25. Isabella
25
ISABELLA
W hen Lux and I get to the bakery, I fill Liana in on the disaster that happened at the pizzeria.
“And you’re sure it’s the same girl you saw him with that night on FaceTime?” Liana asks.
“Yup,” I say. “I’d remember her anywhere. I was beginning to think I should listen to you both and hear him out about our breakup. Maybe get some closure so I’m not harboring all of this rage anymore, but I just…” I shake my head. “I cannot listen to anything that comes out of that man’s mouth.”
“I don’t blame you. I’m so sorry, Izzy,” Liana says.
“It’s fine. I just need to move on. I need to continue living my life as if Niccolò Silvestri didn’t come back and try to ruin it again .”
“Out of sight, out of mind,” Liana says.
I nod. “Let’s talk about something else. I’m tired of him being the topic of all of our conversations these days.”
“Isabella?” a deep familiar voice interrupts.
Looking over, I see Massimo Bonetti.
“Massimo,” I blurt out, surprised to see him standing at the end of our table. He’s holding a to-go bag of food and a cup of coffee. His charming smile brings a smile to my face.
“Wow, must be my lucky day,” he says. “You ran out of that charity event so fast I never got a chance to ask for your number.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize?—”
“If you’re not dating anyone, of course. I didn’t think you were with Niccolò Silvestri, but if I read that situation incorrectly, just?—”
Shaking my head, I rush out my response. “No, no. Niccolò and I are not together.”
That smile curls his lips again. “Well, if you’re available for dinner on Saturday, I would love to take you out.”
“Um, yes. Yeah,” I stumble out before giving him a smile. “That sounds really nice, Massimo.”
“Great,” he says, pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket and handing it to me. “Here, enter your number.”
Taking his phone, I put my number in before handing it back. My fingers brush against his in the process and a jolt of excitement runs through me, knowing I’m going on a date.
“I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Sounds good,” I say with a wave. Before Massimo walks away, his gaze slides over to Liana who’s staring at her phone intently. Almost as if she’s purposely trying to avoid what’s going on at the table.
His lip curls up into a small smirk—so small I might’ve imagined it—before he walks away.
I draw my attention to Lux who raises a curious brow at me.
Okay, now I know I didn’t imagine that.
Liana sets her phone down and brings her attention back up to Lux and me. I raise a brow at her.
“What?” she asks, feigning ignorance.
“Oh, don’t even,” I say. “Do you know Massimo Bonetti?”
“Don’t we all know who the Massimo Bonetti is?”
I tilt my head and give her an exasperated look. “You know what I mean.”
Liana’s silent for a few seconds, fiddling her thumbs before she rolls her eyes and says, “Are you sure you want to go on a date with him? He’s just… he’s kind of known as a manwhore. The douchebag brings a new girl into the boutique every other week.” She scrunches her nose. “It’s disgusting.”
“Isn’t that how most of the men in our world are?” I shoot my gaze over to Lux and quickly follow that up with “Except for Teo, of course.”
Lux laughs and says, “Oh, no. I know exactly the type of man Teo was before me. He should be included in that.”
That causes us all to laugh.
“And that,” Liana says, gesturing to Lux, “is why I’ll avoid an arranged marriage for as long as possible.” Bringing her attention back to me, she says, “But seriously, Izzy. Are you sure you want to go on a date with Massimo? After everything that’s been going on?”
“I think because of everything that’s going on, I need to go on this date. I need to get my mind off Nicco and our past, and Massimo might just be the guy to help with that. He was a perfect gentleman at the gala, plus I think it’d be nice to be taken out on a date. It’s been years since I’ve been on one.”
“Well, that is one way to get your mind off Nicco, but are you sure this is a good idea?” Liana asks.
“Yeah, Izzy. Nicco’s been pretty damn persistent. I don’t know him very well, but this might just push him over the edge,” Lux says.
“It doesn’t matter. Nicco doesn’t have a say in my life anymore. He lost that right a long time ago,” I say, a warm smile playing on my face. “I’m going to go on this date with Massimo, and I’m going to have a damn good time.”