Leo’s job as a financial analyst in New York had been eighteen-hours-a-day grueling for the past ten years, and he was ready for a change. He’d taken a leave and come home because his dad was in trouble, but he had to admit, the idea of injecting new life into this musty old place appealed. So did learning how to prepare the traditional dishes he had so many great memories of. And if he could pull this whole thing off, he would ensure a good retirement for his dad. And rejuvenate the place. Make it something special. Continue its legacy. That’s what he really wanted.

“I’m staying for as long as it takes to get this place going strong again,” Leo said. And maybe longer, if he could get through to his dad and have him try some of his ideas. “I have the ‘fancy’ education and a decade of experience. Now let me use them.”

“I don’t know why you had to go away so far. You’re going to stay for a while, and then off you’ll go again, back to the big city.” He made big gestures with his hands, like he was scattering chicken feed, then headed through the kitchen.

Leo followed. “I’m serious about staying.” He’d been missing something in New York. Fresh air and open spaces. Family. Home.

“You want to show me you’re serious?” His dad stopped near the back door and turned, his thick brows rising. “Settle down. Get a wife. Then I’ll let you put your ideas into the restaurant.”

Leo sighed. He wasn’t a romantic, and he had no great urge to settle down. Maybe because he’d never met any woman he wanted to settle down with. Plus, he’d had a lot of fun keeping his dating life light. A wife, kids…someday, maybe. But certainly not just to please his dad. He had way too much to accomplish before then. And besides all that, his father’s idea that he needed to have a family to boost their sales was just ludicrous.

Deep down, Leo knew his father was pushing this because he wanted grandchildren. It had nothing to do with the restaurant—or at least, it wasn’t only about that. Starting a family was much more serious than changing items on a menu, but his dad didn’t see it that way, mostly because that’s not how it had happened for his parents. They met. They fell in love. They got married. They never questioned it.

For Leo, it wasn’t that simple.

“Don’t go putting ideas in Gia’s head about leaving, either,” his dad continued. “There’s a great college right down the street.” He hitched a thumb toward Bloomington, about sixty miles west. “Why go away?”