Rest in Pizza Read Online Free Page A

than that. Mark was devoted to his restaurant, and if his doors were open to the public, he was there, too.
    “You, sir, are a big fat liar,” I said as I grinned at him.
    “Hey, I just might surprise you both one of these days.”
    “I’ll believe it when I see you walk into my pizzeria and order a slice,” I said. I lowered my voice as I added, “Tell you what. If you ever do make it over to our corner of town, the pizza’s on me.”
     
    When Maddy and I got back to the Slice, Greg had already gotten there and was patiently waiting for us. He was sitting at a table out front watching people and enjoying the day, but I still apologized as I unlocked the door. “Sorry we kept you waiting outside,” I said.
    “That’s okay. I’m just glad it wasn’t raining. You know, you could trust me with a key,” Greg said. “I’m a dependable kind of guy.”
    “You’re absolutely right.” I turned to Maddy and said, “Do me a favor. Give him your key.”
    “Hey, when I did I get demoted?” she asked in protest.
    “You didn’t. I’ll have another one made for you later.”
    Maddy handed me her key, and I saw that she was really reluctant to do it. Did she honestly think that I’d ever cut her out of my pizzeria? “Take it easy.” I handed the key to Greg and then said, “Do me a favor and run this over to Slick’s. He’s got a key machine. Have him make a copy for you, and then give the original back to Maddy.”
    “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he said.
    “Greg, I trust you.” I thought about it a second, and then said, “Don’t let anyone know you have it though, okay? I don’t want to have to start handing them out.”
    “Are you worried about Josh wanting one?” Greg asked. “You don’t have to. Trust me, he doesn’t want the responsibility.”
    “How could you possibly know that?” Maddy asked him as we all stepped inside the pizzeria.
    “On quiet nights here, we talk about the strangest things,” Greg said. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be right back.”
    Greg took off, and I locked the door behind him. When I turned back to Maddy, I saw that she was watching me. “What’s that look for? Don’t you think I’m doing the right thing?”
    “I’m just wondering what took you so long. Eleanor, I’m glad you’re trusting Greg. It’s about time, isn’t it?”
    “I guess so,” I said with a sigh. “You know how hard it is for me to give up control of anything.”
    “You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “Remember when you got your first car? It took you years before you’d let me drive it.”
    “Maddy, you didn’t have your license,” I said.
    “Details, details,” she said as there was a knock at the front door.
    It was Greg.
    “That was fast, even for Slick,” I said.
    He handed the key back to Maddy and then said, “Thanks anyway, but I changed my mind.”
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You honestly don’t want a key of your own?”
    Greg shook his head. “Josh is right. The responsibility of having it isn’t worth the inconvenience of waiting out here for you two now and then.” He added a big grin as he said, “I do appreciate the offer, though.”
    “You’re welcome,” I said as I walked back into my kitchen to prepare for our afternoon and evening crowd. I had five minutes to get ready for our second opening, and I planned to take advantage of every second of it. I wasn’t quite sure I understood what had just happened, but Greg was happy, Maddy was pleased, and I was satisfied. I couldn’t remember the last time I could say that about the three of us, so I decided to take it as a victory and leave it at that.
    We’d been open about an hour when I heard noises coming from the dining room. Ordinarily I couldn’t hear much through the closed kitchen door, but there was a group out there that was making it too easy for me to hear them.
    I opened the door to see what all of the