Princess of St. Vincent

Chapter 12

"So..." Vada said after a few minutes driving around in silence. Davide was busy sending a message and she was beginning to feel awkward. 

"So?" He said, slipping his phone in his pocket and turning to look at her. Nicky was sitting at the far end of the seat, her legs crossed away from him. 

"So, where are we going?" She asked. 

"Lunch." He said with a smirk. Nicky raised a brow and smiled. 

"I guessed that- where are we going for lunch?" She said, dimples on either cheek.

"There's an Italian restaurant nearby- a favorite of mine." He said. She nodded. 

"Is there any reason why you need the entire military to move about?" She asked, teasing him. She had heard of rich men being paranoid but several SUVs? Her father certainly never traveled that way. At the most he usually just had his chauffeur and that was rare.

"We're leaving the circuit." He said, "Safety first." 

Vada nodded. This was not the first time someone had mentioned the circuit, and only recently she caught on that it was referring to a certain area of the city where Matteo Peroni lived. 

"Still seems a bit extreme." She said, looking out the window. "Mom would flip if dad ever insisted on something like this." 

Davide turned to Nicky- did she just mention her mother? He was about to ask her about it but the SUV suddenly slowed down. They were here. 

Vada's door was opened and a large man helped her out. 

"Come on." Davide said, leading her into a small restaurant. She looked around noting that while it was done up nicely, it was still not quite as nice as some of the ones she'd visited over the years and she wondered, as he held the door open for her, if this was because as a waitress he wouldn't take her somewhere too fancy or because this place was really as good as he made it sound. Either way, she would find out soon. 

The host at the door greeted Davide very effusively, even slightly bending his head as he motioned to a booth in the back. Vada followed, noting that there was no one else in the restaurant and, unless she was being extremely paranoid, the staff was all staring. 

She wondered how many young women Davide had brought here for lunch but as she slid into the seat, she instead watched on how attentive everyone was. 

"Do you like wine?" He asked and Vada nodded and he turned to order. Vada reached out and placed a hand on his arm. 

"Actually- I would prefer malbec." She said softly, thinking that Merlot would be a bit top heavy for lunch. Davide looked at her for a bit and smiled before turning to the waiter and asking instead for Malbec. 

Vada looked in front of her, moving her hand from Davide's arm but he placed his hand over hers as he spoke to the waiter, holding it in place. 

"So." He said, taking her hand off his arm and toying with her fingers in his. "You do like wine."

"I do but I don't have the opportunity to drink it often." She said, thinking about how her father disapproved of her drinking alcohol at all. Davide looked at her, thinking that it was a shame such a pretty girl could not indulge more in luxuries and made a mental note to make sure she had wine whenever she wanted it. 

"Well, today we celebrate so enjoy as much as you want." He said with a grin. Vada was nervous and so she quickly swept her hand away from him, instead glancing at the menu. 

"Let's see..." She said, flipping through the pages. Everything was in Italian and she wondered if Davide was fluent. 

"Would you like me to translate?" He asked but she just smiled.