Bound by my blood

Chapter twenty-four

I was good on my own,
that's the way it was
— — —

Alexandria's p.ov:

I pull my fingers through my messy hair; trying my hardest to make it look presentable before we left the office. I would rather not have someone tell everyone I had messy hair when leaving my husbands office. Rumours spread like wild fire in his mafia.

It would cause too much drama with his group of fangirls and I didn't have the energy to deal with them. Not today. Not ever. I swear if they could they would they would throw me off the cliff and feed me to the sharks. It wouldn't surprised me if they tried to be frank.

Vincenzo appears by my side and smirks down at me, "You look fine. Stop fretting. Now where do you want to go? I was thinking Bella Vita, it is one of mine so I know the food will be good".

"okay, let me go and get dressed into something more appropriate then we can go" I mutter, patting him affectionally before making my way up to my room. I briskly strip the white dress and chuck it in the laundry basket.

My fingers run over my dresses until I find a black and white, chequered, oversized blazer. I spray my perfume on and brush my teeth.

Prior to pulling on some black shorts and bralette. I put in the blazer and wrap my Gucci belt around it tightly so it wouldn't come undone. I finish the outfit off with some knee-high, heeled boots and reapply my lipstick.

I check my appearance one last time before rushing down to where Vince and Angelo are talking; Angelo is the first to notice me and he smiles warmly at me.

"You look stunning, Mrs Lomabrdo" He smiles before exiting the entrance hall. Vince kisses my cheek gently when I reach him.

"You look amazing, guaio, but this dress is too short" He compliments, I beam up at him and he gestures to the door. My stomach becomes home to thousands of butterflies as he interlocks our hands. He pulls me towards one of us many cars.

Silently, he opens the door and I climb in gracefully- despite him smacking my ass as I did. He moves around the car and ducks into the drivers seat. I fake gasp and he faces me.

" Oh fuck, do you feel alright? You're driving yourself around for once" I tease and he rolls his eyes. If I did that we wouldn't be going out tonight but its fine if he does it which doesn't make any sense to me.

He starts up the car and drives to the gate. One of his men opens the gate when they see us coming and we drive straight through without any interruptions. We sit in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, at some point he turns on the radio.

When we arrive, there is a group of paparazzi waiting outside and I frown. I hate the paparazzi, I know its their job but they stick their noses into other peoples business and it is so wrong. They always tried to catch me doing something bad at parties and even during my university classes.

I shudder at the memory of the journalist pretending to be a new student and sitting behind me in one of my lessons.

Vince must see my facial expression as he pushes on sunglasses and tells me to wait for him. I stare at the ground whilst he opens the door for me.

Immediately, he wraps an arm around me and hides me from the bright flashes of the cameras. The paparazzi circled like vultures above a tottering camel. They hurtle questions at us as they do.

"Are you ok, Alexa?" He mutters quietly as he glances back at the crowd. I nod slightly and face the blonde hostess. She smiles warmly at me and I'm glad she isn't like some of the other women that work for Vince. Not that there is anything wrong with them, they just remind me lot of the people that bullied me.

"Welcome Mr and Mrs Lombardo, follow me. We have set up a private room for you in the back as requested".

Vince moves one of his hands so it is on the small of the back and leads me after the hostess. The restaurant is full. I look around at the busy tables whilst we walk. A group of young women giggle as they watch Vince as a stern woman dining alone nearby looked on and frown. An American couple are bent over the menu trying to decipher the menu and I wonder how they met. Are they in love? Maybe one of them is going to propose in Sicily.

The blonde pushes open a door and hands us two menus before leaving us alone. Vince pulls out a chair for me, and absentmindedly I sit down. He pushes me in prior to sitting opposite me.

Another elegant, flawlessly dressed blonde comes into the room and puts a bucket of ice and red wine on the table. She asks Vince something but I don't listen. What is it with him and immaculate blondes? Maybe that's his usual type because he really does have a lot of blonde employees.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Vince implores, breaking me from my negative train of thoughts.

"Hmm no. My thoughts are worth more then a penny" I hum as I reach for the wine. I felt awkward and nervous under his intense stare.

What was I thinking sleeping on him? Twice. What if he thinks I'm clingy and weird? I would do anything to know what he is thinking about most of the time. Maybe then this could work.

"Stop staring at me" I mutter shyly as I sip the sweet substance. My eyes shift to my lap to avoid his eyes.

"I cannot help it, you beguile me" He response, I tilt my head to the side and glance up at him. He has a playful smirk and he winks at me when he sees me looking. His moods are hard to keep up with. One minute he is acting like a complete asshole and the next like a playful idiot.

"The wine is nice" I attempt to change the topic and he raises his eyebrows at me.

"Just nice?"

How else do you describe wine? I never was a huge fan of wine before I came to Sicily so I have no idea what to say next. I would much rather be eating a McDonalds right now with a chocolate milkshake but I can't say that.

"Yes, it is pleasant. Very sweet" I muse and he nods in agreement. He chatters incessantly about his businesses and I listen quietly.

After a while he picks up on my short replies and questions, "What is wrong, guaio? You seem distant this evening".

"Nothing. It's fine" I try and play it off but he narrows his eyes at me. A warning glint appear in his eyes and I cross my arms across my body. I lean forward and pretend to look through the vast menu.

The sound of his chair being dragged back resounds in the room but I try to ignore it and focus on the font. He bends down beside me and places one of his hands on my knee.

"You know I do not like to repeat myself. What is wrong?"

I breathe out and he places a hand on my cheek; forcing me to face him.

"Nothing is wrong. Your restaurant is just very... fancy" I mutter and he stands up. He pulls my chair back and helps me stand.

"We can remedy that. Come" He mutters as he pulls me to the back exit.