Chapter Six

Isabella POV

“Oh my gosh!! that’s Mr DeLuca” Bianca almost screams to herself.

“Don’t act like a fan girl Bianca, he’s different from what you think” I reply sipping on the glass of wine, my mind reeling back to all our encounters, from scary to egoistic to a very sly man.

“Oh my gosh,” her eyes turn from the flowers to me and then him again

“Wait, what’s going on??” She says, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water

“Long story” I reply about to relay everything that has happened in the last 48 hours but I’m stopped by a strong smell of a smoky Cinnamon perfume filtering into my nose, followed by black shoes stopping right in front of us.

“Isabella” he calls out my name, his voice deep and husky, making my heart skip a beat

“De-Luca” I reply looking up at him

“Bella” he calls out my name in a hushed whisper, almost intimate, “you should get used to seeing me around” he smirks turning to Bianca leaving me a blushing mess

“Dominic De-Luca” stretches his hand forward, grabbing Bianca’s hand in a hold and placing a peck at the back of her palm.

“Bianca Greco” she smiles widely, “And how do you know Isabella?” She questions looking between the both of us.

He turns to me, raising a brow at me, “Should I go ahead or?” He trails off

“Maybe if you weren’t stalking me and following me around I would have broken the news to her earlier,” I say my voice rising, turning my head from him to Bianca’s direction

I sigh turning to Bianca

“Isabella here is going to be my wife in a few days to come” he smirks, cutting me off, he straightens his back, raising a brow at me, daring me to deny it.

A screech is the first thing to come out of Bianca’s mouth “But..- How?” She says her eyes open in shock.

“I’ll leave that to her, he says, turning his eyes to me and I almost think he’s enjoying this, tormenting me.

“it’s good to see you Miss Greco” he says in finality and simply walks away, his hands in the pocket of his trousers, all eyes on him as he navigates the exit of the restaurant

“What in the hell is going on” Bianca whispers but she’s cut off by the Waitress coming back, this time with a bottle of Champagne.

“For Mrs De-Luca” she smiles poping the drink open and turns it into the champagne flute “Are you ready to order mam” she smiles politely

We quickly rattle off our order and I turn to Bianca ready to explain.

“So my Dad got into his usual trouble again,” I tell her and her shoulders sink

She’s the only friend of our family who truly knows the struggles my dad faces with his issues with gambling and how much it affects us.

“Isabella,” she says softly reaching for my hand

I nod “He gambled again and got us into this huge debt” I sigh heavily

She nods “Then How did Dominic De-Luca come into the picture??”

“Long story short, I have to marry him to save my family and the company,” I say with a sigh downing the rest of the champagne

She frowns but understanding covers her face, “At least he’s handsome, and seems to like you from what I can see” she says picking up the roses and slightly giggling to herself

“Like me? He has a giant ego, he’s a narcissist and seems to act well, he’s a rude man with the worst upbringing” I say through my teeth anger boiling in me at our first encounters

“I think you need this more than I do” she smiles, handing me another glass of wine.

Soon we are drunk out of our minds, and we lead ourselves outside, “let Rupert take you home” I tell her giggling loudly to ourselves attracting stares as the cool wind blows on our exposed legs

“Then What ab_out youuuuu” she giggles drawing her words out.

“I’ll send for another driver,” I say pointing a finger at her drunkenly “You my dear need to be home and sleeping soundly” I laugh

She nods, Rupert bringing the car around, I stick her in the car waving at Rupert while giggling to myself

“I’ll send a driver to you soon mam” he nods probably thinking I’m not as drunk as Bianca

I don’t answer him, giggling to myself and watching the car move away

“Do you usually get this drunk all the time?” A deep voice calls from behind me at the restaurant entrance