Page 30 of The Don
“Formal wear?” I chew on my lip and slowly lift my shoulders. “You’re more casual, right?” Amanda smiles at me. I nod and lower my chin. “You know, you have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen and I think you should show them off.”
I glance up to her and offer a small smile. “You’re gorgeous,” I say. “And your hair. Oh my God, it’s so beautiful.”
She leans over and whispers, “Extensions.”
“Really?” I ask and look at her, trying to see where the extensions are.
“Yeah, look.” She moves her hair to the side and shows me where one has been attached to her own hair. “But I’d kill to have eyes like yours. So, you know what I’m thinking?” I shake my head. “Let’s build you a wardrobe around the color blue.”
“Everything blue?” I ask with skepticism.
“No, no.” She waves her hand at me. “But we’ll have several outfits that will have blue something. Like this.” She walks over and takes a fitted black dress off the rack. “And we’ll pair it with these.” Amanda heads over to the shoes and holds up a pair of blue heels. “And this.” With the shoes in one hand, the black dress in another, she walks over to the accessories and picks a sheer blue scarf that matches the shoes.
“I like that,” I say.
“You can wear just the dress, or all three together. But, if you wear the scarf, then no neck jewelry.” She winks at me and adds, “Or just the shoes.” She waggles her brows.
She thinks Ruben and I are a couple. “Oh, we’re not together,” I quickly correct while waving my hands.
Amanda turns toward the front, then back to me. “Okay,” she says in a high-pitched tone. “My apologies, but the way he was looking at you had me thinking that...” She shakes her head. “My apologies.” She lifts the dress, shoes, and scarf. “Is this a yes?” Amanda easily changes the conversation, but a part of me wants her to finish what she was saying.
“Yes.”
“Great, we’ll put them aside and size you up once we have all your wardrobe choices.”
I look toward the front and see Ruben pacing while talking on his phone. He stops, lifts his head to look at me, smiles, and winks. My heart flutters but I look away before he catches the heat rising to my cheeks.
Once I have twelve different outfits, Amanda and I head to the front where she wraps everything. “Do you need anything else?” Ruben asks as he appears close next to me. He hands his credit card over to Amanda.
“No. Thank you for all of this.”
“Eliza has picked a range of clothing, so she’s set for anything you throw at her,” Amanda says as she swipes Ruben’s card.
“Good to know.” He turns to Dante and gives him a small knowing nod. Dante lifts his hand and speaks into the comms.
“Thank you, and have a fantastic day,” Amanda says as she hands Ruben’s card back to him.
One of Ruben’s men enters the store and takes all of the packages and bags out to the first car. “Thank you,” I say to Ruben as we walk back to the car.
“Are you hungry?”
Storm jumps in the car, and I slide in next to him. “I guess so,” I say when Ruben sidles in closer to me.
“Good.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket, sends a text, and puts away his phone. “Dante.”
“Yes, sir,” Dante replies to Ruben’s unasked question. It’s like they have their own way to communicate.
Before long, the cars pull up at a restaurant. Ruben turns to me and says, “Come.” Storm and I both exit the car, and I look up and down the street. “This is one of my restaurants. It makes the best Italian meatballs I’ve ever tasted.”
“One of your restaurants? How many do you have?”
“Many.” Ruben holds the door open for me, and the seating area is packed with people. From families to couples. I see only one table available in the back.
“Mr. Sacco, it’s nice to see you,” the male host says as he straightens his shoulders. “This way, sir.” He leaves his host stand to show us to our seats.
“Amorina.” Ruben slides his arm around my waist as we follow the host. Ruben rests his hand on my hip, his fingers tighten.
The host leads us to the back, where a private dining room is already set for us. “Sir.” The host opens the door and steps aside. “Ma’am.”