Not All Bad Boys Are The Same.

Chapter 19

A knock came on the front door and Stephanie stood up. A look of relief on her face as she left the dining area to go answer the door. Luca and Harry, looked at Charlotte, curiously and she ignored both of them.

"I'm going to get the gravy for the roast," she said. "Urm Elizabeth could you join me in the kitchen," I was shocked at her sudden request of me to join her. Luca nudged me gently with his elbow. "You got this," he whispered. I was terrified of being alone with one of Luca's family members. The fact that I knew nothing about him made it worst.

I stood up and followed Charlotte out of the dining area and into a kitchen. "I'm sorry we had to meet under these conditions. Luca and Harry are quite stubborn in their ways," she said and moved to the stove. "You are probably feeling a little awkward my dear and I apologize."

"It's okay I can handle a little awkward," I chuckled lightly.

"You're a sweetheart. Just one look at you and I could tell my son made the right choice for once," she said and I smiled sheepishly.

I started to feel guilty about lying to Charlotte. She was a sweet woman and Luca was lying to her about us. He had a lot of explaining to do yet he refused to tell me anything outside of the lines of him just wanting to go back to England.

"Grab a bottle of champagne please dear," she said gesturing to the fridge. I went over to the fridge and pulled it open. There were four bottles of Fornasetti champagne. It was a really expensive bottle and hard to come by. Not everyone ordered it at the restaurant.

I grabbed a bottle and followed her out of the kitchen. Jameson had moved to sit next to Luca. Someone new had joined the table and he sat next to Stephanie. He had light brown curly hair and stubble on his chin. He was wearing a brown suede jacket and a white polar neck shirt on the inside.

"You must be Christian," Charlotte greeted. The man stood up and Charlotte took his hand.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner Mrs. Hendricks." He had a noticeable Italian accent and both Harry and Luca looked away.

"Would you look at that Charlotte our daughter went and found herself an Italian man," Harry said in a sound of disapproval and gritted teeth.

"Dad," Stephanie said in outrage.

"Let's just have dinner. Please," Charlotte said, getting frustrated and glaring at Harry.

I took my seat next to Luca and stepped on his foot purposely. He turned to look at me and glared. I glared back. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered. His facial features softening. It's as if he knew why I tramped his foot.

"Please everyone help yourselves," Charlotte said, with a tired smile on her face that didn't quite meet her eyes. I could tell she was feeling stressed about something. She took her seat next to Harry and he looked up at her to say something but she glared at him causing him to look down at his plate in anger.

We all began to plate our food. The pot roast smelt delicious. "Let's say grace," Charlotte said, but it was too late. Luca had already started eating. He immediately stopped chewing. He looked cute, like an innocent little child with his cheeks filled with food as he closed his eyes and pretended as if he didn't have anything in his mouth.

A smile formed on my face and he opened his one eye and nudged me playfully as his mother began to pray for the food. After she was done. Everyone began eating. The pot roast tasted as good as it smelt. Charlotte was an excellent cook. The flavors of garlic, thyme, and pepper were well balanced.

"So Christian," Charlotte started. "How did you and Stephanie meet."

Christain looked at Stephanie and smiled warmly at her. "Well, I had just taken over my father's designing company in Milan. I didn't have any idea about fashion. So I hired an assistant. Stephanie. She is such a beautiful person inside and out. Very patient with me. How could I not help falling in love with such rare authentic beauty," he placed a kiss on the back of Stephanie's hand and smiled at everyone around the table, but the only ones that returned his friendly smile were James and Charlotte.