Jayden's POV

Isabella's hands are balled into a fist out of nervousness the moment the car halts in front of the big restaurant where we will be having dinner with Alejandro.

He couldn't meet up with the 2 pm appointment and he called this evening for us to meet at this Italian restaurant with my wife.

I feel this is a way to introduce them to each other. Alejandro is a friend and is one of those who wanted me to get married. He tried to matchmake me with his sister but I told him I wasn't interested even before we could meet.

Now that he is interested in seeing Isabella, I want him to be impressed and I tried to tell Isabella that I want her to wear something nice.

I couldn't because I felt remorseful for what I did to her at the poolside. We haven't said a single word to each other since I left her at the poolside and I have a feeling she is mad at me.

She doesn't look mad but I know she is. She is used to pretending not to be angry even while we were working together.

How can she show it to her boss if she is mad at him without getting fired?

Well, she didn't disappoint me with her dress. She is wearing a ruffled lavender long gown. It looks simple and classic and I love the dress.

I can't see her shoes because the gown is long enough to cover her feet but her hair is down and she is wearing silver earrings.

"We are here, sir", Jude informs me, staring at me from the rear mirror.

I hear Isabella puff out air instantly and I touch her balled fist. She stiffens.

"Be calm, ok?" I say to her and after a moment, she nods without looking at me.

"Alejandro is a distant friend, just act normal, ok?" She nods again.

I let out a sigh myself, looking out of the window without going out. Isabella is really going through a lot, having to pretend all the time whenever we are in public or she is about to meet someone.

She tries to take her hand away from mine and I realize my hand is still on hers. I turn to her. "I'm sorry, too."

She nods vigorously. "It's fine, it's fine, please", she waves me away after letting go of her hand. "Jude, please open the car door for me."

Jude nods and comes down from the car to open the door by her side. She steps out and I open the other door myself to climb down from the car.

I am wearing a slightly grey slim-fit suit and brown Tomasso Italian leather shoes. I step forward and go to the other side to meet up with Isabella.

I flash her a smile and she nods instead of reciprocating. I can still see how nervous she is and that smile is meant to ease her nervousness.

Without giving it further thought, I stretch out my right arm for her to take and she does that.

We begin to walk towards the entrance while Jude stays behind in the car. The door opens from inside and we step in.

Alejandro had reserved the whole place for us and I am glad he did. Isabella will be less tense now since we will be the only ones here.

It didn't take too long for me to spot him. He is on his feet, waving to catch our attention and we start to move forward till we get to the VIP spot where he is already sitting down now.

"Ciao amico (Hello buddy)" he grins widely at me before pulling me into a hug. I chuckle lightly at the gesture and pull away.

He shifts his gaze to Isabella who bows slightly in greeting. "Ciao alla moglie del mio amico (Hello to my buddy's wife)

"Good day, sir", she greets him instead and he narrows his eyes back to me.

Before he can say anything, I ask. "Can we sit?"

"Of course, please sit, Isabella Russell", he has a mischievous look on his face and Isabella blushes red on the face as she takes a seat.

"Wow!" He looks amazed and I catch him watching Isabella. She smiles and he stares at me, mouthing. "She is beautiful."

"Thank you", Isabella and I chorus and I laugh.

"I actually expected this. I expected you to marry someone as beautiful as she is and I kind of find her familiar. Do you have parents in Italy?"

I know the reason why he finds her familiar. She was my Assistant and they must have met on one or two occasions when he came to New York for a business conference all the way from Italy. He barely visits New York. He only comes for business.

Now that he seems impressed with my choice of woman, I don't know if I should tell him that Isabella looks familiar because she used to be my Assistant.

If only I had picked a total stranger, maybe this wouldn't be a problem.

"No, sir. I have been in America all my life", she replies calmly, smiling shyly.

"Wow, really? Aren't you Italian? What's your last name?"

"Rodriguez", she answers with another light smile that brightens up her face. I watch her, wondering if she is putting up a pretense as always or if she is smiling genuinely. I want to know if she is still mad at me. I am not supposed to care but I do care.

"Rodriguez?" His eyes widen. "You are from Italy, I knew it!"

"Yes, I am but I am American by birth. My parents have been here for so long", she murmurs and I wish she didn't say that. Alejandro prefers Italians over Americans that much which is why he hates coming here for anything else other than business.

I always tell him the same thing too but he ends up waving it away, telling me how great it is to be an Italian.

A look of disapproval clouds his expression. "You should visit Italy one of these days, you know?"

"Sure, I will." Isabella concurs with a nod. She seems to like him too. He has a charming spirit and he is good-looking. He got married twice and got divorced twice. Yet, he keeps advocating for marriage.

"Really?"

"You want to go to Italy?" I ask Isabella so I can get her attention as well. She turns to me, her eyes still bright.

"Of course, I do. It has always been my dream to visit Verona…" his gasp interrupts her from going further. He grabs her hand on the table hurriedly.

"The city of Julietta?"

"Julietta?" Isabella's brows crease in confusion.

"Romeo and Juliet", I chip in and she nods.

"Yes. They call it the love city. I want to see what it is like to stay there and experience love", she mutters. She looks like she wants to say more but keeps quiet.

She want to experience love in Verona? What does she mean by that?

"Love? You mean you would like to go with your husband?" Alejandro asks again and Isabella agrees with him.

"It will be so nice to go there with him", she remarks and I smile. So much for pretending.

"You should come in October", he comments again when I am thinking they would drop the topic and say something else. "I'm glad your wife likes home and I will be willing to take you on a tour if you can visit."

I shake my head. "I don't think that will be possible, Alex…"

"Of course, it will. You didn't go on any honeymoon, did you?" He attacks me from nowhere and I gulp. "You should do this for her. Make her dream come true."

I don't say anything so he looks at Isabella again, still holding her hands. "Where else would you like to go?"

She looks thoughtful for a while before answering. "Venice and Tuscany."

"Ah!" He seems pleased. "I see. You should go to Florence too and try out their pasta there. It is as great as New York's but I assure you you won't want to come back home if you have a taste of it."

They both laugh.

Feeling left out, I remark. "You don't want my wife to come back home to me?"

The question gets their attention and I place my hand on Isabella's back. She stiffens again.

"No. She will. I just hope she won't."

They both laugh again.

Before I can say any other thing, the waiter appears with the menu.

"Buona serata a tutti voi (Good day to you all)" he bows down slightly in greeting as he places the three menus on the table. "What would you like to order?"

"Buonasera, chef", Alessandra smiles proudly before picking up the menu. I am sitting with folded arms, watching him and Isabella. She is also going through the menu with full concentration without noticing that I am not going through mine.

I don't know why I feel mad for no reason.

She drops the menu and places her order and Alejandro does the same before she finally turns to me. "What of you, Jayden?"

"I will. I will order the same thing as you", I reply and she tells the waiter what to get for us.

The waiter disappears almost immediately with the menus and they continue their conversation while I sit back and watch them again in amazement and with folded arms.

****

Is Jayden jealous? Why is Mr. Alejandro chatting with our little bride?

😂😂😂😂

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