Page 15 of Because I Need You
5
ISABEL
This event was a snooze fest. I knew Will agreed with me by the way he kept squeezing my arm so I could save us from every conversation a new person started. I smiled at him and led him away from each one, claiming that someone else was calling us or that I needed a refill or that I needed aspirin for the headache I was faking.
“I think I should be nominated for some kind of acting award,” I whispered when we escaped yet another old man staring at my tits and talking to Will about hunting.
“I think you deserve many awards,” Will said, kissing my cheek, and then my lips lightly. I smiled against him and reached up to take my lipstick mark off his own.
“Did you smear me?” I waved a finger over my mouth.
He laughed. “No, but I can.”
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I laughed. “Maybe our next excuse should be a quickie in the bathroom.”
“I’ve never been a fan of quickies.” A man said, and my stomach instantly dropped when I recognized the voice. What the hell was he doing here? Will and I both straightened and turned toward Giovanni, who was staring right into my eyes. I swallowed hard, to regain control of my rapidly beating heart, and the sudden rush of discomfort between my legs. He broke the gaze and looked at Will, giving a sharp nod. “William.”
“Giovanni.” Will kept his voice even, but from the way the tips of his ears lit up, I could tell he wasn’t thrilled to see him.
“Are you going to introduce me to your lovely date?” Giovanni’s gaze swept over my face before slowly raking down my body and back up. It was so obvious that I stiffened. Hell, Will stiffened and normally he didn’t care.
“This is my girlfriend, Isabel.” He grabbed my hand and held it in his, not letting me shake Giovanni’s.
“Isabel.” His eyes danced with amusement.
“There you are.” A tall brunette appeared behind him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She was freaking gorgeous. She smiled at me, then at Will, then at me. “Hi. I’m Natasha. Gio’s girlfriend.”
Will’s tension slithered away. I felt it. He let go of my hand to shake Natasha’s. I smiled at her as I shook it and introduced myself. I looked at Giovanni with an expression that I hoped he could read as, “you have a girlfriend, you idiot? Does she know?” And he arched an eyebrow and looked at me with an expression that said, “does he know?” I glared. He smiled, looking over at Will again. It was a fake smile. I could tell. I’d plastered enough of them on my face to recognize it.
“So, William, what’s going on with that theater?” Giovanni asked. “You know, the one my permits are held up on for some odd reason even though I pay a shit load of money to avoid these things.”
“I don’t think this is the place,” Will said in a hushed tone.
“Considering I made a hefty donation at the door,” he said, then smiled at Natasha. “Two hefty donations. I think this is the perfect place.”
“I already told you I have nothing to do with the holdup.”
“Really? Because the way I heard it was that your father wants the theater for another cause. Something about another skyscraper?” Gio tilted his head slightly as if this was a totally lax conversation, but his eyes said otherwise.
Gone was the funny, charming man I’d met the other night. He’d been replaced by a menacing, cold, calculated man. And damn him if it didn’t make him hotter. Something was definitely wrong with me. Maybe I was finally going through that bad boy phase everyone usually burned through in their teen years. I liked the sweet guys, the sure bets, the ones you could take home to your parents, or in my case, to chaperone the student dance with me once in a while. I’d never understood the bad boy appeal until this exact moment. On that note, I picked up two champagne flutes from the server walking by and handed one to Natasha, taking two steps away from the men we were with. Thankfully, she followed my lead.
“So, what do you do?” I asked, smiling.
“I’m a model.” She took a sip of champagne, rolling her eyes. “God, it sounds so fucking pretentious every time I say it.”
I laughed. “Hey, it’s a cool job. What kind of modeling do you do?”
“Runway.”
“Whoa. Really?” My eyes widened. “Any designers I’d know?”
Natasha went on to list the many designers she’s worked with and pulled out her phone to show me photos of her latest fashion shows. I just stared and listened in amazement. As she continued scrolling, she reached a photo of her at a beach with the most beautiful clear water I’d ever seen. She was lying on her side, and Giovanni was behind her, wearing swimming trunks, his fit body in full display. Geez. He looked like a damn underwear model. Will had an incredible body, for sure, but he didn’t have the body and that attitude. Jesus, what was wrong with me? I smiled, taking a sip of champagne, and looked away, my eyes everywhere but her phone screen. I wondered if he had social media. Again, I shook myself away from those thoughts.
