them. Instead, he stood next to the counter, waiting for me to acknowledge his presence. My heartbeat turned sluggish as he raised that chiseled jaw and blatantly stared. I ached to sink to the floor and wallow in self-pity, but forced myself to regain my composure.
“May I settle the bill?” he asked in a light tone.
“Of course, Sir,” I blurted, and rushed to the counter, wondering what had happened to the wine I'd poured into his glass just a few minutes ago.
Painfully aware he observed me with undivided scrutiny, I avoided his eyes as I entered their order into the system. The longer he ogled me, the more nervous I became. My fingers shook with every key I pressed. My knees turned to water. Heat suffused my entire face. I must have been blushing like some little girl. It took me forever to print the bill. Any other guests might have already scowled at me. Alessandro Damiani, on the other hand, remained composed and controlled, emanating nothing but patience as if he had all the time in the world. At last, done checking if everything was right, I pressed enter. The large receipt ejected from the printer, and I lifted my head, meeting his dark gaze that was filled with silent amusement.
“That would be three hundred eighty two dollars and twelve cents,” I stated, handing him the receipt, but he didn't bother to look at it, nor did he react to the amount I had named.
He just tossed a large pile of bills on the counter and said, “Here, this should cover it.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, without bothering to count. “Have a nice evening, Sir.”
He smirked with mystery. “I'm sure I will.”
With that, he retrieved his jacket, and I stared after him for one short, dreamy moment before taking the money from the counter. I stilled at the amount in my hand. About a dozen hundred dollar bills was in the stack he had given me. It wasn’t uncommon for us to get bigger tips, but this was too much money in comparison to what he'd spent on his meal. This had to be a mistake. I rushed to the entrance with the money in my hands.
“Sir,” I called after him, and he paused and raised his eyebrows. I muttered in an awkward voice, “I think you overpaid by accident.”
Something flashed in his eyes, and he smiled wide, revealing perfect white teeth.
“No accident, tesoro,” he breathed. “I'm just really happy with the service.”
He reached out to caress my cheek in a passing gesture that couldn't have lasted longer than a second, and then he exited out the door while I gazed after him, mouth agape and my mind whirling with a thousand questions.
Happy with the service? How could he have possibly been happy with the service when I hadn't smiled at them one single time? When I'd been so bothered by his attention I mixed up their orders and forgot to tell them to enjoy their meals. When I'd spilled wine on his plate. That was miles away from good service, and didn't deserve any tip, let alone the amount that almost tripled the bill.
As I returned inside, the gobsmacked look on Mr. Giordano's face when he saw the money told me he was thinking exactly the same.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Past (5 years prior)
The next morning, I searched the Internet for his name in the school library and found Alessandro Damiani was a very affluent and prominent man. He was only twenty five, and had the world under his feet. One very crucial thing about him remained mysterious—his line of business. Every site called him a rich entrepreneur, but nobody specified his field of expertise. No one seemed to have cared. They worshipped him all the same. There were so many pictures of numerous businessmen, along with beautiful women by his side. Every single one of them looked as if they had stepped off a magazine cover. A small pang of jealousy infiltrated my system. I pressed a hand against my throat. I could never match their beauty and style. Even if I could, so many other things stood in the way such as our difference in age, status and experience. In an act of self-preservation, I reminded myself men like him didn't date girls like me, and that I had to start living in reality.
But I found my resolve wasn't strong enough to resist the temptation of the beautiful Alessandro Damiani. Even though he kept his distance after that