Angelo walked around the kitchen and talked to each of them, all the while watching what they were doing. Spectator, indeed. He didn’t fool Alice. This was his food, his recipes, and he wanted to see that Alice and her team were doing them justice.

Mrs. Henry brought out a spoon and dipped it in the bigarade sauce. She held it out to Angelo, who tasted the sauce. His eyes widened and he nodded. The two of them then began a discussion about various ways to improve upon the taste.

When he finally returned to the range, he said to Alice, “Mrs. Henry is very skilled. She has soaked the orange zest overnight in cognac and it gives the flavor a nice punch. I will have to try it in my next batch.”

“I’m glad you are happy. I was worried we could never prepare your brilliant dishes half as well as you do.”

“I had faith in you, Alice. You just needed to have faith in yourself. You don’t need my recipes. You can create your own.”

She glanced up and met his eyes. “Oh, I could never—”

“Watch those lobsters. We can discuss this later. I do not wish to distract you. The lobster meat will toughen if they steam too long.”

“I know, I know. Remember in Boston when I was younger and I cried every time you put a lobster in the pot?”

He patted her shoulder. “Always a soft heart, even then. Allora, I must go. Stop by the kitchen on your way in tonight and tell me the results of your dinner.”

“I will, unless it’s terribly late.” Which it would be, because she planned to stay here with Kit. She kept her gaze on the lobster pot, hoping he’d attribute her blush to the steam.

“Be safe. I am not certain your mother would approve of you here, alone.”

Alice shot him a worried look. “You won’t tell her, will you?”

“I never saw a thing.” He held up his hands. “Ciao, Chef Lucciola.”

“Ciao, Chef.”

Angelo left and Mrs. Henry came over to where Alice was removing the batch of steamed lobsters. “He is a nice man,” Mrs. Henry said. “Not as intimidating as I’d assumed, considering his reputation.”

“He is a teddy bear,” Alice said. “Tough on his staff, but he has a good heart. He is a perfectionist about food.”

“I think he is probably just a teddy bear with you. He asked me about Mr. Ward, you know.”

Alice paused and nearly dropped a lobster. Mrs. Henry reached out with a towel and helped put the hot crustacean on the platter. “Thank you. I haven’t a lobster to spare. What did Angelo want to know in regards to Kit?”