Chapter 107 New Date
Isabella POV
Dante didn’t bother to contact me again after he left my apartment and I knew he wouldn’t. All I had to do was to reach out to him and this would be over immediately but I had to stay strong and tonight was my date with Damian, the man whose father was friends with my family and I knew what he looked like, but it was pretty much a blind date. I knew he owned some businesses and he knew I was an artist, but that was the extent of our knowledge of each other, so I was nervous.
I was never nervous before a date, regardless of how handsome the man was. I wasn’t easily intimidated, and I had the confidence that I could handle anyone but Dante was on my mind and I felt guilty for what I was doing. I felt like I was betraying him, betraying the promise of fidelity we’d made to each other and he was the only man I wanted to sleep with.
When I pressed my hand between my legs, I always imagined that he was there with me. That he was the man between my legs and I couldn't even have considered going on a date until my mom dropped this in my lap. I was eager to move on from Dante so the pain would end, and since I couldn’t go back to him, this was the only way forward.
I wished I had never let my relationship with him get this bad. There was literally no one worse I could have fallen for. How did I let this happen?
I was smarter than this and I had to keep moving forward. Maybe Damian would be everything I wanted in a spouse, and we would fall in love and have the kind of marriage I always wanted. My father would love him, and my mother would embrace him as a son.
We could live happily ever after and have the future I always imagined and maybe he would be enough to make me forget about Dante.
I drove to the restaurant and sat in my car for a little bit, trying to calm the nerves that had fired up. My chest ached with all the breaths I took, and my adrenaline was at its peak. The guilt was crushing me, making me feel
squashed under its weight but I finally got out of my car and walked to the restaurant. It was a Russian place, not super fancy like the restaurant I went to with Dante, but that was
a relief. I didn’t need even more pressure for this evening.
I stepped through the doors and looked at the sea of tables. It didn’t take me long to find him. He was sitting alone at a table, wearing a black V-neck with a black blazer on top. He had tanned skin from spending time outdoors, and his black hair was short, similar to the way my father wore his. His brown eyes stared across the room, looking at nothing in particular. He wasn’t on his phone the way most people would be, which was.refreshing.
His jaw was sharp and tight the way the Conti line had, but it wasn’t as chiseled as Dante. He had a nice physique and obviously spent time being active outdoors because he looked fit, but he was definitely on the leaner side, not built like a brick house the way Dante was and I had to stop comparing them otherwise, I would never get through this date.
I crossed the room and approached his table. “Damian?”
He looked up, and his eyes lightened noticeably. He rose out of his chair, a handsome smile on his face. “Yes, Isabella.” He started to lean in to kiss me.on the cheek.
Just that affection alone felt like a betrayal, so I quickly stuck out my hand and shook his, even though it wasn’t customary in our culture at all.
He didn’t show a hint of disappointment as he shook my hand. “Thanks for joining me.” He moved to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair for me.
I smiled then sat down, feeling my heart pound in my chest. Dante never did that sort of thing, but that was because I didn’t need him to. I could sit in my own damn chair without someone to help me.
He returned to his chair and sat down the bar was behind him, where a row of men and their dates sat as they enjoyed wine and appetizers while they waited for their tables to be ready.
It was immediately awkward that comfortable silence I shared with Dante wasn’t present, nor was that hot intensity. It was just just quiet and I couldn’t still my beating heart. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous.
I felt like a woman who’d just gotten divorced and now I was putting myself out there again. My relationship with Dante had been short, only four months, so it never felt like a marriage but it felt like I’d lost someone important.
Damian didn’t seem bothered by the silence, possessing the kind of.confidence my mother hinted at. “I’ve never been set up on a date before. My mom has tried in the past because she’s anxious for me to start a family, but it’s never been my thing but when your mother told me about you…I couldn’t say no.”
My heart beat a little faster, but my cheeks didn’t flush with color. “That’s sweet…”
“And you’re just as beautiful in person.” He grabbed the bottle of wine on.the table. “May I pour you a glass? It’s from the Conti winery, so I think you’ll like it.”
I smiled. “Please.” I liked the way he masked his intimate compliment by offering me something to drink so it wouldn’t feel so tense.
He poured the glass then returned the bottle to the table. “You like red?”
“Both.”
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Good answer. I do too.”
Now that we’d pushed through the beginning of the conversation, it didn’t feel so awkward anymore. He seemed charming, polite, and not overly attentive. He was a handsome man who could get a woman anywhere at any time, so I knew he didn’t need this date. He was only there because he wanted to be.
“My father has nothing but good things to say about yours. He says he’s a very respectable man. He’s honest and full of integrity. It’s one of the reasons my father is such a fan of your wine, not necessarily because his customers like it, but because it comes from a good place.”
This conversation couldn’t be more different from the ones I’d had with Dante. He hated my family and wanted them all dead. Dante rarely had anything nice to say at all, unless he was complimenting the way I looked when he was
between my legs. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. My mother had nothing but good things to say about your family too.”