Page 43 of Isabella

“So, tell me, how was your day, Isabella?” Massimo asks.

“You can call me Izzy,” I say, giving him a small smile. “It’s what most people call me.”

“Izzy it is,” he says, his charming smile never leaving his face. “So, how was your day?”

“Not too bad. I spent most of it helping Liana out at the boutique. How about you?”

“Oh, you know. Usual business stuff,” he says vaguely. “You’ve been helping Liana at the boutique?”

“Yeah, just here and there. She has a lot on her plate right now, so I try to help in the storefront whenever she needs it.”

“Oh, I haven’t seen you there,” he says, intrigued.

“It’s pretty sporadic right now. She’ll just randomly ask me to come in when she needs to get some things done for her new bridal line.”

Massimo gives me a few subtle nods as if he’s thinking about something in particular in response to what I said, which reminds me of what Liana told me.

I tilt my head and raise my brow. “Why? Do you go there often?”

A slow smile plays out on Massimo’s face, and damn… he really is so freaking good-looking.

“Now why would I need to go to a women’s boutique?” he says playfully, and that’s when I know he knows exactly what I’m referring to.

I let out a small laugh and lick my lips. “Oh, come on, Massimo. You know us girls like to talk.”

He lets out a deep chuckle, taking in my equally playful tone. “Enlighten me,” he says with a raise in his brow that lengthens the scar he has.

I lean forward and give him a sly smile. “Rumor has it you like to frequent the boutique.”

Massimo leans forward and the corners of his mouth draw up into a smirk. The candles on the table highlight his dimples. “And who did you hear that from?”

The gleam in his eye tells me he knows exactly who I heard that from, and that’s when it dawns on me.

“Wait a second,” I say, sitting back in my seat and placing my hands in my lap. “You asking me to dinner; was that because you genuinely wanted to take me on a date, or is it because of a certain someone that owns a very nice boutique on Fifth Avenue?”

“Well, that depends… Was you accepting this date because you genuinely wanted to come, or was it to try and help you get over a man who clearly won’t let you go?”

That statement catches me off guard, and I part my lips while I try to formulate words, but nothing comes out.

When my mouth finally moves, I whisper, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He can’t be talking about Nicco… can he?

When Massimo says nothing, I lean forward over the table again, the heat from the candle tickling my chin. “What do you mean by that?”

Massimo smiles and raises a thick brow at me once more. “I think you and I both know what I’m talking about, Izzy.”

Heistalking about Nicco.

“How do you?—”

“Good evening, my name is Tisha, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. May I start you both off with something to drink? Perhaps a bottle of wine for the table?”

“A bottle?” Massimo asks me, and I give him a mindless nod.

While he orders the wine and a couple appetizers, all I can think about is Massimo knowing about Nicco and me. Why does everything circle back to that man? I can’t get away from him no matter what.

Heat rises up my neck and flushes my cheeks, making me feel a little lightheaded.

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