NO DOUBT [bwwm]

• 2 • The Ricci Brothers

My first two weeks working at Soave Giulia was... challenging. I had been busting my ass off to keep this job and my promise to the Ricci's. And that was a hard promise to keep, considering the number of costumers that I felt really tempted to kick their teeth in.

Thankfully, I had made a great friend who made work less painful. It was easy for me to make friends, I was just not so great at keeping them. Nevertheless, Felicia was a sweetheart. She only worked part-time, but when she was there we had the time of our lives reciting City Girls lyrics in the back of the restaurant whenever neither Giulia and Stefano were there.

One petty thing that I detested about work was the uniform. I was grateful it wasn't none of those mini-skirts uniform, but the pants were way too tight on my bum as well as too short for my height. It was hard being 5'8 with curves. The shirt too was a bit too small but it didn't bother me as much as the unpulled wedgies I'd get.

Another thing that was stuck in my ass that whole week was Giulia, she really wasn't lying when she said she'd keep an eye on me. She'd always have snarky comments about the way my hair was tied, a missed button on my shirt, my jewelry and the list goes on. Thankfully, I had Gustavo, the head chef, who would use humour to release the tension. He was a sweetheart. Unfortunately, the lovely Stefano was rarely ever there, Giulia would tell me he had business to attend to. Explains why they looked so fortunate, they had an income outside the restaurant.

One Friday night, I came in for an evening shift and everybody was all tense and agitated. Even Gustavo had lost his usual good mood.

"What's going on around here?" I ask Carlos, another waiter.

"The Ricci's are here."

I raise my eyebrows, not understanding what his point was, "So? Aren't they here at least every other day?" I drop my bag on a shelf and tie my hair back.

"The Ricci's, as in, the whole family. In the year that the restaurant has been open, they never were all here."

I faked being impressed, because what could be so peculiar about a family reuniting? I made my way to the front, getting ready to start working, but was stopped by an excited Felicia.

"Josie, you need to see the Ricci brothers, they are just to die for!"

"Hmm hi to you too?" I chuckled at her overreacting. They couldn't really be that handsome, the poor girl was shaking with enthusiasm.

"Josie, I can't talk right now, or work, I need to take a breath, bye" she just left me and made her way outside through the back.

I shook my head and turned to Gustavo who handed me three plates.

"For the Ricci's." My smile dropped. "Please don't be like the rest of us, per favore, non perdera la testa!" Please don't lose your mind.

I nodded and made my way to the table where sat Stefano, Giulia, along with a woman and three other men. I could see one of the men from where I was walking, he seemed slightly older than Giulia, and I could see some resemblance that hinted me that they were probably siblings. Except, his eyes were even more piercing and he had a scar on the left side of his hairline.

When I arrived, I got to see what everyone was so nervous about. First there was the look on Giulia's face. We could tell she anticipated this night, and expected nothing but excellence from her staff. Her piercing grey eyes were scanning the room for the smallest flaw.

Then, there was her company. Stefano, as per usual, was all smiles, laughing with the man who faced him. It's only when I was close enough to make my presence noticeable that I got to see the Ricci brothers properly.

The first one was was facing his mother, his short brown hair was cut in a mid fade, he had his father's thick eyebrows and his mother's eyes, though his were a softer shade of blue. He wore studs on both his ears and the bushy beard he sported gave him a mysterious look. Beside him was a beautiful blond woman wearing a black dress emphasizing her soft curves and lean figure.

I noticed her hand on top of the man facing Stefano's hand. I took a quick glance at the guy and I had to take a second one because he was just breathtaking. His ebony curly hair was grown-out in a boy-ish manner that clashed with the stubble on his face. He held this youth and sincereness in his green eyes that he probably took from his father, though it barely showed because of his slightly frowned eyebrows.

The three plates were for Stefano, Giulia and the man beside her. I started off with Stefano who cut his laughing to address himself to me,

"Evening, Josie, " he grinned. I smiled, he took the time to learn everybody's name, with no exception.

"Evening, Mr. Ricci."

"I told you, it's just Stefano. I was just defending my case about the restaurant's name, what did you say it was again? Listen carefully, figlio mio." My son.

The breathtaking guy chuckled wholeheartedly - which honestly was a sight for sore eyes - and turned his attention to me. When we made eye contact the features of his face relaxed some more. I brought my focus back to Stefano so I could answer properly,

"I think it is adorable, sir," I replied while placing the plate in front of him. By this point, all the attention was on me but I stayed immersed in my job. I walked around the table to give the two other plates to their proper owners. There, the man sitting in front of Giulia was staring at me up and down while licking his lips.

"Well if you think it's adorable, I can build you a restaurant exactly like this, Josie," the man facing Giulia smirked before taking my hand in his and kissing the back of it gently. "I'm Luca."

I had to refrain myself from cringing, though the gesture was admirable. I smiled uncomfortably.

"Let her breath, Luca, you can be so obnoxious some times," his brother reprimanded him.

"You're just jealous you didn't think of gifting Francesca with a restaurant first, Orlando," Luca's blue eyes finally left my body as he talked back to his brother and brang his attention back to the people sitting with him.

I smiled at Orlando silently thanking him for creating a diversion. He didn't pay any mind to what the conversation around the table was about and smiled back. When leaving, I made the mistake of looking in Giulia's direction where she was mean mugging me.

I frowned and made my way back to Gustavo where Felicia was waiting apprehensively.

"So? Aren't the Ricci brothers handsome?" Felicia grinned, feverish.

"Breathtaking," I answered while rolling my eyes to which she squealed.

But really just one of them.

A/N:
So they meet 🥺🤎