professional man herself – one who’d always placed his career above home life. A work machine with a lofty professional vision. Clark Adams and his one man show to corporate legal glory, with no room for family.
‘The plates in my life spin just fine. It’s all for Josh,’ Lyle continued. ‘Everything is with his future in mind. I want him to be in no doubt I’ve done all I can. I lost my own father young and it hit me hard – he never saw me win any rally championships. But he paved the way. Yet all he’d ever wanted was me to join the family bakery business. So this coffee shop venture is a halfway house attempt to resurrect that. I want Josh to grow up knowing he has his place should he want it.’
‘You’re lucky,’ he added. ‘You have all this history behind you. I miss my father, I wish so much he could have known Josh. Could have seen me pull off the cafés.’
‘He’ll be watching,’ she commented. ‘He’ll know.’
Lyle smiled into his cup. ‘When I was a young aspiring driver, the bakery business held no interest and when Dad died it was sold. Afterwards I regretted we’d let his legacy go. Dad always supported my rally dreams to the hilt. I wish I’d kept his business alive too.’
Instantly she realised exactly why she’d brought Lyle here today – her pseudo family guise on display. To all the world this little Italian idyll suggested she had it good, she had a large family swirling around her. She had her place.
But suddenly things were turning around on her – Lyle making assumptions, getting personal, confiding. Coming to all the wrong conclusions.
Her uncle had helped her find so many of the things she treasured most – a home where she was accepted, warts and all – she was a part of his family and it was a precious place. But it was the wallpaper that covered reality. She’d watched her future disintegrate and her father had detonated the carnage. Feelings that sprang from her past still squeezed her heart. Perhaps she shouldn’t have brought Lyle here at all. Perhaps in trying to evade intimacy all she’d done was haul Lyle into her own private clan. That was something she’d vowed to avoid. No personal contact, no interlopers. Just like Lyle with his café possessiveness.
She should keep Lyle firmly out of her private life. First ‘working together’ mistake.
Lyle’s eyes turned towards his son as Josh’s excited voice interrupted them. ‘Dad, come quick – I’m helping to make the dough.’ His face showed rapt delight.
‘Great, champ, I’m coming,’ Lyle called and smiled at her. ‘I’ve always longed to have one of those big, cooking-obsessed Italian families. I’m totally jealous of you, Maddie. You’ve no idea how good you’ve got it.’
Was this how Lyle had felt when he’d walked into his café and found her firing ahead with her own plans? Changing equipment and systems. The cautions that thudded inside her warned she might now appreciate his reluctance to comply.
It hurt when people trampled your past wounds, unaware of the scars they stretched and tore.
Chapter Five
The trattoria’s original frescos of dancing naked nymphs certainly drew the eye. But they only served to heighten Lyle’s awareness of Maddie’s less overt attractions.
Natural beauty twinned with unassuming charm.
Response sparked inside him. Not just to the woman who’d turned his head. Because of his current surroundings – the restaurant she’d brought him to see. It was like a step back into the 1930s: all original décor, with amazing authentic period tiling and embossed metalwork on the walls and bar area. Utterly inspiring. And that was just the genuine café culture fittings.
No wonder Maddie had waltzed into his coffee bar full of fresh ideas and streamlining know-how. She’d come from this wonderful pure spring of knowledge and expertise.
Something softened inside him and Lyle felt a touch foolish for taking her dealings so personally before. She
‘The plates in my life spin just fine. It’s all for Josh,’ Lyle continued. ‘Everything is with his future in mind. I want him to be in no doubt I’ve done all I can. I lost my own father young and it hit me hard – he never saw me win any rally championships. But he paved the way. Yet all he’d ever wanted was me to join the family bakery business. So this coffee shop venture is a halfway house attempt to resurrect that. I want Josh to grow up knowing he has his place should he want it.’
‘You’re lucky,’ he added. ‘You have all this history behind you. I miss my father, I wish so much he could have known Josh. Could have seen me pull off the cafés.’
‘He’ll be watching,’ she commented. ‘He’ll know.’
Lyle smiled into his cup. ‘When I was a young aspiring driver, the bakery business held no interest and when Dad died it was sold. Afterwards I regretted we’d let his legacy go. Dad always supported my rally dreams to the hilt. I wish I’d kept his business alive too.’
Instantly she realised exactly why she’d brought Lyle here today – her pseudo family guise on display. To all the world this little Italian idyll suggested she had it good, she had a large family swirling around her. She had her place.
But suddenly things were turning around on her – Lyle making assumptions, getting personal, confiding. Coming to all the wrong conclusions.
Her uncle had helped her find so many of the things she treasured most – a home where she was accepted, warts and all – she was a part of his family and it was a precious place. But it was the wallpaper that covered reality. She’d watched her future disintegrate and her father had detonated the carnage. Feelings that sprang from her past still squeezed her heart. Perhaps she shouldn’t have brought Lyle here at all. Perhaps in trying to evade intimacy all she’d done was haul Lyle into her own private clan. That was something she’d vowed to avoid. No personal contact, no interlopers. Just like Lyle with his café possessiveness.
She should keep Lyle firmly out of her private life. First ‘working together’ mistake.
Lyle’s eyes turned towards his son as Josh’s excited voice interrupted them. ‘Dad, come quick – I’m helping to make the dough.’ His face showed rapt delight.
‘Great, champ, I’m coming,’ Lyle called and smiled at her. ‘I’ve always longed to have one of those big, cooking-obsessed Italian families. I’m totally jealous of you, Maddie. You’ve no idea how good you’ve got it.’
Was this how Lyle had felt when he’d walked into his café and found her firing ahead with her own plans? Changing equipment and systems. The cautions that thudded inside her warned she might now appreciate his reluctance to comply.
It hurt when people trampled your past wounds, unaware of the scars they stretched and tore.
Chapter Five
The trattoria’s original frescos of dancing naked nymphs certainly drew the eye. But they only served to heighten Lyle’s awareness of Maddie’s less overt attractions.
Natural beauty twinned with unassuming charm.
Response sparked inside him. Not just to the woman who’d turned his head. Because of his current surroundings – the restaurant she’d brought him to see. It was like a step back into the 1930s: all original décor, with amazing authentic period tiling and embossed metalwork on the walls and bar area. Utterly inspiring. And that was just the genuine café culture fittings.
No wonder Maddie had waltzed into his coffee bar full of fresh ideas and streamlining know-how. She’d come from this wonderful pure spring of knowledge and expertise.
Something softened inside him and Lyle felt a touch foolish for taking her dealings so personally before. She
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