Chapter 2
Dayafterassignment
Isabella
The only good thing about where I lived was that it was so far from school, the students never came to the restaurant. Our house was just on the outskirts of the school district. One block further and I would have ended up at Springfield High. Although sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, I loved our little corner of the universe.
There was a huge sense of community here. Our neighborhood was mostly Italians, generations of them. Most, of course, were related to me, but those that weren’t had known me since I was in diapers. We all had seen each other at our best and at our worst. Which was the only reason why I never cared about what I looked like when I took a shift at our restaurant.
Today, I skipped putting on makeup, threw my hair in a bun that sat crookedly on the side of my head instead of the middle, and I put on a pair of old jeans that should have been thrown away two years ago. As a real bonus I paired them with a stained white T-shirt. My red apron with theEnzo’s Italian Restaurantlogo covered most of it, but the apron had seen better days as well. It had a few wine stains on it, and I was full of powdered sugar today since I helped make the zeppoles earlier.
My father was known for his pizza, but we served a lot of different Italian food, and zeppoles were my favorite. Some Saturdays, I filled in for someone who needed the day off. Like today.
I was bringing a tray of drinks to a family in the corner when I heard a voice.
“Pardon me, I was hoping you might be able to help me find someone. I heard she would be working today.”
I turned, unsure if the voice was addressing me, but it wasn’t. I watched, amused, though, as Rosalina blushed and smiled at the boy who had just approached her. Rosalina was boy-crazy, but I had never seen her actually blush that much. I started walking to my table and tried to sneak a peek at who had caused such a reaction.
To my surprise, her blush was completely justified. She was standing in front of the handsomest boy I had ever seen in real life. Then, to my horror, the boy looked over at me and our gazes locked. For one second everything seemed frozen around me. All I could see were his golden locks, his deep blue eyes, and a smile that could make a person melt. But, although my mind was frozen, my body had somehow continued moving. Before I knew what was happening, I ran right into a wall, and soda, water, and coffee flew through the air.
I fell to the ground with a bang as the assortment of drinks soaked me. Pain shot through my back and I was completely mortified. I had some cushion in my ass, but man, it still hurt.
“Are you alright?”
Concerned blue eyes stared down at me. I blinked up at him, apparently rendered mute suddenly. He looked like a prince from a fairytale. His brow furrowed and he held out his hand.
“May I help you up?”
I looked at his hand, surprisingly more rugged than I would imagine a prince having, and then back at his eyes. My brain did not seem to be working and, although I did try to say something, only a small squeak escaped my mouth. What was wrong with me?
“Isabella! What happened? Are you okay?”
I looked at my mother and pushed back tears that were suddenly forming. It was uncommon for me to cry. Normally I had a good grasp on my emotions, but seeing my mother look so worried, seeing this handsome boy when I looked like a total train wreck, and the pain I was feeling in my lower back seemed to have ganged up on me. Blinking, I refused to give in to tears.
“Mama, don’t worry. Can you get someone to bring drinks to table five? I’ll clean up this mess.”
Both my mother and the mystery boy looked disturbed. He rushed forward.
“You should put ice on your back. I can help clean.”
My mother and I were looking at him, horrified. I tried to protest at the same time as I tried to get off the floor. Another shot of pain had me almost falling again, but my prince caught me quickly and shook his head.
“What’s the Italian word for stubborn?”
Rosalina joined us with a smile.
“Testarda.”
The boy grinned at me.
“You are testarda!”
Somehow, he managed to sit me at a booth and ordered me to keep my legs up and back against the wall. I’m not sure why I let him boss me around, but right now, I was in too much pain to argue. My mother, who I hadn’t known had left, now reappeared with a towel full of ice in her hand. She handed it to my new companion, who moved behind the booth and placed the ice at the base of my back. I sighed and leaned my head against the wall.
“Thank you.”
He nodded and I watched as Rosalina came over with a mop and some more towels. The boy held out his hands for some cleaning supplies, but Rosalina thankfully refused to let him assist her.
