robert and Lena were a part of his past. For the first time he was cognizant that he’d quit living when Mary died. His mom had tried to tell him but he hadn’t wanted to believe her.

“Robert, how’s it going?”

“Today, it’s good, Joseph. For you too, eh?” Robert looked right at Holly and then winked at Joe.

“Today is good,” Joe said. Though he wasn’t sure. Days that passed with numbing quickness were what he usually wanted. Today had gone quickly but he’d started to feel again and it was painful. Frostbite wearing off was painful.

He turned to the source of his reawakening. “Robert Marino, this is Holly Fitzgerald. Holly, this is Robert, the proprietor of the finest Italian deli in Boston.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Fitzgerald.”

“Likewise,” Holly said.

Lena came out of the back and let out a little shriek of joy, ran over to Joe and embraced him. Holly was watching him with a smile in her eyes, and he realized she knew he was uncomfortable and was amused because of it. He arched his eyebrows to let her know he’d get her back later.

After they ordered their sandwiches, they made their way to one of the tables in the front. Joe felt awkward. Sexual awareness he was comfortable with, but sitting at this small table in the crowded market felt too intimate to him.

He hated being irrational and exploring his emotions, so he forced his attention to the sandwich put in front of him. He’d eat dinner with Holly and then say good-night. It had been a day out of time, but he wasn’t interested in getting involved with a woman again for the long term. Sex was fine but Holly made him want more, so he wasn’t going to pursue her.

“This is a really nice place. It reminds me of the bakery where I work,” Holly said, shifting on her seat. Her legs rubbed against his under the table. An image of them swam in his brain, and he knew he was going down.

“You work in a bakery?” he asked. Right now he couldn’t remember anything except that she had incredibly long legs for a petite woman. And all those tempting freckles on her skin.

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