Chapter 15

I called Blanka later that morning to check she was all right. Fausta had picked her up and dropped her off at her apartment, so she was studying with Bodil. I told her not to worry about the restaurant until Monday. She hadn't heard from Mum, much to my relief.

Despite Stefan usually having been rostered on for Saturdays, he didn't show up which was no great surprise. I decided to call him in the evening and tell him he would receive one last wage for the work he had done in the past week, and not to bother coming to the restaurant again.

Mum and Zvonomir said nothing about either Blanka or Stefan and avoided me for the most part. I overheard Pawel and Jovan whispering about what they'd seen in the paper and agreeing that Stefan had got what he deserved.

I went up to the roof in the afternoon to call Daniel. I had intended to stay at his place on Saturday night, but we hadn't talked about it since Blanka got hurt. She called me first, however.

"How are you?" I asked.

"You asked me that this morning, Davor, I'm fine. Don't worry. So, big date tonight?"

"You talked about that with Daniel, too?"

"We talked about all sorts."

"Well, I'm not going. I'm staying home with you," I told her.

"No, you are not. I'm staying over with Bodil. Girls' night in with some chick flicks, a couple of bottles of wine, and a huge tub of ice cream. So, go to Daniel's and—" She giggled. "Do whatever you were planning to do."

"Jesus," I muttered. My face grew hot.

"Talk to you tomorrow." Blanka hung up.

I called Daniel on his mobile and he answered immediately, as if he'd been waiting to hear from me. "Hey. Are you at the restaurant?"

"Yes, on the roof."

"I know why you're calling, and it's fine. I expected you'd want to stay home with Blanka. I have a lot of work to do anyway, so I thought I'd finish up here, then carry on at home. I—"

"Daniel. Blanka's staying the night with her friend. I wasn't calling to cancel, but if you're busy, it's okay."

"I'm not that busy." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Do you still want to come over to my place?"

"Yes, unless you'd prefer to go out."

"No, I don't want another quick fumble in a bar. I want you naked in my—"

"Fucking hell, Daniel, who are you talking to?" a voice exclaimed.

"Fuck off, Ake! What are you doing creeping up on me?"

"Jesus, excuse me for breathing. If you're going to talk dirty on the phone, maybe don't do it at work, hey?"

I snorted. "Who was that?"

"My colleague, Ake."

"Does he know you're gay?"

"Yes, everyone knows. Not about you, only that I'm seeing someone, so don't worry."

"I'm not. So, where were we?"

"I'm not going to repeat it." Daniel chuckled. "Just come over when you're ready."

"Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Yes, I'm okay."

"I can't wait to see you," I blurted. "I can't stop thinking about you." My face warmed and my pants began to feel tight. Even if all we did was kiss and cuddle, it would be enough.

"Me too," Daniel said huskily.

"Do you want me to bring anything?"

"No, I have everything we might want."

"Okay. See you." I hung up before I was tempted to say anything else. A sensible move, as I turned around and realised Jovan was standing at the top of the steps, frozen as if he didn't know whether to make himself known, or try to sneak away without me realising he'd been there. "Jovan. What do you want?"

"We're out of red wine. There's none in the cellar, so, um—" He flushed and avoided looking at me.

"How much did you hear?"

"From, um, 'Does he know you're gay?' I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen, I just, um—" He took a step backwards.

"Relax, Jovan, I don't bite." I gave him a small smile. "It's fine. After what you said to me the other day, I assume you guessed anyway. I was talking to my boyfriend." Immediately, my common sense kicked in and I panicked. I just came out to one of our waiters. What the hell was I thinking?

Jovan beamed. "You know I won't say anything, right? I'm happy for you. That you have someone." He reddened more and bit his lip. "Sorry, if I'm overstepping the mark."

I shook my head. "I'm beginning to care less and less about who knows, to be honest. You know what happened to Blanka, obviously. Dubravka and Zvonomir are more concerned about the business and Stefan than their own flesh and blood. I'm moving out of the family home permanently, and I expect Blanka will do the same before too long. If they find out about Daniel, well, I guess it'll just give them something else to sneer about."

His eyes widened. "Are you seeing, um, Daniel Ferbe?"

"What makes you think—?" Shit. I really needed to learn to keep my mouth shut.

"I just wondered, because he wrote the article about Blanka and Stefan, and everyone knows he's gay, so I guess I put two and two together and came up with five or six?"

I sighed. "No, you got it right. Just don't tell Pawel or anyone else, please? I've said more than I meant to. Daniel wouldn't care and I shouldn't, but I still do because of my upbringing."

"I promise, Davor, I won't breathe a word of it." He smiled. "Now, um, the red wine?"

"Leave it with me. There's a crate of bottles in the office."

"Okay." He ran down the steps and disappeared.

I followed more slowly. My phone beeped with a text as I made my way to the office. I checked it as I walked. Daniel had finished the sentence he started when his colleague overheard him. 'I want you naked in my bed.'

"Fuck," I muttered. It was going to be a long afternoon and evening. I just hoped when it came to it, he didn't freak out. I tapped out a quick reply. 'Whatever we do will be amazing, so long as I'm with you.' I sent it before I could tell myself to stop being a sap and put the phone back in my pocket.

The afternoon and evening crawled by. As things were wrapping up, I retreated to the office to call Stefan. He answered just as I was about to give up and sounded as if he'd spent the whole day drinking.

"It's Davor," I said through my teeth. "I assume you know why I'm calling?"

"Your mother will never let you fire me."

"Luckily, she cares more about the restaurant than anything else. Having a man who beats women on the staff won't go down well with the customers. You'll receive pay next week for the hours you've done up until Thursday. Do not show your face here again. Besides, Blanka will be back at work on Monday and you'll break the conditions of your freedom if you so much as walk down the street outside."

"Fuck you." He hung up. I rolled my eyes and did the same. When I returned downstairs, the staff had gone, and my mother was gathering up glasses from the tables. Zvonomir sipped a glass of beer at the bar.

"We need to talk," he said.

"Yes, we need to get an advertisement out for new wait staff." I began emptying the till and bagging up the money for the safe.

"When is Blanka returning to the house? Your mother's worried about her."

"She seemed more concerned about Stefan, and her image," I reminded him. "Blanka will go home when she's ready, if she chooses to. In the meantime, she has a home at my place or with her law school friend. I wouldn't put any pressure on her if I were you." I glared at him and went back up to the office with the takings. I left minutes later. Neither Zvonomir nor my mother bothered to speak to me again.

As soon as I started the engine of my car and pulled away, my heart began to pound, and my palms grew damp with excitement. I didn't even know how far things would go tonight, but if I got to spend the night in Daniel's bed, holding him, I'd be happy.